US Envoy Doesn’t See ‘Long-Term Insurgency’ in Libya

Insists Libyans Will Be 'Reliable Partner Against Terrorism'

In comments that seem destined to be repeatedly quoted over the course of the next few decades of civil war, the US Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz has announced that he doesn’t believe that a “long-term insurgency” will emerge in Libya, and that the rebels will inevitably choose moderate leaders.

Cretz went on to insist that Libya was simply “going through the natural throes of a democratic process,” and that rebel-dominated Libya would end up a “reliable partner against terrorism.”

Cretz was previously recalled from Libya in disgrace in January following the release of WikiLeaks documents which raised concerns about his ability to carry out his duties, including mocking Gadhafi’s fear of flying over the water. He is now back in Tripoli.

Libya, for its part, has been through six months of civil war, and is expected to go through several months more fighting the remnants of the Gadhafi regime, before finally segueing into a second civil war between the various rebel factions, who are already arming to take on one another.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.