The Wall Street Journal's Moneybeat blog proclaims that Libya is, "on the [b]rink of [c]haos". Indeed, many of the news reports about Libya sound very grim these days, predicting a descent into chaos precipitated by a nightmare scenario of armed brigades fighting over shrinking spoils as oil production comes to some imagined inevitable halt dooming Libya to a vicious cycle where infighting hampers revenue which prevents the kind of governmental and societal programs that would help disarm and demobilize the militias.Rather than looking at the ending of protests in Brega and lifting of force majeure on oil exports there as a positive sign, the author insists that Libya is still "a country descending into lawlessness".Certainly Libya is at its most chaotic since the spring and summer of 2011, but to claim that "in [Qadhafi's] absence it is falling apart" is misleading - Qadhafi himself was responsible for the lack of state institutions including a robust military that hampers the current interim government's efforts to reign in the militias.
Doom and Gloom in the Media