Intervention of Libya

Muammar Gaddafi seized power of Libya in 1969, abolishing their constitution and enforcing laws based solely on his political ideologies. Since that time his government has started several wars and supplied weapons to known terrorist groups, namely the Irish Republican Army (Profile: Muammar Gaddafi). Over time, these actions along with the treatment of the people of Libya led them to feel as though their only chance for political freedom was through revolt. Instead of listening to his people, Gaddafi used his forces against them with no regard for the fact that he was working against the people he should have been protecting. His military force escalated the situation into a civil war in which he was essentially murdering the Libyan people and, as a result, the United States, along with other NATO members, felt obligated to threaten Gaddafi and intervene. Despite the credibility induced by the US as a strong military presence because of their reputation, their involvement in the intervention of Gaddafi’s oppression over the Libyan people did not move him to heed their warnings because of his determination to hold his seat of power.