Stop U.S./U.N. military intervention against Libya!
No new U.S. war! U.S. out of the Middle East!
Hit the streets on March 19 to Resist the War Machine
 A U.S. Air Force F-15C Eagle patrols over northern Iraq on Dec. 30, 1998, enforcing the no-fly-zone imposed by the United States and its allies. |
The United Nations Security Council just approved a bombing war on the people of Libya. The resolution, authorizing a no-fly zone, was pushed hard by the United States, along with its French and British imperialist allies. The resolution also authorizes “all necessary measures” against Libya.
Before the vote, U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton beat the drums of war: “A no-fly zone requires certain actions taken to protect the planes and the pilots, including bombing targets like the Libyan defense systems. … [Libyan leader Muammar] Gaddafi must go.”
Clinton also promoted a racist demonization campaign against Gaddafi, another way the U.S. justifies its wars of aggression: “If Gaddafi does not go, he will just make trouble. That is just his nature. There are some creatures that are like that.”
The media is reporting that bombing could begin soon. The U.S. anti-war movement must take a clear stand against any military intervention by the United States or any member state in the U.S.-dominated United Nations.
U.S./U.N. intervention will not bring “democracy” or “freedom” to the Libyan people. There is no such thing as “humanitarian intervention” for the U.S. government. Progressive people must tear the mask off the phony humanitarian slogans being used by the White House, the Secretary of State and the Pentagon about their “deep concern” for the fate of the Libyan people.
Remember, this is the same government that funded and supported Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak up to the last minute of his brutal rule.
And now, as they are condemning Gaddafi and the Libyan government for the use of violence against the revolt inside of Libya, the U.S. government—through its proxy/puppet monarchy in Saudi Arabia—is arming, financing and sending troops to Bahrain to violently suppress the protests that have been happening for weeks.
How dare the U.S. government even speak of “humanitarian intervention.”
The U.S. government only takes action to forward its own strategic interests. This means the interests of Big Oil, Wall Street bankers and massive corporations. Working people gain nothing through U.S. wars and interventions.
Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa. Washington knows this. It would like nothing more than to have a stable client government in place that would allow U.S. bases on the ground and control of the oil supply.
Any U.S./U.N. intervention against Libya will not liberate the people of Libya any more than the U.S. invasion of Iraq did. In the early 1990s, the United States, France and Britain imposed a no-fly zone on Iraq on supposed humanitarian grounds. Along with U.N. sanctions, which eventually killed over 1.5 million Iraqis, the no-fly zone crippled the country and allowed continued bombing up to the “Shock and Awe” invasion in 2003.
Now, eight years later, another 1 million Iraqis have died and 4 million have been internally displaced, the country is in ruins and is still occupied by the U.S. military.
When the U.S. intervenes and occupies countries, history shows that U.S. military forces never leave the occupied country. The lessons of Afghanistan, Iraq and countless additional U.S. interventions reveal this to be all too true. Let this not be the fate of Libya.
On March 19, the eighth anniversary of the criminal invasion of Iraq, thousands of people will demonstrate in the streets across the country and the world against all U.S. wars, including any planned attack on the people of Libya. This is a critical issue for the anti-war movement in the United States.
Mass demonstrations are planned in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and many other cities across the United States and the world. Click here for a list of protests.
