Comments on: Libya: Here we go again

By: Nalliah Thayabharan

Nalliah Thayabharan — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 01:57:32 +0000

Since the 1950s Western imperialists have been in the business of regime change, assassinations and propping up client states to pillage the wealth of nations.
In 1953, England and America overthrew the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh of Iran. The coup was orchestrated by the intelligence apparatus of both countries after Mr. Mosaddegh nationalized the oil industry that was controlled by foreign interests. They set up Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (the shah of Iran) as a puppet authoritarian ruler who relied heavily on U.S. support.
In 1961, in the Congo, the CIA in collaboration with Belgium plotted the overthrow and subsequent murder of Patrice Lumumba—the country’s first post colonial prime minister—and installed Joseph Mobutu who served America for 32 years until his own demise at the hands of Clinton administration backed proxies, Rwanda and Uganda. The war caused the death of 6 million Congolese.
In 1966, Ghanaian independence leader Dr. Kwame Nkrumah was deposed by the CIA using ambitious enemies from within Ghana while Dr. Nkrumah was abroad in China on a peace mission attempting to mediate the Vietnam conflict.
Another gross example of U.S. meddling in the affairs of others was the September 11, 1973 ousting and assassination of the legitimate, elected government of President Salvador Allende of Chile. The coup d’état was organized by the Richard Nixon administration and Chilean military, ushering in the brutal dictator General Augusto Pinochet. These are only three examples out of many that can be named as examples of America’s pursuit of wicked foreign policy objectives.
A dictator becomes a “dictator” abhorred by his countrymen when he has overused his authority & power. These are good lessons for such leaders overstepping their power because they have come to equate power as their right. Such have been the countries that the West have been quick to ear mark & target for overthrowing these countries has been an easy effort to enter & dislodge these leaders. It is these very citizens who end up helping the overthrow take place, thus the non-requirement for stretched military equipment or personnel & the use of their own to minimize the casualties to their own countrymen. Collateral damage is what the West would call this. The countries where these leaders become “dictators” are often rich in natural resources which are one reason why they end up misusing the mandate given to them & becoming power hungry & their stooges & families end up devastating the country to which they are supposed to function as custodians.
It is the lack of answering this all important question that demands the West not to use these false clichés of “freedom from dictators” as an excuse. No sooner these “dictators” are overthrown the first thing the West ends up doing is to tap the natural resources, take over the economic hubs & privatize all channels that will supply their countries a steady flow of monetary returns & economic gain. All those who played an indirect role in aiding the West by providing support end up just turning their heads away. Therefore, when we all know Iraq was a mistake it is good to now ask whether Libya is going to be another – where the consequences to the future of the people of these countries were never part of the strategy or overall plan!
It is not hard to deduce that all of the efforts to overthrow Governments whatever type of governance has taken place in these countries are done so purely on the basis of acquiring the wealth of these nations. The calls for removal of these “despots” or “dictators” are mere slogans helped greatly by the mass media that provides the visuals of sensationalism to justify the overthrowing by painting the perfect picture of saviors against despots. It took no time for Mubarak of Egypt, the one time darling of the West to be portrayed with so much hatred by the media with no reminder to the public that he was an agent of the West. This is what is likely to happen to all other political leaders who think they will remain the darlings of the West & continue corrupt leadership.
In any democracy where people come to power on the strength of a vote it is natural that almost half the nation will not vote in favor of the overall winner. This is certainly not basis for any country to say that a leader is opposed & plans set to overthrow him.
The countries that are currently earmarked for regime change will know from diplomatic statements where their countries are heading for & this alone should suffice to ensure the country is set in order & issues that are likely to be used as excuses are properly taken care of. Corruption being one excuse is a perfect area to ensure that politicians, their stooges & the corrupt public service immediately function as they should & not as they want to run for the repercussions are far more dangerous in the present context.
If any country should be saved by the West it should be Palestinians suffering in Gaza for years as a result of Israeli. What does the US do instead – it vetoes Resolutions brought against Israel in the UN.
- Nalliah Thayabharan

By: Will Podmore

Will Podmore — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:20:45 +0000

Britain’s brutally aggressive adventure in Libya is to be utterly condemned.

Claiming falsely to protect civilians, British military jets are raining munitions from the sky on to Tripoli and other Libyan cities in a ‘shock and awe’ assault, acting on behalf of one side in a civil war, trying to assassinate the head of state of a sovereign country and to teach a lesson to Libyans who dare to support their independence in the face of imperialist intentions.

The British action is both shameful and cowardly. British troops are not to be risked, yet the Libyan people die in intensive bombing raids. In spite of a deliberately vague UN resolution, the action is illegal under international law. It is terrorism, inflicted by our government against a sovereign state which is no threat to us or its neighbours.

Britain acts as cheerleader to EU aggression, promoting the interests of the USA, which grabs its chance to seize control in awkward Middle East states which refuse to do its bidding. It is no coincidence that Libya has the highest standard of health, education and infrastructure in North Africa, that Gaddafi’s government is resistant to religious extremism, and that Libya has high-quality oil.

At a time when government tells us there is no money for civilised life at home, there is unlimited funding for the bombings – likely to top £1 billion by the end of the year. War is waged on us at home, and on the Libyan people in their country.

Where is the outcry? Why have workers not protested against this outrage? The voice of the trade unions is absent. Not surprisingly Labour MPs remain largely silent, except to complain that they aren’t being fully consulted on each escalation in the war which they support, and to assert that the civil not military budget must be used to fund it. In targeting Gaddafi as head of state, and killing his son and three young grandchildren, the British government is perpetrating state terrorism.

We should support the right of the Libyan people to determine themselves the affairs and government of their country, free from imperialist meddling. Whatever the future holds for Libya, it is not our business, nor that of the USA or the EU.

By: Jamie

Jamie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:45:48 +0000

I completely agree with your statement about the world leaders who take military action for their own political and strategic ends. There are so many interests involved in this war that they will hardly be able to bring it to a halt. And I also think the next year’s presidential elections in some of the most powerful countries will be a good reason to prolong the Libyan conflict.

By: Ralph Parlour

Ralph Parlour — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:14:41 +0000

Just remember something else, you should try to develop your basic marxist understanding of how the world works. Not everything that is bad is caused by greedy capitalists and not everything that the west does is in support of said capitalists. Your analysis is very shallow and basic.

By: Ralph Parlour

Ralph Parlour — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:59:05 +0000

yawn.. typical, could have been written by anyone. Oil explains everything does it? Why didn’t we invade Sudan then under the pretext of Humanitarian Intervention, or Bahrain, or Saudi Arabia? lets just leave the dictator in power and let him kill his people indiscriminately. The problem with your theory is that you can’t prove it, when we invade a resource rich nation you say its for oil, you forget when there are no resources like Kosovo or Siera Leone. You are having your cake and eating it, the world is more nuanced than you seem to be able to understand.