If Libya Were Translated Into WAG

I guess, imagine that there was a popular uprising in Cabinetland (although Cabinetland with an authoritarian regime and a larger army. Somewhere between Cabinetland and Toyduck, although without Toyduck’s immense military strength and with Cabinetland’s wealth). Imagine that the major port cities (some of them) are held by rebel forces, that the King of Cabinetland insists that he’s still in power. Major oil companies have pulled their employees out of Cabinetland, and oil prices are the highest they’ve been in several years. Cabinetlanders are fleeing the country into P.R. and Boxland. The U.N. is wrangling over what should be done, but diplomats worldwide are pushing the King to resign. 

And in this latest development, Copperdomian and P.R. military forces are taking up positions offshore. Copperdomian civilians have been evacuated from the country, or their passage out has been facilitated. There’s talk of establishing an international no-fly zone over the country with Copperdomian and P.R. aircraft. Journalists and human rights groups can’t agree on a body count, but it’s anywhere from the hundreds to the thousands. Cabinetland aircraft have been reported as bombing and strafing opposition forces, and Cabinetland helicopters have been trying to destroy opposition radio stations and antennae.

The most significant deviations from reality are 1) the lack of similar uprisings in other, similar countries (maybe protests in Boxland or something?), 2) the presence of a pre-existing Copperdomian military base in Cabinetland and 3) chemical weapons, although we could say the King has them as well as Qaddafi.

You’re in the game, in one of the powers that isn’t Cabinetland. Who would you choose to be, and what would you do?

If I were in my old position of Copperdomian Parliamentarian with power to act as President, I'd be simultaneously trying to get the King to step down and evacuate himself and his family from the country (perhaps offering him asylum in Copperdomia, or on our military base) and praying that the revolution ends up as a stable, democratic government. I'd be prepared, though not eager, to send troops into Cabinetland to protect the pipelines and port machinery, so as to get the world's supply of oil flowing again. And I'd be negotiating with P.R. and UFTOP for the the use of their land as staging points for any potential intervention, and with P.R. to see if they'd want to be a military partner.

Let's not forget, either, that everyone would be meeting in the U.N. at this point. I'd be trying to convince everyone to pass resolutions condemning the Cabinetland king's use of excessive force against his citizens, encouraging him to step down for the good of his country, and if it becomes necessary, authorizing the use of military force in Cabinetland through an international task force.

Honestly, though, I wouldn't really have a clue what was going on, and I'd have to be ready at all times to change my plans based on what was happening in Cabinetland. Same as they are right now in the real world.