After the fall of Tripoli: The way forward for the Libyan Revolution

US and EU vultures – LatuffOn
Friday opposition forces captured Zlitan, 80 miles east of the capital.
Tripoli was being caught in a pincer movement, with the eastern and
western prongs of the rebels advancing from Zlitan and Zawiya moving to
cut Tripoli off from the rest of Libya. The fall of Zawiya was a mortal
blow, depriving the capital of access to oil supplies. This probably was
the decisive moment that completely undermined the morale of Gaddafi’s
men. Only a complete collapse of morale can explain the apparent absence
of resistance in the last stages and the comparative ease with which
the rebels entered the centre of Tripoli.

As recently as yesterday
morning, the Gaddafi administration had insisted it would fight on to
the end. Colonel Gaddafi’s oldest son, Saif-Al Islam, in a televised
speech promised he would never raise the “white flag” over Tripoli.
Then, in what was clearly a sign of desperation, Muammar Gaddafi’s
government declared its readiness to engage in immediate negotiations
with the rebels. When one is on the point of being defeated militarily,
it is customary to ask for immediate negotiations – though there was
really nothing left to negotiate.

Colonel Gaddafi himself
announced his willingness to negotiate directly with the head of the
rebel National Transitional Council, spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said.
Coming after weeks and months of boastful talk about fighting to the
death in the streets of Tripoli, this was rich with irony. Even more
ironic, it seems that the government had asked NATO to convince the
rebel forces to halt an attack on Tripoli, according to a spokesman on
state television last night.

Replying to this offer, the head of
the transitional council hastily announced that the rebel fighters would
halt their offensive if Col Gaddafi announced his departure. Mustapha
Abd El Jalil added that the rebel forces would give Col Gaddafi and his
sons safe passage out of the country. This is yet another proof that the
leaders of the Transitional Council have been trying all along to
stitch up an unprincipled compromise with the old regime.

However,
these sentiments were clearly not shared by the rebel forces that have
been fighting for months to overthrow Gaddafi. Ignoring the wheeling and
dealing of their “leaders”, they pressed on with their offensive,
brushing aside the ineffectual resistance of what was left of Gaddafi’s
army. To the west of Tripoli, the rebels overran the depot of the elite
32nd brigade, commanded by Col Gaddafi’s son, Khamis. And late last
night the rebel forces had taken over several suburbs, hoisting their
tricolour on public buildings.

With breathtaking speed the rebels
advanced right into the heart of the city, apparently without any major
resistance from troops loyal to Col Gaddafi. As the rebels moved into
the capital, its defenders simply melted away. In a question of hours,
the rebels announced that they had taken over the entire capital, with
the exception of Gaddafi’s stronghold.

Gaddafi’s delusions

Moammar
Gaddafi gestures to his supporters in Tripoli before making a speech
(March 2nd, 2011) – Photo: Reuters/Ahmed Jadallah (Creative Commons)The
absence of any serious resistance, when the government had promised to
fight for every street, is an eloquent confirmation of the lack of any
firm support for the crumbling regime. Instead of bloody street battles,
the TV pictures showed large numbers of people coming onto the streets
of Tripoli to greet the rebels. A rebel leader said the unit in charge
of protecting Gaddafi and Tripoli had surrendered and joined the revolt,
allowing the opposition force to move in freely.

Reuters reported
that Gaddafi’s son and heir apparent Saif al-Islam has been arrested.
It seems that Muhammad Gaddafi, his eldest son, turned himself in to
rebel forces in Tripoli, according to a report by the rebel government.
This cowardly surrender is in blatant contrast to the earlier fighting
talk and promises to fight to the death. It suggest complete
demoralisation in the ruling clique.

Of Gaddafi himself there is
no news. In the latest audio broadcast, he acknowledged that the
opposition forces were moving into Tripoli and warned the city would be
turned into another Baghdad. "How come you allow Tripoli the capital, to
be under occupation once again?" he said. "The traitors are paving the
way for the occupation forces to be deployed in Tripoli."

The
colonel insisted he would not be leaving the capital and that he would
defeat enemy forces. He called on his supporters to march in the streets
of the capital and "purify it" from "the rats." These words show that
the old man is made of stronger stuff than his pampered playboy sons. In
his mind he may be planning some kind of counterattack. But his speech
reminded one of the desperate letters sent by Tsar Nicholas to his
generals in February 1917. Like him, Gaddafi was moving phantom armies
that have ceased to exist except in his imagination.

The chance of
a last-minute comeback seems remote. Although Gaddafi has often sprung
many surprises, it is hard to see what cards he still holds in his
hands. One possibility is that he may try to regroup in the areas where
he has support among certain tribes and launch a guerrilla war. But even
if he still has some troops willing to obey his orders, as the hours
pass and the rebel hold on Tripoli tightens, such a possibility seems
increasingly remote. The scenes of masses of people celebrating victory
in Green Square last night told its own story. This is the place where
Gaddafi supporters have gathered nightly throughout the uprising to
rally support for their leader. The symbolic import of these scenes is
self evident.

The Libyan leader is not a stupid man, but he has
long been surrounded by a camarilla of yes-men who never contradict him
and reinforce his sense of omnipotence and invulnerability. It is
obvious from his words and actions that Gaddafi has been living in a
delusional world for some time. His speeches bore the same air of
unreality as those of Hosni Mubarak in the last days of his regime.

Lord
Acton said: power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.
It is a well documented fact of history that absolute monarchs and
dictators in the end succumb to a form of madness. When somebody comes
to believe that they are all powerful, the line between what is real and
what is fantasy becomes blurred.

Imperialist cynicism

Libya
is the only case where the imperialists have been able to intervene
directly in the events that have swept the Arab world in the last eight
months. The experience of their attempts to intervene in Iran in 1979-80
taught the Americans that it is not a good idea to intervene militarily
in a revolution.

Even when they decided to intervene in Libya,
they were divided. The Americans were hesitant, especially the generals
who have been taught a few painful lessons in Iraq and Afghanistan. It
was the French and British who, for their own reasons, were most
belligerent. However, recently they too have been expressing serious
doubts about their involvement in Libya. Their treasuries are empty,
their armies are overstretched and their citizens are not enthusiastic
about foreign military adventures.

In order to justify their
Libyan adventure, they used the excuse of “preventing civilian
casualties”. On the basis of this excuse they got the UN Security
Council to vote for military action. This limited aim was merely a fig
leaf to disguise the real aim of the NATO powers – to overthrow Gaddafi.
The British and French imagined that it would be sufficient to drop a
few bombs and Gaddafi would surrender. They were mistaken.

It is
unnecessary to point out that the intervention of NATO caused many more
civilian deaths. Its spokesperson (a woman, of course!) boasted last
night that NATO planes had attacked over 4,000 targets since it began
operations a few months ago. These targets were not only military, but
included civilian areas. They killed not only civilians but also rebel
fighters. The repeated incidents of NATO planes bombing rebel positions
exposes the hollowness of all the propaganda about “smart bombs”, which
supposedly guarantee that there will be no civilian casualties.

The
imperialist bombing campaign was relentless and brutal. They attempted
to kill Gaddafi and members of his family and entourage. This went far
beyond the stated aims of the campaign. Despite the angry protests of
the Russians, the spokespersons in Washington, London and Paris made no
secret that their aim was regime change in Tripoli. These actions at
once expose the cynicism of the imperialists and the reactionary role of
the so-called United Nations, which provides a respectable cover for
the bandits to carry out their dirty work everywhere.

It is clear
that the intervention of NATO played a key role in destroying Gaddafi’s
military capability through merciless aerial bombardment. NATO has been
covering the rebel advance with air strikes on Tripoli, reporting the
destruction of 36 targets over the weekend. Gaddafi’s spokesman Moussa
Ibrahim claimed that 1,300 people had been killed in fighting in Tripoli
yesterday. Without this air cover the task of the rebels would have
been more difficult. However, it is not the case that NATO won the war.
The war was fought and won by the rebel fighters on the ground. This is
an important fact and one that will determine what happens in the next
stages.

In fact, the NATO campaign served to underline the
limitations of air power alone. Months after the bombing began there was
no sign of a decisive military victory. The leaders in Paris and London
feared that the Libyan conflict might drag on inconclusively for years.
The history of wars shows that it is impossible to win a war by air
power alone. Ultimately, wars are won by troops on the ground. But after
Iraq and Afghanistan, the last thing they wanted was to be dragged into
a war on the ground in Libya. They were therefore greatly relieved (as
well as surprised) by the news that the rebels had entered Tripoli.

President
Obama said the Gaddafi regime had reached a "tipping point". The
British government said the end was near for the Libyan leader, and
urged him to go. But the rejoicing of the imperialists is mixed with a
feeling of anxiety. The victory was won by the rebels on the ground,
whose real aims and intentions are unclear. They are armed and will now
be feeling very confident. This scenario is a minefield for the
imperialists, who are already expressing concern about a “power vacuum”
after the fall of Gaddafi.

In war it frequently happens that
allied armies fight against a common enemy for entirely different
reasons. In the American War of Independence in the 18^th
century, monarchical France fought with the American rebels against the
forces of the British Crown. The military intervention of France
undoubtedly helped the American colonists to obtain victory. But the war
aims of France had nothing in common with those of the American rebels.

The
French were engaged in a power struggle with England for control of
colonies – including in the New World. If, instead of rule from London,
the American colonists had ended up with rule from Versailles, they
would have been even worse off than before. Fortunately, the
international balance of forces – and the French Revolution – prevented
that from happening.

Our attitude to war

Our attitude to
war is dictated not by sentimental reasons (false “humanitarianism”,
“democracy” etc., etc.) but by the question of what interests are behind
war in every given case. In this case, both the imperialists and the
rebels desired the overthrow of Gaddafi. But they did so for reasons
that were not only different but entirely contradictory.

The
imperialists wanted to get rid of Gaddafi because he was too independent
and not willing to do what they desired in all circumstances. They
wanted (and still want) to replace him with a more pliant and obedient
stooge. Above all, they want to get their hands on Libya’s rich oil
supplies. Greed, not humanitarianism, is their real motive.

The
uprising against Gaddafi that began in Benghazi presented them with an
opportunity that was too good to miss. They pretended to sympathise with
the revolutionary people, just as the King of France pretended to
sympathise with the American colonial rebels. But their sympathy, like
that of the Bourbons, was never genuine. They fear the Arab Revolution
like the plague and will do everything in their power to destroy it.

As
long as the war continued, these contradictions were largely submerged.
Some misguided elements in the ranks of the rebels even asked NATO to
step up its intervention. Such illusions in the good will of the
imperialists are not only mistaken; they are extremely dangerous. The
imperialists are following their own agenda, which does not include
victory for the revolutionary people in Libya or anywhere else.

The
moment the fighting ends, these contradictions will come to the fore.
In fact, they were already evident even during the fighting. It is no
accident that NATO refused to arm the rebels. Had they been properly
armed and equipped, the rebels could have taken Tripoli months ago. But
they were armed only with small arms that were no match for Gaddafi’s
tanks and heavy artillery.

That was one reason for the slowness of
the rebel advance, which was repeatedly thrown back by Gaddafi’s troops
who were properly armed and equipped. But it was not the only reason.
The self-appointed and unelected Transitional Council that has installed
itself in Benghazi, and presumes to speak in the name of the
Revolution, although nobody has ever given it the right to do so, has
all along been striving for a deal with Gaddafi and putting the brakes
on the Revolution. That is hardly surprising since it contains a
significant number of former Gaddafi supporters in its ranks. The rebel
victories were won, not thanks to this body but in spite of it.

What now?

For
more than 40 years, Gaddafi ruled Libya with an iron hand. Now that
hold has been shattered. The big question now is: what comes next? This
victory has been hard won by the blood and sacrifice of the
revolutionary people, especially of the youth. Nobody knows how many
have been killed in the bloody six months civil war, but the numbers
will certainly be in the tens of thousands. There may well be a desire
for revenge on the part of the rebels, although the talk now is of
national reconciliation and unity.

This is a dangerous moment for
the Libyan Revolution. Even as people dance and cheer on the streets,
dark clouds are gathering. What has been won by blood can be easily
signed away in ink. The fruits of victory can be stolen from the people
who won them in struggle.

Behind the scenes, the merchants are
haggling, the lawyers are cheating, the politicians are manoeuvring.
These people did not do the fighting and dying, but they will now
swiftly step forward to occupy the centre stage.

The careerists
and opportunists – not a few of whom were loyal Gaddafi supporters until
recently, will elbow aside those revolutionary youths who left Benghazi
in battered old cars, armed with little more than revolutionary
fervour, to confront Gaddafi’s well-armed mercenaries. The latter will
find themselves marginalised in an unscrupulous scrable for power.

And
all the time, the imperialists will be circling like hungry vultures,
waiting to pick up the juicy morsels. “Look,” they will say: “we are
your friends. Remember how we helped you?” The Libyan people would do
well to keep well away from “friends” such as these!

All the
contradictions that were hidden in the course of the armed conflict will
now come to the surface. The war aims of the imperialists and their
stooges in the Transitional Council are incompatible with the objectives
of the revolutionary people. There will be an increasingly sharp
polarisation within the rebel camp.

As far as national
reconciliation is concerned, the interests of the Revolution will not be
served by pointless witch hunting of minor figures in the old regime.
But there can be no question of reconciliation with those who have
committed terrible crimes against the people. The Libyan people are the
only ones entitled to judge these criminals. They should not be handed
over to the so-called International Court of Justice, but publicly tried
by people’s revolutionary courts.

The International Criminal
Court in The Hague confirmed to NBC News that Saif al-Islam was in rebel
custody. In June the ICC issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son
Saif and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charges of
crimes against humanity after the U.N. Security Council referred the
Libyan situation to the court in February.

This is yet another
example of the hypocrisy and double standards of the imperialists. There
is no doubt that these men are tyrants whose hands are stained by the
blood of their people. But the same may be said of the Sultan of
Bahrain, who brutally suppressed the pro-democracy movement with the
active assistance of the Saudi hangmen. Where are the charges against
those gentlemen? And where are the charges against the Israeli ruling
class? Or, if it comes to that, against Tony Blair and George W Bush?
The imperialists are interested in “justice”, “democracy” and
“humanitarianism” only insofar as it serves their interests.

We
must oppose every attempt of the imperialists to interfere in the
affairs of the Libyan people. Let the Libyan people settle their own
problems without the interference of the imperialists gangsters! Any
illusions in the good intentions of the imperialists would be fatal to
the future of the Libyan Revolution.

The gangsters in Paris,
London and Washington were never interested in the problems of the
Libyan people. Their “humanitarianism” was a joke in very bad taste.
What they are interested in is to get their hands on Libyan oil. They
have their tentacles in the Transitional Council, which will be very
willing to sell off the wealth of Libya to their friends in NATO, as
long as they receive a suitable commission.

Our policy is: For the
complete independence and national unity of Libya! That is our first
demand. Halt the imperialist intervention! The Libyan people must be
free to decide its own affairs without any outside interference!

Secondly,
we demand full democracy now: for a Revolutionary Constituent Assembly
to draw up a new constitution based on the fullest democratic rights for
the people: the right to strike, demonstrate and organise, full freedom
of speech and assembly, and all other rights that will enable the
Libyan workers to organise and develop the class struggle to the fullest
extent.

Thirdly, there must be no trust whatever in the
Transitional Council. The Gaddafi regime was defeated by the armed
people, and power must be in the hands of the armed people, not usurped
by the careerists. Set up revolutionary committees in every town, city
and village, in every factory, school and college. The committees must
be linked up on a local, regional and national level. Only the
revolutionary committees can guarantee the convening of a genuinely
revolutionary and democratic Constituent Assembly.

It is natural
for the people to celebrate a victory. But it is dangerous to celebrate
too soon. The revolutionary people must be vigilant to defend what has
been won or else victory can slip through their fingers. The Libyan
Revolution is not yet over. Many trials and difficulties lie ahead.

If
the Revolution had a leadership that was worthy of it, it could be the
starting point for a general revival of the Arab Revolution, starting
with the Maghreb: it could provide a mighty impetus to the Revolution in
Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, and above all in Egypt. But the Egyptian
Revolution shows how easy it is, in the absence of adequate leadership,
for the Revolution to be sidetracked and hijacked by alien elements.

The
Libyan Revolution contains many contradictory elements, and it can go
in a number of different directions. Its main weakness, as in Tunisia
and Egypt, is the absence of the subjective factor: the revolutionary
party and leadership. That missing factor will make the Revolution more
complicated and drawn out, but the Revolution also has great strengths.

The
revolutionary people, and above all the youth, have shown tremendous
courage, strength and determination. We must base ourselves on these
things and fight to bring the Revolution to a successful conclusion.
That will only be possible when the workers and peasants take power into
their hands.

The Libyan people did not fight to remove one gang
of corrupt gangsters merely to replace them with another, even more
rapacious, gang. Workers and youth of Libya! You have shown your courage
and ability by your actions. Do not allow anyone to snatch victory from
your hands. Trust only yourselves, your own strength and your own
revolutionary organisations!

The overthrow of Gaddafi was only the first step. The real Libyan Revolution starts now.