Gaddafi's Forces Crumble as Rebels Rejoice




Libyan rebels celebrate; note the knife in the celebrant's right hand. 

Obama's war might be drawing to a close...but the most important issue is what the "rebels" create in the aftermath.  Anarchy may reign as Libya falls into pieces.  The level of control by forces sympathetic to radical Islam is unknown.

 

Rebels Sweep into Tripoli as Gaddafi Forces Crumble -Missy Ryan

Jubilant rebel fighters swept into the heart of Tripoli as Muammar Gaddafi's forces collapsed and crowds took to the streets to celebrate what they saw as the rapidly approaching end of his four decades of absolute power. Two of Gaddafi's sons were captured by the rebels, but the whereabouts of Gaddafi himself were unknown.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Gaddafi's rule was showing signs of collapse and called on him to quit now to avoid further bloodshed.
(Reuters)
*

The Dictator Has Fallen! Long Live [Fill in the Blank] -Barry Rubin

As NATO jets bombed the military positions of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the watching rebels cheered, “Allah Akhbar!”

Now that is a common Muslim expression, not just used by Islamists, and yet there is something symbolic about it. Allah did not bring the rebels victory, the United States and Europe did. Nevertheless, Allah will get the credit. And that means the triumph will be attributed to the rebels’ piety rather than the West’s warplanes.

In political terms, Islamism is likely to be more attractive than a pro-Western stance. But that doesn’t mean Libya will be an Islamist state; it merely means it won’t be a democratic, pro-Western one. Of course, the key factor here is that nobody, including the Libyans, knows what’s going to happen there.

[T]he prospects for violence and internal disorder are tremendous.
[Pajamas Media]
*

Libyan Blues -Daniel Pipes, PhD

Many are ready to party about the political demise of Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi. I am not partying. Here's why not.

The NATO intervention in March 2011 was done without due diligence as to who it is in Benghazi that it was helping. To this day, their identity is a mystery. Chances are good that Islamist forces are hiding behind more benign elements, waiting for the right moment to pounce, as roughly happened in Iran in 1978-79, when Islamists did not make clear their strength nor their program until the shah was well disposed of. Should that be the case in Libya today, then the miserable Qaddafi will prove to be better than his successors for both the Libyan subjects of tyranny and the West.

I hope I am wrong and the rebels are modern and liberal. But I fear that a dead-end despotism will be replaced by the agents of a worldwide ideological movement.
 
I fear that Western forces will have brought civilization's worst enemies to power.
[National Review Online]
*