Bernard-Henri Levy and the West's Intervention in Libya: A Discussion with Experts
Sarkozy's motivation may not only have been his friend BHL, however. "He had been on the wrong side in Tunisia," Kuperman continued. "His minister was buddy buddy with the president of Tunisia, so it looked like France supported the authoritarian leader, and this was an embarrassment to Sarkozy. He wanted to get back on the right side of history and one way to do it was to support the revolution in Libya." Historian Jason Pack at Cambridge had a similar assessment: "Sarkozy is a Gaullist at heart; he believes in aggrandizing French power." In foreign policy, his aim was to make France great again.
Jason Pack commented tersely: "Gaddafi considered OK in today's Libya? That isn't what Libyans are saying: as frustrated as many are with today's lack of security, no one wants to go back to a strongman. Besides, why discuss now whether Libya would have been better off with or without intervention? Political analysts don't deal with counterfactuals. The current situation in Libya post-liberation may have deteriorated due to the NTC's poor ability to consolidate power, with the militias left largely in control, but none of this means that the NATO No-fly zone and the concept of intervention per se wasn't morally and strategically justified and successful executed. The West helped a genuinely Libyan movement to overthrow their dictator."