Libya: What I Know from Reading too Many CNN Articles

UPDATE: GOOD CHANCE TRIPOLI (& GADDAFI) MAY FALL TODAY. (bbc)

What's going on?

I've already explained the situation many times this way, so just go with it. 

Col. Gaddafi is the leader of Libya.  Think of him as Darth Vader, ruling The Empire (Libya) very strictly.  The country's military is loyal first to him, but. . . many units are defecting to join The Rebellion. 

The Rebellion began around Feb 16.  "Protests of any kind are prohibited in Libya but the latest unrest was triggered by the arrest of a lawyer who is an outspoken critic of the government." (BBC.com).  Soon, the peaceful protests were broken up with severe violence.  Eventually, the people began to take control of major cities and increasingly called for Gaddafi to quit.

Now, the Rebellion has gained control of the majority of the country, most of the east.  However, Gaddafi has begun to use his troops to severely retaliate against the rebels.  In a recent article, a bomber crashed outside a major city because the pilots bailed out.  Their orders? Bomb the major civialian city of Benghazi (670,000 people).  (read CNN article on this).  Also, there was a report of Gaddafi ordering four warships to fire artillery on these same eastern cities. Bad stuff.

So, if it wasn't clear before, Col. Gaddafi will do anything, including murdering civilians, to stay in power.

But, from the looks of things, the 'rebels' are almost in control of Libya.  The final battle will be for Tripoli, the home of Gaddafi and the military.  Meanwhile, the control of the rebels is moving from east to west, towards Tripoli.  Check out this map:

(http://ericyoungonline.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/libya-map-control-of-key-cities-feb-24.jpg?w=664&h=300)

Why should we care?
1. Injustice.

The people in Libya are being massacred. Many reports come in each day about the military firing on civilians and peaceful protesters using snipers, strafing planes, bombers, warships. It is the final flailings of a ruler trying to stay in power against his entire nation.

2. Oil.
The United States does not get oil from Libya.  However, a majority of Europe's oil (85%) does come from there. If they are not able to get oil, we will both be competing for the same supply and voila, prices go up.  Fixed supply, higher demand = higher prices.  That's why gas is currently $3.20 in Dallas.

The worst-case scenario for the US is if these same protests begin in Saudi Arabia. That is who we pay to get our oil-addiction fix.  At this time, things seem to be going well there.  But, it is definitely worth keeping an eye on them. 

3. Protests: Good or Bad for the Middle East?   
I have seen two general views on the spreading protests: The Optimists and Pessimists.

The Optimists believe that these revolutions will put strict, Islamic authoritarian leaders out of power and usher in democracies.  This would be a great thing, giving more rights, freedoms and power to the people.

But, the other side believes these protests could actually make things worse.  In more unstable countries (Libya), the old leaders could be switched out for even more radical leaders.  This could lead to more wars, between countries and with Israel.  I can't find the link for this article, but I thought it was a good point.

For now, we can only hope and pray that the rest of these protests will stay peaceful and that demands will be met without violence.  Other potential conflicts are currently going on in: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Algeria, Morrocco, Bahrain, Jordan, Iraq, China (!).

So, there it is. I'm glad my addiction to CNN & BBC could be of use!