No good choice ahead: leading to anarchy or strenghtening a dictator

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a Senate committee that “one of our biggest concerns is Libya descending into chaos and becoming a giant Somalia,” where al-Qaeda could find refuge. Earlier this week she said Mr. Gaddafi “has to go.” She was right on both counts. Prolonged fighting in Libya, which has begun to seem more likely this week as the Gaddafi regime has mounted counterattacks against opposition-held cities, could quickly lead to anarchy in a country that has already been a source of fighters for al-Qaeda.

Should Mr. Gaddafi manage to survive and regain control, the consequences would be equally terrible. In addition to unthinkable bloodshed and suffering for Libyans, the dictator would demonstrate that U.S. and European demands for his downfall were meaningless – and offer an example to other Arab autocrats facing popular uprisings.

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