Libyan Arms Deals Come Back to Haunt Europe

In Egypt, a military that refused to shoot fellow citizens made all the difference in overturning a regime that had held on to power for more than 30 years. But other rulers and military leaders – such as Libya’s – are less stricken by conscience. For more than a decade, Libya was subject to UN sanctions. Those were lifted in 2003, and Europe ended its arms embargo in 2004. Since then, the nation’s dictator stocked up on helicopters, firearms, radar and other electronic equipment – and now uses these to crush protests in Tripoli and other cities. Defense manufacturers in Germany, Italy and elsewhere have made hundred of millions of euros selling equipment to regimes throughout the Middle East, sometimes bypassing limits by running sales through nearby Malta, notes David Böcking for Spiegel Online. The European governments also did not object that such defense equipment like radars might be used on refugees trying to escape corrupt regimes with ruined economies. – YaleGlobal