While Libya has been in chaos, America has been slowly stepping into the spotlight of foreign aid. In the last 72 hours, the Obama administration has been targeted on cutting off as much money as possible from the Libyan government. As mush as $29.7 billion of Libyan property have been within one bank. Here is what the Washington Post reports:
The Treasury Department team had been working nonstop on a plan to freeze Libyan assets in U.S. banks, hoping they might snare $100 million or more and prevent Moammar Gaddafi from tapping it in the deadly attacks against protesters who wanted him gone.
Never before had U.S. officials so quickly launched economic sanctions affecting so many assets of a targeted country.
The frenetic 72 hours leading up to the Executive Order 13566 illustrate how a process of identifying and freezing assets — something that customarily has taken weeks or months — has become one of the first tactical tools to employ in the midst of fast-breaking crises.
The same virtual finances that helped maintain the Libyan government are now ironically the same ones being used against them. Although this freeze is only one of many actions used to slow down the dictatorship, there is no guarantee that it will slow Gaddafi down in any way. This action should dwindle his resources but after a look at Gaddafi's track record, it is obvious that he knows how to remain in power during rough rides. The US should also consider proactively going after sources supplying the Lybian dictatorship.
No comments:
Post a Comment