Libya, once the fly in good ol’ Ronny Raygun’s ointment, is at it again. This time around, though, the people of Libya are trying to get rid of Muammar Gaddafi rather than a covert airstrike on a mansion. But by judging from the world news headlines, the conflict is swiftly turning into civil war.
Usually I would be in favor of avoiding another U.S.-led military conflict, even though I served in Iraq as a Marine, but it’s time for the U.S., and specifically the Marine Corps, to intervene and help the people who want to govern their own country by providing much-needed air support and firepower.
Some people won’t agree with this idea, but something must be done. When groups of citizens rise up to take control of their country and are met with airstrikes, the gravity of the situation begs for outside aid. And the best military aid that I can see the U.S. giving to the Libyan people is by sending in the Marines.
The Marine Corps has a history with Libya. In the First Barbary War, eight Marines and about 500 mercenaries led by Lieutenant Presley O’Bannon took the city of Derna and won the United States’ first foreign land battle.
This time around, the Corps would be instrumental in helping the Libyan people take their country out of the hands of an autocrat whose time, according to the Libyan people, has come to an end.
I also realize that by engaging a part of the U.S. military in the Libyan conflict would open another front in the Middle East and strain our combat forces even more, but if the situation delves into outright civil war, something will have to be done by an outside force and odds are that the U.S. will either volunteer to lead the way or will be put into a bind diplomatically that will virtually compel us to intervene in some manner.
Taking a more humanitarian approach would be ideal; however, Libya’s civil unrest isn’t the same brand as the one the world saw in Egypt. The humanitarian aid that the United States and the U.N. would provide would have to come in after the armed combat ended to ensure the aid workers could do their jobs without having to dodge bullets at the same time.
The notion that freedom can be attained through nonviolence only applies when the regime that is being overthrown has the sense to see that the status quo will no longer do and does right by the people by leaving without having to fire a round. Egypt successfully ousted former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak because of a different military culture. The Egyptian military would not fire upon civilian protesters.
However, Gaddafi’s allies have shown that restraint is not on the table in Libya. Therefore, if the Libyans are to have any chance of toppling Gaddafi’s regime, the Libyans need the resources to level the field.
The Marines are the leveler that the Libyans need to secure their future free from tyranny.
Comments, concerns, complaints and nasty-grams can be sent to Tyler at tjones16@asu.edu
