- SETTING THE STAGE FOR INSERTING TROOPS INTO LIBYA
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- The US is falsely claiming that it has taken a back seat
roll to NATO in the offensive operations in Libya. But even the normally
pro-government NY Times revealed that "Pentagon officials disclosed
Wednesday that American warplanes had continued to strike targets in Libya
even after the Obama administration said the United States was stepping
back from offensive missions and letting NATO take the lead." But,
there's more deception and provocation to come in order to justify the
intervention of US and NATO troops in Libya. After all, there has to be
a reason the 2nd Marine Division is already in transit to the Mediterranean.
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- Rebel leaders in the besieged city of Misrata are claiming
that a "massacre" is going on because of some 23 civilian casualties
harmed in an artillery barrage. The US regularly kills that many civilians
in Afghanistan during air strikes and offensive operations, and yet they
have been beating the drums about this "humanitarian crisis"
and claim this level of casualties justifies ground troops.
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- Army General Carter Ham told CBS news that while "ground
forces wouldn't be ideal, they may be a possible way to aid rebels."
He admitted that the current operation is largely stalemated. Former CIA
Analyst Michael Scheuer also says that US air strikes have done almost
all that they can do and Gaddafi can't be dislodged without ground troops.
And that is why the US must conjure up a worse humanitarian crisis to justify
troops on the ground.
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- As Reuters reported, "Libyan rebels begged for more
NATO air strikes on Thursday, saying they faced a massacre from government
artillery barrages on the besieged city of Misrata, but Western allies
squabbled over the air campaign. Rebels said a hail of Grad rockets fired
by besieging forces into a residential district of Misrata, Libya's third
largest city, had killed 23 civilians, mostly women and children. Aid organizations
warn of a humanitarian disaster in Misrata, the lone rebel bastion in western
Libya, where hundreds of civilians are said to have died in a six-week
siege."
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- The rebels certainly know how to play the civilian damage
card: "'A massacre...will take place here if NATO does not intervene
strongly,' a rebel spokesman in Misrata told Reuters by phone." However,
reports of casualties have no independent verification because there are
no journalists on the ground.
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- "Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed concern
at a NATO meeting in Berlin over 'atrocities' in Misrata but gave no hint
Washington was prepared to re-engage in air strikes." There were two
fibs uttered here by Clinton--one that civilian casualties ("collateral
damage" as the US calls it when they do it) amount to atrocities,
and that Washington is prepared to "re-engage" in air strikes,
when they never stopped. Are we willing to subject ourselves to the same
"atrocity" standard when we create civilian casualties in Iraq
and Afghanistan? How about the civilian casualties (over 30) that resulted
from the NATO air attacks on Tripoli? Do those qualify as atrocities, and
if not, why should those who are victims of Gaddafi's artillery?
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- Clinton tried to put on a good face over Western resolve,
but stories coming out of Europe belie her claims. "Several NATO members
rebuffed calls from France and Britain to contribute more to the air attacks,
conducted under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians and U.S.
officials said allied commanders were not requesting greater resources
[another half-truth. It is true that the US doesn't need other military
resources (and the European leaders know this) but the US is desperate
to keep up the cover that NATO is running the show--hence the need for
much more NATO weaponry].
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- "French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet said this
week Gaddafi's attacks would not be stopped without U.S. participation
in strikes on his tanks and artillery. A French official cited Spain, Italy,
the Netherlands and Sweden among other allies who could do more. But Spain
said it had no plan to join the seven NATO states that have conducted ground
strikes while Italy, Libya's former colonial power, expressed reluctance
to launch attacks."
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- The US knows all too well that the shaky facade of allied
unity will only carry the show for so long. That is why it is essential
to make the siege of Misrata out to be a massacre. Once the US public is
convinced "something has to be done," the US will be able to
renege on the pledge of no troops and move into an invasion of Libya. That's
the only way the US is going to keep this from turning into a long-range
military debacle, showcasing EU impotence and infighting.
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- The role that Qatar plays in the false front NATO war
with Libya tells us a lot about how desperate the US is to hide our direction
and involvement. The UK Guardian has the story:
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- "Qatar is secretly supplying [French provided] anti-tank
weapons to the Libyan rebels as part of its strategy of working to overthrow
the Gaddafi regime, it has emerged. Officials in Doha confirmed that the
Gulf state's military had been shipping French-made Milan missiles to the
rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
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- "Qatari government officials were tight-lipped about
the deliveries, which are being organized by the joint chiefs of staff
and probably made by sea. Britain's foreign secretary, William Hague, and
colleagues from the 21-nation Libya contact group endorsed Qatar's position.
Hague insisted the UK would supply only non-lethal equipment [who are they
kidding?]. France's view is similar but both countries - which are leading
Nato air strikes in Libya - accept that arming the rebels is legal.
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- "Gaddafi's government has repeatedly complained
that the Qataris are supplying the rebels. Khaled Kayim, Libya's deputy
foreign minister, claimed on Wednesday that about 20 Qatari specialists
were already in Benghazi. Rebel spokesmen have said they are in talks with
'friendly' countries, including Qatar and France, to obtain weapons. Qatar's
armed forces are themselves equipped with the Milan but Alani said the
weapon could have been [more like "have been"] bought by the
Qataris directly from France for delivery to the Libyans.
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- "Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are the only
Arab states to participate in Nato-led military operations in Libya, although
the Arab League supports the no-fly zone. Sheikh Hamad was in Washington
on Thursday for talks with Barack Obama that were expected to include the
Libyan situation." You can bet a deal is be made to provide Qatar
with guarantees against a similar revolt happening there, in return for
Qatar's cooperation.
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- That point was brought home this week as the Obama administration
turned on its former "ally in the war on terror," Yemen and called
for the Saleh government to resign. Last month, Ali Abdullah Saleh was
safely in a cozy relationship with the US, and now he's not. Saleh was
no less tyrannical than Gaddafi, but it's not for the sake of consistency
that they are ousting him--it's part of a march of intervention across
the entire area.
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- Yemen expert Gregory Johnsen noted, "It is unfortunate
that the Obama administration's policy only began to shift in the past
week. Saleh's demise has been self-evident for much longer than that, and
consistent US refusals to see that and the resulting dithering and calls
for negotiations (asking protesters to give up the only leverage they have)
has only put US security interests more at risk."
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- For now, Qatar is safe, but it too will be betrayed.
Qatar is a tiny wealthy country with large oil resources. But it has to
play both sides of the fence to survive. It maintains good relations with
Iran and also hosts key US military bases. While playing up to the Arab
world, it also has a secret liaison with Israel and Hamas. Al-Jazeera,
the false front for British MI6, has their satellite TV station located,
not coincidentally, in Doha, Qatar.
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- So for now, Qatar is the go-between for the globalist
forces attacking Libya. It also hosts a Libyan rebel TV station and is
marketing the Libyan crude that is under the control of the eastern oil
fields taken away from Gaddafi.
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- End Excerpt
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- World Affairs Brief - Commentary and Insights on
a Troubled World. Copyright Joel Skousen. Partial quotations with attribution
permitted. Cite source as Joel Skousen's World Affairs Brief http://www.worldaffairsbrief.com
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- World Affairs Brief, 290 West 580 South, Orem, Ut 84058,
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