Obama's "Backdoor War" Nears Success

The news came as a surprise, and as a welcomed relief: Rebel forces had made their way into Tripoli, the capital of Libya, and Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s 42-year grip on power appeared to be dissolving with astonishing speed.

Indeed, after six months of war in which rebels, who began as peaceful protesters, took up arms against one of the world's most tyrannical leaders, it was with a certain amount of trepidation that the news reached us. One never knows what the man who President Ronald Reagan called a "mad dog" will do. Even as rebels claim to control 95 percent of Tripoli and two of Quaddafi's sons are reported to be in rebel custody, there remains a realistic fear that Quaddafi and his supporters could begin attacking civilians.

As of Monday morning, tank battalions and snipers loyal to Quaddafi were taking a last stand against rebel forces near Quaddafi’s fortified compound, according to International news reports. Quaddafi, who had been urging civilians to take up arms against the rebel “rats,” was nowhere to be found. He did broadcast a statement saying he was in the city and would be “with you until the end.”

The rebels and those civilians seemed to feel that that end was near. "Gadhafi is finished. Now we are free," one rebel, named Abdullah, told a Reuters reporter over the sound of gunfire and shelling, as his group consolidated its position to the west of the city center.

The 69-year-old Quaddafi has been a cancer on the world for more than four decades, sponsoring terrorism at home and abroad. After the Arab Spring led to the ouster of leaders in Tunisia and Egypt, the resistance mounted in Libya was a welcome sign. Yet, unlike Tunisia and Egypt, the protests for freedom and human dignity in Libya turned bloody with Quaddafi slaughtering his own people to maintain control.

The uprising, led by dissidents in the east of Libya, was indeed wrought with problems. More important, though, it was peopled by those who had the most to gain -- and loose -- from Quaddafi's ouster.

"This is a dream come true, something we have all been waiting for," a 19-year-old Libyan woman told CNN Sunday night. "I can talk on the phone without being scared someone is coming to get me."

Indeed fear permeated Libya, where finding the truth was difficult to say the least. Libya is a country that lacks the national institutions that can grow without a cult figure. Now, its people, like those in other Arab and North African nations in this year of change, must learn to depend on themselves and not some seemingly omnipotent leader.

According to The New York Times, the rebel leadership group, the National Transitional Council, issued a mass text message saying: “We congratulate the Libyan people for the fall of Muammar Qaddafi and call on the Libyan people to go into the street to protect the public property. Long live free Libya.”

As is customary with him, President Barack Obama, said in a controlled statement Sunday night that Qaddafi and his inner circle had “to recognize that their rule has come to an end.” He also called on Qaddafi “to relinquish power once and for all,” and he urged the National Transitional Council to avoid civilian casualties and protect state institutions as it took control of the country.

“Tonight, the momentum against the Qaddafi regime has reached a tipping point,” the President said. “Tripoli is slipping from the grasp of a tyrant. The Qaddafi regime is showing signs of collapsing. The people of Libya are showing that the universal pursuit of dignity and freedom is far stronger than the iron fist of a dictator.”

Now that the people of Libya have shown their mettle, the United States must now show its support so that it can help the rebels win the peace. Lest we forget, it was Obama who pushed NATO to oversee bombing raids in support of the rebels, a move that led Republicans to attack the President for his "backdoor war."

The people of Libya feel that they have gained "the freedom that we all deserve," one young woman told CNN Sunday night. "I think we have proved that we are smarter than him (Quaddafi) at the end of the day."

"We are now different people," the young woman added. "And it's not even the end yet."

That's why America and NATO have to take the next step and help Libya become the nation that it can be.