Preparations for maintaining law and order, resuming oil
production and the potential deployment of UN peacekeepers as cease-fire
monitors have all been drafted during talks over the last month, which have
also discussed how officials currently tied to Qaddafi’s regime could be
integrated into an interim administration.
A senior British diplomat, who demanded anonymity to discuss
the work, said Friday that a team of officials from the UK, United States,
Italy, Turkey and other nations has spent several weeks in eastern Libya
discussing scenarios with opposition leaders.
“We are planning carefully and comprehensively for the days,
weeks and months after Qaddafi has gone,” the diplomat said.
The plans, which are expected to be published formally next
week, include a proposed timetable for resuming oil production in Libya’s east.
Officials believe there is little serious damage there to
hamper production and predict work could begin again three to four weeks after
Qaddafi leaves office.
The team has also discussed developing Libya’s civil society
institutions.
Libya’s Transitional National Council intends to run the
country until parliamentary and presidential elections can take place — a
process that is expected to take many months to prepare for.
The British diplomat acknowledged officials have been
mindful of recent failures in post-conflict planning. The US and Britain have
been sharply criticized over preparations in Iraq for the fall of Saddam
Hussein.
“We have learned the lessons of previous conflicts, this is
precisely why the UK has been at the forefront of supporting the Libyan
people’s preparations,” the diplomat said.
British Prime Minister David Cameron said he had faith in
the ability of the Libyan opposition to guide the country toward democratic
elections.
“I believe we need to show real support for the Transitional
National Council, who I believe are demonstrating they are not extremists, they
are not Islamists, they are not tribal. They want a united Libya, but a more
democratic Libya,” he said, speaking at a European Union summit in Brussels.
Military officials and diplomats in Britain insisted that
Qaddafi is being eased out of power, despite his refusal to quit so far.
British military spokesman Maj. Gen. Nick Pope told reporters
that a meeting on Tuesday in London of the nations involved in the air campaign
in Libya had underscored their resolve.
Meanwhile, at the European Union summit on Friday, French
President Nicolas Sarkozy derided the low US profile in the international
campaign in Libya, saying that France and Britain are carrying most of the
burden and will stay until Qaddafi leaves.
While other European leaders pushed for a political solution
in Libya, the French leader strongly defended the NATO-led military operation —
and NATO itself. He rebutted comments by US Defense Minister Robert Gates that
the alliance’s future could be in doubt because of European reluctance to
exercise military might.
“I wouldn’t say that the bulk of the work in Libya is being
done by our American friends,” Sarkozy told reporters in Brussels at a European
Union summit. “The French and English and their allies are doing the work.” The
United States has insisted on a backseat role in Libya. It led the initial
coalition airstrikes in March, but in April withdrew US forces from the direct
combat role, limiting them to battlefield surveillance, aerial tanking and
other support roles.
