The Law of Attraction.

Libyan Madman Turns Up in New Hampshire

CONCORD, NH (The Borowitz Report) – The mystery surrounding Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s whereabouts was resolved today as the dictator announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination in a town hall meeting in Concord, New Hampshire.

In announcing his candidacy, the Libyan madman joins a Republican field which is believed to number in excess of seven hundred candidates.

While some New Hampshire Republicans seemed surprised to see Col. Gaddafi shaking hands and kissing babies at the Concord town hall, an aide to the Libyan strongman said his transformation to GOP candidate made perfect sense.

“In those final days in Tripoli he was becoming increasingly disconnected from reality,” said the aide.  “So I think he’ll fit right in.”

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I also highly recommend Phyllis Bennis’s interview on FAIR’s Counterspin.

It’s not that there are no real humanitarian concerns; Libyan civilians are paying a huge price in challenging their dictator. But powerful U.S. interests are at stake, and few of them have anything to do with protecting Libyan civilians. Certainly oil is key; not so much about access to Libyan oil (the international oil market is pretty fungible), but about which oil companies will gain privileged positions? Will it be BP and Chevron who win the lucrative contracts to develop Libya’s enormous oil fields, or will Chinese and Russian oil companies take their place? What pipelines will a new government in Libya choose, and which countries and corporations will benefit?

And it’s not only about oil. The Libyan uprising is one of many potentially revolutionary transformations across the Arab world and in parts of Africa, where long-standing U.S.-backed dictatorships are collapsing — what kind of credibility can the U.S. expect in post-Qaddafi Libya? Washington may be betting that it can win credibility with the opposition by jumping out in front with an aggressive anti-Qaddafi “military assistance” campaign, perhaps starting with a no-fly zone. But in fact Washington risks antagonizing those opposition supporters, apparently the vast majority, determined to protect the independence of their democratic revolution.

The future of Libya and much of the success of the democratic revolutions now underway across the region, stand in the balance. If the Obama administration, the Pentagon, war profiteers and the rest of the U.S. policymaking establishment continue to define U.S. “national interests” as continuing U.S. domination of oil-rich and strategically-located countries and regions, Washington faces a likely future of isolation, antagonism, rising terrorism and hatred.

The democratic revolutionary processes sweeping North Africa and the Middle East have already transformed that long-stalemated region. The peoples of the region are looking for less, not greater militarization of their countries. It is time for U.S. policy to recognize that reality. Saying no to a no-fly zone in Libya will be the best thing the Obama administration can do to begin the process of crafting a new, demilitarized 21st century policy for the U.S. in the newly democratizing Middle East.

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Establishing a no-fly zone is an act of war. It involves bombing. In the Persian Gulf war, this did not protect Shia in the South of Iraq. Given that our foreign and military policy shows we care not a whit for international law, cynicism indicates this has more to do with guaranteeing the flow of light, sweet crude.

What is immediately striking about the bipartisan call in Washington for a no-fly zone and air strikes designed to help rebel forces in Libya is the absence of any concern with the relevance of international law or the authority of the United Nations. None in authority take the trouble to construct some kind of legal rationalization. The ‘realists’ in command, and echoed by the mainstream media, do not feel any need to provide even a legal fig leaf before embarking on aggressive warfare.

It should be obvious that a no-fly zone in Libyan airspace is an act of war, as would be, of course, contemplated air strikes on fortifications of the Qadaffi forces. The core legal obligation of the UN Charter requires member states to refrain from any use of force unless it can be justified as self-defense after a cross-border armed attack or mandated by a decision of the UN Security Council. Neither of these conditions authorizing a legal use of force is remotely present, and yet the discussion proceeds in the media and Washington circles as if the only questions worth discussing pertain to feasibility, costs, risks, and a possible backlash in the Arab world. The imperial mentality is not inclined to discuss the question of legality, much less show behavioral respect for the constraints embedded in international law.

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thepoliticalnotebook:

The world is backing away from the idea of a no-fly zone over Libya.  U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron is backtracking from a previous endorsement of the idea and the general sentiment is a desire not to get mixed up militarily in Libyan affairs.  Voices from the US are also expressing a more cautious stance, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton telling the House foreign affairs committee that a military endeavour would be counterproductive.  The US is particularly reticent because a no-fly zone would require Libyan air defence systems to be bombed first.  Despite the fact that Gaddhafi’s troops are meagre in comparison with Britain or the US, surface-to-air missiles could still take down foreign aircraft.  Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov was dismissive of the notion of a no-fly zone, calling such an action “superfluous” and encouraging the world to focus on sanctions.  

Read more at the Guardian, AFP and the Daily Mail.

Above: In Benghazi, Libyan’s fly their original flag and hold up a sign rejecting the idea of foreign intervention.  Photo Credit: Tiago Petinga/EPA

bilalr:

A group of volunteers have worked with different NGOs to put together a comprehensive crisis map that aims to support humanitarian preparedness operations. Have a look at the map here:http://libyacrisismap.net/main

Another augmented revolution?

inothernews:

Members of the opposition took over a goverment office building in Benghazi, Libya. They were gathering photos and videos.  (Photo: Ed Ou for the New York Times)

This photo speaks to the role of social media in the events unfolding across the Middle East and North Africa — and why tyrants are so very afraid of the Internet.