Will the new era in Libya result in a brighter future?

22So said Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, the leader of the transitional government, in an address to a high-powered meeting on Libya at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The presence of President Barack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other world leaders was a reflection of the importance of the session given the uncertainties facing the oil-rich North African nation. For more than four decades, Libya was ruled by military strongman Moammar Gadhafi, but seven months ago rebels began an offensive against the government.

The United States joined European nations in conducting bombing raids on Gadhafi’s forces, military bases and other installations to prevent the massacre of Libyan freedom fighters. That intervention was the turning point in the campaign to oust the Libyan leader.

As President Obama, who has been harshly criticized by Republicans for intervening in the internal affairs of a country, put it during the session on Libya’s future, “When the civilians of Benghazi were threatened with a massacre, we exercised the authority. Our international coalition stopped the regime in its tracks, saved countless lives, and gave the Libyan people the time and space to prevail.”

NATO allies along with Arab states participated as equal partners, while the Obama administration’s role marked a “new era of engagement” with the United Nations.

The raising of the new Libyan flag at the U.N. and the seating of the transitional government in the General Assembly are developments that deserve to be applauded.

“This is how the international community should work in the 21st century — more nations bearing the responsibility and costs of meeting global challenges,” Obama said.

But underlying the euphoria that has gripped the nation since Gadhafi went into hiding — he continues to issue communiqu s saying he has not been defeated — and the celebration in New York for the new-found freedom is the reality that the future is uncertain, at best, and dangerous, at worst.

Economy in shambles

The pledge from world leaders to support the fledgling government is important for several reasons: although Libya is rich in oil, its economy is in shambles; the mechanism of democratic government must be built from the ground up; elections must be held; a constitution must be written, with an emphasis on protecting the human rights of all citizens; a reconciliation process must be established; and the all-important oil industry must be restarted.

As the post-Hosni Mubarak era in Egypt is clearly demonstrating, good intentions are soon forgotten when individuals who have been kept away from the levers of power suddenly find themselves wielding power. The Egyptians who participated in the mass uprisings that led to Mubarak’s ouster are growing impatient with the slow pace of change.

With each passing day, the discontent of the people grows. The military is in the charge of the transition and is aware that it won’t take much to ignite another public uprising.

The Libyan transitional government must move quickly to make democracy a reality.

For its part, the U.S. should let it be known that it expects the new Libya to be an economic partner, especially with regard to oil production. The American people expect a nation with so much potential wealth to defray the cost of freeing it.