New
Benghazi
Books, from
Exit the
Colonel, a
Guardian Short
and Shalgam,
Long
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 20 --
Benghazi being
one for the
books, it has
seemed time to
cite some
recent
publications
on and from
Libya.
Ethan
Chorin's "Exit
the Colonel,"
due for
publication on
October
23, is
surprisingly
light on the
process at the
UN, not even
mentioning
Resolution
1970 which
referring
Gaddafi &
Co. to the
International
Criminal
Court.
But
Chorin does
recount how
France "jumped
the gun" after
Resolution
1973 and began
bombing with
some eight
Rafale jets in
what
they called Operation
l'Harmattan.
And,
to his credit,
Chorin
critically
memorializes
that "as of
2008, [Tony]
Blair was
hired by the
US bank
JPMorgan to
undertake
business
development in
Libya." Blair,
of course,
continues as
representative
of the
Quartet, while
wheeling and
dealing in
Gaza.
Chorin
also offers
this
explanation of
Germany's
abstention on
Resolution
1973: "German
firms had
already begun
negotiations
with the
Libyans to
create a vast
solar power
array in the
Libyan desert
capable of
supplying up
to 20 percent
of Europe's
industrial
energy
needs." Where
is that
project now?
Inner
City Press
last week
asked Libyan
Ambassador
Abdelrahman
Shalgam if
he was aware
of Chorin's
book. He was
not, but
recounted to
Inner
City Press
anecdotes from
his own 559
page book
published by
Dar al
Madarek in
Cairo year,
about
Gaddafi's
people.
Shalgam did
not address
the
conflict in
his mission,
this time when
an underling
spoke about
the
the "siege" of
Bani Walid and
got fired for
his advocacy.
"He
broke the
chain of
command,"
another Libyan
diplomat told
Inner
City Press.
But didn't
Shalgam?
Nor
does "Exit the
Colonel"
mention
Shalgam's
deputy Ibrahim
Dabbashi,
still more
active around
the UN. It
does, however,
cite
Chris Stevens
in the
Acknowledgments,
as well as
Shalgam and
his
book, several
times.
"Exit
the Colonel:
The Hidden
History of the
Libyan
Revolution"
has
been praised
by Joe Wilson
and Libya
uber-pundit
Dirk
Vandewalle,
who
was hired by
the UN's Ian
Martin to help
whip up his
oft-changed
plan
for a UN
Mission in
Libya.
The
Guardian has
put out a "short"
by Martin
Chulov and
Luke
Harding,
"Libya: Murder
in Benghazi
and the Fall
of Gaddafi."
It
seems an
interesting
format, with
the Guardian
reportedly
considering
like others
dispensing
entirely with
a printed
version.
""Exit the
Colonel," too,
is available
as an e-book
from Public
Affairs. The
hardcover
lists at
$29.99, so you
might want
to stay
digital. Watch
this site.
, 
