Foreign+Policy+Briefing

Adam Schiefelbein AP Government-3 3-8-11    **   Foreign Policy Briefing   ** 1. Afghanistan, Iran, Libya, North Korea, China www.state.gov 2. Libya. www.state.gov 3. U.S. Libyan conflict in 1986 [|www.historyguy.com] 4. Muammar Al- Gaddafi is the main political leader. [|www.terra.es] 5. Muammar Al- Gaddafi is also the main military leader. [|www.terra.es] 6a. Islam is the state religion. 97% of Libyans are Sunni Muslims. A small number are Roman Catholics. b. Berber and Arab are the main ethnicities. c. Arabic is the official language. Berber occasionally, and English and Italian for trade purposes. d. The average age is 24.2 e. 1.05 males to female ratio [|www.arab.de/arabinfo] and [|www.indexmundi.com] 7a. Libya has 75,000 active personnel and 40,000 men in reserve. b. Libya spends 1.2% of their gross domestic product on military budgets. c. Libya has 800 tanks though most are inoperable. 100 reconnaissance vehicles 1000 armored infantry fighting vehicles 945 armored personnel carriers 2, 421 artillery pieces 500 mortars 8,000 marines including the coast guard 2 submarines 3 surface vessels 16 patrol ships 18,000 airmen 394 aircrafts (many non-operational) d. Libya accordingly destroyed its entire stockpile of chemical weapons in 2004. Reportedly has 9.5 tons of mustard gas but can no longer deliver it. [|www.trust.org/alertnet/factbox] 8. The U.S. Libyan conflict in 1986 after the bombing of a German Disco. Currently in a state of deadly unrest. [|www.state.gov] 9. Libya’s main natural resources are Petroleum, Natural Gas, and Gypsum www.state.gov. 10. Libya has always had a somewhat tense relationship with the United States based on its ties with terrorist and Radical Islamist groups. However, the recent violence and civil uproar in the nation has greatly increased the possible threat that this nation poses to the United States. In an already volatile and dangerous region such as the Middle East, more conflict is never a positive sign. The nature of this particular conflict carries even more possible consequences for the United States. Not only will many more civilians be injured or killed if the conflict continues, but if the current regime is replaced with an even more hostile regime that wants open conflict with the United States, then violence not only in the Middle East will increase dramatically, but violence against the United states will invariably skyrocket. This is the threat posed by the situation in Libya.