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Who Will Lead Post-Qaddafi Libya?

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    How concerned should we be about the influence of Islamic extremism in a post-Qaddafi Libya?

  • Duration 5:24
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Let's bring in James Califano now of The Heritage Foundation that director of the Douglas and Sarah Allison center for foreign policy studies.

-- the foundation.

James how concerned do you believe we should be about Islamic extremism having me.

And the influence -- role in post Khaddafi Libya.

Well here's here's -- we know for a fact everywhere were chaos -- erupted in the Middle East.

There has been a concerted effort to set up a -- that pipeline.

Get foreign fighters in there and -- -- to stay got a battleground we have seen al-Qaeda specifically single -- and no we haven't seen.

Much of a pipeline that maybe for a couple of reasons one because.

The focus really now is on Yemen where there where did that for al-Qaeda and its affiliates that looks like the most promising front at the moment.

The other as is the that the trans national council -- really gone out of its way.

To make the case that there we know we're not interest and extreme as you know we're over the sending suicide bombers saying you know we're with you guys.

And you know they've -- they're being congressional staff and a -- their members are gone lower there that this is their line.

-- the question is is is it sincere.

You know order you are -- -- -- do people have an agenda that they're hiding in any more importantly as we know for a fact everybody does ensure that agenda.

What percentage of them the leader is do you have an extremist agenda and how influential they gonna be and how's that gonna reflect in the future government.

These are these are open ended questions that I haven't heard anybody give you -- really good solid answers to.

Now I think that debt.

Look the whole thing about this operation.

Which is gone you don't have been kind of Rube Goldberg thing from the start.

But the one thing that's kinda kept it from falling off the rails was the fact that all the disparate elements inside Libya.

And all the countries in NATO that participated.

Even though many of them have their own agenda and Libya we're all united in that they wanted to hear -- Qaddafi.

So now that innocence Qaddafi is gone.

I think we're gonna see people's real.

You know issues come to the forefront and we'll see who's who and this is really what most concerns me about American leadership.

Because this is not when you can lead from behind if somebody is not there in a sense.

Hurting all the cats in the same direction.

You know you -- you can you could wind up at some really interesting in bad outcomes.

Let me bring Paul rice into the discussion -- -- James.

-- is that true.

We need to be leading the way that this outpost Khaddafi Libya it goes well I would like to be in the situation where we could but I I I.

I kinda disagree a little bit with the proposition that were really.

Any nation can heard those particular -- turning these around this really is -- -- -- -- -- tribes that have existed there for thousands of years say they -- there is no way of leading them.

Really they've got their own agendas their -- goals -- god you know competitions that got rivalries.

That we can't control we cannot be we don't cannot afford to be literally we cannot afford to be.

In a situation where we're trying to control all of the events and all of these countries to all of these tribes and all of these government to all of them.

Potential to -- so many gray areas in this thing I mean goodness look at Pakistan.

Mean you know you we we -- this and that we have to understand that there will be ambiguity.

-- the world is not black and white there are did you know we did it was nice in the old days of got a -- of the good guys who are we knew the bad guys were control the bad guys we win.

It's just not like that anymore in any of these countries and it's not going to be like that in Libya.

-- union to welcome back I'm not leading from behind on something like this.

But what what specifically.

Do you think the administration should be doing it to lead from the front.

By what I you know -- I I agree I disagree you're right that's hurting these cats is very very different -- the and the notion the United States is just gonna walk in there and tell people what to do.

Is ridiculous I I agree with that.

-- you know would take issue with the whole you know everybody talks about tribal things use the word tried and that's kind of synonymous for a while we can't do anything their tribes.

But we all coach triangle tribal contacts and and leave a -- allegiances aren't the same all over the world they're very different in Libya than they are Pakistan or Afghanistan for example.

You know Qaddafi regime -- -- for decades to got to minimize the political influence of the -- so how that plays out I think is an open question.

And I'm not calling for US boots on the ground I'm not calling for.

Billions of dollars in foreign aid which would get wasted actually probably make the problem worse.

But I but I do think the United States has to one be actively engaged.

You know until we have to work and look out for our interest I mean policing of the -- these sites policing of stockpiles.

Dangerous weapons like shoulder -- missiles that's a good thing.

-- you learning who these people are and helping me and and keeping Europeans kind of on the straight narrow course by pressuring them to do the right thing.

And then deal.

Here's the most important thing that we could be doing which is letting people know that we're watching and -- we're gonna hold them accountable.

This is a problem in Afghanistan we walked away from Afghanistan.

And Pakistan the eighties and look -- we wound up.

So I'm just saying this is don't just you know throw up the the Green flag and say okay we're done it's over now and the United States -- turns its back on Libya.

Because a little -- little attention now.

Couldn't might be a lot better than having to worry about a really big problem later we're -- the -- the other.

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