Rebels? Or monsters-in-waiting?

Gordon Robinson, Contributor

In this life, I've learned that nothing is as it appears. That apparently solid and stationary desk at which you sit to work daily is neither solid nor stationary. The illusions of solidity and stability would be shattered were you to take a second look through a decent microscope. That massive annual parliamentary farce known as the 'Budget Debate' is really nothing but political posturing and gamesmanship over a Budget already cast in secret and inflexible except in the most insignificant ways. And that beautiful girl you met at the party with whom you fell in love at first sight?

"Well, I met a girl called Mary

She was pretty as can be.

It was love at first sight

We decided to get married.

The morning there was a wedding

We invited one and all.

The Merrymen were playing

Man, we had a ball but ... ."

Take a second look.

"After the ball was over,

Mary took out her glass eye.

She put her false teeth in water

And she hung out her hair to dry.

Then she unscrewed her wooden leg

And threw it against the wall.

Oh, what has become of my Mary after the ball?"

Recently, if you were watching our new coloniser, CNN, and squinted to catch the light just right, you'd have seen and heard President George W. Obama announcing America's third war in a decade while using the usual political sophistry to explain away yet another unwarranted military interference. All the standard buzzwords were trotted out to frighten us into supporting this unbelievable act of international arrogance. Muammar Gaddafi, who had been in power in Libya for almost as long as the legendary Fidel was in Cuba, had suddenly turned demonic. We just discovered he was oppressing his own people. If the world's top cop, the USA, didn't intervene, there'd be (gasp!) a slaughter of innocents. All of a sudden, Gaddafi, an overnight sensation after 40-odd years, was an imminent international threat and had to be unseated. It was now imperative that the US help the 'rebels' to overthrow Gaddafi.

No lessons learnt

What am I missing here? Has the US learned nothing from its military history? Is its foreign policy moulded from cheap American turd? Will the State Department ever learn to read a form book? Or will it forever continue to mimic atheism as a non-prophet organisation? Is this the same US which installed Manuel Noriega as its puppet in Panama until one day he was accused of biting the hand that fed him? Is this the same US which funded Osama bin Laden's 'rebellion' against the occupying Soviets in Afghanistan and thus created a monster that is now terrorising the world? Is this the same USA which built and installed Saddam Hussein as the friendly leader of Iraq until his loose lips threatened President George H.W. Bush's life; fuelled his son's mission of revenge; suddenly made his treatment of his own people an American concern; and sank the Iraqi ship?

Even as he feigns surprise at Gaddafi's tactics, President George W. Obama, having completed the metamorphosis from candidate Barack Obama, just can't find the courage to tell the whole truth. So we are told that the intervention will be limited to air strikes only, and there'll be no "boots on the ground". Really? Then what are the flood of CIA agents immediately shipped off into Libya wearing? Sandals?

With apologies to Barbadian Anthony Carter ('Mighty Gabby') for 'adjusting' his lyrics:

"Left, right, left, right

In the Government boots, the Government boots.

Is it necessary to have so much soldiers in this small country?

No, no, no, no.

Is it necessary to shine soldier boots with taxpayers' money?

No, no, no, no.

Well, don't tell me, tell Barry

He put them into Libby

Unemployment high and the Treasury low

And he buying boots to cover soldier toe.

I see them boots, boots, boots and

more boots

On the feet of young, trigger-happy recruits."

What exactly is the US defending in Libya? What's going on there? Diligent research, rather than dependence on American hype, will disclose that there's a de facto civil war in Libya between the eastern and western sections of the country. The Libyan 'protests', although probably inspired by those in Tunisia and Egypt, are of a completely different character. It was a violent uprising from the outset which included attacks on military bases after security forces used live ammunition to fire on civilian 'protesters'.

Libyan rebels claim that government forces fired the first bullets, but the rebels have found plenty guns and ammunition of their own in a hurry and are doing more than just shooting back. Although it's probable that this was the only way to effectively 'protest' in such a closed, dictatorial society (unlike Egypt for example), the fact remains that these romanticised 'rebels' are bound and determined to overthrow Gaddafi's government and Gaddafi is not taking it lying down. This is no coup d'état for the simple reason that most Libyan state apparatus has remained steadfastly
loyal to Gaddafi.

Incidentally, please note that I use the words 'closed' and 'dictatorial' as factual not judgemental descriptions of the Libyan system of government. Before you leap on the "we must bring democracy to Libya" bandwagon that's about to be launched, remember that democracy might work well enough for you but isn't necessarily the right fit in other cultures. And, regarding your own so-called democracy, ask yourself what's it done for you lately.

Who are these rebels? Can the US be sure that they're not about to create yet another monster in yet another foreign land by interfering in a dispute despite their ignorance of the fundamentals of the quarrel? And, speaking of 'fundamentals' for what, if anything, do the rebels stand? Hillary Clinton has admitted, after meeting with one of the rebel leaders at a luxury Paris hotel, that she knew little about them even after the 45-minute closed-door meeting and refused a photo op. The initial 'protests' had definite religious fundamentalist motivations. The facts are in direct contrast to the romantic Western wishful thinking that has painted these rebels as a sort of Libyan Solidarity and their leaders as Muslim Lech Walesas.

RABID ISLAMIC SENTIMENT

Eastern Libya has long been an area of rabid Islamic sentiment and, when the 'protests' started in Benghazi in February, they were by a group called National Conference for the Libyan Opposition (NCLO) to commemorate the 2006 Danish cartoons protests, which had been particularly violent in Benghazi. The NCLO stated goal is bringing "an end to tyranny and the establishment of a constitutional and democratic legitimacy" to Libya, but it has focused on bringing down the Gaddafi government and has labelled Gaddafi Public Enemy Number One.

The Huffington Post reported, on March 19, in an exposé confirming that the Libyan rebels almost certainly include anti-American extremists, pointed out that, of all the Islamic states which sent torrents of foreign fighters to Iraq to kill Americans, the highest per capita exporter was eastern Libya. The report, by David Wood, concludes: "Today, there is little doubt that eastern Libya, like other parts of the Arab world, is experiencing a genuine burst of anti-totalitarian fervour, expressed in demands for political freedom and economic reforms. But there also is a dark history to eastern Libya, which is the home of the Islamic Libyan Fighting Group, an anti-Gaddafi organisation officially designated by the State Department as a terrorist organisation."

The Telegraph of April 29 reported "Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi's regime."

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, al-Hasidi admitted recruiting "around 25" men from the Derna area in eastern Libya to fight against coalition troops in Iraq. Some of them, he said, are "today are on the front lines in Adjabiya". Al-Hasidi insisted his fighters "are patriots and good Muslims, not terrorists," but added that the "members of al-Qaida are also good Muslims and are fighting against the invader".

Be careful what you ask for ... .

Peace and love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.