Liberating Libya

In Libya this weekend the battle for Tripoli has begun in earnest as rebels have claimed several neighborhoods in the city from Qaddafi's forces and are tightening the noose.

Rebel leaders in Tripoli said Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi’s compound was effectively surrounded, the rebel flag is now flying from many buildings across the capital and that the opposition is now only waiting for rebel reinforcements to arrive before beginning a final assault.

But with communications to the capital sporadic and journalists confined to their hotel, the reports of opposition gains within Tripoli could not be independently confirmed, and some experts cautioned that a tough urban battle may yet lie ahead between the lightly armed and untrained rebels and the elite government forces kept in reserve for the defense of the capital.

There were nonetheless many reports suggesting Gaddafi’s defenses were melting away faster than had been expected, with reports of entire units fleeing as rebel forces converged on the capital from the east and the west, and his supporters in the city also taking flight.

After consolidating control of the strategic western town of Zawiyah on Thursday, the rebels pushed rapidly east toward the gates of the capital, capturing on the way a major military base that was home to the Khamis Brigade, an elite force led by Gaddafi’s son, Khamis.

Celebrating rebels seized weapons from the base and were seen carrying away boxes of brand-new Belgian munitions, as others raced by in trucks filled to the brim with other weaponry.

By nightfall, rebel forces had reached Janzour on the edge of the city, where eyewitnesses claimed government forces had abandoned their posts earlier in the day. An Associated Press reporter traveling with the fighters described scenes of jubilation as residents poured onto the streets to celebrate. 

It seems to be only a matter of time now as the rebels close in.  All kinds of reports are coming in, unconfirmed, that Qaddafi has fled the city or is dead, or that rebels are being pushed back, that the city may fall in days or even hours.  But it does look like the final paragraphs of this chapter are being written as we speak.

What will come after in Libya?  Nobody's sure, frankly.  I'm hoping the international community will stand ready to assist when the smoke clears.  One has to wonder if this works, why it wasn't tried in Iraq or Afghanistan.  Then again, it wasn't bringing down the regime that was the hard part, it was the years of power vacuum that came after.

We'll see.