Five months after rebels killed Muammar Qaddafi and a year after a Western-Arab air campaign intervened to help defeat him, Tripoli reopened its stock exchange Thursday to signal that Libya is again open for business.
True, just nine companies listed to trade their shares when the tiny exchange opened, three fewer than before the uprising. But Libya is the richest of the countries that unseated dictators during the Arab Spring. Elections to a National Assembly are set for June, with a new constitution to follow. Sitting on Africa’s largest oil reserves, this desert nation the size of Alaska should have excellent prospects for rebuilding its economy and using the proceeds to help found a democratic society.
So, was the North Atlantic Treaty Organization intervention a success? With debate rising over whether to intervene to stop the bloodshed in Syria, Libya’s example is being cited as a model to follow.
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