Is It Possible to Punish America?

The Americans are putting on a farce in Libya under the name of a “NATO war.” After I wrote freely about the blatant American intervention in Libya in an article entitled “Does America Seek to Steal Libyan Oil?” here, on the Opinion pages, the Americans ran, hiding behind the guise of NATO. After three months of war, 10 members of Congress brought forward proceedings against the American president before a federal court in Washington because he did not receive authorization from Congress before beginning operations that killed Libyan children and citizens as a part of a “NATO war."

In a twist of fate, Speaker of the House John Boehner exposed Obama and threatened that Congress could cut off funding for military intervention in Libya. Note how the U.S. is rich and chooses, instead of supporting the economies of poor countries, to finance war and destruction and the killing of innocent people. In June alone, the Pentagon spent $716 million on the war in Libya and expects to spend $1.1 billion by September. The value of the American missiles and bombs dropped on Libya exceed $398 million; this is in addition to the $314 million spent on U.S. spy planes flights. These actions expose the American administration, led by Obama, to be a terrorist organization. Obama is the one who announced that NATO is at war with Libya, but today he is shown to be a liar. He is relying on an array of extra countries, including Qatar, the UAE, Lebanon, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. These countries historically have had little involvement in political events around the world, and therefore, most of them do not have their armies involved in such international events. In addition, there is France, Britain and the first appearance of Italy and Spain in the war on Libya. In reality, America alone is waging this war against Libya for a well-known reason: the theft of Libyan oil (as I said before), just as it committed the theft of Iraq’s oil.

What is important to Boehner? He said that the White House would not say whether Obama’s legal advisers agreed with his view of the U.S. role in Libya, but since direct involvement in the mission is limited, it does not require congressional approval. He also admitted that the United States has launched drone attacks and participated in attempts to shell the residential compound of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, adding “we spend $10 million each day.” However, Jay Carney, the White House Press Secretary, said that he didn’t “expect further clarification” for the legal justifications regarding involvement in Libya, adding that there have been at least 41 consultations with Congress regarding the war.

According to the American Constitution, Congress is responsible for declaring war while the president is the Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces.

Boehner sent a letter to Obama asking him to explain the legal basis for his decision not to seek congressional approval during the 90 days that followed since “the notification to Congress regarding the commencement of the military operation in Libya.” According to the War Powers Resolution, the President must put an end to American military participation in hostilities if Congress did not approve them within 60 days. That period may be extended to 90 days under certain circumstances.

What is this democracy? What is this transparency? Let us learn the lesson, oh Arabs. Let us learn democracy from the people of democracy. Let us learn freedom from the greatest country in the world, which supports freedom and democracy throughout the world. Now, the question that has presented itself strongly is this: is it possible to punish America as the world at large has been punished? Is it possible to punish the greatest country when they make a mistake? Why do the United Nations, the Security Council and all the major powers meet in an instant to punish Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya or Syria with sanctions and economic blockades, but when America makes a mistake, there are no sanctions, economic blockades or boycotts? It is recognized that the President has sinned against Congress. Even though there is a court case against him, it will not seriously be considered because the President has the blessing of the courts. Do we remember the economic sanctions America imposed on Libya in response to the Lockerbie affair? Today, America has made a mistake, and it is up to the international community to punish her. I demand that the Arab revolutionaries of today teach the whole world a new lesson in democracy and freedom of opinion by demanding that America be punished.