History has shown us that an invading force's ability to 'divide and rule' is crucial to its success in establishing itself in the country it has captured. The Islamic State (IS) has flipped this maxim on its head. It may be a stretched and nebulous organisation, but IS is gaining ground because it sees that division has not won the support of hearts and minds in the Middle East and North Africa. Those existing in the fragments of war(s) need something concrete to fight for: unity. IS leadership, or at least a warped utopian conception of it and the fickle unity it will bring, is working. It is uniting and conquering even if its resources are waning because it has recognised that the war it is waging will be won if the organisation succeeds in entering those very same vanquished hearts and minds. They seem to be managing. And they are doing so on Malta's doorstep.

This is not a drill

I cannot help but admit that I am scouring news sources around Europe to try and gain as clear a picture of what is happening as possible. I am at system overload.

On the one hand, I want to believe that everything is going to be OK, that, really, it is the media's job to drum up interest and attention and they are achieving that in spades. On the other, I know it's not going to just be fine. By that, I do not mean Malta is in imminent danger of attack. We have heard time and time again from our government (and other entities) that there is nothing to suggest that this is the case. What I mean when I say it's not going to just be fine is that regardless of the short-term solution that can be cobbled together at this point, with or without the overt support of the EU and the UN, Malta needs to look at the long-term ramifications of what is happening in Libya, in North Africa generally and the Middle East. Things are not going to just fall into place. And they aren't, Malta needs to take an entirely different approach to its security strategy.

In order to do this, Malta needs to situate itself not as a vocal bystander but as an active contributor with a clearly defined role. The country needs to envision itself as a leader. It is all well and good that several figureheads nationally and at EU level have produced many rousing speeches that signal the urgency of the situation or plead for it to be taken with the requisite seriousness, but at this point it is just lip service.

'When one considers our size...'

I fear that our self-perception as unable to cope, as vulnerable and at a loss, is rubbing off on our European partners. Yes, obviously, Malta needs assistance. But that isn't something unique to us. It is all about how we go about getting that assistance. If we don't take ourselves seriously, we are not going to be taken seriously. We cannot persist in considering ourselves in pejorative terms and then demand different treatment. Our size has absolutely nothing to do with our ability to take ownership of the situation. I am quite bored of reading about our military's limited resources, operational capacity and deployability rate. No one is expecting us to charge Libya and now is absolutely not the time to be counting heads in our army and guns in our arsenal. If we believe that there is a diplomatic solution to the situation in Libya, let's not waste time taking stock.

A little help from our friends

I was unnerved about British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond's weary-eyed snap visit to Malta. I'm sure he had off-the-agenda things to discuss. It was the way his visit was almost used to alleviate our fears - a big brother's comforting pat on the shoulder, a cuddle from an old friend. That's cute, but from where I'm standing, his visit was just a testament to the fact that in moments like this one, we have this tendency to nip at the heels of those we perceive to be more powerful. We hope that if we bite hard enough they will listen. If they don't listen, that's frustrating. But what's more counterproductive is that having registered this deafness, we tuck our tails between our legs, sulk and repeat the same stock phrases ad nauseam. It doesn't get us anywhere. The government should be able to instil within us all a sense of security about the situation, rather than rely on our old friends to do so. There are many ways to do this, phoning a friend is not one of them.

Similarly, thinking on our feet is going to take us further than frantically tugging at the EU's skirts and ties. Considering the latter is part of the target, relying on our capability to come up with culturally and politically aware strategies to deal with the crisis in Libya is definitely a more coherent way forward on the issue. Malta can be a leader in this crisis because it has the cultural and political links to do so. It should be our responsibility to man the deck because this is a ship we know well. The country has the added benefit of quite an untainted neutrality, historically speaking. It is credible and has shown itself so in the past. This credibility and unique position should be used constructively - trying to anchor ourselves in our stronger European counterparts, cap in hand, is not helping.

Slacker or Leader

The EU is at war on many fronts. It has become increasingly atomised and divided in its approach to foreign policy. Malta needs to learn to look to itself in moments like this, and trust in its diplomatic capacities to be a unifying force. While taking an interlocutory position is a positive thing - dialogue is an invaluable strategic tool - showing constructive, confident and concrete leadership in the matter would serve us in far better stead. It is not just about seeking consensus, but leading this consensus and subsequently steering action.

Now is as good a time as any, so what are we waiting for?