How Do You Solve a Problem Like Libya?

In a perfect world, as a historian extraordinaire, the president of the United States would call me up and ask, “So… this whole Libya thing. What should I do next?” Not that he needs my help per se. He has plenty of smart people around him and he is no slouch in the brains department either. However, President Obama would be served well to consider the lessons of the past, if not the sage-like advice of a blogger with about 4 people on a regular reading list – one of them being my mother.

And so, we turn a hopeful eye towards North Africa. Libya has been a center of civilization in the region since antiquity. It could prove to be so again in the 21st-century but a great deal of things would need to fall into place – a confluence of events that only seems to happen in the history of countries. When considering how best to help the country and its nascent governmental structure, there are three main things it desperately needs from those claiming friendship and one thing it could certainly do without. The president has made comments to suggest the role of the U.S. will be limited because of our standing in the region. That would be a huge mistake – the kind that one term presidents with a penchant for making nationally televised speeches about malaise make.

Step one, send in a slew of politicos including campaign managers, strategists, voting experts and observers to bring the country more quickly to free elections. The United States did this with the countries of Eastern Europe when the Soviet Union lost influence and ultimately, collapsed. The Libyan people and the transitional government will need all the help they can receive from the world’s democracies to create one of their very own. Such experts can organize the process of the selection of candidates for office and the standardization of voting places and procedures. We have a great opportunity to influence the course of events in Libya, a course of events that would serve the Libyan people well.

Step two, there needs to be economists and business people to advise and invest in the country. One thing that makes the Libyan economy so shaky and fragile is its lack of diversity. Oil revenue makes up about 95% of its total export revenue and a whopping 25% of GDP. Economists and investors could change that. There are needs that, if paid for by the oil revenue, could do much to increase the standard of living. Perhaps, such assistance might also turn around the fact that it imports roughly 75% of its food. Additionally, economists could help shape domestic and international fiscal policy as well as set up new trade agreements and steps to increase foreign investment.

Lastly, there needs to be people who provide infrastructure construction and advice. With the various improvements that need to occur within the economy, a major dose of infrastructure projects would secure new foreign business and investment. It is likely that much of the port and pipeline facilities could use updating or repair but so too is there a need for additional road construction. Much of the country is desolate but increase road construction throughout the northern part of the country, which has only 35,000 miles of paved roads, might increase a variety of other industries.

One thing that would not serve the country well would be the appearance of United Nations peacekeepers. First of all, it sends the wrong message to the people of Libya – “we don’t trust you guys to put together a government without killing one another so we are going to send a bunch of soldiers in little blue helmets.” Second, the United Nations do not have a great track record for this kind of action and ultimately, a mismanaged and ineffective outside force could do much to ruin what other measures might be able to create.

As Bill Kristol of The Weekly Standard mentioned on one of the Sunday shows this past week, we cannot control what is going on but we have it within our power to influence. Perhaps, a democratic country seeking to help out a budding democracy in accordance with our principles might do much to change our image in the region – surely, it will do more than refusing to do nothing because we fear people not liking us.