By Michael Makovsky

The New Republic

Sept. 26, 2011

Since Muammar Qaddafi was toppled in Tripoli, Saddam Hussein’s fall in Baghdad eight years ago and 1,800 miles away has framed much of the way many think about it. Global leaders, reporters, experts, and even Libyan officials have explicitly argued that Libya will not become another Iraq. This is particularly emphasized when addressing oil and natural gas, which not only dominate Libya’s economy but also are important to the global economy. Indeed, the potential challenges Libya faces are evident from the fact that only this year did Iraq consistently surpass its immediate prewar oil production and export levels. But while the two countries share some similarities, they also are vastly different in many ways, including the circumstances of their regime change. These differences make the chances of a quick revival of Libya’s oil and natural gas industry more likely—especially if it avoids some of the costly mistakes made in Iraq.

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Foreign Policy Project