Qaddafi, Terrorism, and the Origins of the U.S. Attack on Libya
- Book Review,
by Brian L. Davis
From Book News, Inc.
Davis traces the origins of the US military attack against Libya on April 15, 1986, asserting that the attack marked the culmination of America's frustration over years of terrorist attacks without reprisal and that the choice of Libya as a target was a logical one. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Choice
"Focussing on the orgins of the US attack on Libya on April 15, 1986, Davis tries to explain the US military action against Qaddafi within the larger context of fighting terrorism. The author believes that one cannot consider what was probably the most controversial foreign policy action of the Reagan administration as though it occurred in a vacuum. The book is organized in six chapters tracing the origins of the attack in the years of Qaddafi's rule on up to the air raids. How a country as small as Libya came to attract such attention from a superpower is made understandable by describing the global activities of Qaddafi, almost all of which were inimical to the interests of the US. Davis goes to great length to refute the charge that Reagan selected Libya as a target because of its weakness and because he had to demonstrate American firmness in dealing with terrorism. In the author's opinion, Qaddafi very much brought his harsh punishment on himself by his terrorist activities, particularly as directed against the US. The question of how successful the US air strikes against Libya were will be controversial for along time. In short, such an isolated event does not provide a sufficient basis for a doctrine of US military retaliation against terrorism. The book is well documented, has an adequate index, a useful appendix of chronology, and a bibliographical essay. Upper-division undergraduate and above."
Review
Starting from the premise that the U.S. military attack against Libya on April 15, 1986, was `probably the most controversial discrete foreign policy action undertaken by the Reagan administration,' Davis offers a solid and very detailed analysis of this incident. In addition to the heroic research effort that went into his account, what makes it especially valuable is that it, unlike the majority of book-length treatments of Mu`ammar al-Qadhdhafi, contains not the slightest taint of apologetics for the `mad dog of the Middle East' (as President Reagan once described him).Orbis
Book Description
Davis's detailed account demonstrates that Libya was not an arbitrarily selected target but rather a justified one. He examines the context in which the April 15, 1986, U.S. military attack against Libya occurred. The history of U.S.-Libyan relations from the Nixon to the Reagan administration is covered in detail including the Rome and Vienna massacres and Operation Prairie Fire. A description of the final days leading to the attack include the La Belle Discotheque bombing, the U.S. decision to attack, preparations, the military operation itself, and its aftermath.
Buy from Amazon
Compare Prices
|
|
Home
