[Peace-discuss] Kevin Zeese on Stopping a Ground War in Libya

Mon Mar 28 02:24:48 CDT 2011

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-zeese/if-you-supported-the-no-f_b_840274.html

----- Forwarded message from Kevin Zeese <kbzeese at gmail.com> -----

Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:15:17 -0400
From: Kevin Zeese <kbzeese at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [ufpj-activist] Stopping a Ground War in Libya
To: "Boyle, Francis" <FBOYLE at law.illinois.edu>
Cc: ufpj-activist <ufpj-activist at lists.mayfirst.org>

Friends

Below is my take on the Libyan war, i.e. it is not what it is being sold in
the corporate media or by the Obama administration. It is U.S. strengthening
the American Empire's hold on the region.

I know some ardent foes of war, and even foes of humanitarian intervention,
who supported the no fly zone. Some of these folks have interviewed Ghadafi
or have followed Libya closely and believed him when he said he would go
house-to-house and the streets would run with blood.  They wanted to prevent
the loss of tens of thousands of lives.

I certainly do not consider Z-Net/Z Mag or Gilbert Achcar to be war mongers
or pro-war.  No doubt many of these people and media outlets would be much
like the Arab League which initially supported the no-fly zone but now
oppose it because of the way it has been implemented.

In addition to my opposition to the war in Libya, my broader concern is that
the U.S. empire has figured out how to use the rebellions in the Middle East
to the advantage of the U.S. Empire.  Getting rid of leaders like Ghadafi or
Bashar al-Assad of Syria and putting in place regimes friendlier to the U.S.
and western corporate interests is an opportunity they want to take
advantage of.  At the same time allied leaders under attack will not be
pushed out, nor will the rebellions in those nation's be helped.  Secty
Gates has started to speak out against Assad's response to democracy
activists and I can see the seeds being planted for another military
campaign in Syria -- especially if Libya's Ghadafi goes quickly.  I'm
disturbed to see the U.S. giving $250 million in "democracy" assistance to
Egypt and with Secretary's Clinton and Gates both visiting Egypt in the last
two weeks. I see the U.S. taking the energy for change in the Middle East
and turning it to its advantage.

KZ

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-zeese/if-you-supported-the-no-f_b_840274.html

 If You Supported the No Fly Zone, Time to Reconsider By Kevin Zeese

It was hard for some peace activists to look at the planned attack by Col.
Gaddafi on Libyan rebels and oppose the no-fly zone approved by the U.N.
Col. Gaddafi is a vicious leader who promised to make the streets run red
with blood so this was an issue that divided the peace community.

Regardless of how you felt about the original no fly zone, how you feel
about the Gaddafi regime or the armed rebels fighting it, we should all
recognize that the United States, United Kingdom and France are going
further than a no-fly zone and are intervening in a civil war for their own
reasons that have nothing to do with defending democracy or other
humanitarian goals. Already we are seeing evidence of the broader mission
beyond a no-fly zone.

   - While in Egypt this week Secretary Gates hinted that
    the war in Libya may be open-ended.
     http://www.presstv.ir/detail/171384.html

   - There is confusion about the goals in Libya. Does it include removal of
   Gaddafi as President Obama and Secretary Clinton have said?
     http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/africa/news/article_1627735.php/Obama-says-Gaddafi-needs-to-go
     http://www.theusdaily.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=1407176&type=Politics
    Putting in place a democracy?
     http://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/151191-white-house-suggests-regime-change-is-goal-of-libya-mission
    Reaching those goals is beyond the UN mandate and will get the U.S. into
    another quagmire.

   - While President Obama promised no troops on the ground in Libya, there
   are reports that there are already 2,000 marines off the shore of Libya.
     http://www.onenewsnow.com/Security/Default.aspx?id=1316884
   And, Britain, France and the United States have dispatched hundreds of
   military advisors to Libya to set up military bases in the country's
   oil-rich east, reports say.
     http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/63025/Britain_France_US_military_advisors_dispatched_to_Libya

   - Special Forces are developing a role in Libya.
     http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/03/24/2057996/special-forces-may-have-role-in.html
    Even before the UN resolution there were reports of U.S. "advisors" on
    the ground in Libya in early March and Special Forces fighting
    with rebels in late February, a month before the mandate.
     http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/world/news/63025/Britain_France_US_military_advisors_dispatched_to_Libya

   - The U.S. is planning on sending National Guard troops to Libya.
      http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Ill-Air-National-Guard-Unit-Deployed-to-Libya-118359004.html
     Is a longer war planned than has been admitted?
   - It is becoming more evident that this is a foreign intervention into a civil war
      http://www.speroforum.com/a/50058/Red-Cross-Libya-in-39Civil-War39-France-Recognizes-Opposition-As-39Legitimate39-Voice-Of-People
     and we've had enough experience with that to know that it will not end well.
     And, there is strong evidence that if this is not already one, it
     will become a civil war because of foreign intervention.
      http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/24/social_science_and_the_libyan_adventure
   - Due to the expansion of the attack beyond a no fly zone, which the Arab
     League originally called for, the Arab League now opposes the
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12723554
     intervention because it is not a legitimate "no fly zone."
     As the Arab League president said,
      http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/20/us-libya-idUSTRE7270JP20110320
     "What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone,
     and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of
     more civilians."
   - The "hidden agenda"
      http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-12833196
     of oil is rearing its ugly head again.  Would the U.S. be in Libya if it
     produced asparagus?  Why isn't the U.S. opposing dictators in Bahrain, Yemen
     and Saudi Arabia? Now that the Libyan Air Force has been made unable to
     fight, what is the purpose of the ongoing bombardment?
      http://www.rferl.org/content/libya_air_force_unable_to_fight/2348314.html
   - And, how many civilians will the U.S. kill to save civilians from being
     killed? Already there are reports of widespread civilian deaths
      http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8227762/putin-condemns-civilian-deaths-in-libya
     as well as mistaken civilian deaths.
      http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368633/Libya-war-US-chopper-shoots-6-villagers-welcomed-Air-Force-F-15-crash-pilots.html
   - Secretary Gates' denial of civilian deaths are hard to believe
      http://mediascrape.com/all-posts/world-news/robert-gates-no-libya-civilian-deaths-russia-cease-fire-ndtv-newsx-pbs-itn-video/
     when nearly 200 missiles have been launched into Libya.

The Libyan attack raises a persistent issue in U.S. foreign policy. The U.S.
trained the Libyan military and provided them with weapons,
 http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/03/23/us_libya_arms_training
including $15 million in arms sales in FY 2009 alone.
 http://www.pmddtc.state.gov/reports/655_intro.html
Now the U.S. military is destroying that same military and the
weapons the U.S. sold them.  Should the U.S., the largest arms merchant in
the world, which sells nearly 70% of all weapons,
 http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/report-us-is-worlds-biggest-arms-seller-again/
be selling weapons to despots, dictators and royalists who do not have the
support of their people?  Doesn't this ensure rebellions seeking democracy
will be met with lethal force and the U.S. may need to intervene for
"humanitarian" reasons?  President Obama has produced record arms sales,
in particular the largest arms sale in history to one country with $60 billion
 http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/13/us-saudi-arabia-arms-deal
in sales to Saudi Arabia, another unpopular regime among its people.

Finally, the Constitutional issue of unilateral military attacks on
countries that are not a threat to the United States was violated by the
attack on Libya and needs to be faced up to. When he was running for office,
candidate Obama correctly said:
 http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/CandidateQA/ObamaQA/
"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." James Madison, the father of the
U.S. Constitution wrote in 1795 that Article I, Section 8 of the 
 http://www.ourrepubliconline.com/OurRepublic/Quote/163
Constitution, which put the power to declare war and fund war in the
hands of the legislature, was the most important clause of the constitution.

"The Constitution expressly and exclusively vests in the Legislature the
power of declaring a state of war [and] the power of raising armies. A
delegation of such powers [to the president] would have struck, not only at
the fabric of our Constitution, but at the foundation of all well organized
and well checked governments. The separation of the power of declaring war
from that of conducting it, is wisely contrived to exclude the danger of its
being declared for the sake of its being conducted."

The founders had seen monarchs unilaterally declare war resulting in mass
deaths and economic ruin. Indeed, the U.S. with an already fragile economy
and stretched thin military faces those risks with the Libyan war. Already
the U.S. has used more than 150 Tomahawk Cruise missiles against Libya, each
one costing $1.5 million. On the first day the U.S. spent an estimated $100
million on the Libyan attack.
 http://www.alternet.org/story/150331/first_day_of_libya_strikes_cost_more_than_100_million__is_it_worth_it?page=2
And, people are estimating that the U.S. will spend $1 billion
 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/23/libya-usa-costs-idUSN2220961820110323
in Libya in a very short time. This will all be borrowed money and comes
at a time when austerity measures are being put in place by state and federal
governments cutting basic services.

Please call President Obama and give him your thoughts about Libya. Tell him
to avoid mission creep and another military quagmire. *The White House
switchboard is 202-456-1414.*

*Kevin Zeese is co-founder of Voters For Peace
 http://www.votersforpeace.us/
and directs Come Home America 
 http://www.comehomeamerica.us/
which brings people from across the
political spectrum to oppose war and empire.

* Follow Kevin Zeese on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KBZeese*

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