Is Libya a Model for Future Action in Israel?

We've already seen how the so-called "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine used as an excuse to intervene in Libya (see here), could also be used as an excuse to intervene in Israel.

At the same time, we have been carefully watching the EU for their expanding role in terms of "border control", and the use of their newly formed European External Action Service (EEAS) - which also could be used in Israel whenever new borders with a "PA State" are formed. Additionally, one must consider the possibility that border control is possibly a method of "confirming the covenant" seen in Daniel 9:27.

For these reasons, we watch Libya closely as it seems to be a potential model for future invasive actions in Israel:

EU to open office in Libyan revel stronghold

EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton has said she will open a diplomatic mission in the stronghold of the Transitional National Council (TNC), a parallel government formed by anti-Gaddafi rebels in Libya.

"I intend to open an office in Benghazi so that we can move forward on the support we have discussed with the people, to support civil society, to support the interim national council and Mr Jebril [a leading TNC member], and there's many meetings I've had with him, and to support security sector reform," Ashton told MEPs in Strasbourg on Wednesday (11 May).

She also mentioned "healthcare ... education [and] improving security of borders" as priorities for the EU outpost.

There it is: "improving the security of borders". And how would this be done?

Ashton spokeswoman Maja Kocjancic told this website the European External Action Service (EEAS) will "in the coming days" send a team to Benghazi to see what needs to be done to open the new bureau.

She added that it will be a "technical mission under the EU flag" rather than a fully-fledged embassy and will "start with a very small number of staff." Kocjancic pointed to the EEAS office in Pristina, Kosovo, as a model for the Bengazi office.

Indeed. We have already seen the EEAS in action, in Kosovo, so the EEAS is already performing border control services.

Kocjanci noted that the Benghazi move is in line with Ashton's previous recognition that the TNC is a legitimate interlocutor between the Libyan people and the EU.

Daniel Korski, a near east analyst at the European Council on Foreign Relations think-tank in London, said Ashton's more cautious approach was the right course of action.

"It's timely. Doing it at this stage avoids accusations of having rushed in, but waiting any longer would have been untenable," he said. "The EU has experience in rebuilding war-torn cities. In Mostar [Iraq] there was a former German mayor, Hans Koschnick, who worked as a civilian administrator."

The situation in Libya is worth watching closely for many reasons, but how the EU responds (as noted in this article) may reveal how similar actions can be taken in Israel. The EU is clearly expanding the role of the EEAS, and thus far, its primary use has been for border control.

As we approach September, look for the EU to propose that the EEAS become integral to newly formed borders around a "PA State", as an "unbiased" military group who could secure the borders.