On Previous Libya Post

Yesterday I wrote a post about Libya that had a link to a speech that an opposition leader made at the Brookings Institution.  He made a very good impression.  His speech was directed at a Western audience, and I think he is a very good speaker.

However, there are a few things that I should point out.  The first is that he minimizes the extent to which this can be characterized as an armed struggle.  The current government has its supporters, if only the ones that Gaddafi is paying off with what he has stolen from other Libyans.  If he had no supporters, then there would be no one willing to commit acts of violence against his people.

He was wanting us to recognize the opposition as the legitimate government of Libya.  That way, they could make use of the assets that Westerners have suspended as a sanction against the government.  This is a move I hadn't thought of.  However, it would seem odd to have a policy of supporting the resistance while not recognizing them as the legitimate government in order to give them access to the funds.  If we are going to help them, then we should want our efforts to succeed rather than fail.