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October 21, 2011

NADIA TOUMI, YATA germany , Bronze Contributor (20)

The killing of Muammar Qaddafi today puts an exclamation point on the Libyan revolution. Difficult challenges remain ahead for Libya. But with Qaddafi gone, his strange, formless, socialist-in-name-but-tyrannical-in-application form of government is gone as well.
In any country, new regimes build on the institutions of old ones even as they create their own. For Tunisia and Egypt (and maybe for Bahrain, Yemen, and other countries being hit by the wave of unrest that is sweeping the Arab world), the new governments must contend with armies, judicial systems, and even political parties that began their life under the old order. But in Libya, these institutions are difficult to understand and their possible legacies even more difficult to anticipate. One of the (many) peculiarities of the Leader, as the Libyan dictator styled himself, is that he established a political system as bizarre as he is," he wrote. "Should Qaddafi go, Libya’s political structure must be rebuilt from scratch. It is not just a case of putting in a new regime, but instead of creating a new system from top to bottom. However, civil wars, as Libya is now in, are not known for creating an environment for that sort of restructuring.
Before the start of Libya’s civil war, you could count the number of newspapers in the country on one hand and all were heavily controlled by the government. Now there are 120 independent newspapers in the city of Benghazi alone, according to local journalists.
These newspapers are mostly run and staffed by engineers, doctors and students, said International Media Support, one of several foreign organisations that is helping train journalists in Libya.

October 31, 2011

Jacqueline Espinal, New York University, (3)

It will definitely be very interesting to see Libya’s transition from Qaddafi’s Authoritarianism regime to a new democratic and Islamic system. In eight months, the people of Libya will elect a Prime Minister to govern their nation and let Islam play a greater role in public life.

However, the country faces many challenges as it rebuilds from decades of suppression and eight months of bloody civil war. The new government is confronted with many of Qaddafi’s supporters in several countries who might still try to infiltrate Libya’s borders and attack.

NATO presence should remain in Libya until a new leader takes power. The Arab nation’s current security and stability is highly daunting and without help, the country might just fall back to the atrocities undergone during Qaddafi’s dictatorship.

November 1, 2011

Jason Naselli, Atlantic Community, Editor

There HAVE been some overtones from the NTC that they would like NATO to stick around a while longer, but I don't know in what capacity that would be. Obviously, the only way NATO should stay is if they are welcome and invited, but what can they do now that doesn't involve troops on the ground (a non-starter for sure)?