Libya's water.

The pillaging of Libya has begun, and Hilary Clinton has staked Americas Claim.
Though the French , British and Turks had sent higher ranking delegations you were left in no doubt that La Clinton meant business.
Everything from building schools, treating war veterans, to boosting civil society ,Tourism  to integrating them into a modern economy to women's rights was mentioned.
A panacea for our time, this American cure all  was a shot across the bow for all have been eying Libya's two greatest assets, oil and water.
Though oil is generally recognised as being a major factor for the coalitions rapid support  for the overthrow of  Gadaffi  in order to secure future Libyan oil for Europe  it is water that is the secret long term asset. The Nubian Sandstone aquifers that lie under the Eastern Sahara contain enough ground water to literally turn the desert green and make Libya, Chad ,Sudan and parts of Egypt a breadbasket of the Middle East and the world.
When the Great Man Made River project was embarked upon in 1983, to supply water to the coastal regions and for irrigation it was ridiculed as a waste of resources another White Elephant. 
How wrong they were. This engineering marvel will without doubt give Libyans in the first phase food security and then as they hone their agricultural techniques be used as a spring board to feed their neighbours and beyond and thus greatly enhance Libya's standing in the world  and as a Gateway to Africa.
With China either buying or leasing agricultural land in overseas countries for large scale farming to feed its ever growing populations food needs the race is on to have control of vast fresh water reserves and Libya's deposed dictator realised this. 
The Libyan revolution was not only about freedom but the first of many wars to control the essence of life.

It aint over till the fat lady sings.

It looked like the battle for Libya may finally be over as the resistance fighters of the Transitional National Council made momentous gains as they advanced into Tripoli.
With scenes of euphoric jubilation in cities across the country and dubious confirmation that Psycho Saif and his brother Saadi  had been captured it looked like game over for Mad Mo.
Ah but this is Libya and every thing may not be as it seems.  To borrow a quote from former U.S Defence secretary Rumsfeld "There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."
The Gadaffi grip on power seems to be crumbling as a televised recording of the Colonel's voice ranting to the tribes to come to his rescue was the only semblance of resistance in the defense of the Capital.
His whereabouts are still unknown  as he called the rebels "traitors" and likened the situation in Libya to Baghdad .
It has become obvious that the T.N.C fighters have had considerable help in the last few months in order to break the stalemate. NATO played the role of the  air force and perhaps the navy. If there were not " boots " on the ground there definitely were sandals present to coordinate such a massive push with a hint of a mercenary if not a professional soldier core.
Have the tribes that supported Mad Mo up until last week just vanished? Have the core fighting forces given up or have they retreated to the South in order to regroup, securing the oil fields there before they fight back or as Saddam did in Kuwait set fire to the fields as a scorched  earth  policy?
Losing Tripoli may not be the end for Mad Mo who has a history for bizarre tactics and coming back from the brink and this is why the T.N.C has to act decisively in consolidating their victory.
So far their rhetoric sounds balanced and fair but after forty two years of totalitarian rule revenge is one of the human frailties that they have to reign in. Building up a pluralistic society , with laws that work will be a challenge .
The west have to learn from the mistakes of Iraq and advise them of the possibility  a long drawn out conflict as guerrilla warfare becomes a norm in the absence of clear leadership and rapid improvement in the life of the average Libyan.
It ain't over till the fat lady sings.  Next stop Damascus.