April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

The decision taken by imperialism to intervene in Libya has to be viewed
within the wider context of the ongoing Arab revolution. The Tunisian and
Egyptian revolutions set in motion a process that has engulfed, to one
degree or another, practically the whole of North Africa and the Middle
East. Key countries, such as Saudi Arabia and the other oil-producing Gulf
states, risk being toppled. Bahrain has seen a powerful movement that
risked infecting Saudi Arabia.
Initially the imperialists were taken completely by surprise. Faced with the
Egyptian revolution they did not know what to do. The Obama
administration eventually concluded that some loosening up from the top
was necessary in order to avoid losing control altogether.
Libya, however, has provided the opportunity for direct military
intervention, which would have been impossible in Tunisia or Egypt. In
Egypt they sent naval forces to the Suez Canal, but were unable to use
them. In fact, had they used them they would have provoked massive
opposition and would have destabilised the whole region even more.
In the case of Libya, however, they have taken advantage of the situation
to present their intervention as being for “humanitarian” reasons. If this
were the case, why are they not bombing the Bahraini regime, or the
regime in the Yemen? There, they are de facto acquiescing to brutal
repression of the revolution.
In Libya they have managed to place at the head of the rebels a
government which is nothing other but their stooge. This “government of
free Libya” called on the imperialists to impose a no-fly zone, thus giving
the imperialists the cover they required. They can disguise their open
imperialist aggression as being in “favour of the revolution”.
This allows them to regain some of the credibility they had lost in the Arab
world after the war in Iraq, especially as the Arab League as well as the
UN, who didn't support the war in Iraq, called for the action. It also
establishes a precedent which can be used in the future to justify
intervening in other countries.
For example, should the Saudi regime collapse, which is a concrete
possibility in this situation, the US will not be able to simply stand back.
The oil reserves there are crucial to the interests of all the imperialist
powers, and they would have to intervene. Libya thus sets a dangerous
precedent.
From no-fly zone to active intervention
It is now the stated policy of all the imperialist powers that Gaddafi must
go, how and exactly when, they may not agree on. They still maintain,
however, that the no-fly zone has been imposed merely to “defend
civilians”. But where does one draw the line?
The intervention of NATO forces has already gone beyond the mere
imposition of a no-fly zone. They are not just stopping Gaddafi’s planes
from flying. They have bombed tanks, armoured cars, missile launchers
and also specific buildings. This is not just about “defending civilians” as
they claim. NATO has become the air force of the Interim Government in
the east, i.e. of their own stooge government.
However, by simply stopping Gaddafi’s planes from flying they are not
going to achieve his removal. He has far superior and better trained forces
and this can be seen in the fighting that is taking place. The Interim