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Setting The Stage For Inserting
US Troops Into Libya

By Joel Skousen
Editor - World Affairs Brief  
4-15-11
 
SETTING THE STAGE FOR INSERTING TROOPS INTO LIBYA
 
Begin Excerpt
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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."
 
 
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.
 
 
"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?
 
 
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].
 
 
"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."
 
 
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.
 
 
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:
 
 
"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.
 
 
"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.
 
 
"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.
 
 
"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.
 
 
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.
 
 
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."
 
 
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.
 
 
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.
 
 
End Excerpt
 
 
 
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
 
 
World Affairs Brief, 290 West 580 South, Orem, Ut 84058, USA 
 
 
 
  
 
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