Old pitfalls face the new Libya

The death of Moammar Gadhafi marked the success of a popular uprising and boosted neighboring liberation movements. It vindicated the Obama administration's strategy of "leading from behind" and not deploying ground troops, inoculating Libyan rebels from charges of collaboration with the United States. And it made a lengthy insurgency less likely.

But the circumstances of the insurgents' assault on Sirte, Gadhafi's last hideout, portend problems that the United States should address before they provoke a backlash. The siege of Sirte was brutal, deepening the fear, anger, and alienation of the region's tribes and peoples. Reports of extrajudicial executions and indiscriminate shooting continue to haunt the former rebel army. Moreover, although Libya's governing National Transitional Council has promised to reach out to Gadhafi loyalists, events in Sirte raise the specter of a new government that engenders resentment and, eventually, violent resistance.

As Libya enters this postwar phase, the United States and its allies must take further steps to assure that it's on a path to peace, democracy, and integration into the global community.

America and its allies are right to entrust decisions about the political system to Libyans rather than impose external models. Given its popular mandate, the National Transitional Council merits material and diplomatic support. However, the United States and others should also seek to ensure that the new government's behavior doesn't cross lines in three areas: human rights, civilian protection, and political inclusion.

First, the international community should insist that the new Libyan government observe international human rights standards. The Obama administration has embraced this stance generally, but it should also press the former rebels to hold accountable the most egregious human rights violators in their ranks.

Second, the new government must protect civilians from harm, even from groups unaffiliated with the government. The U.N. Security Council's authorization of military force against the Gadhafi regime was based partly on its failure to protect civilians, and the National Transitional Council should be held to the same standard.