Why Libya is Different and Why We Should Support It

I have heard several recent news reports questioning our presence in Libya and I agree that the question must be asked as part of an ongoing debate in a functioning democracy. I hope to provide a thoughtful answer.

The movement that is now spreading through the Arab world is a healthy and welcome one. The Arab world is demographically young and its inhabitants are in touch with the world beyond their borders unlike any previous generation. They are able to recognize the oppression of their leadership and they correctly resent it. The United States should do all it can to support their resistance and desire for change.

Mr. Qadafi is a tyrant who last lost touch with reality. He should not be allowed to remain in power. He has a long reign, better than 40 years, and it has been characterized by acts of terrorism that he has now turned on his own people. Without the intervention of US and NATO forces, Qadafi had a free hand to create a humanitarian disaster. As an agent of freedom and justice in the world, we have a moral obligation to do as much as we can to prevent such an occurrence.

I believe President Obama is pursuing the right strategy by not sending ground troops into Libya. The airstrikes are having their desired effect. The rebels, who were reeling before the airstrikes began, are once again gaining territory. No matter how well and how diplomatically a military ground operation is handled, it would still cause a lot more controversy than the air operation.

Which leads me to my final point. The US and its allies have a long history of imperialism in the Middle East. The rise of radical Islamic factions can be directly traced to the wrongheaded intervention that characterized Western policy toward the Arab world for the majority of the 20^th century. If anyone doubts this statement, I would invite them to read Terror and Liberalism by Paul Berman, published in 2003. We correctly stayed out of the Egyptian revolution because the troops refused to fire on the protestors. That is not the case in Libya. If Mr. Qadafi is removed from office successfully because of the limited air intervention of US and NATO forces, maybe the young Arabs now watching us will take a more benevolent view of democracy and Western society. The benefits of this more benevolent viewpoint will far outlast any negativity that may occur in the near term.