The US Intervention in Libya--question for diplomatic historians

Someone at the OAH mentioned that intellectual historians are currently dominating the corps of diplomatic historians, so I hope some of you might be able to help.

How do we assess whether or not the US should be involved in Libya? How important is it that "we" do? I mean, other than ordinary citizens writing their congressmen or foreign policy experts being able to write op-eds?

I came across this post today through H-Afro Am (I'm linking it from another location--it's all over the web) and I wonder how to assess it's validity as a non-specialist in the region?

"Libya, Getting it Right: A Revolutionary Pan-African Perspective" by Gerald A. Perreira / March 4th, 2011

For those of us who have lived and worked in Libya, there are many complexities to the current situation that have been completely overlooked by the Western media and ‘Westoxicated’ analysts, who have nothing other than a Eurocentric perspective to draw on. Let us be clear – there is no possibility of understanding what is happening in Libya within a Eurocentric framework. Westerners are incapable of understanding a system unless the system emanates from or is attached in some way to the West. Libya’s system and the battle now taking place on its soil, stands completely outside of the Western imagination.

Read the rest here.