Tuesday 29 March 2011

Libyan farce

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It is bad enough that no one knows the actual reasons for the West choosing to attack Libya, although the oil is reason number one and two leaders (Cameron & Sarkozy) are desperate to be seen as willing to take decisive action and be considered 'strong' is number two, but the outcome remains clearly unpredictable. This farce continued yesterday when the 'allies' knocked out the tanks and heavy equipment they had spent years selling for a fat profit to Gaddafi and allowed the 'mish-mash' that is the rebel 'army' to advance. This 'army' claimed a victory in taking Sirtie when in fact they had not even reached the place! An ambush by a few regulars in Gaddafi's forces machine gunned this 'army' as they headed towards them in their ageing vehicles and they ran away! Clearly there is no leadership, no organisation, no training and even control in the rebel ranks. Yet NATO is now offering them full support in an attempt, they say, to 'save civilian life.' If these rebels get themselves into Sirtie what will be the result? This is Gaddafi's home town. These are his people. The likely hood is that the people will fight for him and how much 'civilian life' will be lost here? Will the 'allies' put troops in on the ground? They can do little from the air once the battle occurs in built up areas. The question is where will these troops come from? Most nations do not wish to be involved, and Obama has clearly stated he will not send his, the UK is over stretched already and few capable armies are left.  The chances of marching this motley rebel army to Tripoli is frightening. If the smaller town fight back what will occur at the centre of the regime?


This whole operation is covered in lies. Syria is much more repressive yet nothing is done there outside of diplomatic discussions. Syria is too dangerous to touch. That is why a Libyan was blamed for the Lockerbie killings. He was set up through an agreement between the major powers as attacking Syria, then hiding the PFLP who were responsible, would have upset the whole region. Iran certainly lay behind the end of Pan-Am 103, and a Scots village suffered the consequences of Captain Rogers 'John Wayne' approach, but it was impossible to touch anyone but Gaddafi! When Syria is troubled then so is Lebanon, this unsettles Israel and Iran hovers in the wing in menacing fashion. So Syria is ignored and the easy target, Gaddafi, picked on once again. We could ask why is Bahrain is receiving no mention these days, too much money there perhaps, to many connections to powerful people in the UK possibly. The Saudi's, who buy so many of our weapons,  itch to attack their rebels, mostly Shia, will we object if they do? I doubt it.


On top of this the UK governments idiotic monetary policy is shown to heighten the farce element today.Ignoring the hundreds of thousands taking part in a peaceful protest meeting at the weekend objecting to the huge cuts in government spending and the dreadful consequences of this ham fisted policy, not only are experienced front line police officers being forced to retire because of the 20% cut in police money means we can no longer afford them, not only are serious crimes not leading to jail sentences as this 'costs too much,'  but we know discover we do not have enough pilots to fly the missions into Libya! Incredible! We have dumped the Harrier Jump Jets, are selling of the aircraft carriers (while building a new one that will not be ready for years and has no planes to fit it when complete), cutting the numbers of our overworked troops and now have run out of trained pilots! There are insufficient pilots being trained today so that when the experienced men reach the end of their careers we will have insufficient numbers to replace them! We are embarking on conflicts with insufficient cash, we are running out of men, and we have no idea why we are there! I remind the world that this is an unelected government we have here in the UK today! Now British forces have since Boudica attacked the Romans at Camulodunum been insufficiently supplied with men and material so this ought not to surprise anyone. However I suspect that by the time the recruits are trained to fly our lovely new 'Typhoon fighters' we will only have half a dozen left to fly anyway. I also suspect these will be used 24 hours a day to get our moneys worth from them. 
 
Today a conference of interested parties, not counting Gaddafi obviously as he is not interested, will take place in London. While spouting that they do not wish regime change, and conscious of the mess left after the Iraq disaster the suggestion that Gaddafi gets a way out by being 'exiled somewhere far away (with lots of his nations money I suppose) is on the table. While stuffing themselves with the expensive nosh that is also on the table and quaffing champagne the hoi poloi of forty nations will endeavour to fix the Libyan situation in a manner that suits them happily. Whether for the sake of 'democracy,' to 'save lives,' and to benefit the Libyan people I am not sure, especially as the 'people' have not been asked what they want. Let us face it, they have no idea what they want either! This rebellion fed on the situation in Tunisia on one side and Egypt on the other. It has no heart, no leadership and little idea what they are hoping for. Cameron and Sarkozy, backed by the US and others, have jumped on the bandwagon to remove Gaddafi and ensure stability in the production of oil. This will also ensure, they hope, and end to people trafficking from sub-Saharan Africa. Whether it does is as yet unknown, indeed far too much is as yet unknown here. The worrying thing is that while our leaders do not understand the situation nor where it might lead they press on regardless and it is others who will bear the cost in the long run, not they!


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