1821, the year of the Greek Revolution and a new Greek relatively high-production-values documentary, can teach us much.
The Greek doc and HBO's John Adams are similar in teaching sometimes uncomfortable history. Without the French, we would have been sunk!
In 1821, the Ottoman Empire still spread over most of North Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans. Through a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events, people in what is now southern Greece, not only rebelled but succeeded in gaining their independence and established a western style kingdom in 1830, a mere nine years after the Revolution began.
Time is compressed these days. In the Greek Revolution of 1821, it took months for horrible atrocities to be reported from both sides and years before the Turks gained decisively the upper hand militarily.
In 1828, the Greek Rebellion was on the ropes. A vast Ottoman armada was about to put any remaining resistance to the sword. The Holy Alliance of Russia, France and Great Britain were concerned and had massed their fleets in the same bay (Navarino) as the Turks. Somebody fired (possibly one of the Egyptian ships) and in the close confines of the bay, it became a free for all shooting gallery. When the guns fell silent, little was left of the Ottoman force and the liberation of Greece was a done deal.
The difficulties for the newly borne nation began immediately and they were, of course, financial. Greece was blessed with an incredibly competent and visionary governor, Ioannis Kapodistrias, but the internal divisions were too great. Kapodistrias was assassinated by a faction from the Revolution that felt slighted in the post-revolutionary phase.
Similar things can be seen in American Revolutionary history both in that French help was vital and that in-fighting began immediately.
However my point is NOT that revolutions are flawed and fractious.
No.
My point is that both the Greek and the American Revolutions would have failed but for outside help, principally from France!
And I don't know about you but I am awfully glad both of the succeeded.
I'm not usually a cheerleader for France but the fact they were the first to recognize the Libyan National Council is great.
I really think we are obligated to help the Libyan Revolution. We can press our governments and NGOs. What can we do ourselves?