Ibrahim explores the cause of the crisis in Libya; painting a picture of the basis for the “anti-blackness” that has taken root in the country and connecting it to the broader devastation left in the wake of NATO 

This month marks the eighth anniversary of the uprising that culminated in the imperialist assault on Libya by North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces and the killing eight months later of long-time leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

“Because it bothers me, and I couldn’t sleep.  And I kept thinking about it…” –Lieutenant Columbo, police detective

This is an introduction to a new book The Dialectic & the Detective: The Arab Spring and Regime Change in Libya Julian Samboma. The book is not an ode to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, nor is it a lament for his passing.  Despite his anti-imperialist trappings, Gaddafi was a self-serving dictator.  He called himself a socialist, but stifled the self-activity of his people.  He called himself a Pan-Africanist, but was a racist.  

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy detained for questioning over Gaddafi loan, reminding us of another reason imperialism wanted the Libyan leader assassinated. 

The renewed bombing of Libya signals the escalation of war against the peoples of the Global South and those oppressed nations and communities within the imperialist states themselves whether in Europe or North America. To counter these provocations an international anti-imperialist movement must be built.

Half a decade after the United States led destabilization and bombing of Libya, the attempts by imperialism to establish a stable neo-colonial dominated regime have not materialized.

Reports abound of foreign troops’ presence and plans for major Western deployment motivated by the instability, and the threat of terrorism and to take decisive military action to check ISIL’s expansion.

In the midst of an economic crisis, embattled militia, persecuted citizens and fleeing refugees, the world can only watch as Libya disintegrates further. Can this battered and bruised country be saved?

The EU’s new policy is to let as many refugees as possible drown in the Mediterranean to deter others from attempting similar voyages. Yet these refugees are often fleeing from wars and miseries created by the West and its allies.

There are no consequences for the woman who could be the next leader of the “free world” for the deadly chaos she is responsible for in Libya. It is all part of America’s doctrine of humanitarian anarchy.

The “revolutionary” lynching and sodomization of Gaddafi amidst manic chants of “Allahu Akbar”, lauded by many at the time as some sort of a warped triumph of the good of popular will over the evil of dictatorship, was nothing but a gory precursor for the future of the country and the region.

Another multinational military deployment in Libya is being suggested, following the spread of ISIS violence to parts of that country. But the world must not be railroaded into another UN-supported deployment of troops to back Western military and economic interests in Libya. There should be clear opposition to proxy wars in Libya and for the UN to expose and expel Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia from their mischief-making in Libya.

Led by Western self-interest, NATO embarked on a massive military intervention in Libya in 2011 that leaves many lessons for the Global South. Above all stands the lesson that Western military intervention cannot bring about the desired change, but rather creates failed states.

Libya is still in turmoil. The present situation is the direct result of the war of regime-change led by the CIA, the Pentagon and NATO during 2011. U.S. policy is designed to overthrow all of the sovereign and anti-imperialist governments throughout Africa and the Middle East.

NATO claimed that its intervention in Libya was a historic success. But three years later, Libya is in complete chaos. Some 1700 militias have a combined total of 250,000 men under arms. Another external intervention seems necessary to stabilize the country. But the US and NATO must never be involved

As the U.S. tightens its military grip on Africa, “it is absolutely imperative that we embark on a massive educational campaign with our folks that will expose the real intentions of the U.S. on the continent and worldwide.” There is nothing “humanitarian” about U.S. intentions. “The plan for Africa is being written in the blood of the people in Iraq, Syria and Libya.”

There is almost universal confusion, even ignorance, over the true nature of the NATO intervention in Libya two years ago, carried out in the name of protecting the people against their own government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

Welcome to the new Libya, a country ‘liberated’ by NATO which now finds itself without the oil revenues which could make it rich, with no security, no stability and assassinations and corruption at unprecendented levels

The extramarital affair cited for the resignation of CIA chief Gen Petraeus is insignificant by far compared to his belonging to a section of US military and intelligence elite pursuing a complex right-wing global agenda.

Libya's former prime minister will be put on trial for crimes he allegedly committed during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi was extradited from Tunisia, which he fled to in September 2011 after the fall of Tripoli to rebel forces. Along with Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's most prominent son, Mahmoudi is one of the few remaining keepers of the many state secrets under Gaddafi, who was killed on October 20 last year.