Sunday 28th of April 2024

on 'no-fly zones' .....

on 'no-fly zones' .....

The other night I watched as a Libyan 'rebel', brandishing a heavy machine gun, screamed for foreign intervention to stop Gaddafi from attacking civilians like himself. Very credible indeed.

Whilst it may seem like a highly unlikely scenario, if a few thousand Australians, fed-up with the tyranny of our corrupt parliamentary system & its leaders, somehow broke into a military arms depot & took to the streets in armed revolt, wouldn't we expect our government to move swiftly to crush such a rebellion? How is Libya any different?

And how is Libya any different to Bahrain, where America's Saudi allies busy themselves slaughtering civilians who are peacefully demonstrating against the tyranny of royalty, presently caught-up planning the king's trip to attend Prince William & Kate Middleton's royal wedding next month? No 'no-fly zone' there; nor at the wedding it's hoped.

The Americans claim that they just want the Libyans to be able to enjoy democratic freedoms & exercise self-determination. Well, why can't Iraqis or Afghanis enjoy the same freedoms & how come the UN didn't mandate a 'no-fly zone' to protect the hundreds of thousands of civilians who have been butchered by the west's military machine in those places? And whilst on the subject, how come the UN hasn't mandated a 'no-fly zone' to protect the people of Palestine & Lebanon from the murderous incursions of the Zionists? And what about the people of Pakistan, being blown to bits on a daily basis by Obama's 'drones'?

Of course, the truth of the matter is that the US & its catspaw, the UN, couldn't give a flying-fig about protecting civilians in Libya or anywhere-else. Anyone who knows anything about modern military strategies understands that their central aim is to attack & terrorise civilian populations.

As for Kevin Rudd's faultless performance this week as Australia's Colonel Blimp, running around like an excited school boy playing cowboys & Indians & hysterically extolling the virtues of the 'no-fly zone', he succeeded only in making a fool of himself & us, whilst making Julia Gillard look positively statesman-like. As usual, 'our Kevin' faultlessly spun the lie of exceptionalism by claiming that the Arab League's call for the UN to implement a 'no-fly zone' was a genuine cry for help from the arab nations!! Phooey ... what Kevin didn't bother to mention was the fact that only 11 of the 22 member Arab League had attended the pertinent meeting & that two of the countries attending (Syria & Algeria) totally opposed the intervention. But then, western democracy really is all about fixing the numbers anyway: whilst Kevin was eager to blow smoke about the Arab League, he neglected to mention the resolution by the African Union, representing 53 African countries, adamantly rejecting a 'no-fly zone' or any other form of military intervention in Libya. 

By the way Kevin, if a 'no-fly-zone' was such a good idea, how come the Australian government didn't impose one?

Just hypocritical oily nonsense all.

the usual double standard .....

The U.S. and its allies are embarking on another regime change operation. Before they started their attacks on the Libyans, they admitted that there would be civilians casualities in an act of irony. They claim to be acting to save civilians, but they will be killing them.

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the action amounts to an 'act of war' that is critical to remove Moammar Gadhafi from power before he massacres any more of his own people," according to the Edmonton Journal. It also added: "The prime minister acknowledged that the military operation will be complex and could lead to casualties among the very civilians that nations are trying to protect, and perhaps among the military personnel being sent to Libya."

The war criminals are back at it again.

Hours after the attacks, sources in Libya have reported that three medical facilities were bombarded. Two were hospitals and one a medical clinic. These were civilian facilities.

Libyan Hospitals Attacked: Three French Jests Downed

meanwhile .....

A Think-Progress analysis of press coverage by the three major U.S. cable news networks - CNN, MSNBC, and Fox News - from March 14 to March 18 finds that Bahrain received only slightly more than ten percent as many mentions as Libya and that Yemen received only six percent as many mentions as Libya:

Libya: Libya was mentioned 9,524 times by the major cable news networks.

Bahrain: Bahrain was mentioned 1,587 times by the major cable news networks.

Yemen: Yemen was only mentioned 599 times by the major cable news networks.

The lack of coverage of the situation in Bahrain and Yemen isn't disturbing just because the atrocities being committed there merit coverage. It's especially alarming because, unlike Libya, both are close U.S. allies and recipients of major U.S. military and economic assistance - meaning that the U.S. actually bears a responsibility to make sure its assistance is not being used in ways that are contrary to American values.

No Coverage Zone: Media Ignores Brutal Crackdowns By US Allies Bahrain And Yemen 

the protection racket .....

The face of Jeremy Morlock, a young US soldier, grins at the camera, his hand holding up the head of the dead and bloodied youth he and his colleagues have just killed in an act military prosecutors say was premeditated murder.

Moments before the picture was taken in January last year, the unsuspecting victim had been waved over by a group of US soldiers who had driven to his village in Kandahar province in one of their armoured Stryker tanks.

According to testimony collected by Der Spiegel magazine the boy had, as a matter of routine, lifted up his shirt to reveal that he was not hiding a suicide bomb vest.

That was the moment Morlock, according to a pre-arranged plan, threw a grenade at the boy that exploded while other members of the rogue group who called themselves the "kill team" opened fire.

They would later tell military investigators that the boy, a farmer's son, had threatened them with the grenade.

The pictures include a similar photograph of a different soldier posing with the same victim and a photograph of two other civilians killed by the unit.

There was no sign on Monday of the anticipated public outrage. But with Afghanistan on holiday for the Persian new year celebrations, and media outlets initially unable to get hold of the images, anger may yet build.

The US ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, recently confided to officials that he feared it might trigger the same kind of scandal as that at Abu Ghraib in Iraq, where images of prisoners being abused by US soldiers sparked anti-American protests.

Photos show US soldiers in Afghanistan posing with dead civilians

inconvenient truths .....

US military action against Libya absent imminent threat or Congressional approval is outside the legal scope of the Presidency.

Senator Barack Obama, December 20, 2007: "The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation."

Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement and letter to Congressional leaders after the President announced that the United States will support a United Nations-approved attack on Libya:

"While the action is billed as protecting the civilians of Libya, a no-fly-zone begins with an attack on the air defenses of Libya and Qaddafi forces. It is an act of war. The president made statements which attempt to minimize US action, but US planes may drop US bombs and US missiles may be involved in striking another sovereign nation. War from the air is still war.

"It is also worth noting that the President did not comment upon nor recognize that the Libyan government had declared a ceasefire in response to UNSC Resolution 1973. It was appropriate for the UN to speak about the situation. It was appropriate to establish an arms embargo and freeze Qaddafi's considerable financial assets. But whether the US takes military action is not for the UN alone to decide. There is a constitutional imperative in the United States with respect to deciding to commit our US armed forces to war.

"Congress should be called back into session immediately to decide whether or not to authorize the United States' participation in a military strike. If it does not, the action of the President is contrary to US Constitution. Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution clearly states that the United States Congress has the power to declare war. The President does not. That was the Founders' intent.

Obama v. Obama

there's no 'no-fly' zone here .....

A top United Nations investigator has called on the U.N. Human Rights Council to investigate Israel's continued expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank. The U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, Richard Falk, described Israel's actions as a form of ethnic cleansing.

Richard Falk: "As the report illustrates, the continued pattern of settlement expansion in East Jerusalem, combined with forceful eviction of long-residing Palestinians, are creating an intolerable situation that can only be described in its cumulative impact as a form of ethnic cleansing."

UN Investigator Accuses Israel of "Ethnic Cleansing"