Libya invasion compared with Bay of Pigs - Webster Tarpley

[pberq]

http://tarpley.net/2011/03/19/obamas-bay-of-pigs-in-libya/

Obama’s Bay of Pigs in Libya: Imperialist Aggression Shreds UN Charter

Webster G. Tarpley, Ph.D.
TARPLEY.net
March 19, 2011

...Libya had responded to the UN vote by declaring a cease-fire, but Obama and Cameron brushed that aside. On Saturday, France 24 and al-Jazeera of Qatar, international propaganda networks hyping the attacks, broadcast hysterical reports of Qaddafi’s forces allegedly attacking the rebel stronghold of Bengazi. They showed a picture of a jet fighter being shot down and claimed this proved Qaddafi was defying the UN by keeping up his air strikes. It later turned out that the destroyed plane had belonged to the rebel air force. Such coverage provided justification for the bombing attacks starting a few hours later. The parallels to the Kuwait incubator babies hoax of 1990 were evident. Qaddafi loyalists said Saturday’s fighting was caused by rebel assaults on government lines in the hopes of provoking an air attack, plus local residents defending themselves against the rebels.

At the UN vote, the Indian delegate correctly pointed out that the decision to start the war had been made on the basis of no reliable information whatsoever, since UN Secretary General Ban-ki Moon’s envoy to Libya had never reported to the Security Council. The bombing started shortly after a glittering Paris summit “in support of the Libyan people,” where Sarkozy, Cameron, Hillary Clinton, Stephen Harper of Canada and other imperialist politicians had strutted and postured.

. . .While Obama’s action is being widely compared to the Bush-Cheney 2003 attack on Iraq, parallels to the April 1961 Bay of Pigs fiasco are also strong. In that instance, a force of anti-Castro Cubans organized by the CIA was militarily defeated in an attempt to take over Cuba, resulting in calls from Allen Dulles to President Kennedy for air strikes and a ground invasion. Kennedy rejected those calls and fired the Dulles CIA leadership. Obama, faced by the military collapse of a CIA force in Libya, has ordered such bombing, opening a second phase of the present US debacle.

. . .

French President Nicolas Sarkozy was first to recognize the Benghazi rebels, calling for a no-fly zone and air strikes a week earlier, seconded by British Prime Minister Cameron. Until about 18 hours before the UN vote, top US officials like Secretary of State Clinton and Defense Secretary Gates were stressing the difficulties of a no-fly zone. French Foreign Minister Juppé lamented that it was already too late for a no-fly zone. Then, the US abruptly demanded a no-fly zone plus a blank check for aerial bombing. Diplomatic observers are puzzled by Obama’s turnaround. Was he being blackmailed by the British and the French, the same imperialist coalition that invaded Egypt to seize the Suez Canal back in 1956? Because of Obama’s decision, the US is now at war with a fourth Moslem nation after Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. In Pakistan, the simmering conflict is threatening to escalate into the open at any time in the wake of the scandal around CIA contractor Ray Davis, accused by the Pakistanis as a terrorist controller.

(more at link)

[Kolesar]

1. France 24 and al-Jazeera of Qatar, international propaganda networks hyping the attacks

unrecommended

[provis99]

13. and you just made my ignore list.

[David__77]

2. Ex-LaRouche follower Tarpley is kooky, but right sometimes.

I actually am not sure why he split from LaRouche, since his positions are identical. I guess it's just the personality cult.

[pberq]

5. I agree he can be kooky

but nevertheless he brings out important issues not reported in MSM.

For example, I haven't seen anywhere else that this action violates the UN Charter.
Also, his analysis of the overall strategy in the Middle East makes a lot of sense.

[The Magistrate]

3. Tarpley Is A Charlatan; This Is Idiocy

[David__77]

6. Why or how?

I am curious.

[The Magistrate]

7. Not Worth Engaging, Sir: It Would Be Necessary To Write A Piece Twice As Long As The Drivel Itself

[pberq]

8. Not surprised you're not willing to state at least one reason.

As a defender of the Military Industrial Complex it becomes difficult when you have to actually use reason.

[The Magistrate]

9. Wear It In Good Health, Sir

No point arguing with a kitchen table....

[pberq]

15. so mouthing a few ad hominem attacks releases you

from any obligation to back up your position with evidence and logic.

[The Magistrate]

18. It Took You More Than A Day To Get Back To It, Sir: Clearly You Do Not Care Much About It Either

Just do not send him money for anything; promise me you will show that much sense, at least....

[pberq]

4. Violation of UN Charter; Libya one of the most advance developing countries

What about the UN Charter?


http://tarpley.net/2011/03/19/obamas-bay-of-pigs-in-libya/


Interference in Libyan internal affairs violates UN Charter
Diplomatic observers were shocked by the sweeping resolution passed by the Security Council, which allows “all necessary measures” to be used against Libya. The United Nations Charter strictly limits Chapter 7 military actions to threats to international peace and security, which Libya has never represented, but rules out interference in internal affairs of member states. The pretext cited in this case was the protection of defenseless civilians, but it is clear that the rebels constitute an armed military force in their own right. Since no state can be an aggressor on its own territory, the Security Council resolution stands in flagrant violation of the UN Charter. Russia, China, Brazil, Germany, and India abstained. The resolution contains an arms embargo against Libya which the US is already violating by arming the rebels through Egypt.

. . .

Anglo-American propaganda portrays Qaddafi as a kleptocrat. In reality, Libya is one of the most advanced developing countries, ranking 53 on the UN Human Development Index, making it the most developed society in Africa. Libya ranks ahead of Russia (65), Ukraine (69), Brazil (73), Venezuela (75) and Tunisia (81). The rate of incarceration is 61st in the world, below that of the Czech Republic, and far below that of the United States (1). Longevity has increased by 20 years under Qaddafi’s rule. Qaddafi, while suppressing political challenges, had shared the nation’s oil income better than the rest of OPEC.

. . .

The purpose of this attack, in the context of the CIA’s spring 2011 campaign of putsches, palace coups, color revolutions, and people power insurrections, is to cripple the ability of US client states to seek alternative arrangements through alliances with Russia, China, Iran, and other states. The CIA onslaught takes the form of an attack on the nation state itself. In 2008, Serbia was partitioned. This year, Sudan is being carved in two, while Yemen is increasingly likely to face the same fate. The UN resolution of Libya mentions Bengazi specifically, indicating the clear intent of partitioning and balkanizing this nation along an east-west division. Other countries can expect similar treatment. It is time to end the destructive cycle of color revolutions before one of them turns into a civil war in a country like Belarus, where an internal clash could easily turn into a large-scale confrontation between Russia and NATO.

[bhikkhu]

12. I'd rather argue the fine points of international obligations

after the fact of intervention, than speculate over the meaning of fuzzy satellite pictures showing the rubble of Benghazi and possible mass grave sites in the desert after an equally justifiable non-intervention.

[Demeter]

10. Meaning It's a Clusterfuck?

Already?

[bhikkhu]

11. What an idiotic opinion piece

The good doctor is a little far from remembering that good writing should be both defensible and truthful in its statements; any graduate student with a basic knowledge of current events could tear this one to tiny pieces.

[yurbud]

14. the Bay of Pigs analogy has other echoes that might have prompted Obama to appease the hawks

[JerseyTrash116]

16. Hahaha

Great pic.

[yurbud]

17. ah! when I saw your subject line I thought you were laughing at the JFK assassination reference