If Moammar Kadafi Is Overthrown, Then What?

The U.S and its allies have launched a Libyan War. But if Moammar Kadafi is overthrown, then what?

What is the plan among the U.S. and its allies? What will their involvement and resources be and for how long? Who will rule Libya? What voice will the Libyan people have in selecting their leaders? Will there be martial law until an elective process is established? How long will it be before an elective process is set-up? What role will the United Nations have? What voice will Libya's neighbors have in Libyan affairs? Who will control Libya's resources, such as its oil? What happens if Libya collapses into civil war?

Has such a reasoned dialogue even taken place? And if it took place, were Libyans a part of it? The American people were not. I raise these questions because of what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan since the U.S. invasion and occupation of those nations. The violence is mind-numbing and the governments that exist there are kept in power by the U.S. military, not by the people.

Before the U.S. and its allies started dropping missiles in Libya, it should have been crucial that every other avenue be explored to avoid such a horrific event. In Libya this did not happen. There must also be a carefully conceived plan involving the local people and how and when the U.S. and its allies will withdraw from their nation. Otherwise, like Iraq and Afghanistan, there is no plan, just an American occupation and open ended war, the horrors of which weigh on all of our souls.

Dick