The Libyan Revolution: US Intervention & Wikileaks

I praise the action and efforts of the citizens of Libya fighting against the crude dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In such an authoritarian country, it becomes difficult to stand up to the government...and they've still managed even with the amount of violence the rebels have seen in Benghazi. They aren't well armed and have the courage to stand up against tanks and other advanced weaponry that the government is using.

"Action is necessary and we will not be acting alone," Obama said


It seems quite obvious that this isn't going to be direct military intervention [yet], but I personally condemn any American intervention in Libya; the effects from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq still hinder our country with excessive costs and burdens. Either way, even if the United States attends the Paris summit hosted by French President Nicolas Sarkozy, wouldn't the efforts be futile if the European countries are going to take action anyway? 


If this does eventually lead to direct military intervention, it is not the United States' position to invade Libya. It will be a waste of tax payer money [when that money should be used on healthcare and education], cost American lives, and may further damage the economy. 


I don't understand why these countries invade nations on the basis of humanitarianism. They've all supported their share of the wrong regimes and have initiated conflict before. The French armed the Hutus in the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi that almost wiped out the Tutsis; the US has supported terrorist regimes to counter the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan; they've even supported the Tamil Tigers in the Sri Lankan Civil War. On a darker note, who knows what these rebels might do with armaments and support from the West?


It's obviously all for oil. But is it really worth it? I bet there's more long term consequences. 


Another point that I want to stress is the effect Wikileaks has played. Initially it was condemned for the threat it could play, but it seems as if this was an overreaction. In fact, I think it's helped the United States. According to Stratfor, a global intelligence company, everything released by Wikileaks is vague, known to the public, and raw, unanalyzed data. In fact, news organizations such as The Guardian and the New York Times attempted to analyze this data...so doesn't that logically mean that these news organizations should get in more trouble? [Point of clarification: the unanalyzed data can only successfully be interpreted by the US Military]


Well, the news articles that "attempted to" analyze the data are thought to have been the trigger for the Middle Eastern revolutions...and so far, they've been in the United States' favor overall. In Tunisia, the United States did not want Ben Ali as the incumbent...the domino effect finally led to Libya where it may lead to the abdication of another leader the US loathes. So maybe Julian did a favor for the United States?