Rats

As I write this, rebel forces in Tripoli have surrounded an apartment complex where they believe Gadhafi and his sons are holed up.

The news agencies are not giving too much credence to rebel claims, although there is no question the tyrant who ruled Libya for 42 years is on the run. What remains of his once awesome military forces is in disarray, with even the elite units dropping their guns, shedding off their uniforms and melting into the civilian population.

What is now being called the battle for Tripoli should now be a textbook item for revolutionary warfare. Rebel units rushed into the capital with lightning speed, surprising Gadhafi forces that were prepared for a long, grinding war of attrition.

The rebel army is really nothing more than a ragtag band of doctors, students and engineers who only recently acquired familiarity with firearms. At first glance, this seems like an undisciplined army with no clear chain of command and with fighters prone to wasting ammunition firing celebratory gunshots in the air. These fighters, however, have impressive grit and determination. They are fighting for their future.

From what could be gathered, it appears that an elite group of rebel fighters from Tripoli was trained for months in Benghazi. They were said to have been trained by special forces from Jordan, Qatar, France and Britain. This was the key unit sent into Tripoli, presumably by sea, on the appointed hour.

Urban warfare presents the most difficult conditions for even the best-trained commando units. The rebel units performed reasonably well, everything considered. They were able to maintain a degree of logistical efficiency, enabling supply lines to function in support of the shifting frontlines.

The same cannot be said of the straggler units of pro-Gadhafi troops. Cut into smaller bands, they are moving only with the munitions they could carry. Very soon, they will lose the capacity to carry on fighting.

When the advance units of the rebel force appeared on the streets of Tripoli, Gadhafi called them “rats” who would soon be slaughtered by his better-armed units. It was indeed easy to imagine that the first units sent into Tripoli had taken on a big gamble and their mission was nearly suicidal. They walked into the tyrant’s fortress with little more than an immeasurable determination to be free.

 The operation, however, turned out to be better planned than first impressions might suggest. Now we are told that the commander of Gadhafi’s elite security battalion was in coordination with the rebels and that he ordered his men to lay down their arms as soon the first armed engagements in the Libyan capital broke out.

The presence, on the ground, of special forces units from Britain and France has been claimed but never officially admitted. The international media could detect no evidence of their presence. At any rate, the rebel fighting units, composed entirely of amateurs in war, did not appear to lack tactical advice.

Those Gadhafi called “rats” quickly overrun his fortress along with all the vital installations in Tripoli. They sometimes exhibit recklessness and consumed more ammunition than necessary. No one, however, can argue with military success.

As I write this, it is Gadhafi and his sons and what remains of his hated regime who better resemble rodents. They have slipped into bunkers and tunnels, hoping to escape the wrath of a popular uprising. Everyone suspects that, like Saddam Hussein before, they will ultimately be found in dingy hiding holes, vainly attempting to evade the course of history.

Recognition

France, many months ago, was the first nation to extend diplomatic recognition to the fledgling, very tenuous, National Transition Council (NTC) based in Benghazi. That was a risky move for Paris to make, considering that when recognition was extended, the rebel council was in imminent danger of being wiped out by Gadhafi’s tanks.

France, as we know well, handles its foreign policy with unparalleled audacity. Recall that in 1986, France extended recognition to the Cory Aquino government even as the dictator was still in his Palace and those that opposed still occupied the streets.

Paris took the bold move nevertheless and won our eternal gratitude. Paris likewise won the goodwill not only of the people of Banghazi but of all Libyans when they extended recognition to the NTC immediately after this political entity was assembled.

It was always very clear to the French who was right and who was wrong in Libya. The decisively flamboyant French President Nicolas Sarkozy is not one who will shirk from risks and hedge in principle.

By contrast, the US finally extended diplomatic recognition to the NTC only when the rebel forces were already in control of the streets of Tripoli. This says so much of the character of the Obama administration. His more merciful critics characterize Obama as someone who “leads from behind.”

What are we to say about Philippine foreign policy towards Libya in the face of dramatic developments?

Much of the world now extends recognition to the NTC in Libya. Days after the rebels have taken hold of Tripoli, days after the Libyan embassy to Manila switched its flags, Manila continues to dilly-dally on the matter of extending diplomatic recognition to a courageous revolutionary government.

The Philippines long prided itself as a voice for freedom in a world where oppression proliferates — even as we recently humiliated ourselves by participating in Beijing’s boycott of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to a leading Chinese dissident. We benefited much, in our own road to democratization, from courageous policies of open societies.

On this matter, it seems we missed the beat again.