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Abstract:
The United States and its allies are at war in Libya. Whether or not the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) authorizing force amounted to a declaration of war, the moment the United States and its allies resorted to acts of force to achieve what had thus far eluded them through peaceable means, they went to war. Consequently, the Obama administration entered into the third American war of the 21st century in a country where the United States has few real interests. In contrast to its neighbor, Egypt--a country of 83 million people--Libya has just 6.5 million people, barely three percent of the world's proven oil reserves and has never been a bellwether in the Arabic-speaking world. The interests the United States does have in Libya, such as protecting civilians and providing momentum to the revolutionary fervor sweeping the broader region, come at a potentially high cost by exposing the United States to considerable risk of protracted and resource-intensive conflict.
| Limitations: |
 APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE |
| Description: |
Policy brief |
| Pages: |
7 |
| Report Date: |
MAR 2011 |
| Report Number: |
A679045 |
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