To my absolute dismay, what is happening with Libya is a complete remake of what happened in Bosnia. A quasi-instantaneous armed insurrection, followed by a civil war, followed by a no-fly zone, followed by a peace plan accepted by the “bad guys” and rejected by the “good guys” and now, it appears, followed by the very same Europeans seriously considering sending in “peacekeeping” troops. They even (re-)created a NATO kangaroo court to judge Gaddafi for his “crimes against humanity” and the rest of the crimes many rulers commit, but only some get prosecuted for. This is totally sickening and just goes to show that the entire tragedy of the war in Bosnia has been forgotten. Or is it that it was never understood in the first place?
The US Empire does not even make any real effort to avoid parallels between Bosnia and Libya. In fact, many imperial-fanboys openly do declare that “just like in Bosnia” the West should now do this or that. And why not? The war against Iraq was launched under the utterly ridiculous accusation that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and when that was proven to be a lie, the very same accusation, made by the very same people, was hurled at Iran. And nobody laughed. In fact, most people began seriously discussing this idiocy.
Following so many other former Imperial puppets (including Milosevic and Saddam!), Gadaffi is now demonized (though he has yet to be called a “new Hitler”). Well, I happen to agree that Gaddafi deserves a good deal of this demonization (just like Slobodan and Saddam did). Imperial puppets are inevitably deeply immoral thugs who are more than happy to kill, torture or massacre their own people. But does that really mean that anybody and everybody who opposes them is a knight in shining armor?!
Just look at the leaders of the anti-Gaddafi forces today: Mahmoud Jibril and Khalifa Haftar. They are high-ranking Gaddafi minions who turned their coats just on time to become “popular leaders”! Don’t these former Gaddafi apparachiks remind anybody of, say, Franjo Tudjman?
Or look at the so-called “civilians” in need of “protection” while being armed, trained and lead by a toxic mix of Western special forces and Wahabi extremists. Does that not ring a bell?
I personally loathe Gaddafi. He is an utterly immoral megalomaniac, a Arab secular nationalist leader (I hate that combination). A former nationalist turned Soviet puppet, then nationalist again, then US puppet and now back to nationalist. This secularist clearly also fancies himself as some kind of Muslim leader with quasi-messianic wisdom to dispense to the masses.
Just as I always despised Milosevic, Saddam, Noriega and so many other buffoons who ended up being useless for the Empire and I have no respect whatsoever for Gaddafi. But that is hardly a reason to give a standing ovation to the next imperial puppets which are already being groomed by the Empire to succeed Gaddafi!
Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo are now colonial banana republics of the Empire (in Iraq things did not go as well for the Empire who broke its teeth on the local Shia resistance). Is that really the future which all those who cheer on the forces in Benghazi want for Libya? For Libya to become another Bosnia or another Kosovo (with a Camp Bondsteel, narcotics, prostitution and all)?
From the very beginning of the anti-Gaddafi insurrection I supported the rebellion hoping that it would finally boot this thug out of power and replace him with a reasonably democratic regime. But when I see these rebels asking for US and NATO military intervention I realize that Libya now has a choice between bad and worse. And yes, Gaddafi is bad, no doubt in my mind about this. But an Imperial intervention is worse, there is no doubt in my mind about this either.
And please, dont’ give me the argument about the “heavy weapons”. I heard the very same nonsense during the war in Bosnia. Heavy weapons? What heavy weapons?! Just like in Bosnia, the so-called “international community” has slapped an arms embargo on the entire country only to then proceed to arm the “good guys” to the teeth. So far, I have seen the “lightly armed” Libyan rebels using main battle tanks, APCs and even multiple rocket launchers! Heck – they even had at least one Mirage aircraft until they shot it down themselves over Benghazi (clearly, the simple folks were not aware of the fact that they had their own air force, however small).
And also, no crocodile tears about the civilians being killed. The folks currently “protecting” the Libyan civilians just killed over ONE MILLION Iraqis, so you will excuse me if I don’t take their “humanitarian” credentials too seriously.
I am equally dismayed by those who constantly campaign to lionize Gaddafi like some kind of anti-imperialist hero. According to them, the “Great Socialist People’s Libyan State of the Masses” was some kind of paradise on earth, with everybody living in large homes, enjoying great social services and in daily bliss. This is so ridiculous! While the leaders of the rebellion are clearly Western agents, there can be no denial that a big segment of the Libyan population hated Gaddafi’s regime, if only because of its brutal crackdown on Islamic groups. Again, the fact that the US Empire is loathsome and evil to the core hardly makes Gaddafi a knight in shining armor!
Must we really be stuck in such nonsensical choices? Milosevic or Thaci? Omar or Karzai? Bush or Bin Laden? Why is it so hard to see that often both sides are equally evil and contemptible? How is a one prostitute better than another prostitute? Aren’t they equally disgusting?
To be honest, I find myself rather isolated nowadays. To me, who followed the war in Bosnia day by day, minute by minute, what is going on in Libya is sickening. But even worse is the sense of hopelessness when I see most observers blindly siding with one party against the other, no matter how clearly corrupt their “good guys” really are.
And just as in Bosnia, its the simple folks, lied to by everyone, who will end up paying the real price of all for the vicious insanity of their leaders. Make no mistake here, Libya will turn into a typical US colony, with military bases, fast food franchises, prostitution, corruption and misery. And those few who will still persist in opposing such a wonderful project will end up being tortured, shot, disappeared and jailed.
One last expression of disgust in conclusion: the sheepishly obedient media. Just like in the case of the war Bosnia, all the reports and talk-shows feature only Western “experts” and “good” Libyans. When is the last time you saw Saif al-Islam Gaddafi being interviewed to make his case? Has anybody noticed that the “bad Libyans” have been ordered off the air?
Just like the arms embargo is totally one-side, so is the information blackout. And even when civilians are being killed in US/NATO bombings in Tripoli al-Jazeera correspondents seriously declare that “they don’t know where the bodies found in the rubble came from”!. Who knows, maybe evil Muammar is keeping secret stores of cadavers of murdered dissidents to be dispersed at the location of any “humanitarian bombings” by the US and NATO?
If by now you are getting the feeling that I am pretty mad about all this you are quite correct. In fact, I am fuming at the mind-boggling stupidity of the world I live in. The war in Bosnia was a breaking point for me and I ended up loosing my career over it because I did not “howl with the wolves” (as the French saying goes). I can’t say I regret any of what happened to me, really. But to see the exact very same bullshit happening a decade later once again really makes me mad.
So please excuse my foul mood.
The Saker
Bosnia and Kosovo are still seen as the good wars by liberal imperialists. Kosovo especially played a key role in Blair’s hubris. It gave the warlords the idea they could win wars simply with airstrikes. In Iraq however there was no equivalent of the Kurds who were irrelevant in most of the country.
I had hoped that the catastrophe of Iraq would have killed off liberal imperialism but here we go again…
“Heck – they even had at least one Mirage aircraft until they shot it down themselves over Benghazi (clearly, the simple folks were not aware of the fact that they had their own air force, however small).”
Yes, the rebels already have a small air force, of fighters and helicopters, already painted with their own new roundel:
http://elhangardetj.blogspot.com/2011/04/bengasi-libia.html
(in Spanish).
And worse, it seems that their planes have clearance from the NATO to fly, despite the no-fly zone although NATO officials deny this.
Slobodan? What actually was wrong with Milosevic?
Following so many other former Imperial puppets (including Milosevic and Saddam!),
Milosevic was an imperial puppet? I don’t think so.
You boy Nasrallah is the more of an imperial puppet then Milosevic.
From the very beginning of the anti-Gaddafi insurrection I supported the rebellion hoping that it would finally boot this thug out of power and replace him with a reasonably democratic regime.
A fool you are then blindly support “rebels” knowing nothing about them especially when they were immediately given massive military assistance from NATO and the Arab vassals states given there recent history of supporting the worst Islamic scum and villainy on the planet.
Given what we now know about the “rebel” forces they certainly fit this criteria who are involved in international jihadism, human trafficking, killing black immigrants, etc
This is a good video posted on GRTV website of photo analysis of the weapons the rebels have been using.
http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2011/04/libya-rebels-had-nato-weapons-day-1
I wonder like the Bosnians and Chechens the Libyan “rebels” have PR firms representing them in the west.
“Make no mistake here, Libya will turn into a typical US colony, with military bases, fast food franchises, prostitution, corruption and misery. And those few who will still persist in opposing such a wonderful project will end up being tortured, shot, disappeared and jailed.”
Typical Islamic state then.
great post, thanks.
can you recommend one or several good books or articles in English on the war in Bosnia?
I fully agree with you Saker; you forgot to mention the “contributions” of Bernard Kouchner and Bernard Henri Levy…
@anonymous1: I don’t really know what is available in English about Bosnia, though you might check with George Kenny (http://www.electricpolitics.com/) who resigned from DoS over that war. There is a Belgian reporter called Michel Collon who wrote a lot of excellent stuff about Bosnia and other media lies, see if he has stuff in English on the Internet. HTH.
@anonymous2: oh yes, Bernard Henri Levi aka BHL. He also was really big on Bosnia. And Kouchner too. And I would also add Alain Finkelkraut, a Jew who is a big supporter of Croat Fascists. The entire Zionist lobby in France is always delighted to preach “humanitarian imperialism”. Having a Likudnik like Sarkozy in power basically made France into an Israeli colony, though even under Chirac & Co. things were pretty bad. The last semi-independent French President was Mitterand. Ever since all France had were imperial puppets as pathetic as, say, a Noriega.
I really like the French and I feel sorry for them. Even though things are moving to some degree, that country is still a total mess. Just look at their idiotic banning of face-concealing garb (not even a Muslim tradition at all).
Pauvre France…
typo there. Meant to say there was no equivalent of the KLA in Iraq except the Kurds who are irrelevant in most of the country.
Yes France has lurched to the right ever since Sarkozy was elected. Sarko is a full on neocon and this intervention in Libya is an attempt to create an informal French empire in the Medittearanean. The US Empire is not the key villain in this latest imperial venture; that accolade belongs to Sarko. Chirac was corrupt but he had soom redeeming features. With Sarko I can’t think of any and pray that he gets the boot next year.
@Robert:With Sarko I can’t think of any and pray that he gets the boot next year.
Yes, but my God, did you see the likely candidates? Strauss-Kahn – a dedicated mondialist, Zionist and Atlantist. Ségolène Royal? Something like a French version of Sarah Palin. A pseudo-leftist which would be terrific at organizing a Tupperware party, but which will do nothing for France. Marine Le Pen? Definitely smart and, at least, principled. Possibly the least bad of the bunch, but the National Front is so full of all kids of idiots (Islamist-haters, former Petainists, old style Reaganites, assorted racists, etc.) that I don’t think they could get anything done. Who else? Arlette Laguiller? A great person, totally honest, and 100% naive. I would love her as a buddy, but to stand up to the Empire? Forget it. What else? Dieudonne and his anti-Zionist Party? He is by far my favorite stand up comedian, I have every single one of his shows and I always howl with hysterical laughter when I watch them but frankly this anti-Zionist Party is also a joke, even if a good one.
The Greens? They are every bit as bad as the Socialists. Alain Krivine? Is he even still out there?
I might be missing somebody here, I don’t keep that close an eye on French politics, but so far I have not seen an alternative to Sarko. My guess is some asshole like Juppe or DSK are gonna succeed him, they will be less offensive that Sarko and his cheap harlot, but in terms of politics – they will be reliably pro-Israel and pro-USA.
Frankly, until the French Muslims become more powerful than the Zionist lobby France is, I think, screwed. Even worse, I get the feeling that all of Europe is screwed too. There is no real, viable, opposition to the Empire there, at least not one with any kind of chance to get even a plurality.
Western Europe is a post-Christian, old and dying civilization. Eastern Europe is a colony of US banana republics. Belarus is a mess, and the Ukraine and Russia are run by a mix of mafia and ex-KGB thugs.
No, the only real resistance to the Empire nowadays can only come from the Shia in the Middle-East or from Latin America. Maybe even Russia, but not anytime soon, in a decade or so maybe.
All in all, a gloomy picture I guess.
The only really good news is that the Empire is so busy sabotaging itself that it can do it all on its own, no need to even push it at the precipice. Its arrogance and imperial hubris will do it on its own. That, and all the wars it is losing, Insha’Allah!
There is a Belgian reporter called Michel Collon who wrote a lot of excellent stuff about Bosnia and other media lies …
A good debate by Michael Collon
Don’t know if you’ve seen this yet, Saker, but I thought I’d pass it on to your readers. Confirms what I’ve suspected all along, given the dubious nature of some of the accounts.
http://original.antiwar.com/justin/2011/04/17/hypocrites-left-and-right/
“I love hate to say I told you so, but not that much. Human Rights Watch reports that forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi are not systematically slaughtering civilians, but are targeting the rebels. Civilians caught in the crossfire account for noncombatant deaths, and the numbers are rising: but this isn’t genocide. Furthermore, as I maintained from the beginning, there was never any credible evidence that Gadhafi was planning any such wholesale slaughter. Indeed, the NATO alliance has recently felt moved to warn the rebels not to target civilians. “