To be mild, Im nonplussed. Ok, the allied forces have attacked Libya and supposedly damaged its entire defense structure. Well done. Congratulations. So now what?
The question very quickly needing an answer is that are they aware of who or what they are dealing with? To a layman like me, this uprising trended whatever was happening in the region; a leaderless, popular movement that threatened to engulf. That movement has a very different aspect. The protestors are not armed to the teeth.
The pro-syndicate media ramming the world with moment-to-moment coverage of the Libyan onslaught is trying very hard to project a very meagerly equipped rebel army; in a WWII military jeep. But its more than that and the world is not filled with just the deaf and the blind, mentally or physically.
Rather than just the usual rhetoric spewed out by the leaders and loyally campaigned by the Western media, the world needs to know whether attacking, in any form, a sovereign government is a ready option to be exercised at will. If so, governance in any country will become impossible. Dont get me entirely wrong. I am appalled, as is everyone, at the allegedly brutal response of Muammar Gaddafi towards the rebellion.
Herein lies the crux of the matter. Is Gaddafi in possession of valid information that this movement is Al-Qaeda inspired but has for some reason been unable to convince the great powers? And are these powers so deeply embroiled in their visceral hatred for the man that they are willing to deal with the devil in order to get rid of him? Lets go beyond those opportunists who jump onto Western television channels and blast the regimes in office. Weve seen hundreds of those over the years. And those that the syndicate chose at early stages always hit the dust exposed.
One can be obviously sure of behind-the-scenes engagements to ascertain the bonafides of those running around in the military jeeps, but that has happened before without much real success. Wasnt it recently that some Taliban leader who was being nurtured turned out to be a complete fraud? Intelligence provided and followed has the world turning skeptical. The biggest examples being the inability to track down Bin Laden or find those WMDs that Bush used to attack Iraq.
Al-Qaeda can never be forgiven for the destruction of 9/11 and, for this reason, one has supported unflinchingly the action in Afghanistan. Even the drone attacks on the Pakistan side of the border have been more than condoned. Their death count rises on a daily basis and it is not just foreign terrorists, but also Afghan citizens and Pakistani citizens. But today, one is left in a quandary because the same principle is not being applied across the board.
Take Libya and Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, the ruling government is being supported to hammer a violent rebellion without let or hindrance and with no qualms of conscience; just a simple sorry, collateral damage at times for the innocent civilians being slaughtered. In Libya, the government is being hammered for trying to control a similar situation. Air cover is being provided for exactly the opposite reasons.
In Bahrain and Yemen again, philosophy diametrically opposed is in operation. Saleh, another alleged supporter of al-Qaeda is being taken down whereas in Bahrain, the alleged Shia protestors are being gunned down to protect the allies of the Oval Syndicate. Is this perhaps the deep hatred for Iran surfacing?
The world is becoming a real small place. Information flow has changed it completely and satellite access has provided input on the worlds biggest secrets. It has also given rise to the validity and the authenticity of information being provided. The bias of certain channels and certain anchors has also been brutally exposed. The complete belief that nations outside the syndicate had on the veracity of information provided by the international media is now being questioned with regularity. I remember those days when any little event in Pakistan drove us running to our radios to turn on the BBC World Service for authentic coverage. No more.
Once again, reverting briefly, to the philosophy behind the growing acts of aggression perpetrated by the superpower allies, it was heartening to note that British Army General Richards exercised great moral courage in contesting the view that UN resolutions allowed the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. It doesnt matter that Cameron dismissed this later. The impact has been felt and perhaps the intent of the syndicate stands exposed.
Lessons they say are never learned. Bush and Blair are gone but even after, the post-mortem of their Iraq fiasco continues unabated. For the current leaders, perhaps, it is time to learn that economies must go beyond the armaments industry and the selfish interests of the causes close to them. These leaders too will be gone, and the legacy will be much the same as of those the predecessors.
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