With Moammar Gadhafi now ousted, Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) is scrambling to restore order to Tripoli. It remains to be seen whether international peacekeepers will be needed during the months ahead to ensure a peaceful transition toward a sustainable post-revolution society.
An Iraq-style security meltdown seems, at the moment, improbable. However, should it occur, the question of who from the international community might best be suited to intervene is likely to prove problematic, says Jane Kinninmont, a senior research fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House in London.
While NTC leaders and opposition rebels benefited significantly from NATO bombing raids against pro-Gadhafi forces, Kinninmont reminded Trend Lines on Thursday that they have consistently opposed the idea of foreign troops actually entering the country.