While the United States and the European Union have intensified their brutal actions of interfering in the internal affairs of the Libyan people, this Arab nation is experiencing a complicated situation that can only be resolved by direct negotiations between all parties involved. The Pentagon has already announced it is repositioning its forces in the region, which is saying a lot since the United States has several naval and air bases around the Mediterranean Sea, to place them against Libya. There is no doubt at all that the White House rushes to put into practice the military variable to intervene in Libya, said Colonel Dave Lapan, spokesman of the armed forces, thus confirming U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Geneva who said that all options are on the table to topple Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi. The point, however, is that in Libya, things are a little more complex than in Tunisia and Egypt, where a decision of the army forced the departure of their presidents, Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak, respectively. Libyan stability is based on a balanced level of development, power and participation in the political life of a group of tribes and powerful families, whose consensus allowed Gaddafi to rule the country for more than 40 years, without any need for a Constitution or any other legal frame of reference. Although there are some 140 tribes and families, about 30 actually exercise power through their representation in various institutions like the army, the ministries or the administration of the wealth gained from oil exports, the main natural resource in a land basically dominated by desert areas. Just switching to the opposition of one of these leading groups, considered by experts as the most important one, the Warfalla, with key figures within the armed forces, security apparatus and police, is what has helped the rebels to take control of some sectors of the country with relative ease. The readiness for dialogue of this tribe and its allies, a possibility which opened on Tuesday, would mean a negotiated solution to avoid an open tribal war with dire consequences for the whole country, because it would open the door to those U.S. and European "humanitarian" pretexts designed grab control of Libyan oil. For now, the opposition is holding Benghazi, Libya's second city and other towns, including Al Rhibat, Kabaw, Rogban, Yefren, Gheri and Hawamed, while Gaddafi and his allies still command the capital, Tripoli, and the major cities of Treba, in the southwest, and Sirte, located in the north-central part of the country. So we can see that this is a complicated chess game, where hasty decisions can have devastating effects. The major Western powers are eager to use the most varied ways and means to force international organizations like the United Nations and its Security Council to push the conflict in their favor. If so, then Libya would be added to the list of disastrous precedents where an intervention by the United States and its allies have turned an entire country into a cemetery, this time ranging from the burning sands of Mesopotamia to the icy heights of Afghanistan. |