It was hard for me to understand Cynthia McKinney's support for
Qaddafy until I read this article by her. I am still not sure what to think,
because I know many Arabs who don't support him, but I hope this will serve to
give your opinion of the situation in Qaddafy more depth.
Hajja Romi
P.S. McKinney was the Green Party's nominee for President in 2008. After the
election, she attempted to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza and run food and
medicine to the victims of genocide there, and was imprisoned by Israel for
several days for her efforts.
Cynthia McKinney on Obama and Libya
In 2005 in the basement of the United
States Capitol at a meeting convened by Congressman John Conyers on the
subject of the "Downing Street Memo," Ray McGovern uttered the following
truth: he testified that "the United States went to war in Iraq for
oil, Israel, and military bases craved by administration neocons" so
that "the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the
world." McGovern went on to testify truthfully that "Israel is not
allowed to be brought up in polite conversation. The last time I did
this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me
anti-Semitic."
The routine condemnations of McGovern could be
heard from all of the sources inside the U.S. political structure that
has at its base finance from pro-Israel sources; that included from Dr.
Howard Dean who was Chair of the Democratic National Committee at the
time. This finance nexus has been thoroughly identified by Dr. James
Petras, for those who want to do further reading.
Condemnations,
however, do not disprove McGovern's statement, but point, instead, to
the political untouchability of the topic. However, if one wants to
truly understand the formulation of U.S. foreign and military policies,
one must carefully consider McGovern's testimony.
On December 7,
1988 Mikhail Gorbachev described the need for a "universal human
consensus" and he called that a New World Order. And on September 11,
1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush characterized the crisis that
led to his intervention in the Persian Gulf in Operation Desert Storm
as an opportunity to move toward "a New World Order." Every President
since Bush, including President Obama, has expressed some fealty in one
way or another to the idea of a "New World Order" which represents the
ultimate goal of internationalizing rule by a few oligarchs and the
dissolution, by every means available, of dissent. On March 19, 2011,
exactly eight years after George W. Bush launched "Operation Iraqi
Freedom," President Obama savagely bombed Libya.
One can begin to
gain an understanding of exactly who these oligarchs are by
investigating the financial winners in the oligarchization of the U.S.
economy, in much the same way that the Russian oligarchs were created
and eventually identified.
Israel was an important beneficiary of
these economic operations and Israel has been an important beneficiary
of certain U.S. military operations, exactly as McGovern testified.
The
clear losers in this process are the people struggling globally for
truth, justice, human rights, and peace. And there are clear and
identifiable winners--if one dares to look.
Understanding who the
winners are is necessary if one is to be able to decipher what they do
and why. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that a new type of
language has been adopted where war is peace, freedom is slavery, lies
are truth, and ignorance is strength: we already know this as Orwell
Speak. Our job is to pierce the intentional propagandistic obfuscations
and expose the truth for those less aware of the modus operandus of the
crafters of this new international order.
Nowhere should
McGovern's testimony be weighed more than in the context of the US-led
"Global War on Terror," the more recent "revolutions" of North Africa
and West Asia, and more specifically for this paper, events unfolding in
Libya.
Initially, the U.S. effort against Qaddafi's
Administration in Libya was termed a "humanitarian intervention" to
protect the people. But, when since September 11, 1990 have U.S. troops
been mobilized to innocently rescue civilians in danger? In reality,
the U.S. military has been selectively called into action to cause
civilian pain, suffering, destruction, and death since September 11,
1990 and to further unstated objectives.
The U.S. military was
not called into action after its ally, Paul Kagame, oversaw the murder
of two democratically elected Presidents, when their plane was shot from
the air by a U.S. missile left over from Operation Desert Storm that
found its way to Uganda and from Uganda into Kagame's possession. The
murder of the two sitting Presidents by way of shooting down their plane
was an act of terror.
In the human conflagration that followed,
the tragedy that has become known as the Rwandan Genocide, 100,000
innocent civilians were murdered every day for the next 100 days while
the Clinton Administration, National Security Advisor Susan Rice, nor
did United Nations Ambassador Madeleine Albright do anything to provide
humanitarian intervention because regime change was the accepted policy
and if it meant the deaths of one million Africans, then so be it.
The
Clinton Administration women who justified this non-intervention, later
had an opportunity to stop the carnage in Sierra Leone, Ethiopia,
Democratic Republic of Congo, Ivory Coast since 2000, Sudan and they did
nothing because what was happening in those areas, despite the
tremendous human toll, was consistent with unstated U.S. policy.
Today,
the Obama Administration is responsible for its own war crimes,
torture, crimes against humanity, and crimes against the peace and
defends in U.S. Courts those from the Bush Administration who bear
responsibility for having approved or justified them in the past. Yet,
this Administration will not even agree to investigate the violation of
Mumia Abu Jamal's civil rights in his first trial rife with racial
innuendo, judicial misconduct, and a lack of evidence. Or in the case
of Troy Davis where seven of nine witnesses recanted their testimonies
and cited prosecutorial misconduct. But it did go to court to defend
military commissions and insulted Native Americans in the process!
In
addition, what the United States is responsible for in Afghanistan and
Pakistan just since President Obama came to office is unthinkable and is
despicable. And U.S. taxpayers continue to foot the financial and
moral bill for the continued subjugation of Palestine, especially the
people of Gaza who are still being bombarded by Israeli warplanes, all
made possible by every one of us that pays taxes. And let us not forget
this Administration's efforts to quash the Goldstone Report (the United
Nations Report on Israel's Operation Cast Lead against Gaza) and
criticism of Israel after nine Turkish citizens attempting to take
humanitarian supplies to Gaza were brazenly murdered by Israeli forces
attacking the humanitarian aid ship, Mavi Marmara.
But,
amazingly, when the Obama Administration puts the U.S. war machine in
action in a new front in Africa and characterizes it as a "humanitarian
intervention," the peace community seemingly accepts the obfuscation and
forgets the facts.
But the peace community knows full well that
the Obama Administration is continuing the longterm U.S. policies of
dismemberment, Balkanization, carefully crafted chaos, and death and
destruction to achieve its unstated objectives. Every possibility of
dissent is being obliterated--for a reason. The FBI raids in Minnesota,
Wisconsin, and elsewhere targeting activists who support peace and the
human rights of Palestinians is no accident. Politically-motivated
prosecutions of politically active Palestinians came first, from Sami
Al-Arian and his brother-in-law to the Holy Land Five. These raids,
combined with the Administration's unstated military objectives,
undergird the economic transformation to which this Administration is
fully committed. That is why the average taxpayer pays more taxes than
General Electric or Bank of America, but shouldn't expect any kind of
bailout from this Administration.
Now, let's explore Libya with
respect to McGovern's remark. Oil: well Libya's got lots of it: the
most on the African Continent. Israel: Preparing Israel to make "a
clean break" from the past and establish a new relationship with the
U.S. based on "maturity," by "securing the realm" as written by the
Project for a New American Century Study Group on "A New Israeli
Strategy Toward 2000" with Richard Perle as its leader. This should be
seen as the operative strategy defining events in the region:
"Israel--proud, wealthy, solid, and strong" can "shape its strategic
environment." France can be seen as an additional proxy for Israel in
this action; France which announced that it was taking the lead in the
anti-Qaddafi operation, is led by Nicholas Sarkozy whom the French
media, Le Figaro newspaper, identified after his election as a Mossad
asset. 99% of the population of Libya is Muslim. As long as Muslims
are fighting each other they won't have time to focus on Israel or
Palestine; And as for logistics, AFRICOM, the United States military's
Africa Command, was not created for nothing: it was created to deepen
the U.S. military presence and control over a Continent rich in land,
water, strategic minerals, former preserve of U.S. allies and now facing
aggressive penetration by China. Situated on the Mediterranean
littoral, with oil money, and a revolutionary leader, I need not say
much more about Libya and logistics useful for neocon objectives.
The
reason Muammar Qaddafi is a target is because he has been a thorn in
the side of anti-revolutionary forces since he took power in Libya,
overthrowing the King and nationalizing the oil industry so that the
people could benefit from their oil resources.
Libya's Revolution
brought free health care and education to the people and subsidized
housing. In fact, students in Libya can study there or abroad and the
government gives them a monthly stipend while they are in school and
they pay no tuition. If a Libyan needs a surgery that must be done
overseas, then the government will pay for that surgery. That is more
than the soldiers of the United States military can say. While Libyans
enjoy subsidized housing, members of the U.S. military risk foreclosure
while they serve their country abroad. Money from oil is directly
deposited into the accounts of every Libyan based on oil income. As one
Libyan told me recently, the idea is that if people have what they
need, then they don't have to deny rights to or harm others and the
Revolution believes that it is the responsibility of the government to
provide the basic needs of its citizens.
Now, as for democracy, a
country that has never practiced it is a poor trumpet for it. From
genocide of indigenous Americans to enslavement of stolen Africans to
disfranchisement of women, ours has been a less than perfect union.
Now, it has turned the administration of its elections over to private
voting machine companies and the finance of those elections to
individuals and organizations that can mobilize vast sums of money; thus
the United States is not in the best best position to dictate the terms
of another country's democracy. But, Libyans govern themselves by The
Green Book, a form of direct democracy based on the African Constitution
concept that the people are the first and final source of all power.
Clearly, the U.S. move is counter-Revolution.
In addition, I
remember watching the proceedings of the House of Commons on television
about ten years ago and I was shocked by what I was hearing: a member
of Parliament saying that the evidence was actually planted by the U.S.
C.I.A.! So, I searched for the article and there it was. A Member of
Parliament had done his own investigation and discovered to his
satisfaction that "the [timing] device was a C.I.A. plant." Kind of
like the investigation I did, myself, to conclude that the Bush
Administration was not telling us the truth about September 11th.
There
is so much more on this to write. But I will leave that for another
article. Let me just add this: Earl Hilliard was kicked out of
Congress in 2002 by the pro-Israel Lobby because he was getting close to
Libya and would learn some of the secrets that have not yet been
revealed. What business was it of Israel and their U.S. supporters that
an African American Member of Congress was reaching out to an African
leader who has always been supportive of Black liberation in the United
States?
Muammar Qaddafi's daughter was murdered by U.S. bombs
targeting him. I have visited the compound. Unfortunately, it has
since been revealed by Victor Ostrovsky, a Mossad defector living in
Canada, that the bombing took place as a result of faked intelligence
and that Qaddafi was set up by Israel in Operation Trojan, that wanted
him targeted. According to Ostrovsky, Ronald Reagan was tricked into
bombing Libya by means of a "radio transmitter smuggled into Tripoli by
the Mossad, which broadcast messages designed to fool the United States
into thinking Libya was about to launch a massive terror attack on the
West. On the basis of this bogus evidence, the US bombed Libya, killing
Gaddafi's daughter." I have met with former members of MI-5 who were
tasked with assassinating Qaddafi and refused.
At any rate, I
must put this on the record, too. Muammar Qaddafi has long been a
friend to African people. Pan-Africanists have travelled to and from
Libya since the beginning of Qaddafi’s role as Libya’s leader, including
Black Panther Party, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,
All-African People's Revolutionary Party, and Nation of Islam members. I
once defended Nation Of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan in the House
International Relations Committee when the late Tom Lantos--on behalf of
Israel--challenged The Nation's relationship with Libya and wanted to
dash Qaddafi's desire to give The Nation several billion dollars to help
Black people.
Unfortunately, in an effort of goodwill, Mr.
Gaddafi on at least one occasion, was also prepared to assist those who
presented themselves as servants of the people but in fact were not:
the Blackstone Rangers in Chicago. More importantly, hundreds of
unnamed Black Americans have made the sojourn to Libya – all striving
for the unification of Africans in Africa and the Diaspora. Black
people who would have not otherwise ever connected with one another have
been able to do so for more than forty years because of the educational
and cultural conferences that Qaddafi has sponsored. The only
requirement for participation was that they be willing to commit to work
towards the ongoing development of Africa--all of Africa and wherever
Africans are. Mr. Qaddafi to this day continues to assist Black
political organizations in an effort to keep people of African descent
able to exercise their right of self-determination.
Meanwhile, on
the Continent, Africans not ready to kowtow to France, the United
States, or other former colonial powers maintain their independence
thanks to Qaddafi, the former head of the African Union. Qaddafi was
named African Leader of the Year in 2009. Qaddafi provided the African
National Congress and Nelson Mandela the wherewithal to defeat apartheid
in South Africa. In short, if you want to stop Black people, then one
key move is to stop Colonel Qaddafi.
Finally, I have led two
delegations to Tripoli. Among those I took with me are KPFK's Dedon
Kamathi, Black Agenda Report's Glen Ford, WBAIX.com's Don Debar,
WayneMadsenReport.com's Wayne Madsen, National Hip Hop Political
Caucus's Troy Nkrumah, Block Report's Minister of Information J.R.
Valrey, Bob Fitrakis of FreePress.org, Keith Harmon Snow of
allthingspass.com, and Malcolm Shabazz, the grandson of Malcolm X.
Chicago's Pat Hill traveled with me twice and is in regular contact with
people on the ground in Libya. You have heard them giving their
impressions of what they saw and what they know on radio, television,
and the internet. The information I have included in this article is
public information. Therefore, I am amazed that activist "leaders" who
ought to know better accept special interest propaganda as the truth and
then knowingly or unwittingly become tools of the disinformation
artists. Responsible news outlets will search for those who know. I
ask the readers of this article to trust no one who is merely a talking
head, search for those who have experience and a track record for
telling not a part of the truth, bu the whole truth, and then finally do
your own research and learn more about your government. And maybe,
finally, then candidates who don't deserve our votes won't get them.
In
conclusion, the United States, France, and Britain together have killed
hundreds of thousands of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan and their
collective wars elsewhere without any punishment or any action from the
U.N. Their action in Libya is illegal and Libya should launch a legal
action in the International Court of Justice to obtain an injunction
against this military action and I know just the right team of unbought
international lawyers to do it. The claim that military actions against
Libya protect civilians is a mockery and Presidents Obama and Sarkozy
and Prime Minister Cameron should be called on it.
"Qaddafi's 'letters' to Obama and others “To our son, his excellency, Mr
Baracka Hussein Obama..."
“To
our son, his excellency, Mr Baracka Hussein Obama. I have said to you
before, that even if Libya and the United States of America enter into a
war, God forbid, you will always remain a son. Your picture will not be
changed. I want you to remain in the same image. I have all the people
of Libya with me, and I’m prepared to die and we have all the men,
children and women with me. Nothing more. Al Qaeda is an armed
organization, passing through Algeria, Mauritania and Mali. What would
you do if you found them controlling American cities with the power of
weapons? What would you do, so I can follow your example.”
http://www.mathaba.net/news/?x=626287
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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