Libyans are expendables on oil-rich battlefield
Political analysts say that protecting civilians in Libya is actually the allied coalition`s secondary priority. The primary one is eliminating the country`s defenses and gaining control over Libya`s oil-rich regions through civil war between tribes.
ґThe death toll is said to have reached 67, according to Libyan health officials.
ґ`Civilian deaths are inevitable` - ex-ambassador
ґIt was obvious from the moment US Defense Secretary Robert Gates started talking about a no-flight zone over Libya some weeks ago that it would involve eliminating all anti-aircraft defenses threatening patrolling fighter jets, argues former British ambassador to Libya Oliver Miles.
And that, Miles continued, "is going to involve a lot of intrusive military activity and inevitably civilian casualties."
Killing civilians goes against the mandate of United Nations Security Council resolution 1973 - to protect civilians - he added. And while there is no doubt the allied forces will be successful in establishing a no-flight zone, Miles concluded, the question is how they will use their supremacy.
The Arab League is a "collection of dictators, kings and presidents, all of them puppets of the US, but they are backing down because of the unbelievable hatred and outrage on the part of their own people for the fact that they went along with aggression against yet another Muslim Arab country," argued Lew Rockwell, chairman of the Research and Educational Center at the US-based Ludwig von Mises Institute.
If the coalition succeeds in killing Muammar Gaddafi, it will inevitably mean more ethnic and tribal conflict, which could lead to civil war, Rockwell said - which is exactly what the US needs to control the oil-rich parts of Libya.
|
