3 ms·

Because of Hillary Clinton. Kidding. Kind of.

wahern 4y ago
Libya was a French initiated and led operation. Full stop. If any one person bares the most responsibility, it would have been Nicolas Sarkozy. But France's interest in Libya, specifically, and Africa generally were and have been extensive. A properly educated, cynical perspective proceeds from the above factual context and proceeds thusly: The biggest opponent to the Libyan invasion was Italy, because France and Italy have vied for influence in North Africa for over a century, and Italy's initial instincts were to take the other side of France's gamble and protect Gaddafi. But even Italy came aboard. Why? Until Ukraine, France's commitment to NATO has always been tenuous. In fact, it was only in 2009 that France rejoined NATO's Military Committee, and to this day France still has a special arrangement with NATO. Libya was NATO's reward to France for both previous and future concessions. France's entire foreign policy outside Europe has revolved around maintaining its influence in Africa, including in particular its oil interests in Libya. (This oil interest was made very explicit by France--no need to read between the lines or engage in conspiratorial speculation.) And because of France's size (population, GDP, military budget, nuclear capability, etc), and Libya's pariah status, France's participation in NATO meant far more to NATO member states than Libya, albeit with Italy being a close call--but not because it cared about Libya, per se. Therefore, placating France was an easy call. Almost everybody fell into line in short order, which is so rare for NATO or Europe even when it comes to U.S. demands, the way it unfolded was really quite fascinating. Was Hillary eager to invade Libya? I don't know. It doesn't matter. France initiated it. France compelled it. The U.S. tagged along no less than any other NATO member state. For obvious reasons the U.S. still committed the larger share of resources, but notably, excluding cruise missiles, it was the Europeans, including France, who led the air offensive. To some extent Libya was also a sop to the Europeans generally, letting them take the reins to NATO.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

Libya was a French initiated and led operation. Full stop. If any one person bares the most responsibility, it would have been Nicolas Sarkozy. But France's interest in Libya, specifically, and Africa generally were and have been extensive. A properly educated, cynical perspective proceeds from the above factual context and proceeds thusly: The biggest opponent to the Libyan invasion was Italy, because France and Italy have vied for influence in North Africa for over a century, and Italy's initial instincts were to take the other side of France's gamble and protect Gaddafi. But even Italy came aboard. Why? Until Ukraine, France's commitment to NATO has always been tenuous. In fact, it was only in 2009 that France rejoined NATO's Military Committee, and to this day France still has a special arrangement with NATO. Libya was NATO's reward to France for both previous and future concessions. France's entire foreign policy outside Europe has revolved around maintaining its influence in Africa, including in particular its oil interests in Libya. (This oil interest was made very explicit by France--no need to read between the lines or engage in conspiratorial speculation.) And because of France's size (population, GDP, military budget, nuclear capability, etc), and Libya's pariah status, France's participation in NATO meant far more to NATO member states than Libya, albeit with Italy being a close call--but not because it cared about Libya, per se. Therefore, placating France was an easy call. Almost everybody fell into line in short order, which is so rare for NATO or Europe even when it comes to U.S. demands, the way it unfolded was really quite fascinating. Was Hillary eager to invade Libya? I don't know. It doesn't matter. France initiated it. France compelled it. The U.S. tagged along no less than any other NATO member state. For obvious reasons the U.S. still committed the larger share of resources, but notably, excluding cruise missiles, it was the Europeans, including France, who led the air offensive. To some extent Libya was also a sop to the Europeans generally, letting them take the reins to NATO.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]