In the issue of military intervention of Libya, we find that the reason or justifications given was the prevention of the massacre of the people of Libya. However, that was not about the traditional interest of the West in getting easy access to the Middle Eastern Oil. It could be argued that the West was ready to take this risk since Libya only produces two percent of the world's oil, and that its crude oil could be easily replaced by the other sources found in the Mediterranean. Still, we find that the fact that the United States of America, which has very little in the oil of Libya, took this step purposely for saving the lives of the people of Libya is not lost on the Arabs, including the United States enemies among them.
By the intervention, the government of President Obama has actually demonstrated that it is really willing to walk the extra mile when it comes to the issue of democracy, and the rights of individuals everywhere in order to look for better lives for themselves together with their children, and also the right of being accorded fair treatment at the hands of those who have the responsibility and obligation of governing them. Failure by the United States to intervene and also standing by while the Libyan president, Gaddafi ordered ruthless killings against the rebels in the city of Benghazi as he had earlier threatened to do, would have actually dealt a very serious blow to the democratic awakening that we are presently seeing unfold in the entire Arab world. Most significantly, it would have armored the argument made by several Arabs that when the United States is faced with a choice between the wellbeing or security of the Arab governments or regimes, as well as the rights of the people of the Arab region, security trumps rights.