No to Imperialist War and Neo-Colonial Aggression against Libya

Imperialism, disguised as international community, has begun well-orchestrated, warlike aggression against Libya, a country independent of the community of nations. We have not the slightest doubt that aggression toward Libya has been well-orchestrated by imperialist powers that are attempting to impose on Libya a foreign solution to the internal problems of that nation.

The Middle Eastern problem is quite complex, and the countries committing aggression against Libya have taken advantage of the complexity of the problem by using the capitalist press to confuse the international community and justify aggression toward Libya. We have recently seen a popular explosion against certain governments in the Middle East. Egypt has seen the fall of Mubarak; Ben Ali fell in Tunisia; but in Egypt, the power is in the hands of the armed forces.

A castrated revolution was initiated in Egypt, in which military allies of imperialism took the reins of power — the usual, for that country. The so-called revolution by those seeking democracy in Egypt apparently could have democracy, but without power. The semi-medieval society of Egypt, with its light wash of capitalism, is not going to change. Those who have kept the majority of the people of Egypt exploited and miserable will continue to be those who make the fundamental economic decisions for that country. The misery will continue, the exploitation by the powerful will continue, the lack of employment for young people will continue, the lack of access to material benefits for the majority will continue. Thus, there is a revolution, doled out in drops of power, but without changing those who have real power.

The imperialists stroll through Egypt like liberators; but not many years will pass before we recognize that the changes in Egypt have been a simple readjustment of a backward society, rather than a change in the power base. Egypt will continue to receive $1.5 billion annually in military support from the United States. This help will to ensure that the Egyptian government, along with Israel, will maintain the isolation of Gaza with the resulting extortion of Palestinians. Egypt will continue to conform to the expansionist policies of domination and control in much of the Middle East.

Repression has existed in Yemen for those who seek more democratic freedom, freedom that is denied to this country with complicity by the United States, which sees the Yemeni government as an ally in the war against al-Qaida. Of course, Yemen is a miserable country without many resources. Yemen and Egypt do not have the oil Libya has.

There have been massacres by the Saudi Arabian monarchy of those asking for freedom; but the United States has asked the monarchy not to use excessive force. Of course, the Obama administration does not worry that much could happen in Saudi Arabia, because an important part of the U.S. war fleet, protecting the king and his court, is stationed there. Moreover, the mobilization of Saudi Arabian troops to quash the popular uprising of Shiites in Bahrain has not been criticized by those who now attack Libya.

In Iraq, there have been recent massacres of citizens demanding democracy, less corruption, more services and a reduction in food shortages; but the Obama administration and the other governments now attacking Libya have not condemned the murders in Iraq. More than one high-level military person has said that the repression in Egypt has been conducted by using U.S. military ethics and forces trained by the Obama government. In Iraq, oil is secure for the imperialists.

In Libya, certain sectors of the population apparently want more democracy and have taken up arms, taken land by force and started a civil war; in all civil wars, there are two groups that take up arms. It is to be expected that in an armed attack the government of the Republic of Libya would have to respond to defend its institutions of state.

From the beginning of the riots in Libya, imperial powers such as the United States have moved sophisticated weaponry to the Mediterranean and off the Libyan coast, in preparation for aggression against that nation. For more than three weeks, warships were in position, set in preparation for attack. A civilized discussion of the problem was never sought by the imperialist powers, which, at the outset of the conflict in Libya, aligned themselves with those who attacked barracks in Benghazi and other cities of Libya. The decision to attack Libya was not made in recent days; it was made, prepared for and orchestrated, using the excuse of defending those who initially attacked barracks and military airports, with the goal of overthrowing the president of Libya.

But we must also remember: Libya has oil! Libyan oil is the oil requiring the least intense refinement, and it is the easiest to extract.

Egypt has no oil. Yemen has no oil. Saudi Arabia has oil but is protected, because it is used by imperialist countries. It is no coincidence that one of the U.S. flotillas is stationed in that country. Iraq has oil, but the servile government of al-Maliki and his corrupt followers guarantees the hydrocarbon to imperialist regimes.

The purpose of the imperialist, neo-colonial attack is to place a government in Libya like those of Iraq and Saudi Arabia, which will follow the dictates of those who seek to secure and exploit the oil resources of Libya.

There are always excuses for wars of aggression; so it was with the Gulf of Tonkin incident in Vietnam, justifying aggression toward that heroic community. The wars bring benefits only to the imperialists who attempt to impose, by force, a government that will serve its interests in Libya.

Imperial assault against the Libyan people does not follow a straight line. Libya has a huge land area, and it will be very difficult for the people of Libya to avoid a prolonged war. We regret that the imperialist, neo-colonial republics did not exhaust efforts toward a negotiated solution and instead used warlike aggression, with all its consequences for the country under attack. Congratulations go to the more-needed-than-ever propaganda and news control of the imperialists, who are recognized as defenders of democracy in the Middle East, where they are actually trying to secure the oil.

One can only hope that Venezuela will not be next.