There are, of course, huge differences between Libya and Iraq in politics, culture, and demographics. And the fighting in Libya isn't even ostensibly over yet, like it was during that brief Iraqi spring of 2003. But some important similarities are clear. Libya remains in the chaos of a leadership void and a continuing civil war. It's suffering the cumulative societal and physical degradation of decades of corrupt, brutal autocracy and isolation. A hard, likely dangerous, nation-building effort lies ahead in any scenario. But Libyans won't have to suffer the violence and humiliation of a foreign occupation, and they won't have their reconstruction dictated by clueless Americans. And they can draw on the fresh memory of Iraq as a cautionary tale.
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I was a reporter in Iraq from 2003 to 2009, and I know I'm seeing Libya through the prism of Iraq. Still, as the Libyan fighting continues or enters a period of stalemate, here are some lessons from Iraq offered in the hopes of a less-violent, more stable Libyan construction process:
1. Don't permit looting in whatever areas are presumed under your control (or controlled by different factions). This obvious concept was somehow overlooked in Iraq. "Freedom's untidy," U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said as Iraqi mobs went unhindered in dismantling the country's government offices, schools, oil fields, medical clinics, and police stations. Iraqi leaders weren't equipped or willing to spend the political capital to rein in looters. The rampage shocked law-abiding Iraqis and undermined confidence in the new order. It took years and billions of dollars to recover.
2. Don't disband the old military if the troops are willing to lay down arms or switch sides. You can appoint new leaders. You can confine suspect units to barracks, investigate everyone, jail some or many. But don't send them all off indiscriminately (and armed). And even if the fighting stops, don't disband your rebel army either, because it can just as easily stir up trouble.
In fact, take that money you have coming and pay your victorious fighters well to stand around deterring looters, guarding your international borders, and receiving training. Cash in people's pockets will take some of the pressure off the leadership in settling competing claims on behalf of their tribal or regional constituents.
3. Just say no to al Qaeda. Hard-core Islamist militants will come from among you or the outside, promising money and gunmen to protect you from whatever threat you think you face. But even the sympathetic tribesmen of Iraq's Anbar province eventually decided the local branch of al Qaeda was more trouble than it was worth (unless you want to be bossed around, give up smoking and drinking, pay protection money, and see your daughters forcibly married off as war spoils to illiterate foreign misfits). Some reports have suggested that radical Islamists were among those fighting Qaddafi's forces; watch them closely and demand that they obey the writ of your nascent state.
4. Don't restrict information. Free speech was one of the semi-bright lights in Iraq, though it has come under more threat as time passes. There were hundreds of new magazines, newspapers, websites, and radio stations. Many were party organs, but a few weren't. After years of censorship, your people will have trouble telling rumor from fact, but they'll learn faster by having multiple sources to evaluate. Resist the urge to close down a newspaper for writing lies or incitement (and don't kill their reporters). The U.S. closure of a Sadrist newspaper provided a handy pretext for an uprising in 2004. If nothing else, speech is a great relief valve. It'll also win you points with the international community.
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