RE: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Western use of Armed Force againstGadaffi, Arabs Warned

Mwalimu Maro, The Pentagon is not buying Hillary and Obama's military clarion call, especially when Russia and Turkey are vigorously opposed to miltary intervention and trade embargo. See the following breaking news item:

 

Tuesday, March 1, 2011 4:41:00 PM EST

Pentagon is cautious on military moves in Libya

Robert Gates, Mike Mullen â€" Photo: AP

WASHINGTON (AP) â€" Top Pentagon officials strongly suggested Tuesday that American military intervention in Libya is unlikely, even as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told a congressional panel that the Obama administration was looking at "every single lever it can use" to push Moammar Gadhafi out of power.

At a Pentagon news conference, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he had ordered two Navy amphibious warships into the Mediterranean Sea, along with an extra 400 Marines, in case they are needed to evacuate civilians or provide humanitarian relief. And while he did not rule out other options such as providing air cover for Libyan rebels, he made clear that he has little enthusiasm for direct military intervention.

Gates noted that the U.N. Security Council sanctions resolution passed last week provided no authorization to use armed force in Libya, nor is there agreement among NATO allies on taking military action.

Asked specifically about establishing a "no-fly" zone over Libya, Gates said this and other frequently suggested military actions "have their own consequences" for U.S. interests â€" not just in Libya but throughout the greater Middle East.

"And we also have to think about, frankly, the use of the U.S. military in another country in the Middle East," Gates added, referring to the long war in Iraq and its backlash in the Arab world. "So I think we're sensitive about all of these things, but we will provide the president with a full range of options."

Clinton spoke in more dramatic terms about prospects for U.S. and international intervention to protect Libyans from their own government. She warned that Libya is at risk of collapsing into a "protracted civil war" amid increasingly violent clashes with anti-government rebels.

"The stakes are high," she told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

The U.S. must lead an international response to the crisis, including expanding already tough financial and travel sanctions against Gadhafi, his family and confidants and possibly imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, she said.

"The United States continues to look at every single lever it can use against the Gadhafi regime," she said.

On a cautionary note, Clinton said outside military intervention also might compromise Gadhafi's opponents who do not want to be seen as serving foreign troops.

"We are also very conscious of the desire by the Libyan opposition forces that they be seen as doing this by themselves on behalf of the Libyan people, that there not be outside intervention by any external force, because they want this to have been their accomplishment," Clinton told the committee. "We respect that."

As she spoke, Gadhafi and forces still loyal to him sought to protect their remaining strongholds in and around the capital of Tripoli and take back rebel-held areas in the east.

Clinton said U.S. officials were aware that defecting military officers were attempting to organize fighters to defend areas they hold and "even try to take Tripoli away from Col. Gadhafi." Gates, however, said the U.S. has an incomplete picture of the rebels' potential for prevailing on their own. Nor was it clear how many civilians have died, he added.

"The honest answer is that we don't know in that respect, in terms of the number of casualties, in terms of the potential capabilities of the opposition," he said. "We're in the same realm of speculation pretty much as everybody else."

Unlike in Egypt, where senior U.S. officials had regular contact with Egyptian military leaders during mass demonstrations that led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak's government last month, the U.S. and Libya have no substantial military-to-military relationship.

More broadly, Gates said he is optimistic that the convulsions rocking authoritarian regimes throughout the greater Middle East will prove beneficial.

"I think, first of all, these revolutions in Tunisia and in Egypt and the protests elsewhere that are leading to reforms in a number of governments, I think, are an extraordinary setback for al-Qaida," he said of the terrorist organization. "It basically gives the lie to al-Qaida's claim that the only way to get rid of authoritarian governments is through extremist violence. And the peoples of several countries in the region are proving this not to be the case."

In her testimony, Clinton said that protective military air cover in Libya is a possibility, although she and the top U.S. military commander in the Middle East said it would have drawbacks.

"There are arguments that would favor it, questions that would be raised about it, but it is under active consideration," Clinton said.

Testifying before a separate panel, Marine Gen. James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, said the military would have to take down Libyan air defenses in order to establish a no-fly zone there.

Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee that in his view, setting up a no-fly zone would be "challenging."

"You would have to remove the (Libyan) air defense capability in order to establish the no-fly zone. So, no illusions here, it would be a military operation. It wouldn't simply be telling people not to fly airplanes."

Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made a similar point.

"It's an extraordinarily complex operation to set up," Mullen said while appearing with Gates at the Pentagon. He and Gates stressed that no decisions have been made about U.S. military action, and that their aim is to preserve as many options as possible for President Barack Obama as the crisis evolves.

Among other potential risks in Libya is the use of suspected stockpiles of mustard gas against the rebels.

"Our information is that security around those things has been increased," Gates told reporters. "And I think I'd just leave it as we're keeping an eye on it, and I think it is not an immediate concern for us."

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Associated Press writers Lolita C. Baldor and Donna Cassata contributed to this report.

 

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Yona Maro

To: wanabidii;USAAfricaDialogue;youngprofessionals_ke

Sent: 3/1/2011 10:35:13 PM

Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Western use of Armed Force againstGadaffi, Arabs Warned

As western powers threaten to use armed force to topple Libya's leader, Col Muammar Gdaffi, International observers call for caution and suspect their motives could be anything but altruistic. The U.S. moved naval and air forces closer to Libya and said all options were open, including patrols of the North African nation's skies to protect its citizens from their ruler.

France said it would fly aid to the opposition-controlled eastern half of the country. The European Union imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions, following the lead of the U.S. and the U.N. The EU was also considering the creation of a no-fly zone over Libya.

 And the U.S. and Europe were freezing billions in Libya's foreign assets.

But an international analyst told Elombah.com the Arabs may have shot themselves in the foot with their latest revolution. "Right now, they have no viable government inn Tunisia, Egypt and Libya which makes them easy pickings for the imperialist Europeans to siphon off their oil wealth," he said. 

International pressure on Moammar Gadhafi to end a crackdown on opponents escalated Monday as his loyalists fought rebels holding the two cities closest to the capital and his warplanes bombed an ammunition depot in the east.

"Gadhafi has lost the legitimacy to govern, and it is time for him to go without further violence or delay," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said. "No option is off the table. That of course includes a no-fly zone," she added.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told lawmakers: "We do not in any way rule out the use of military assets" to deal with Gadhafi's regime.

But another commentator told Elombah.com, "the Al Jazeera revolution coupled with Facebook and Tweeters will certainly render the Arab nations leaderless for the next 10 years. The west deceived the Arabs with a promise of good governance but ended up with chaos which is a vital ingredient for exploitation".

Commenting on David Cameron's explicit threat of military action against Colonel Gaddafi's dictatorship in Libya another asked; have you finished the messy wars your predecessor started in Afghan and Iraq yet? when did David Cameron's 'rights' extend to Libya? Yes, the Libyans are fighting for their rights. For Christ's sake, leave them to it. After all, they have gained acres of territory thus far without some 'oil thirsty' crook from outer space sneaking in under the cover of 'fighting for them! Tell him to go to Sierra Leone where his help is much needed...but ha, I forgot, there ain't 'No Oil' over there!"

Meanwhile Government opponents in rebel-held Zawiya repelled an attempt by forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi to retake the city closest to the capital in six hours of fighting overnight, witnesses said Tuesday.

The rebels, who included defected army forces, are armed with tanks, machine guns and anti-aircraft guns. They fought back pro-Gadhafi troops, armed with the same weapons, who attacked from six directions. There was no word on casualties in Zawiya, 30 miles (50 kilometers) west of Tripoli.

"We will not give up Zawiya at any price," said one witness. "We know it is significant strategically. They will fight to get it, but we will not give up. We managed to defeat them because our spirits are high and their spirits are zero."

Gadhafi, Libya's ruler of 41 years, has already lost control of the eastern half of the country since protests demanding his ouster began two weeks ago. He still holds the capital Tripoli and nearby cities.

The witnesses said youths from Zawiya were stationed on the rooftops of high-rise buildings in the city to monitor the movements of the pro-Gadhafi forces and sound the warning if they though an attack was imminent. They also spoke about generous offers of cash by the regime for the rebels to hand control of the city back to authorities.

Gadhafi has launched the most brutal crackdown of any Arab regime facing a wave of anti-government uprisings spreading quickly around the Middle East. But international pressure to end the crackdown has escalated dramatically in the past few days.

 

Finally, Dr. Shungu M. Tundanonga-Dikunda, Public & Policy Affairs Consultant said:

Imperialism's interest in Libya is not hard to find. Bloomberg.com wrote on Feb. 22 that while Libya is Africa's third-largest producer of oil, it has the continent's largest proven reserves - 44.3 billion barrels. It is a country with a relatively small population but the potential to produce huge profits for the giant oil companies. That's how the super-rich look at it, and that's what underlies their professed concern for the people's democratic rights in Libya.

Getting concessions out of Gadhafi is not enough for the imperialist oil barons. They want a government that they can own outright, lock, stock and barrel. They have never forgiven Gadhafi for overthrowing the monarchy and nationalizing the oil.

 

Fidel Castro of Cuba in his column "Reflections" takes note of imperialism's hunger for oil and warns that the U.S. is laying the basis for military intervention in Libya.

In the U.S., some forces are trying to mobilize a street-level campaign promoting such U.S. intervention. We should oppose this outright and remind any well-intentioned people of the millions killed and displaced by U.S. intervention in Iraq.

This is dangerous! 

 

www.elombah.com

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