[Reader-list] Fwd: Libya and the World Left By Immanuel Wallerstein

[Nagraj Adve]

Libya and the World Left

March 15, 2011 By Immanuel Wallerstein

Immanuel Wallerstein's ZSpace Page / ZSpace

There is so much hypocrisy and so much confused analysis about what is
going on in Libya that one hardly knows where to begin. The most
neglected aspect of the situation is the deep division in the world
left. Several left Latin American states, and most notably Venezuela,
are fulsome in their support of Colonel Qaddafi. But the spokespersons
of the world left in the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and indeed
North America, decidedly don't agree.



Hugo Chavez's analysis seems to focus primarily, indeed exclusively,
on the fact that the United States and western Europe have been
issuing threats and condemnations of the Qaddafi regime. Qaddafi,
Chavez, and some others insist that the western world wishes to invade
Libya and "steal" Libya's oil. The whole analysis misses entirely what
has been happening, and reflects badly on Chavez’s judgment - and
indeed on his reputation with the rest of the world left.



First of all, for the last decade and up to a few weeks ago, Qaddafi
had nothing but good press in the western world. He was trying in
every way to prove that he was in no way a supporter of "terrorism"
and wished only to be fully integrated into the geopolitical and
world-economic mainstream. Libya and the western world have been
entering into one profitable arrangement after another. It is hard for
me to see Qaddafi as a hero of the world anti-imperialist movement, at
least in the last decade.



The second point missed by Hugo Chavez’s analysis is that there is not
going to be any significant military involvement of the western world
in Libya. The public statements are all huff and puff, designed to
impress local opinion at home. There will be no Security Council
resolution because Russia and China won't go along. There will be no
NATO resolution because Germany and some others won't go along. Even
Sarkozy's militant anti-Qaddafi stance is meeting resistance within
France.



And above all, the opposition in the United States to military action
is coming both from the public and more importantly from the military.
The Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, and the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mullen, have very publicly stated their
opposition to instituting a no-fly zone. Indeed, Secretary Gates went
further. On Feb. 25, he addressed the cadets at West Point, saying to
them: "In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the
president again to send a big American land army into Asia or the
Middle East or Africa should have his head examined."



To underline this view of the military, retired General Wesley Clark,
the former commander of NATO forces, wrote an op-ed for the Washington
Post on Mar. 11, under the heading, "Libya doesn't meet the test for
U.S. military action." So, despite the call of the hawks for U.S.
involvement, President Obama will resist.



The issue therefore is not Western military intervention or not. The
issue is the consequence of Qaddafi's attempt to suppress all
opposition in the most brutal fashion for the second Arab revolt.
Libya is in turmoil because of the successful uprisings in Tunisia and
Egypt. And if there is any conspiracy, it is one between Qaddafi and
the West to slow down, even quash, the Arab revolt. To the extent that
Qaddafi succeeds, he sends a message to all the other threatened
despots of the region that harsh repression rather than concessions is
the way to go.



This is what the left in the rest of the world sees, if some left
governments in Latin America do not. As Samir Amin points out in his
analysis of the Egyptian uprising, there were four distinct components
among the protestors - the youth, the radical left, middle-class
democrats, and Islamists. The radical left is composed of suppressed
left parties and revitalized trade-union movements. There is no doubt
a much, much smaller radical left in Libya, and a much weaker army
(because of Qaddafi's deliberate policy). The outcome there is
therefore very uncertain.



The assembled leaders of the Arab League may condemn Qaddafi publicly,
but many, even most, may be applauding him privately - and copying
from him.



It might be useful to end with two pieces of testimony from the world
left. Helena Sheeham, an Irish Marxist activist, well-known in Africa
for her solidarity work there with the most radical movements, was
invited by the Qaddafi regime to come to Libya to lecture at the
university. She arrived as turmoil broke out. The lectures at the
university were cancelled, and she was finally simply abandoned by her
hosts, and had to make her way out by herself. She wrote a daily diary
in which, on the last day, Mar. 8, she wrote: "Any ambivalence about
that regime, gone, gone, gone. It is brutal, corrupt, deceitful,
delusional."



We might also see the statement of South Africa's major trade-union
federation and voice of the left, COSATU. After praising the social
achievements of the Libyan regime, COSATU said: “COSATU does not
accept however that these achievements in any way excuse the slaughter
of those protesting against the oppressive dictatorship of Colonel
Gaddafi and reaffirms its support for democracy and human rights in
Libya and throughout the continent."



Let us keep our eye on the ball. The key struggle worldwide right now
is the second Arab revolt. It will be hard enough to obtain a truly
radical outcome in this struggle. Qaddafi is a major obstacle for the
Arab, and indeed the world, left. Perhaps we should all remember
Simone de Beauvoir's maxim: "Wanting to be free yourself means wanting
that others be free."







 by Immanuel Wallerstein



[Copyright by Immanuel Wallerstein, distributed by Agence Global. For
rights and permissions, including translations and posting to
non-commercial sites, and contact: rights at agenceglobal.com,
1.336.686.9002 or 1.336.286.6606. Permission is granted to download,
forward electronically, or e-mail to others, provided the essay
remains intact and the copyright note is displayed. To contact author,
write: immanuel.wallerstein at yale.edu.

These commentaries, published twice monthly, are intended to be
reflections on the contemporary world scene, as seen from the
perspective not of the immediate headlines but of the long term.]

________________________________

From: Z Net - The Spirit Of Resistance Lives