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Americas commander for its military role in the North African state of Libya calls it a powder keg. What he doesnt and probably couldnt explain is why the fate of Libya matters to the United States.

Libya has borders on Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and the Mediterranean Sea. The only habitable part of Libya is the coastal strip. The rest is almost entirely desert, although Libya does have oil.

The United States joined with France, Italy, Britain and some Arab states in 2011 to overthrow Libyas then-leader, Moammar Gadhafi, in power for 42 years since he led the overthrow of King Idris in 1969. Gadhafi was caught and killed by militia forces and since then Libya has ended up in a state of chaos, with three different regimes now claiming legitimacy. Many different militias operate, some independent, some intermittently supporting one of the three governments.

In the meantime people-smuggling continues unabated in the absence of a government, and Libyas oil production, normally its only meal ticket, drops, with even its oil ports changing hands periodically.

There is no good reason to remain in Libya except oil, if we needed it, and the fact that various components of al-Qaida and the Islamic State have been able to maintain their places there in the shelter of Libyan governmental incoherence.

Why the United States feels any need to involve itself in the affairs of Libya, particularly with military force, is impossible to explain to the American public.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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EDITORIAL: US involvement in Libya makes chaos worse - Jacksonville Daily News