Thread: The Libyan Crisis

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.p...t=va&aid=24366

Press TV has interviewed Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, former assistant secretary of US Treasury from Panama City, who gives his insight on the revolution in Libya and why US President Barack Obama needs to overthrow Qaddafi when no other US presidents did.

"Press TV: Russia has criticized NATO for going far beyond its UN mandate. In other news a joint Op Ed is going to be written by Obama, Cameron and Sarkozy who have said that “leaving Qaddafi in power would be an unconscionable betrayal to the Libyan people”.

We do know that the mandate does not call for regime change; the Obama administration has been saying they are not in there for regime change; but things seem a little different now don't they?

Roberts: Yes they do. First of all, notice that the protests in Libya are different from the ones in Egypt or Yemen or Bahrain or Tunisia and the difference is that this is an armed rebellion.

There are more differences: another is that these protests originated in the eastern part of Libya where the oil is - they did not originate in the capital city. And we have heard from the beginning credible reports that the CIA is involved in the protests, and there have been a large number of press reports that the CIA has sent back to Libya its Libyan asset to head up the Libyan rebellion.

In my opinion, what this is about is to eliminate China from the Mediterranean. China has extensive energy investments and construction investments in Libya. They are looking to Africa as a future energy source.

The US is countering this by organizing the United States African Command (USAC), which Qaddafi refused to join. So that's the second reason for the Americans to want Qaddafi out.

And the third reason is that Libya controls part of the Mediterranean coast and it's not in American hands.

Press TV: Who are the revolutionaries. The US say they don't know who they're dealing with, but considering the CIA is on the ground in contact with revolutionaries - Who are the people under whom Libya will function in any post-Qaddafi era?

Roberts: Whether or not Libya functions under “revolutionaries” depends if the CIA wins - we don't know that yet. As you said earlier, the UN resolution puts constraints on what the European and American forces can achieve in Libya. They can have a no fly zone, but they are not supposed to be in there fighting together with the rebels.

But of course the CIA is. So we do have these violations of the UN resolution. If NATO, which is now the cover for the “world community,” succeeds in overthrowing Qaddafi, the next target will be Syria. Syria has already been demonized.

Why are they targeting Syria? - Because the Russians have a very large naval base in Syria. And it gives the Russian navy a presence in the Mediterranean; the US and NATO do not want that. If there is success in overthrowing Qaddafi, Syria is next.

Already, they are blaming Iran for Syria and Libya. Iran is a major target because it is an independent state that is not a puppet of the Western colonialists.

Press TV: With regards to the expansionist agenda of the West, when the UN mandate on Libya was debated in the UN Security Council, Russia did not veto it. Surely Russia must see this expansionist policy of the US, France and Britain.

Roberts: Yes they must see that; and the same for China. It's a greater threat to China because it has 50 major investment projects in eastern Libya. So the question is why did Russia and China abstain rather than veto and block? We don't know the answer.

Possibly the countries are thinking to let the Americans get further over- extended, or they may not have wanted to confront the US with a military or diplomatic position and have an onslaught of Western propaganda against them. We don't know the reasons, but we know they did abstain because they did not agree with the policy, and they continue to criticize it.

Press TV: A sizeable portion of Qaddafi's assets have been frozen in the US as well as some other countries. We also know that the Libyan revolutionaries have set up a central bank and that they have started limited production of oil and they are dealing with American and other Western firms. It begs the question that we've never seen something like this happen in the middle of a revolution. Don't you find that bizarre?

Roberts: Yes it's very bizarre and very suggestive. It brings back the fact of all the reports that the CIA is the originator of this so-called revolt and protest and is fomenting it and controlling it in a way that excludes China from its own Libyan oil investments.

In my opinion, what is going on is comparable to what the US and Britain did to Japan in the 1930s. When they cut Japan off from oil, from rubber, from minerals; that was the origin of World War II in the pacific. And now the Americans and the British are doing the same thing to China.

The difference is that China has nuclear weapons and it also has a stronger economy than do the Americans. And so the Americans are taking a very high risk not only with themselves, but with the rest of the world. The entire world is now at stake on American over-reach; American hubris - the drive for American hegemony over the world is driving the rest of the world into a World War.

Press TV: In the context of America's expansionist policies, how far do you think the US will stretch beyond the UN mandate? Are we going to see boots on the ground?

Roberts: Most likely - unless they can find some way of defeating Qaddafi without that. Ever since we've had Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Obama, what we've learned is law means nothing to the executive branch in the US. They don't obey our own laws; they don't obey international law; they violate all the civil liberties and buried the principal of habeas corpus, no crime without intent, and the ability for a defendant to be legally represented.

They don't pay any attention to law so they're not going to pay any attention to the UN. The UN is an American puppet organization and Washington will use it as a cover. So, yes, if they cannot run Qaddafi out they will put troops on the ground - that's why we have the French and the British involved. We're using the French elsewhere in Africa also; we use the British in Afghanistan - they're puppets.

These countries are not independent. Sarkozy doesn't report to the French people - he reports to Washington. The British PM doesn't report to the English people he reports to Washington. These are puppet rulers of an empire; they have nothing to do with their own people and we put them in office.

Press TV: So these other countries would welcome having NATO troops on the ground?

Roberts: Of course. They are in the CIAs pocket. It's a CIA operation, not a legitimate protest of the Libyan people. It's an armed rebellion that has no support in the capital city. It's taking place in the east where the oil is and is directed at China.

Press TV: Where do you see the situation headed? There seems to be a rift between NATO countries with Britain and France wanting to increase the momentum of these air strikes, but the US saying no, there is no need.

Roberts: The rift is not real. The rift is just part of the cover, just part of the propaganda. Qaddafi has been ruling for 40 years - he goes back to Gamal Abdel Nasser (before Anwar Sadat) who wanted to give independence to Egypt.

He (Qaddafi) was never before called a brutal dictator that has to be removed. No other president has ever said Qaddafi has to go. Not even Ronald Reagan who actually bombed Qaddafi's compound. But all of a sudden he has to go. Why?

Because he's blocking the US African Command, he controls part of the Mediterranean and he has let China in to find its energy needs for the future. Washington is trying to cripple its main rival, China, by denying China energy. That's what this is really about; a reaction by the US to China’s penetration of Africa.

If the US was concerned about humanitarianism, it wouldn't be killing all these people in Afghanistan and Pakistan with their drones and military strikes. Almost always it's civilians that are killed. And the US is reluctant to issue apologies about any of it. They say we thought we were killing Taliban or some other made-up enemy.

Press TV: Who will benefit from all of this other than the US? The other countries that comply with US wishes - What do they stand to gain from this?

Roberts: We are only talking about NATO countries, the American puppet states. Britain, France, Italy, Germany, all belong to the American empire. We've had troops stationed in Germany since 1945. You're talking about 66 years of American occupation of Germany. The Americans have military bases in Italy - how is that an independent country? France was somewhat independent until Washington put Sarkozy in power. So they all do what they're told.

Washington wants to rule Russia, China, Iran, and Africa, all of South America. Washington wants hegemony over the world. That's what the word hegemony means. And Washington will pursue it at "

BBC News - Libya: Muammar Gaddafi threatens Europe

1 July 2011 Last updated at 19:02 GMT

Libya: Muammar Gaddafi threatens Europe

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has threatened to attack Europe in revenge for Nato's operations in Libya.

Col Gaddafi said Libya would target European "homes, offices, families" unless Nato stopped its campaign.

He spoke via an audio message broadcast to tens of thousands of supporters gathered in a central Tripoli square.

His message comes after France confirmed it had supplied weapons to anti-government rebels, delivering arms to Berber tribal fighters near Tripoli.

In the broadcast, played via loudspeakers to gathered crowds in the capital's Green Square, he called on supporters to "march on the western mountains", the area where the weapons had been delivered.

'Like locusts'

Then he warned Europe that Libyans would seek revenge.

"These people [the Libyans] are able to one day take this battle [...] to Europe, to target your homes, offices, families, which would become legitimate military targets, like you have targeted our homes," he said.

"If we decide to, we are able to move to Europe like locusts, like bees. We advise you to retreat before you are dealt a disaster," he added.

His message come just days after the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Col Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanoussi for crimes against humanity.

International prosecutors allege government troops fired on civilian protesters during anti-Gaddafi street demonstrations earlier this year.

Friday's rally was one of the largest in recent times, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes, in Tripoli, and the message was the first time that Col Gaddafi had been heard of in weeks.

Gaddafi government in talks with rebels | Reuters



(Reuters) - The Libyan government said on Monday it was in talks with opposition figures but there seemed little chance of a swift end to the conflict as both sides stuck to entrenched positions on the fate of Muammar Gaddafi.

"The leader's son Saif al-Islam, in combative form, told a French newspaper there was no question of negotiating an end to his father's 42-year rule, while the rebels, stepping back from a hint of a concession, renewed their demand that he go now.

A spokesman for Gaddafi's administration said high-ranking government officials had been in foreign-mediated talks in Italy, Egypt and Norway with opposition figures to try to find a peace deal, and that talks were still going on.

Any talk of a possible accommodation with Gaddafi could drive a wedge into the ranks of the disparate rebel movement which sprang up in February in the wake of uprisings in neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt.

Many of Gaddafi's opponents are flatly opposed to any form of concession to the veteran leader and are mistrustful of former Gaddafi associates who have defected to join the rebels.

The government spokesman named one of the opposition figures in the talks as Abdel Fattah Younes al-Abidi, Gaddafi's former security minister, who defected in February. It was not clear whether the talks took place with the knowledge or endorsement of the leadership of the rebel National Transitional Council.

The Council, which a growing number of countries regard as the Libyan people's sole legitimate representative, has said there are no talks between it and Gaddafi's administration.

"In the last few weeks and in several world capitals, high-ranking Libyan government officials have met with members of the Libyan opposition to negotiate peaceful ways out of the Libyan crisis," the government spokesman said in an e-mailed statement.

"Other direct negotiations still take place as of now."

DEFIANCE

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, one of the most prominent of the leader's sons, dismissed suggestions that there could be a peace settlement that removed his father -- a demand not only of the rebels but of Western powers who have bombed Libya since March.

"My father is not part of the negotiations," Saif al-Islam told Le Monde newspaper. "You think one can find a solution that does not involve him? No, it's impossible."

By backing the rebels, NATO had picked the losing side, he added: "God is with us. We will fight and we will win.

"We have our army. We have more munitions, more weapons. Morale is high. The others are becoming weaker and weaker."

A glimmer of concession on Gaddafi's future from the National Transitional Council on Sunday was swiftly withdrawn on Monday when the NTC, based in the eastern city of Benghazi, contradicted remarks made by its leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil.

He told Reuters on Sunday: "As a peaceful solution, we offered that he can resign and order his soldiers to withdraw from their barracks and positions, and then he can decide either to stay in Libya or abroad.

"If he desires to stay in Libya, we will determine the place and it will be under international supervision. And there will be international supervision of all his movements."

But on Monday the council issued a statement by Abdel Jalil saying: "I would like to confirm that there is absolutely no current or future possibility for Gaddafi to remain in Libya ... There is no escape clause for Gaddafi -- he must be removed from power and face justice."

AIR STRIKES

NATO says its air strikes are steadily eroding Gaddafi's grip on power. A Reuters reporter in the centre of Tripoli on Monday afternoon said he heard aircraft overhead, followed by the sounds of three explosions.

But the fighting on the ground is making slow progress. The rag-tag force of rebel fighters is bogged down on three fronts and unable to break through to the capital.

In Misrata, a rebel-held city 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, there was renewed fighting on the southern outskirts. A Reuters journalist at a hospital in the city saw the bodies of five fighters who had been killed on Monday.

"The (pro-Gaddafi) brigades carried out an attack today in the area of Abdul Raouf, south of Misrata, using heavy artillery and Grad rockets," said a rebel spokesman called Abdelsalam.

"The revolutionaries managed to repel the attack and blocked the advance of the brigades," he told Reuters.

The closest rebel position to Tripoli is near the town of Bir al-Ghanam, about 80 km (50 miles) south of the capital. There, rebels say they are preparing an offensive, but there has been little movement for over a week.

"The situation there is relatively calm, the revolutionaries are preparing for the next days," a rebel spokesman called Mohammed told Reuters from the nearby town of Nalut.

CASH SQUEEZE

Western powers say international sanctions are narrowing the options for Gaddafi by blocking oil exports, leaving Libya without its principal source of revenue. His foreign currency reserves will eventually run out, they say.

Libya's central bank announced on its Internet site that from now on commercial banks would need its prior approval for all operations involving foreign currency.

Libya was the focus of talks in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi, where President Dmitry Medvedev met both the secretary general of NATO and South Africa's President Jacob Zuma.

Russia has voiced concern that NATO's campaign risks going beyond the terms of a United Nations resolution.

"We look at Libya's future practically identically, and everyone would like Libya to be a modern state, naturally, and a sovereign and democratic state," Medvedev said at a meeting with NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Zuma presented an African Union peace plan at a meeting attended by both Medvedev and Rasmussen, a NATO official said.

END GAME?

Analysts say an arrest warrant for Gaddafi issued by the world court at The Hague has increased the scope for deal-making by giving the West new leverage in the form of a possible offer of immunity in return for him stepping down.

"My hunch is that we're not far from the end game," Oliver Miles, a former British ambassador to Libya, told Reuters.

"There's definitely something going on," said UK-based opposition journalist and analyst Ashour Shamis.

"There are now more efforts to bring things to a conclusion and avoid an armed struggle for Tripoli, which would be very messy," he said.

Noman Benotman, an analyst at the British Quilliam think tank and a friend of former Libyan spy chief Moussa Koussa, said he suspected Gaddafi was ready to step down, under conditions.

These were that Gaddafi stay in Libya, with immunity, and a son have an official role in a future Libya.

"He strongly wants a son to be part of the future of Libya, representing the tribes now supporting the regime," he said.

"It's his plan, his insurance policy. He believes that if, later, they go through elections, he and his family will get protection from the tribes whose support they now have.""

It is about time the Libyan Contact Group talked to each other and decide what is, or is not, the route forward to extricate themselves from this bloody illegal war.