Gen. Cuong told VOV about the reasons behind the western military interventions in Libya and what the future holds for this North African country.

Why has the West chosen this time to strike Libya?

The US, France and the West in general have been waiting for many years to strike. Gaddafi has been president of Libya since 1969 and has adopted a foreign policy against the US and the West. In the US and Western viewpoints, Gaddafi is a thorn in their flesh in the Mediterranean and the Middle East and North Africa. The US and Western Europe has already found a pretext to oust him.

The US and the west could not help missing the opportunity arising from rebellions against Gaddafi by a segment of the Libyan population. They used all means possible to attain the United Nations’ Resolution 1973 – the final solution that the US has been preparing for a long time.

The US and the West’s attitude toward Gaddafi is quite different from theirs toward Bennani in Tunisia and Mubarak in Egypt. There are people who volunteer to act as a human shield to protect Gaddafi, which means a considerable part of the population supports him.

What is the nature of the decision by the UK, France and the US to attack Libya?

The first target is to topple Gaddafi and his administration at any cost. Second, they will come to build a post-Gaddafi state, which will likely be in favour of the US and the West, to create a new chess game in North Africa and the Middle East. These are long-term goals. There is no immediate solution except for a military one, which heralds a savage war.

Why did some powers like Russia, China and Germany not participate in this operation?

Military intervention in Libya is completely wrong and can set a bad precedent for the US to intervene in other countries. The current intervention is fundamentally similar to that in Serbia in 1999 and in Iraq in 2003, which runs counter to the lines of China and Russia. However, in the present context, both Russia and China could only abstain.

What will be the political aftermath of a war on the Libyan leader?

The war may end with the removal of Gaddafi as a leader. However, it would be very difficult to set up a new Libyan state that wins the hearts of local people. For instance, the US could easily overthrow Saddam Hussein but has found it a great challenge to create a stable Iraq. Libyans do not benefit from this war. They themselves will suffer greatly from it.