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Libya’s tomorrow: Afghanistan’s today and Vietnam’s yesterday?

The United States of America (USA) invaded Iraq with the noble objective of keeping the world safe from ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)’. Leaving aside the absurdity of the country that has built up the most formidable array of WMDs strutting around like a 60s ‘flower child’ garlanding guns and tanks instead of dismantling their own WMDs, the USA did not find a single such device. Over a million Iraqis had to die and countless others made to suffer all manner of deprivation for this adventure.

Then there was Afghanistan. The USA went in to capture an elusive figure called Osama bin Laden. Death, displacement, dismemberment, destruction and deprivation followed. One has to conclude that ‘Libya’ is nothing more nothing less than a new name and new location for the powers that be in the USA to indulge in their favourite pastime (killing and maiming brown coloured people) while giving a boost to the mainstay of that economy, the weapons industry.

UN Security Council

The USA got the nod from the UN Security Council on the basis of a vaguely worded document and promptly used the selfsame vagueness to do its ‘usual’. Not a good reflection on the members of the UNSC of course, but most of them have since backtracked and called for an end to US aggression. ‘Reservations’ have been expressed. ‘Concern’ is another nice word that’s been tossed into remarks.

Muammar Gaddafi Manmohan Singh S M Krishna

Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in my opinion, put things in proper perspective, insisting that the people of North Africa and the Middle East ought to take their own decisions free of outside interference. His Foreign Minister, S M Krishna called for an end to air strikes in Libya, saying they would lead to more harm to “innocent civilians, foreign nationals and diplomatic missions.” In the meantime, trigger-happy as always, the czars of US foreign policy will continue to hoodwink the taxpayers of that country (with the full backing of a mildly critical but mostly supportive ‘free media’) into believing that the guns, bullets and death-squads are actually doing the Libyan people a favour. Just the other day, however, the commander of the rebels opposed to Muammar Gaddafi was quoted saying that he admires Osama bin Laden.

Libya’s tomorrow

Well, well! It made me remember that Osama was once a bosom buddy of the Bush family. If at all, this latest bit of information (quite possibly ‘planted’) might give justification for a longer engagement than ‘envisaged’ (yes, it was, as usual, made out to be a quickie, a fast and furious in-and-out). ‘Libya’ is far from over and even if Gaddafi is taken out of the equation, that taking out will be a beginning and not an end. It is not easy to predict things, but a decent enough picture of Libya’s tomorrow can emerge if we consider some pertinent facts from the aggressor’s past.

This morning I read an account authored by Daniel Bates and Mark Duell. The title would have been horrifying if I didn’t already know what is ‘normal’ for the USA when it comes to military operations. ‘Death Squad: full horror emerges of how rogue US brigade murdered and mutilated innocent Afghan civilians and kept their body parts as trophies.’ The authors got it wrong. The term ‘rogue’ is not one that describes just one errant brigade; it is the defining term for the US military in all operations in all countries.

There are some telling bullet points:

* Soldiers cut off 15-year-old boy’s finger and kept it as trophy, even using it as a ‘gambling chip’ in a game of cards.

* Video captures US troops cheering as airstrike kills two Afghan civilians

* New pictures show dead Afghan man’s head on a stick

* Soldier stabbed the body of a dead Afghan civilian

* Military tried to pull pictures out of circulation to avoid another Abu Ghraib

* Army says photos are ‘in striking contrast’ to its standards and values

Business as usual

The last is a lie. The photos and what they depict is ‘standard’. There are no ‘values’. It’s all part of the game. Business as usual. From the time of misnaming a continent, presuming that those who were not white were either un-evolved or fit for slavery, the class that has led that country (Obama belongs to that class, his skin-colour notwithstanding or at least operates as its spokesperson) has not changed its modus operandi by a hair’s breadth. Stuck to its script. Got a hiding in the Bay of Pigs and a worse spanking in Vietnam but didn’t learn any lessons. Part of the game. Business as usual. That’s the United States of America.

There’s no reason to believe that Libya will be any different.

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