Libya: Another Mistake

July 30, 2011 By Malcolm Blair-Robinson

This blog has said before that the rule in a civil war is not to recognise rebels as a formal government until they overthrow the legitimate government. We applied the rule during the American Civil War and all civil wars since.  Moreover it is important to recognise that disparate forces can join in revolution only to burst apart after victory, creating endless strife. It was a mistake to formally recognise the rebels. Give them help, money, aid, but keep diplomatic channels on a legal footing.

Their reward for this endorsement has been to murder their top general, whom some suspected of treachery. Col. Gaddafi is laughing his head off. Once again, sadly, the Foreign Office looks naive and incompetent. Like so many decisions of the Tory half of this coalition government it was a poor judgement call. This blog wonders if it came from 10 Downing Street, like most of the others.