Let Libyans Fight Their Own Revolution

A Canadian warship carrying special forces is joining an allied flotilla off Libya. Any actions other than evacuating foreign civilians though will be a mistake.

Right now a Canadian warship – HMCS Charlottetown -- is heading for the Mediterranean to join an allied flotilla off Libya.

It won’t get there until later this week, and is a precautionary gesture in case there are more crises in the area, requiring the evacuation (protection?) of stranded Canadians.

And to show solidarity with our allies.

The Charlottetown is a multi-role frigate and has one Sea King helicopter aboard (let’s hope it works, if needed). So far, so good.

We are told there are also some 250 soldiers on board the ship. But not conventional soldiers, like the Princess Pats, RCR or Vandoos, but JTF2 guys – so-called Special Forces, or Black Ops commandoes.

One wonders why.

The public knows very little about Canada’s JTF2. It’s a secret army within the army, and many are skeptical about the whole thing. We (the public) are told that in Afghanistan they went behind the lines and did dark deeds that cannot be publicized. Cloak and dagger stuff.

Is that what their role would be in Libya, if necessary?

One hopes not.

The very last thing Canada should be contemplating is putting soldiers on the ground in Libya. Let Libyans resolve their own future.

Yes, Muammar Qaddafi is a delusional despot whose time has run out. He’s acting in character by not trying to escape his, and odds are that his fate is to be torn apart by the mobs.

If so, let it happen.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has pledged $5 million in humanitarian relief for Libya. That’s a pathetic amount, and merely a gesture which is not needed.

Libyans are not among the poorest of Arabs, and the Libyan uprising is not motivated by poverty or destitution, but because people are fed up with a comic book caricature like Gaddafi oppressing them.

Those who think Western countries should be helping depose Gaddafi are wrong. We helped prop him up when he was on top, so it’s both hypocritical and cowardly to now help get rid of him.

Let Libyans run their own revolution.

The U.S. is being careful. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton points out that we’ve no idea who is going to run Libya when (and if) Gaddafi is no more, or who’s leading the charge.

It’s not yet certain that Gaddafi will go. He’s got imported fighters killing as many protestors as possible. (One hesitates to call them “mercenaries,” because the true mercenary has a code that determines conduct; Gaddafi’s supporters are more like thugs than soldiers).

Back to the JTF2 special forces guys aboard the Charlottetown.

Is it anticipated that they may be required to infiltrate behind Libyan lines. One hopes not. If evacuating Canadians is the role, surely regular troops are better at that.

In Afghanistan, the JTF2 (there is no JTF1) were somewhat resented by other soldiers. No photographs are supposed to be taken of JTF2 members, no interviews. They are supposedly anonymous and incognito. But they are recognizable by often being unshaven, wearing dark glasses, and wearing outfits that would get the sergeant major apoplectic if regular soldiers dressed that way.

When Jean Chretien was PM and briefly visited Canadian troops in Afghanistan, he had a bodyguard comprised of JTF2. Did he really need protection from Canadian soldiers? It was kind of insulting to them.

Anyway, let’s hope Gaddafi is history by the time the Charlottetown reaches Libya, and that the only thing JTF2 has to worry about is sunburn.

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