Kadafi's Saddam-Like Scortched Earth Policy

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 9, 2011
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           Showing uncanny parallels with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, 68-year-old Moammar Kadafi sent the West a shot across the bow, igniting an oil well in central Libya.  With President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron discussing military options, Kadafi has resorted to genocide against anti-regime protestors, now battling to keep territory seized in Eastern Libya.  Kadafi’s forces successfully recaptured the Mediterranean port city of Zawiya, neutralizing what looked like rebels’ inevitable march toward Tripoli.  Kadafi knows he has a brief window to retake control of the country with superior ground forces and air power before the U.S. and its allies finally intervene militarily.  Battling for control of Ras Lanouf, Kadafi’s forces bombed the Sidr oil storage facility some 360 miles from Tripoli, hinting that he’ll apply a deadly scorched earth policy

            When he told the media he would “fight to the last drop of blood,” Kadafi warned rebels and the West that he wouldn’t roll over like Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak.  After fleecing Egypt for 30 years to become one of the world’s richest men, Mubarak bailed out Feb. 11 with all his marbles.  Kadafi won’t go quietly requiring a focused but forceful response by Western powers.  Libya’s rebels are taking a beating from Kadafi’s forces requiring immediate help from Western powers.  Kadafi sent Maj. Gen Abdul-Rahman bin Ali aliSaid al-Zawi, head of Libya’s logistics and supply authority, to Cairo to meet with Egypt’s military officials to ask for help.  Taking to the airwaves on Turkish television, Kadafi blamed the uprising in Libya on al-Qaeda, vowing to defend Libya’s sovereignty.  Kadafi denies that the Libyan revolt is a homegrown uprising due to his failed leadership.

            Libyan rebels, while denying they want any foreign troops on Libyan soil, have begged the West for air support to begin their push toward Tripoli.  Kadafi’s forces are dangerously close to the western port of Ras Lanouf, making an all out push before the West finally offers military support.  U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates warned against military intervention without a highly focused mission with strong international backing.  Britain and France have pushed the U.S. to help enforce a no-fly zone that would invariably involve bombing Kadafi’s military assets, especially hit air force and army installations.  “Such a situation would be useful,” said Kadafi, threatening Western powers with a national backlash should they try to enforce a no-fly zone.  Kadafi told Turkish TV that the real aim of Western powers was to steal Libya’s vast oil wealth, not toppling his regime.

            Kadafi’s paranoid message resonates with the Arab street that tends to view the West from North Africa’s long history of colonialism.  Showing that he’s still skillful at propaganda, Kadafi framed the message to Libya and Arab countries.  “The Libyan people would understand their real aim to take Libya under their control, to take their freedoms and to take their oil and all Libyan people will take up arms and fight,” Kadafi told TRT Turk television.  Either blaming the uprising on al-Qaeda or on the West’s attempt to plunder Libya’s oil, Kadafi hoped to shift the revolt to defending Libya against a new wave of colonialism.  Blaming the insurgency on al-Qaeda operatives from Algeria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt and the Palestinians territories, Kadafi showed his dizzying mixture of Islamic nationalism, with his disdain for anything that would interfere with his power.

            With time running out, Obama and Cameron must get off the fence and help Libyan rebels topple Kadafi before it’s too late.  Since coming to power Sept. 1, 1969, the eccentric leader, once a kindred spirit of Egypt’s Gamal Abdel Nassar’s pan-Arabism, has been associated with terrorism and subversion in Africa and Europe.  Two years after the late President Ronald Reagan bombed Libya for bombing of a Berlin nightclub Aug. 14, 1986 targeting U.S. servicemen, Kadafi struck back Dec. 21, 1988 blowing up Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 270 crew and passengers.  Like Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, the world is better off without Kadafi.  Helping Libyan rebels topple his regime is a noble mission for the U.S. and its allies.  Letting Kadafi stay in power would invite a bloodbath inside Libya and have disastrous consequences for global oil prices and the world economy. 

            Kadafi’s propaganda machine wants to blame his country’s uprising on al-Qaeda sponsored extremism or the West’s attempt to re-colonialize Libya.  “If al-Qaeda seizes Libya, that will amount to a huge disaster,” said Kadafi.  “If they (al-Qaeda fighters) take this place over, the whole region, including Israel, will be dragged into chaos.  Then (al-Qaeda leader Osama) Bin Laden may seize all of North Africa that faces Europe,” making his strongest plea to the West to leave him in power.  Kadafi isn’t sure of which propaganda message resonates his beleaguered people..  He’s seeking any angle to prevent the West from intervening militarily.  Libyan rebels need urgent air support to help open the highway to Tripoli.  Before Kadafi burns down Libya’s oil infrastructure, Obama and Cameron must act decisively. Gone are the days when terrorists can stay on the world stage.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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