Crimes against Libya - Epilogue

In mid-January 2012, 12,000 US troops were positioned in Malta ahead of occupying Libya. On January 18, Libya SOS said hundreds of American soldiers already arrived. Libya's Western-appointed foreign minister said 6,000 came to Tripoli's Mitiga International Airport. Straightaway, they set up "mobile camps and equipment around oil fields and refineries." In other words, they're protecting Western interests, principally oil. Libyans lost their rightful resources and living standard they afforded.“Tunis Focus” reports that US forces are in Brega, Ras Lanouf, Sirte, and Tripoli's Mitiga International Airport. Moreover, US and NATO helicopters, warplanes, and drones now patrol Libyan airspace. They're surveilling and attacking suspicious targets. Ahead lies occupation, neo-colonization, pillaging, exploitation, violence and repression. It persists wherever America shows up. So does overwhelming suffering and human misery. Libyans experienced it for months. Much more lies ahead... NATO comes to stay. Like Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere, permanent bases will be built. Occupation, colonization and plunder will follow.

by Stephen Lendman

Until Washington and rogue NATO partners blocked its approval, the UN Human Rights Council praised Gaddafi in its January 2011 "Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Libya Arab Jamahiriya."It said his government protected "not only political rights, but also economic, educational, social and cultural rights." It also lauded his treatment of religious minorities, and "human rights training" of its security forces. Throughout most of 2011, NATO's killing machine destroyed 42 years of achievements. Literacy under Gaddafi rose from 20 - 80%. Libya's hospitals and private clinics were some of the region's best. Now they're in shambles. Before NATO intervention, all Libyans enjoyed free healthcare, education, electricity, water, training, rehabilitation, housing assistance, disability and old-age benefits, interest-free state loans, as well as generous subsidies to study abroad, buy a new car, help couples when they marry, practically free gasoline, and more. Impressive social benefits also included free land, equipment, livestock and seeds for agriculture to foster self-sufficient food production. In addition, all basic food items were subsidized and sold through a network of "people's shops."Moreover, since the 1960s, women could vote and participate politically. They could also own and sell property independently of their husbands. Under the December 1969 Constitutional Proclamation Clause 5, they had equal status with men, including for education and employment, even though men played leading roles in society.

Gaddafi's vision marked him for removal. It was just a matter of when, even though he cooperated with Western powers post-9/11 on matters of intelligence and terrorism. Until vilified and targeted, he was welcomed in Western capitals. In 2003, he came in from the cold, became a valued Western ally, and had meetings and discussions with top officials like UK Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, France's Nicolas Sarkozy, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, and others. He also participated in the 2009 G-8 Summit in L'Aquila, Italy as Chairman of the African Union. At the time, he met and shook hands with Obama. On May 16, 2006, Washington restored full diplomatic relations. Libya was removed from its state sponsors of terrorism list. At the time, Rice called the move:"tangible results that flow from the historic decisions taken by Libya's leadership in 2003 to renounce terrorism and to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs... Libya is an important model as nations around the world press for changes in behavior by the Iranian and North Korean regimes. "She also praised Gaddafi's "excellent cooperation" in fighting terrorism. Moreover, he opened Libya's markets to Western interests by arranging deals with Big Oil giants BP, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Occidental, France's Total, Italy's Eni Gas and others. By all appearances, he joined the club, so why turn on him? Though on board in some ways, he very much wasn't on others. He supported Palestinian rights. As a result, he opposed Israel's occupation and Gaza's siege. Earlier he backed South Africa's anti-apartheid struggles, as well as others in Northern Ireland, Spain, and elsewhere. He opted out of AFRICOM's imperial regional plan. He wanted Libyans to control their own resources and use revenues domestically for all Libyans. His Central Bank of Libya was state owned. It created its own money interest-free for economic growth, not speculation and wealth for predatory bankers. He promoted pan-African unity, an idea anathema to Washington and Western powers. He advocated a new "Gold Standard," replacing dollars with gold dinars, and hoped other African and Muslim states would adopt the idea. That alone got him targeted for removal.

Libya will long be remembered as one of history's great crimes. For over eight months, NATO's killing machine ravaged the country, killing tens of thousands. Civilians and non-military sites were deliberately targeted. Cold-blooded murder and mass destruction were planned. Sirte, a city once home to 100,000, symbolizes NATO's depravity. Terror bombing destroyed it. Thousands were massacred. Under siege for weeks, food, medical supplies and other essentials were cut off. Basic infrastructure was destroyed, including power, water and sanitation systems.
Homes, schools, mosques, hospitals and other civilian sites were bombed. Terror weapons were used including thermobaric fuel-air bombs and white phosphorous able to burn flesh to the bone.
Virtually every structure was destroyed or damaged. Rebel rats looted what they found. Over 400 air strikes targeted Sirte for weeks. Each delivered powerful munitions. In addition, rebel rats "indiscriminately shelled the town with tank fire, heavy mortar fire and artillery." Libya not only was ravaged, likely permanent contamination makes wide areas hazardous. No amount of radiation is safe. It's harmful, cumulative, permanent, unforgiving, and deadly...

Yes, but democracy finally arrived, right?

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Washington's man in Libya, commented after rival militia gun battles left "a trail of dead and injured."According to Jalil:"We are now between two bitter options. We deal with these violations by brigades strictly and put the Libyans in a military confrontation which we don't accept, or we split and there will be civil war. If there's no security, there will be no law, no development and no elections." Libya's NTC (New puppet government, the so-called National Transitional Council, which membership is largely secret, and is called the "rats council" by the Libyan masses) "faced a political crisis Sunday after protesters ransacked its offices in Benghazi, highlighting growing nationwide unease with its leadership and triggering a shake-up in which the governing council's No. 2 official resigned and several members were suspended." On Sunday, about 2,000 protesters raged outside NTC Benghazi headquarters. Using grenades, iron bars and stones, they set exterior grounds ablaze, broke windows, forced their way inside, ransacked offices, and confronted Jalil angrily. On January 22, BBC said NTC deputy chief Abdel Hafiz Ghoga resigned following growing protests against him. "My resignation is for the benefit of the nation," he said. In fact, he feared for his life after being accosted at gunpoint twice beaten twice, beaten, and called a "NATO mercenary. "Conflicting reports suggest Jalil and officials close around him may resign over anger about their rule. Perhaps so if it continues to grow. On January 23, NTC officials met secretly at an undisclosed location to adopt new election laws. Legal affairs head Salwa al-Digheili said secrecy was for "security reasons." Basic services aren't restored yet. Sirte, Bani Walid, and other devastated areas remain in ruins with no restoration plans. Tripoli is still violent. Regional militias control it. Days earlier, explosions rocked the city. Fighting raged around Maitiga International Airport and other areas. On January 23, London's Guardian headlined, "Gaddafi loyalists take back Bani Walid," saying:"Reports said at least four people were killed during clashes" between both sides. Many others were injured. According to Reuters, "They control the town now."...