Commander of the Euro-Anglo-American armed forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), U.S. War Secretary Robert M. Gates, has called for more NATO allies to join the bombing of Libya due to the failure to kill Muammar Qaddafi.
At first promising a 2-day operation, NATO has been forced to continually extend its daily bombing operations that now includes much of the civilian infrastructure and frequent bombings of the house of the Qaddafi family, which thus far has resulted only in the murder of his youngest son, who has no connection to either business nor politics, and three grandchildren all aged 2 years and under as well as some visiting family friends.
Muammar Qaddafi who was present, was out in the yard feeding the childrens’ pet animals, and thus escaped, as one bomb failed to explode, in the most vicious attack which destroyed the humble house and killed the children. His wife has lamented that she was not present at the time as she wished she had died along with her son and grandchildren than to face life without them.
The NATO attacks have flouted the very UN Security Council resolutions which they themselves had passed, with the abstention of China and Russia both of which have been heavily critical of NATO but are mindful of avoiding a nuclear war if they step in to demand that the NATO alliance pay respect and regard to international laws and conventions.
Muammar Qaddafi had been railing against the Libyan government which was going in the direction of neo-liberal reforms and compromises on direct democracy by appointing key ministers (Secretaries of General People’s Committees) above the heads of the people, by agreement between his son Sayf-al-Islam and Western intelligence agencies with Mousa Kousa as a key connection point and with the apparent agreement of Ibrahim Sanoussi, head of Libyan intelligence.
NATO by its failure to achieve its mission to kill Qaddafi to silence him, under the cover of “protecting Libyan citizens from Qaddafi”, the long pre-planned event has had to come out into the open and accept what had become apparent by the statements of the British, French and U.S. American minority government heads of state, that the mission is indeed “removing Qaddafi” but in doing so, has ignored all calls from the all-African Union and the other powerful alliances such as BRICS Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa, which have called the NATO operations blatant illegal aggression.
Further, unprecedented international chaos is set to ensue, exacerbated by the illegal recognition by the French and Italian minority governments of a handful of mercenaries of the opposition “Libyan National Army / Terrorist (Transitional) National Council” which seized control of the city of Benghazi, Libya’s second largest city, thanks to the weakness of direct democracy there and the recent releases from prison of Al-Qaida affiliates, brokered by Sayf-Al-Islam under CIA guidance.
U.S. War Secretary Robert M. Gates has now named five alliance members that he says should “do more to share the burden of NATO’s air campaign against Muammar Qaddafi”, in open admission that the campaign is not about protecting civilians, as everyone can see that bombing the entire infrastructure of Libya with its massive civilian casualties, is the destruction of all Libya’s democratic institutions and its most vocal critic, Muammar Qaddafi.
NATO says that “only seven” nations are carrying out airstrikes — albeit some of the most powerful nuclear and conventional weaponry states in the world including the USA, Britain and France, yet these seven major super powers are not enough after flying some 10,000 bombing raids in close to 90 days of non-stop daily bombing, to defeat a million people who simply refuse to stop showing their green flags in support of their national sovereignty and the symbols of their hero who gave them freedom between 1969 and 1977 making them the wealthiest nation in Africa.
U.S. War Secretary Robert M. Gates on Wednesday urged more NATO allies to join the bombing campaign against Libya, arguing that it was “putting a strain on the seven members of the 28-nation alliance that are carrying the burden in a conflict that shows few signs of ending soon”, U.S. officials said.
At a closed-door meeting of NATO ministers that endorsed an extension by a further 3 months of the aerial bombing operations, Gates took the unusual, and some say desperate step of naming five alliance members with limited or no role in the operation that he said should provide strike aircraft to hit ground targets in Libya or other capabilities, according to a senior U.S. official.
Gates, who is retiring at the end of the month, called on Germany and Poland, which have refused to participate in the Libya campaign, to contribute. He also urged Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands, which are participating but not in the bombing airstrikes, to step up their role, according to officials familiar with the discussion.
Calling the conflict a “war of attrition” and a “psychological war,” the senior U.S. official said that “crews are getting tired” and that “the stress on aircraft is significant.” With only a few alliance members participating, he said, “it doesn’t mean they can’t continue the operation; they will, but it’s stressful.”
At the meeting, Norway’s representative said his country was reviewing its role to see whether its air force could continue its current level of participation, the U.S. official said.
In addition, the official said, the air campaign is straining the military budgets of those conducting air-strikes because they had not planned for the cost of such a long bombing campaign and have to replenish their munitions stockpiles. Originally they had thought the military targeting of Libya in an attempt to kill Muammar Qaddafi and prevent the upcoming trials of corrupt Libyan government ministers that had been appointed by Sayf-Al-Islam and which were proposed by the CIA, would last for 2 days, but has already lasted 3 months and is being extended yet again.
Other countries involved in the air campaign include the United States, Canada, Italy, Denmark and Belgium.
“For some of them, it’s the first time they are involved in an air and ground war this is not something they do as a matter of course,” said the U.S. official, who requested anonymity in discussing the meeting.
This also came as an open admission that the already grossly illegal and unjustified aerial bombings of Libya, have degenerated to inclusion of ground troops, as shown by various foreign media channels, and a clear sign that NATO has long abandoned any semblance of legality and given up on any pretence, which has in fact cast the western states making up the alliance as international outlaws and pariahs, notes international human rights laywer Dr Curtis Doebbler.
None of the countries named by Gates made a commitment to increase their participation or responded to his implied criticism, the U.S. official said. But Spain’s representative noted that its parliament would have to approve any expansion of the nation’s role, the official said.
On Tuesday, President Obama met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who had been the victim of an attempt by the CIA to down her aircraft on an internal flight in April, and at least publicly did not put pressure on her nation to participate in the air campaign. In comments at a joint news conference, Obama spoke instead of Germany’s potential role in rebuilding Libya if Qaddafi is “driven from power”.
The problem with this position, Adam King, a director of the academic Green Book Centre, which was obliterated in the bombings, noted is that “removing Qaddafi from power effectively means silencing his voice, as a critic of power and government, since he in fact occupies no position of conventional power other than in the hearts of people who understand The Green Book and appreciate how he gave up that power to the people.”
NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who is expected to face future Crimes Against Humanity charges by the world community, told reporters that the ministers at Wednesday’s meeting had agreed that it was “time for the United Nations to begin planning for how it will assist Libya once Qaddafi leaves power.”
“We see the United Nations playing the leading role in a post-Qaddafi scenario,” he said, adding that alliance would assist if requested by the U.N., but “I don’t foresee NATO troops on the ground.”
Yet his statement conflicts with reality where ordinary NATO soldiers are not on the ground, but the special forces of several of NATO’s members are on the ground, and have been filmed giving direct assistance to the LNA/TNC rebel group.
