Lessons from Afghanistan must be heeded

hether he dies at the barricades as he has promised to do, flees into exile or falls victim to a grizzly death at the hands of the mob, the end is clearly in sight for Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi. Few will mourn his passing. The world will have lost another brutal tyrant, a man who sponsored terror externally and suppressed dissent internally. However the jubilation in Libya at the end of the loathed regime must not be echoed in capital cities around the world, as the post-Gaddafi era will throw up enormous challenges. While the rebels press home the advantage given to them by air strikes – led by UK aircraft and authorised to protect civilian lives but in practice designed to effect regime change – it has prompted a torrent of statements from prime ministers, presidents and international agencies about hope for the future. While there should always be hope there is one lesson they must learn.

Recent attempts by powerful states to re-build countries where they have overthrown dictators or dictatorial regimes have almost always failed and cost the lives of thousands of members of the armed forces of the countries concerned, Iraq and Afghanistan being the most recent examples.

Yes, there must be aid for Libya and her long-suffering people, but we must not repeat the mistakes of the past decade in trying to impose some kind of western-style democracy in northern Africa. It will be difficult, it could be bloody, and it will take time, but for better or worse Libyans must be allowed to forge their own future.