The President of the Republic placed France directly in the front line of a conflict, even though it was studded with uncertainties
"There, that's done." Even if the battle of Tripoli is not yet over, one easily imagines Nicolas Sarkozy on Monday crossing off, finally, the Libyan conflict from an overloaded agenda.
At the end of a summer dominated by upheaval in the financial markets, and before facing the challenge of adjusting to a new political season and the marathon of life in the Élysée, the chief of state, always struggling in the polls, cannot but welcome the fall of the regime of Muammar Gaddafi. The debate in Parliament on Libya, on July 12, revealed the tone of the political risks inherent in a drawn-out conflict: the specter of stalemate, the financial burden of a military engagement (around 200 million Euros)...
All summer, the President of the Republic remained on vacation. Since Monday, he has picked up the telephone multiple times to discuss events with his counterparts. At the beginning of the conflict, in March, the principle was to project collective leadership and avoid a conflict between the West and the Arab world. Even though France, the second largest contributor of forces behind the Unites States, participated in 35% of the offensive strikes. In light of the upcoming Presidential campaign, Libya has largely been the war of Nicolas Sarkozy. He insisted, from start to finish, on maintaining the course, and repeated, as at Toulon on August 13, that "France will not fail in Libya."
It truly all began on March 17 in New York. The Libyan uprising was a month old and had taken a nasty turn. Dispatched to the UN, Alain Juppé succeeded in a diplomatic tour that will go down in history. He rallied, at the last minute, Russia and China behind Resolution 1973 authorizing the use of force to protect civilian populations. Two days later, March 19, Nicolas Sarkozy announced from the Élysée the beginning of coalition operations. On the ground, the Libyan 32nd mechanized brigade, a special force led by the son of Gaddafi, was charging towards Benghazi with the stated objective of "crushing the revolution in blood." "There were two hours to spare," relates an official source. "There are moments when one cannot remain inert, one must act and do what one can."
Confidence twice betrayed
Already, before the entire world, on March 10, Sarkozy had announced the recognition of the NTC (National Transitional Council) as the "soul legitimate representative of the Libyan people." After the hesitations in Tunisia and in Egypt, was it up to Nicolas Sarkozy, this time, not to miss the boat? With Gadaffi, received in grand style in Paris in 2007, confidence had been twice betrayed. "Different parameters were in play," estimates an official source, but, at bottom, "Nicolas Sarkozy wanted most of all to avoid another Rwanda or another Srebenica. For him, this was not a gamble but a necessity."
As the arms commence to speak, the scope for dialogue that remains is strained. Multiple emissaries from Tripoli, including those quite close to Gaddafi, such as his cabinet director, followed one another, in vain, to the Élysée. As a matter of pragmatism, the chief of state will explore all avenues. Or let others try their luck, such as Bernard-Henri Lévy and Dominique de Villepin. It is also that with the passing weeks, and the status quo apparent on the ground, the swaggering of Gaddafi and the inexperience of the insurrection kept the negotiations open, even if common ground was nowhere to be found. Through the months, Alain Juppé remained active consolidating the "contact group", the anti-Gaddafi alliance, and its commitment on the battlefield. A policy which had its bastion in the Élysée: it was Nicolas Sarkozy who decided to send in helicopters, whose employment has been decisive, and then to parachute arms to the rebels of the Nafusa Mountains.
With the end of military operations coming into view, the chief of State hopes to keep a step ahead in the post-Gadaffi era. Initially forecast for September 19, the next meeting of the "contact group" should take place at the beginning of September. The objective will be to rally the international community behind the NTC and to clarify the "road map" for the country's future. Paris is pushing for an "inclusive peace", rallying all of the components of the Libyan state, notably the tribes, numerous of whom have joined the "new power" these last few days. The prospect of a visit by Nicolas Sarkozy to Libya, already broached, remains a possibility, "depending on the evolution of the situation", indicated the Élysée on Monday.
Article by Alain Barluet
Read the article in the original French at this link.
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