From the Editor

By Metta Spencer | 2011-07-01 12:00:00

The attack against Gadhafi’s Libya has lasted three months now, to the consternation of peace activists, many of whom initially believed in the very “Responsibility to Protect” doctrine that the intervention has seemingly discredited.

There were excellent grounds for intervening to protect the citizens of Benghazi, who had unwisely tried to copy the nonviolent methods of the Egyptian demonstrators without preliminary strategic planning and discipline. To remain nonviolent (or almost so) in the face of a military crackdown, the demonstrators should have cultivated good relations with the police and military. The unprepared Libyans and most other Middle East/North Africa (MENA) protesters soon faced dictators who would gladly kill them all. Not surprisingly, they resorted to violence too.

Nevertheless, they deserved protection from brutal dictators such as Gadhafi, who promised to go house to house, killing all the inhabitants of the city of Benghazi.

The resolution before the Security Council initially called only for a “no-fly zone.” True, that might not have given adequate protection, so it would have been justifiable for the UN to interpose a peacekeeping force between Gadhafi’s forces and the rebels, enforcing a ceasefire on both sides, thus protecting human lives and creating an opportunity for peace negotiations. Instead, NATO chose to help the rebels fight their revolution. We see the results. Now let’s learn the lesson and in the future use only peacekeeping methods instead of war-fighting.

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