US-NATO-EU-Israeli Military

US-NATO-EU-Israeli Military!  Hands off Libya!

The Way I See It!

Don Currie, Chair Canadians for Peace and Socialism

February 25th 2011


This is written as the UN Security Council meets to determine what sanctions to impose on the Muammar Qaddafi government in Libya. Voices on the liberal social democratic left including NDP leader Lack Layton have made up their minds and take a view similar to French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the EU to impose a range of sanctions that could include imposing a no fly zone over Libyan air space. [1]

A no fly zone over the sovereign territory of Libya called for by Jack Layton, ADALA  [2] and Professor Michael Byers of the University of British Columbia [i] would be an act of war.  The only forces capable of imposing a no fly zone over Libyan territory would be a joint US-NATO-French-Israeli deployment of airpower from NATO bases in Italy, US bases in its AFRICOM command [3] the Mediterranean[4], French bases in North Africa[5]  and any one of the several Israeli military airbases.[6]

NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen has indicated his readiness to act as an “enabler” in the event there is an agreement on joint action.[7]

While the liberal-social democrats lend support to the proposals of such friends of the Libyan people as Italian President Silvio Berlusconi and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, they ignore the cautionary warnings of Fidel Castro who has expressed concern about a US-NATO to intervene and occupy Libya.[8]

As the fog of disinformation about events in Libya floods the privately owned and controlled propaganda networks of western mass media, the one issue of principle around which all Communists, progressives, peace activists, and genuine internationalists must agree to unite, and that is to oppose US-NATO-EU-Israeli plans to intervene militarily in the internal affairs of the Libya.

Such a principled stance is the touch stone of internationalism at this time and the only way to lend credence to expressions of solidarity and support for the just demands of the Libyan working class and impoverished masses for full employment, peace and people’s democracy.

To paraphrase the great US heavy weight boxing champion Joe Louis when he defeated the pro-Nazi German contender Max Schmeling “... Lots of things wrong with America, but Hitler ain't going to fix them...” [9]

There are lots of things wrong with Libya but a US-NATO invasion won’t to fix them.

Let Turn Canada!


[1] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/sarkozy-in-favor-of-eu-sanctions-against-libya-may-suspend-economic-ties.html http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-23/sarkozy-in-favor-of-eu-sanctions-against-libya-may-suspend-economic-ties.html

[2] http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/8159-canadian-arab-group-challenges-harper-government-to-condemn-gaddafi-atrocities.html

[3] http://www.africom.mil/

[4] http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/19/mideast-unrest-puts-us-military-access-in-jeopardy.html http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/19/mideast-unrest-puts-us-military-access-in-jeopardy.html

[5] http://www.cfr.org/france/french-military-africa/p12578

[6] http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/afbases.html

 

[7] http://www.eubusiness.com/news-eu/libya-politics-nato.8s3

[8] http://www.granma.cu/ingles/

[9] http://www.acesmuseum.org/main.html?src=%2F88101%2F32127.html

 

[i]  In CBC Vancouver radio interviews on February 24 and 25th Professor Byers called for support for a no-fly zone over Libya and possible military intervention to depose Muammar Gaddafi. Professor Byers cited the 1990 UN bombing of Yugoslavia as an example of the kind of intervention he would support. Byers called for the deployment of Canadian Forces CF 18’s to the task.Â