Nato Makin Mistake Goin Aftr Libyan Infrastructure To Oust Gadhafi!

[JimofPennsylvan]

Some Nato countries are calling for Nato to use its air power to destroy infrastructure in Gadhafi controlled areas of Libya to increase the pressure on Gadhafi's government to collapse and Moammar Gadhafi to be permanently removed from power. This is a huge, huge mistake. By doing this Nato will be hurting ordinary Libyans, especially long-term which we don't want to do; destruction of power and other utility plants, bridges, oil refineries and the like in Libya will take many years to rebuild and the brunt and bulk of the hardship caused by this destruction will be born by ordinary Libyans, totally a bad move! In Kosovo during 1999, when Nato bombed the Serbs to stop their ethnic cleansing of Albanians they acted unrestrained and destroyed a lot of infrastructure and Nato received a lot of criticism for these actions, don't repeat this mistake in Libya!



Nato just needs to be patient with Libya, Gadhafi will fall no doubt about it!. Nato leaders really need to be careful that they aren't being baited into overreaction in Libya by the media. The media is always trying to create a big story, always trying to capture the public attention for a news event and it couldn't be more true on Libya! The media keeps saying there is going to be a stalemate in Libya, it will turn into a quagmire, Nato will be stuck indefinitely there. Nato leaders and the world public should see this for what it is, media manipulation!.



The optimum political/military assessment is that in the worst case scenario for Nato Moammar Gadhafi doesn't survive seven more years as leader of even a portion of Libya. This is why because from military perspective what Nato has in this Libyan War is a World War II level of conflict specifically the end of World War II after the allies had obtained a firm hold in Europe. With respect to Gadhafi's military strength, he doesn't have air power, he has tanks and artillery and not artillery like North Korea presently has whcih could kill a hundred thousand plus people in twenty-four hours, Gadhafii's forces have tank and artillery strength like the German army had in France and Germany at the end of World War II and as history proves cleary that the only thing that is needed is superior numbers of tanks and artillary to overcome the opposition tank and artillery forces. The bottom line is in a worse case scenario Nato, the Arab league et al. allow and/or help the anti-Gadhafi forces build such a conventional Army which at most would take seven years and allow them to liberate the entirety of Libya.



Nato should be patient and not pursue the infrastructure option because there is a lot of strong reasons to believe that in all likelihood Libya won't turn into a conflict where anti-Gadhafi forces have to conduct a long bloody siege to control Tripoli and other presently Gadhafi controlled Libyan cities and oust Gadhafi. First, anti-Gadhafi forces are becoming better fighters they are well on their way to having the makings of an army that can liberate all of LIbya. The anti-Gadhafi forces fought really well in Misrata, they made offensives, they didn't collapse when faced with resistance, they were able to coordinate with Nato air power successfully bringing about bombings on Gadhafis forces. If these anti-Gadhafi forces got some additional tanks, artillery and other modest conventional weapons and training, there is a good chance they could take the entire country from Gadhafi. Secondly, Moammar Gadhafi no longer has the image, reputation to lead the Libyan people, he has established he isn't a patriotic Libyan, he shoots protestors, indiscriminately bombs civilian inhabited communities, uses snipers to kill Libyan civilians he'll never be able to garnish widespread Libyan public support, he is through on that account and also because he is mentally unstable! Thirdly, with the world embargo on Libya and the consequences of the war, ordinary Libyans in Gadhafi controlled Libya are incurring real hardship and it will begin to take its toll on their support or acquiescence with Moammar and his government and this toll will cause an undermining of support for and within the Gadhafi government and spur rebellion in these areas.



Nato should be patient about Libya. Why doesn't Nato through the anti-Gadhafi forces offer cash rewards to Gadhafi soldiers that defect, increase the pressure on Gadhafi that way. Why doesn't Nato use this time to help the anti-Gadhafi Libyans establish a democratically elected government. Suggest to the rebel national transition council that they hold popular parliamentary elections elections on the nine months anniversary of the uprising in eastern Libya (from Tobruk to Ajdabiya) and Misrata and any other Libyan city that is liberated by then have the elected parliament elect a prime minister and ministry heads and draft a constitution - Nato could volunteer to help pay for the elections. Nato could offer to help this elected government get up and running. This move by Nato would give the anti-Gadhafi government respect and stature offering hope and inspiration to all Libyans to reject Moammar Gadhafi and his police state and chose democracy and freedom!

 

[waltky]

Aftermath of Gaddafi - misery in Misrata...

Psychological scars of war take toll in Misrata
12 December 2012 - Everyone in Misrata knows someone who was killed or injured in the fighting

The Libyan city of Misrata, scene of the bloodiest fighting during the revolution that toppled Colonel Gaddafi last year, is facing an acute crisis of psychiatric care for former fighters traumatised by the conflict and frustrated by the aftermath. The battle of Misrata became known as Libya's Stalingrad. In the three months the city was under siege, Misratans say 2,000 died and 14,000 were wounded. Many young men are now struggling to cope with the psychological fallout, and doctors say there is a desperate shortage of qualified mental healthcare practitioners to treat them.

Mental illness is traditionally a taboo subject in much of the Arab world, and in the highly conservative city of Misrata conventional attitudes prevent many young men coming forward to seek the help they need. But a high number of them are thought to be suffering from problems including psychosis, acute depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Some who have lived through the fighting also share a deep sense of depression and disillusionment at the lack of change they feel in the post-Gaddafi Libya.

Dr Khaled al Madani, head of the psychology department of Misrata University, has been trying to establish proper mental healthcare services in the city for more than a year. He says at present there is only one part-time psychiatrist from Tripoli available to hold a regular but limited clinic in Misrata. In a recent sample he conducted, among 200 local people who had lost their homes during the fighting, 17% were discovered to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. "This concept is new in Libya, but we now have a high number of people who are suffering from this high level of PTSD," he says.

At the Al Wazrak Medical Centre in Misrata one former fighter has come to see Dr Isa Asalini, the sole psychiatrist, who has just arrived from Tripoli. The fighter, Ahmed (not his real name), who was studying at law college with a part-time job before the revolution, is suffering from acute depression. This is the first time he has been to discuss his condition with a doctor. He has hollowed-out and listless eyes and conveys an overwhelming sense of despair. "I lost many friends during the fighting," he says. "Many guys died. Many lost body parts, became amputees, or lost their sight."

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