Head of NATO Anders Fogh Rasmussen today announced that planning for the aftermath of the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi would begin any time soon and probably even within ‘the next few weeks’.
Whilst the military planning and tactics for the conflict so far have proved exemplary, with NATO action decisively turning the tide in Libya’s Civil war, every member state and members of the Arab League agreed they should maybe have a think about having a conference or something aimed at working out what to do next.
Until now the general consensus has been that ‘we can cross that bridge when we come to it’ although some expressed surprise that the question of what to do afterwards was being asked at all, even now, and asked if there were any situations where it had ever been needed before.
Offers of hosting the conference have begun to come in with the French suggesting Paris, but the Italians think Rome would be best as building a pipeline between Brega and Sicily would, obviously, be the most beneficial action for everyone in Europe who had taken part. The British want a conference in London, but everyone thinks that would be too dangerous without air cover; Washington doesn’t want anyone to know it’s involved at all so is reluctant to be seen to be organising anything, and the Spanish have promised a lavish get together as long as the Germans pay for it.
‘The date and place of a meeting on the serious issues facing another oil rich country full of people with guns and no government is a tricky one and lots of tennis matches will need to be played between senior diplomats to resolve it,’ Mr Rasmussen confirmed.
‘But even when we do work it out, then with the different views of the Tripolitanians, the Fezzans and the Cyrenaicans in the east and all the difficult tribal interests to consider it’s hard to see how a lasting settlement for Libya can be reached, whatever we do,’ he said, ‘but if they start squabbling and it all kicks off, I suppose we could always bomb them again. We’ve already done the planning for that. Would you like to see?’
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