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After the US and our NATO allies provided a bunch of weapons and military aid to a diverse hodgepodge of Libyan militias, who mainly only agreed on the fact they didn’t like Muammar Gaddafi, it now appears they are having trouble getting along. From The Guardian:
The Libyan leader, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, has vowed to use force to stop the country breaking up after leaders in an eastern region declared autonomy.
“We are not prepared to divide Libya,” he said, blaming infiltrators and pro-Gaddafi elements for backing the autonomy plan. “We are ready to deter them, even with force.”
His comments come amid mounting evidence that Libya is slowly splintering into a series of rival fiefdoms controlled by competing militias, who increasingly follow their own agendas rather than acting in the national interest.
Who could possibly have predicted that in a resource rich country, armed militias often based on strong tribal/regional identities might not choose to play nice with each other when there are billions in riches at stake. Didn’t our own country just have a very recent experience with another oil rich country, Iraq, that started a bloody internal conflict after we helped take out the nation’s long-time dictator?
I hope for the sake of the Libyan people that things go well there, but most of modern history makes me incredibly pessimistic.
I don’t care to debate whether or not Libya will be better off as a result of the United States helping to kill Gaddafi. That’s partly because it is unknowable and partly because such things can’t be properly judged until you see the long term ramifications.
What I do know is that since we foolishly chose to get involved in a war that had nothing to do with us, in the minds of many the United States will now share the blame for the sins committed by those we helped bring to power. It is as though our entire foreign policy is about assuring that we will create enough potential blowback to keep the CIA in business for another generation.
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Yeah, how’s that Libyan thing working out for the r2p folks, aka bomb them for humanitarian reasons too.
Suppose they will now do the same for Syria ?
In an article on Syria at counterpunch.org, Vijay Prashid defined the excuse of “humanitarian aid” as the “lubricant for war”. Perhaps the MOTU(US/NATO) will learn their lesson after they destroy a third “sovereign” nation. Then again this may just be a new policy of “Small Wars” to keep their own oppressed citizens distracted and their MIC’s in business.
So which side will we take if civil war breaks out do we side of the govt or the rebels demanding freedom from the govt? LOL
I don’t care to debate whether or not Libya will be better off as a result of the United States helping to kill Gaddafi. That’s partly because it is unknowable and partly because such things can’t be properly judged until you see the long term ramifications.
But isn’t that what politicians do. We bailed out the banks because not doing so would have been so much worse.
We bombed libya because had we not many more would have been killed
We will bomb Iran because if we don’t at some point they will destroy us
Seems speculation is now fact and is reported as such in MSM except when said speculation does not support what western govts want and then it is speculation or worse
From 54africanvoices
Global Ranking of Oil Reserves in 2011 Libya was Ranked at No.9 with 47Billion Barrels of Oil.
And SYRIA is in 38th Place in Global Rankings with 2.5Billion Barrels. That Clearly explains the “Financial options”. Basically US would not Benefit by Invading Syria. And since we the Topic of Oil “IRAQ” is Ranked 5th Place Globally with 143Billion Barrels of oil.
I hope by now Your starting to see a Trend. $$$
I have picked up no evidence of a desire for overt war there. Covert is going on in full swing. How else would rebels have been able to hold onto Homs for so long.
Problem with Syria, the little I understand about it, is that there’s no Chalabi that the anti-Assad folks, incl Israel, have waiting in the wings to take over once Assad is overthrown. There also seems to be some vague recognition among the PTB who care that Syria has an even more complicated internal makeup than Iraq or Libya, so perhaps just mess it up a bit instead of doing full scale overthrow.
But wtf do I know about Syria. Or what goes on in OPM (other people’s minds). Precious little.
Hmmm. Now I have an executive decision to make. Stick with the “bomb them for humanitarian reasons too,” a phrase I coined, or go with
I’m fighting off a cold, so not up to making that executive decision today.
Let’s not just be all 19th century, Kantish, and eurocentrically posit the “national interest” as an undoubted good, though. The place has a history; Gaddafi, from what I understand, kept a bunch of fractious groups together, some of whom were more loyal to him than others. There may be a case to make for some kind of breakup. Brief description of the place in all its very complex tribal and ethnic complexity here:
http://www.temehu.com/Libyan-People.htm
There are also those who claim that breaking the place up was Europe and the US’s goal. And some kind of loose confederation is also possible:
http://www.canada.com/news/Tribal+leaders+threaten+start+break+Libya/6258269/story.html
Seems to me that, in the olden days, when there was a “revolution” abroad, and either we or the Brtitish picked the new leader, that things worked out much better.
My understanding is that lots of African and the Middle Eastern countries are actually made up of “warring factions” that are …….perpetually……warring.
That could be an impediment for the establishment of a peaceful democracy. /s
Sorry about your cold. I respect your intelligence and linguistic ability, but I’m really partial to “lubricant for war”.
It follows unfortunately that Santorum is the best lubricant for war, does it not.
Two intersting links. Thanks Matt.
Santorum is only partially composed of lube, the remainder is fecal matter. Not sure it’s the best lubricant, but it does result in a “frothy mixture”.
Another factor to consider is that essentially all significant government overthrows experience years of post-conflict “sorting out.”
Here in the U.S., we had years brutal revenge-taking after our Revolutionary War.
It’s been my experience that shit is slippery. Toured the waste treatment plant in L.A. once. Plus gets everyone in the mood for bombing and killing for Democracy.
Especially BP or Exxon Mobil?
And we never did get along with that South Carolina tribe.
It was the British Empire that created many of the “nations” in which the neo-British Empire(USA,Inc.) has been engaged in military actions in recent years. It’s almost if their actions were by design and constituted a reason to meddle with their sovereignty years later.
October would be my guess for when US special forces liberate/occupy Syria and locate the WMDs Saddam had sneaked in there in 2002-2003, and which will be ceremoniously but secretly removed and dumped into the sea.
“It could happen” — Judy Tenuta
I keep forgetting that I know this. r2p is also another name for White Man’s Burden.
Octotber is a good month for liberating enslaved peoples being systematically murdered under the thumb of a despotic dictator. Not too hot, not too cold.
Which is another term for colonization.
Only certain thing is it won’t be in August, ’cause “you don’t market a war in August.” /andrew card