Libya Time Zero

0BFrom the “El Dorado Canyon” to the

“Odyssey Dawn” operation
Dimitris Korgianitis

SUMMARY
May 2011
 Libya Time Zero

From the “El Dorado Canyon” to the “Odyssey Dawn” operation

SUMMARY
WHAT ARE WE TO DO WITH OUR LIVES?,
H. G. Wells, 1931, σελ. 14

«But unlike conspiracies in general this widening protest

and conspiracy against established things would, by its very nature,
go on in the daylight, and it would be willing to accept participation
and help from every quarter. It would, in fact, become an "Open
Conspiracy," a necessary, naturally evolved conspiracy, to adjust our
dislocated world. »

The “Arab Spring” and subsequent upraises where put in to a line of thought just like the
trees of the same forest being consumed one after the other by the flames of the same fire.
Even though some of this concept holds to be true the whole approach is rather a crude
simplification. Libyans are not a likely poor population as their neighbors in Egypt and
Tunisia. Whatever the CIA’s Factbook says – 1/3rd under the poverty line (2 dollars per day) –
as I have clearly documented is absolutely groundless. The biggest problem of that country
turns to be the unemployment and the housing issue as a result of the huge demographic
growth (3,3% per year – 30% is 15 years old) and not food, education or healthcare which
even not in a top quality are subsided by the state. To be sure, less than one month before
the “Abou Salim’s” protest of the 15/2 there were a widespread unrest lasting at least five
days, when people in several towns invaded thousands new apartments while many of them
without having any legitimate contract. As Libya escaped the double embargo of the UN and
the USA exploded by the low oil prices, after fifteen years of economic frustration the
regime had to cope with the necessity of the neglected country’s infrastructure and
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economic diversification. In Benghazi the housing problem was related to 1,400 unfinished
new apartments. But this turmoil did not lead to a final uprising even though this problem
could said to be a socially hot one albeit effectively caused a “state of emergency” in the
town Benghazi which is notorious as an opposition center in the past and present. The
revolution eventually started not by this pressing trans – tribal issue but centered on the
protests of the relatives of the Abou – Salim prison’s victims and their lawyers. These first
demonstrations and the subsequent not lethal clashes with the security forces are reported
to “take place late night or early morning” so that Libyan people woke up on breaking news
at the “Day of Rage” when the killings of innocent civilians took place. This day was
appointed by the National Conference for the Libyan Opposition (NCLO) which was founded
at London on 2006, a union of rather fractioned opposition groups as in a previous
conference that hold in the Washington Center of International Studies back in 1994 the
only common agreement reached was that “if we topple Kaddafi we have succeed”. The
“Day of Rage” functioned as a memorial of the 17/2/2006 when in Benghazi 12 people were
killed by the security forces while the angry mob put fire on the Italian Embassy
demonstrating not for civil rights but against the infamous drawings of the prophet
Mohamed that an Italian politician used on his Ti-shirt on a TV presence. It was by that
insulted Islamic feelings that people turned against the regime and not by the tradition of
some French Revolution or the flag of the rule of law.
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These three elementary forces, namely the relatives, the lawyers and the exiled opposition
groups are the social backbone of the revolution along with the numerous youth of Benghazi
as the UN authorities felt necessary to inform rebels that conscription of fifteen years old
boys in the army consists a crime according to the International Law. In this coalition from
the beginning took posts defecting important members of the regime now heading to bring
democracy along with some exiles all educated in the USA, while in the leadership of the
“Ministry of Defense” hooked someone that in the past was backed by the CIA and came all
over Virginia where he was living some decades “without apparent financial resources”.

In the following table we can see the major facts that took place from the first protests of
the 15/2 which in the graph is the day “0” to the rebels’ rejection of the “road map”
proposed by the African Union on 10/3 (day 54th). As you can see English Special Forces (SAS)
where in situ by the 6th day after the “Day of Rage” while CIA involved two days later. While
the Media’s favorite picture is that nobody likes Kaddafi, a claim framed by the defectors’
stats, it is more than obvious that if this was at least a bit of truth Kaddafi wouldn’t manage
to resist 63 days as we speak against the overwhelming bombing campaign without any
support from his own people. Having said that I conclude that the “democratic revolution”
carried by people which for the second time took the opportunity to brutalize unprotected
black immigrants may not inspire the whole Libyan population. Even more, I doubt that the
National Transitional Council the temporary government of the rebellion will be able to
govern peacefully even the East part of the country as soon as the de facto “martial law” of

the present war reaches to an end. To this end the maximization of the possibilities point to
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the death of Kaddafi himself and a subsequent prosecution of Saif al Islam along with other
members that in conjunction with a suitable new “democratic media campaign” could finally
disparage the dignity of the long – lived regime. It seems that this is the real objective of first
the UN and now NATO intervention, as something that can be read between the lines of the
Responsibility to Protect mandate. Lastly, judging from the Iraqi and Afghanistan State
building projects where the war game hasn’t over yet along with the Balkan’s newly formed
democracies that look like a criminal heaven I doubt that the Libyan fairytale will have any
better end. In the future of course the Libyan people could finally enjoy in some way the
famous freedom of speech but I doubt that they will have anything to say.