A Two-faced, Opportunistic West
Published in Al Jarida
(Kuwait) on 25 February 2011
by Saleh al-Qallab (link to original)
No clear and decisive position has come out yet, from either the American administration and President Barack Obama or European leaders, regarding Qadhafi, his contentiousness and the massacres that he commits. Despite the continuation of bloody slaughter committed by "Brother, Leader of the Revolution" (Qadhafi), the only things said were mere appeals from friends and mere allusions to measures surely only made to end the criticism and to deceive angry public opinion in the aforementioned countries and around the world.
Perhaps it is surprising that all these people, and foremost among them President Barack Obama, promptly became alert as soon as events in Egypt began to unfold and agreed to put daily pressure on (former) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. And they pushed him, under threat, to offer his resignation, to leave his positions of responsibility and to leave the matters of his country open to various possibilities.
Obama was the spokesman for those who demanded Mubarak's immediate departure. He used to come out on the media, sometimes more than once per day, to tell the elected president that regardless of how transparent and fair his election was, he needed to step down immediately and that the concessions he offered were not enough. And that was in spite of the fact that Mubarak didn't bomb Tahrir Square with artillery or planes; and in spite of the fact that time would reveal that the story about thuggish camel drivers and horsemen was merely a performance arranged by those who were against the compromises presented during that period.
Everything now indicates that Qadhafi continues to commit crimes against humanity and that as a last resort he threatened to enter every house, every street and every city. He has urged his followers to run down those who rebel against him and his rule and kill them, their wives and their children. And he has resorted to planes, guns and warships from the beginning.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that Qadhafi's sons set their battalions on defenseless people armed only with their voices and raised fists, exterminated thousands of innocent people and executed all the soldiers of the battalions (most of whom were mercenaries) who refused to fire at the people, Barack Obama's reaction has remained cold. And what has emanated from the leaders of major European countries arouses disgust, deserves condemnation and raises more than questions.
So what is the reason for this? And what is the secret behind these disgraceful positions?
The reason is that this hypocritical West — and at its head, the United States of America — does not want a democratic regime responsible for every little bit of money in this oil-rich country. It wants this rash, reckless man to keep on ruling this rich country in order to continue secret deals like the "Lockerbie" deal, in which Qadhafi paid billions of dollars for the lives of its innocent victims. This also includes the matter of bringing down a plane from the French airline Union de Transports Aériens. Nicolas Sarkozy has now adopted this opportunistic position toward the slaughter of the Libyan people, even though he used to appear every day after Barack Obama to say to Hosni Mubarak: "Your concessions are not enough; you must step down immediately!"
Perhaps it is surprising that all these people, and foremost among them President Barack Obama, promptly became alert as soon as events in Egypt began to unfold and agreed to put daily pressure on (former) Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. And they pushed him, under threat, to offer his resignation, to leave his positions of responsibility and to leave the matters of his country open to various possibilities.
Obama was the spokesman for those who demanded Mubarak's immediate departure. He used to come out on the media, sometimes more than once per day, to tell the elected president that regardless of how transparent and fair his election was, he needed to step down immediately and that the concessions he offered were not enough. And that was in spite of the fact that Mubarak didn't bomb Tahrir Square with artillery or planes; and in spite of the fact that time would reveal that the story about thuggish camel drivers and horsemen was merely a performance arranged by those who were against the compromises presented during that period.
Everything now indicates that Qadhafi continues to commit crimes against humanity and that as a last resort he threatened to enter every house, every street and every city. He has urged his followers to run down those who rebel against him and his rule and kill them, their wives and their children. And he has resorted to planes, guns and warships from the beginning.
Nevertheless, despite the fact that Qadhafi's sons set their battalions on defenseless people armed only with their voices and raised fists, exterminated thousands of innocent people and executed all the soldiers of the battalions (most of whom were mercenaries) who refused to fire at the people, Barack Obama's reaction has remained cold. And what has emanated from the leaders of major European countries arouses disgust, deserves condemnation and raises more than questions.
So what is the reason for this? And what is the secret behind these disgraceful positions?
The reason is that this hypocritical West — and at its head, the United States of America — does not want a democratic regime responsible for every little bit of money in this oil-rich country. It wants this rash, reckless man to keep on ruling this rich country in order to continue secret deals like the "Lockerbie" deal, in which Qadhafi paid billions of dollars for the lives of its innocent victims. This also includes the matter of bringing down a plane from the French airline Union de Transports Aériens. Nicolas Sarkozy has now adopted this opportunistic position toward the slaughter of the Libyan people, even though he used to appear every day after Barack Obama to say to Hosni Mubarak: "Your concessions are not enough; you must step down immediately!"