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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

We must now end our involvement in Libyan civil war



This piece of mine appears in today's Daily Express.


THAT men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach, the great sage Aldous Huxley once wrote.



It’s hard to think of a more appropriate judgment on Britain’s military involvement in Libya. After the disastrous invasion of Iraq – a war based on dodgy dossiers and misinformation which has led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people, you would have thought that the British Government would have done all it could to keep our country out of any more unnecessary Middle East military conflicts, especially as the war in Afghanistan is still ongoing.

Indeed when David Cameron became PM last year many people hoped that he would make a clean break with the foreign policy of New Labour and its enthusiasm for sending Britain’s armed forces around the globe to act as world policemen. But he has cruelly disappointed by taking us into yet another ill-thought-out military adventure.
 
You can read the whole article here.

UPDATE: Over at The First Post, Venetia Rainey reports:

The Libyan rebels have suffered a serious setback following yesterday's assassination of the commander of their army, General Abdul Fattah Younes, with suspicions being raised that he may even have been killed by his own side.


The news will trouble politicians in Britain, who on Wednesday made the bold move of recognising the NTC as the official government of Libya, despite earlier protestations that the UK only recognises states. Making the announcement, foreign secretary William Hague praised the rebels for their "commitment to a more open and democratic Libya", a sentiment that may turn out to be premature.

More here.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

If Gaddafi is a dictator how democratic the UK is?
Council in order,etc.

David Lindsay said...

We await the Libyan recognition of anything that might happen to declare itself the Transitional National Council of the United Kingdom.

Robert said...

I thought that the quote here attributed to Aldous Huxley was, in fact, from Hegel?

Hegel certainly said something very similar when, in his Lectures on the Philosophy of History, he wrote: "What experience and history teach is this: that nations and governments have never learnt anything from history, or acted upon any lessons they might have drawn from it."

Neil Clark said...

David: Quite.

Douglas said...

The last time I commented on a Libya post, I was mystified by President Obama's commitment to war in Libya. I still am. The American people were not in favor of war in Libya. They still aren't. I was disappointed in Congress for refusing to defund war in Libya. I still am.

At last, something we agree on! Enjoy it while you can!

Neil Clark said...

Hi Douglas. Yes, it's nice to be on the same side for once! All the very best, Neil

brian said...

the NATO attacks are quite illegal...as who gave NATO permission to enter Libyan airspace? UN has no such authority!
If the will of the people matter, then these show that NATO is in her wrong;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdymLIyEmps

http://lizziesliberation.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/libyan-childrens-courageous-stand-against-nato/

brian said...

the NATO goal: divide and conquer, hence the need to murder gadaffi:
'This war seeks to create divisions within Libyan society. Admiral Stravridis, the U.S. commander in charge of NATO, has told the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee in March 2011 that he believed that Qaddafi’s support base would shrink as the tribal cleavages in Libya came “into play” as the war proceeded. [21] What Stravridis indirectly spelled out is that the NATO operations in Libya will cause further internal divisions through igniting tribal tensions that will cement regional differences. This is one of the real aims of the bombing campaign. [22] The U.S. and NATO also know full well that if Colonel Qaddafi is gone that the Libyan tribes would bicker amongst themselves for power and be politically divided. This is why they have been very adamant about removing Qaddafi.'

'The U.S., Britain, France, Italy, and NATO have all banked on a power vacuum that would be left by Qaddafi if he leaves power or dies. This is why they want to kill him. They have calculated that there will be a mad dash to fill the power vacuum that will help divide Libya further and promote violence. They are also very well aware that any tribal conflicts in Libya will spread from North Africa into West Africa and Central Africa.'
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=25637

brian said...

Press Conference Dr. Moussa Ibrahim 29-07-2011 1 of 3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dazjf4K7QY&feature=relmfu

brian said...

Libyan and Syrian Destabilization Campaigns Shift into Overdrive While Desperation Starts to Take Hold

http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2011/07/31/libyan-and-syrian-destabilization-campaigns-shift-into-overdrive-while-desperation-starts-to-take-hold/


Pure Evil: NATO Attacked Libyan Water Supply Pipeline and the Factory that Makes Replacement Pipes
Posted on July 30, 2011 by willyloman
by Scott Creighton
http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/pure-evil-nato-attacked-libyan-pipeline-and-the-factory-that-makes-replacement-pipes/

And:

http://willyloman.wordpress.com/2011/07/29/payday-for-libyan-rape-accuser/


Brian

brian said...

NATOS woes: the resistable force meets the immoveable object!

http://www.allvoices.com/cartoons/c/84678782-Punching-Gaddafi