This
should end the war in Libya, a war reported as �civil� because it was
between the rebels opposing and the infamous, longtime leader
of Libya, the now-deceased
Moammar Gadhafi. Gadhafi was brutally killed last week by
those pursuing him on behalf of the U.S.-sanctioned National
Transitional Council (NTC), the new interim government of
Libya. America�s
involvement - however shady - should end our combat operations
in the region, right? I mean, President Obama announced
the troops in Iraq will be home for Christmas and all we
have left is Afghanistan�yet like a late-night TV infomercial,
�but wait, there�s more!�
Even
though the American people are tiring of Middle East wars,
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Sunday that military action
to protect civilians in Syria
might be considered now that NATO�s air campaign in Libya is ending. Success is addicting�
McCain
spoke at the World Economic Forum in Jordan, saying �Now that military operations in
Libya are ending, there will be renewed focus on
what practical military operations might be considered to
protect civilian lives in Syria.�
That was the story sold to us by our government in Libya: protecting civilian lives. If that was
the case, then why, days after Gadhafi was captured and
executed (by the peace-loving rebels), were 53 Gadhafi loyalists
found dead in a hotel just after Gadhafi�s corpse was put
on public display?
What
I know is, the thought of teaching American ideals to those
we want as allies is a scary proposition. You see, we claim
to bring democracy to regions where we make cameo appearances,
and for whatever reason, we fail to bring democracy. Hell,
we wanted immunity in exchange for staying on in Iraq. Isn�t due process a part of democracy? If
you do something illicit - say, kill someone
- aren�t you supposed to own up to it, accept responsibility?
Gadhafi was sodomized and tortured when captured by the
U.S.-sanctioned rebels. We�re teaching everything other
than democratic values.
�The
Assad regime should not consider that it can get away with
mass murder. Gadhafi made that mistake and it cost him everything,�
McCain also said. Didn�t we provide the resources to NATO
so that they could bomb Libya?
Isn�t killing large numbers of people the definition of
�mass murder?� This is his precursor to knocking down another
domino in the Middle Eastern theater.
It
appears that the United States
is indeed on a mission, a mission to imperialize (and I
don�t use that term often) the entire Middle East on behalf
of Israel. Each �enemy� happens
to be a nation with a majority Islamic population. It�s
really hard for any reasonably breathing person not to think
it�s about religion, but of course, its not. It�s purportedly
all about democracy, peace and a better way of life (i.e.,
capitalism).
Speaking
of capitalism, isn�t it strange that the only countries
America
devotes resources to topple are countries with something
to give (or be taken) in return? We went to get Sadaam;
he had oil and Gadhafi? Well, he had oil and he also
had 143.8 tons of gold�the real reason for the invasion.
Wherever there are resources, there the United
States
will
be. Can�t you see that you are facilitating evil, murder
and greed? Not to mention a Russian article titled, �Bombing
of Libya: Punishment for Gadhafi for His Attempt to Refuse
US Dollar�, where Gadhafi did as deposed Iraq leader Sadaam
Hussein tried to do: he initiated a movement to refuse the
dollar and the euro, and called on Arab and African nations
to use a new currency instead, the gold dinar. Gadhafi suggested
establishing a united African continent, with its 200 million
people using this single currency.
General
Wesley Clark, who commanded the NATO bombing campaign in
the Kosovo war, recounted in Winning Modern Wars,
his 2003 book, being told in November 2001 by a friend at
the Pentagon, that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld�s
and his deputy Paul Wolfowitz�s take-down list included
Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Sudan and Somalia.
Though
I�m an Arab Spring conspiracy theorist, let�s look at those
countries for the sake of argument. There�s Tunisia
(which just had elections yesterday), Egypt,
Bahrain,
Jordan, Morocco
and Oman�strategic
stones in the pond of conquest. Syria
is a geographical and political keystone in the heart of
the Middle East, bordering five countries with which it
shares religious and ethnic minorities and, in Israel�s
case, a fragile truce. Its web of alliances extends to Lebanon�s powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran�s Shiite theocracy.
There are worries that a destabilized Syria could send unsettling ripples through the
region.
McCain
has also threatened Iran. Will it be so easy to tip that domino? The
elite Revolutionary Guard, Iran�s
most powerful military force, has warned that there would
be a strong Iranian response if the U.S.
military were to take action against them. The only way
to get that domino is to put feet on the ground�like more
in Africa. President
Obama announced Friday he is sending roughly 100 �combat-equipped�
troops to Uganda as part of
an effort to capture rebel leader Joseph Kony. Kony sits
on mineral resources by the way.
Kony
is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes
charges because of his role as the head of the Lord�s Resistance
Army, a rebel group that has waged a 20-year war against
government forces in northern Uganda.
I
have to ask, when is enough, enough? Iran is the end game, but next on tap, Syria. Stay tuned
because, though you may not have asked for it, you get more
for your money. This infomercial will run all night long
if you let it. Libya was just a
bump in the road.
BlackCommentator.com
Columnist, Perry
Redd, is the former Executive Director of
the workers rights advocacy, Sincere Seven, and author of
the on-line commentary, �The
Other Side of the Tracks.� He is the host of the internet-based
talk radio show, Socially Speaking in
Washington,
DC.
Click
here to contact Mr.
Redd.
|