Gaddafi Must Go

By Joel C. Rosenberg
JoelRosenberg.com

Col. Muammar Gaddafi is an evil, brutal tyrant. He is a virulent opponent of Christianity, a hater of Israel and the Jewish people, a supporter of terrorism and he is guilty of slaughtering the people of Libya by the thousands. He calls himself the “King of kings” in direct defiance of Jesus Christ and his cruelty is now on full display. We all must pray that he and his wicked regime are brought down as soon as possible.

Let’s be clear: humanly speaking, this won’t be easy, but it can be done. The U.S. and Western allies should recognize opposition leaders who are pro-democracy and pro-Western, support and encourage them as they fight the Gaddafi loyalists, and even considering arming Libyan rebels so they can defend themselves from what could become a full blown genocide if Gaddafi’s forces continue to bomb, strafe and attack innocent civilians. We can also impose severe economic sanctions, provide medical assistance and humanitarian relief to the opponents of Gaddafi, and encourage other nations to do the same.

I agree with a fresh analysis by The Heritage Foundation, however, that creating a U.S. or NATO-led no-fly zone over Libya — or embarking in other direct military action in Libya — would be a mistake at this point. While helping liberate the Libyan people is an important goal for the free world, as is helping the Libyans defend themselves against genocide, creating and maintaining geopolitical stability in Libya is not a vital national security interest for the United States or NATO. We need to help the opponents of Gaddafi (similar to how President Reagan helped the Afghan rebels when the Soviets invaded in 1979 – the “Reagan Doctrine”), but we can’t let ourselves get sucked in or bogged down in a Libyan civil war. This would consume American military and intelligence assets needed for higher priority matters in the Middle East, namely countering the Iranian nuclear threat, protecting Israel, maintaining stability in Iraq, finishing off the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, and keeping free and secure access to oil in the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf region.

That said, the Church needs a different “foreign policy,” as it were, from the U.S. or the Europeans. Followers of Jesus Christ need to do everything possible to get the gospel of Jesus Christ into Libya. Christians should use satellite television, radio broadcasting, the Internet, and social networking tools to get the Bible’s message of hope, freedom and salvation through Jesus Christ alone into the country, and do everything possible to strengthen the persecuted believers there. As I wrote on February 28th, the government of Libya will eventually play a distinctly evil role in the End Times, according to several Bible prophecies. We don’t know how much time we have until the Lord returns, so we must use this time of unrest to advance the Kingdom courageously and wisely.

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