It is a terrible thing if any US diplomats have been killed in Libya, as now appears likely. My condolences to the families of all affected. They add to the thousands of deaths in Libya, and one can only hope that finally some of the proponents of “liberal intervention” will realise that bombing people into democracy is not a viable policy.
But part of the responsibility for these deaths lies with the US and Israeli far right activists who made a film insulting Islam, with precisely the intention of provoking a spiral of violence. There are many interest groups longing to promote a perpetual climate of war and fear; some of them, like these filmmakers, are easier to identify than others.
Be it attacks on US diplomats in Libya or drone strikes on villagers in Yemen, it is all part of the same hateful cycle of violence – from which fortunes have been made in the arms, mercenary and security industries, and which climate of hatred has given cover and unflinching western support for resource grabs by Israeli illegal settlers.
So many people have poisoned what should be a beautiful world. The deaths of US diplomats in Libya get noticed. The evryday deaths of so many others in this manufactured conflict do not.
It is no coincidence that a US “Hate Muslims” campaign should be intensified now. The timing is perfect. Election coming. “Bomb Iran” campaign coming again so we are all being wound up to be scared of Muslims.
Sick people.
Anyone else reminded of 1999? That time it was the USA using missiles to destroy the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. I think they murdered 6 people, but I may have the number wrong.
I imagine the RPGs used in Benghazi among those seized from the barracks last year. The Libyan army was on its way to restore order when Obama decided to be an idiot and stopped it.
Thank God the brave Syrian Arab Army is steadfastly hunting down the US proxy terrorists who are trying to reduce Syria to the same sort of chaos.
By the way, Happy Birthday to President Assad yesterday!
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/09/20129112108737726.html
Fierce clashes between the Libyan Army and an armed militia! That sounds familiar! Any guess which side Obama will take this time around?
Well said Craig. What an evil world we live in. Have you seen some of the comments on the Daily Mail site? They are so Islamophobic, calling Muslims “muzzers” which is the term of abuse used by the EDL, and despite my reporting this comment, they have kept it up. Also the most recommended comment is one that is so racist and Islamophobic, it makes me feel physically sick. It seems that this country and the West have learned from all this hate and are now the Islamophobes the New World Empire wanted them to be. So while they take over their lands and their resources, and have military bases in all their countries (bar Syria and Iran I presume), they have taught their people to hate the people in their Empire. Of course the comment I posted that echos what you have said, they haven’t put on their website. So much for freedom of speech; it seems the Mail only allows freedom of speech for racists.
There are 4 dead total from the Embassy
It was apparently that bigot koran burning preacher and some egyptian copts that made the movie.
https://twitter.com/zaidbenjamin/status/245816458897158144
Ambassador Chris Stevens
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_SIIxholL4
I vote that Susan Rice and Bernard Henry Levy go in and calm down the Bengazhi NATO “freedom fighters” and try to get the RPG’s away from them. I’m glad they only tore a flag down in Egypt.
This seems like a peculiar perspective Samantha. You only need to look at the blasphemy fiasco in Pakistan at the moment to see that there are a lot of stupid, dangerous people in these countries who are very serious about ‘insults to Islam’.
You may not know what it feels like to believe in something strongly, but I assure you that plenty of these people do. See it from their perspective. It is rational for them to be outraged and violent against a perceived affront to their religion because suddenly it assumes a cosmic significance. It is naive to not consider this.
@ Dennehy, not sure what you are talking about. I condemn the racism against Muslims that is being promoted on the Daily Mail site, and posit that the negative propaganda about Islam propagated by the West has resulted in even more Islamophobia. Also I agree with what Craig says that interfering in these countries results in more turmoil and we have no right to do it. And that the deaths of Westerners gets more sympathy and outrage than the deaths of thousands of non-Westerners. So if you disagree with my hatred of Islamophobia and my hatred of Western inference, so be it.
‘one can only hope that finally some of the proponents of “liberal intervention” will realise that bombing people into democracy is not a viable policy.’
But they are not interested in democracy in the slightest. They are only interested in imposing the fascist order upon independent nations. There idea of democracy does not extend beyond elections with pre-selected candidates. They give not one jot or iota for the people living in these countries. Anyone that says otherwise if a fool or a liar.
I see that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend (for now)” is still the modus operandi of the Western empire.
Ironic that this took place in Benghazi where the USUKIsSNATO alliance, in their proxy war to eliminate Gaddafi, were first aiding the rabble rebels. Biter bit just as they will be in Syria, and Iran if it comes to that.
Just some of the legacy of that same alliance led by Bush and Blair. We said it would happen. They did not want to know or listen to us.
Iraq execution spree under the spotlight
http://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/iraq-execution-spree-under-spotlight-133958582.html
Presumably Dave and that French dwarf whatever-his-name-was who armed al-Qaeda in Libya can shortly expect Downing St and the Elysee to be visited by the US Airforce.
Or alternatively we could ask our al-Qaeda chums we’re arming in Syria to attack our al-Qaeda ex-chums in Libya who we were also arming.
Slight irony in the air.
What is not talked about as frequently as it should is that the extreme Islam used to be the belief of a very small minority. When I was a student in Karachi in the sixties, the only Islamic student organization had the following of perhaps less than 5% of the general student body. Kashmir, Palestine, creation of Islamic resistance against the Soviets in Afghanistan and, of course, the ‘War on Terror’ has increased the following of more extreme Islam by many orders of magnitude. What we are seeing today would never have happened if it was not for the causes mentioned above. Perhaps the most significant factor today is the ‘War on Terror’ and demonization of even the liberal and moderate Muslims. Islam, without the provocation, is really no worse than any other religion.
Question to a Defence Minister.
Bob Russell (Colchester, Liberal Democrat)
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether any members of the Israeli armed forces and security forces have attended training courses in the UK provided by his Department in each of the last five years.
Hansard source (Citation: HC Deb, 11 September 2012, c168W)
Andrew Robathan (Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Defence Personnel, Welfare and Veterans), Defence; South Leicestershire, Conservative)
holding answer 10 September 2012
Members of the Israeli Defence Force attended UK defence education courses in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012.
Well, well!
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2012-09-11a.120358.h&s=speaker%3A10521#g120358.q0
PS Where is Werritty?
Also where is Komodo?
Just confirmed on Sky that the US Ambassador to Libya was one of the four killed.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/us-ambassador-to-libya-chris-stevens-killed-in-islam-movie-terror-backlash-16209947.html
The NATO destruction of Sirte can only be described as a war crime of genocidal proportions. It was a wicked and spiteful act that punished the people of that city for supporting Gaddaffi. Just like the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq, which was destroyed for refusing to be cowered by the US jackboot.
Libyans of all stripes are learning that the new order has nothing to do with their freedom from oppression. In fact, as in Iraq, they are learning that they were better of before their country was systematically destroyed and their country’s wealth looted, not just the wealth of tons and tons of gold and foreign bank reserves.
Meanwhile NATO countries are now pumping out the Libyan oil that the Chinese invested billions in developing. And the West has the nerve to get all uppity with the Chinese for claiming a few rocks in the South China Sea.
Hypocrites, liars and killers; Cameron, Osborne and Hague – these and their ilk are the sort of people that should be strung up from lampposts along the mall, after being buggered with a long knife of course – if it’s good enough for Gadaffi then by God it’s good enough for them.
A well balanced and definitive comment by Craig reflecting the dreadful backwash of liberal interventionism by liberal internationalists, a thinking devoid of an enlightenment that shows Britain and American invoke rule by deception, proven by the pages of time. What should be ‘a beautiful world’ sensitive to the sanctity life and with respect for earths finite resources, lacks the trust, respect and cooperation of other major and minor league countries and their people whose blood has been spilled over those same pages by those ‘mongoose’ archetypes with overblown egos enacting gunboat diplomacy.
Ooh er missus. At PMQ’s A Labour MP has just mentioned Werritty’s name in connection with ministers getting too close to their advisers! I think he was referring to an environment minister.
An interesting thing Ambassador Stevens says in the youtube video linked by Shekissesfrogs:
.
“We look forward to building partnerships between American and Libyan hospitals to help return Libya’s healthcare system to the extraordinary standards of excellence it once enjoyed.”
.
He can’t be talking about the colonial period, and he can’t be talking about Libya under King Idris. He must be saying, quite accurately, that under Gadaffi Libya had an extraordinarily excellent health service, and further, that it doesn’t have one now. Because NATO reduced the country to chaos, destroyed its infrastructure and in some cases even bombed hospitals.
.
I don’t see any other interpretation of his words, if he was actually trying to say something and wasn’t just talking complete rubbish.
.
Here’s the link. It’s about two minutes in:
.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_SIIxholL4
This one.
Climate change minister gave adviser ‘preferential access’
Greg Barker, a climate change minister, is facing questions about his dealings with a consultant employed by his Whitehall
department
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9537324/Climate-change-minister-gave-adviser-preferential-access.html
Foreign Service
He arrived in Tripoli in May 2012 as U.S. Ambassador to Libya. He served twice previously in Libya, as Special Representative to the National Transitional Council from March 2011 to November 2011 during the Libyan revolution and as the Deputy Chief of Mission from 2007 to 2009.[2]
His previous overseas assignments included: Deputy Principal officer and Political Section Chief in Jerusalem; political officer in Damascus; consular/political officer in Cairo; and consular/economic officer in Riyadh. In Washington, Ambassador Stevens served as Director of the Office of Multilateral Nuclear and Security Affairs; Pearson Fellow with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; special assistant to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs; Iran desk officer; and staff assistant in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.[2]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Stevens_(ambassador)
Blindngly obvious to all but the wilfully blind.
CNN in America’s – duh – how can this have happened – gee we were only trying to help them and look…shucks, Well I just don’t know what the world is coming to – attitude would be funny if it weren’t so sad.
Whilst the YouTube video can only be described as tasteless and offensive, and should be condemned, it is surely still no justification for violence of the kind we have seen in Egypt and Libya. This type of behaviour is symbolic of the disturbing desire of some religious people to seek out offence and then use this as an excuse to whip themselves into a frenzied anger.
Perhaps it is time we also strongly condemned the misguided and continuing efforts of violent religious zealots to control what others think and say instead of trying to appease them. No religion should be above criticism, nor should any of it’s followers respond to perceived offence with violence.
Well said! Johnf – very much agree.
Semi-OT
A poem by Adnan Farhan Abdul Latif who died aged 36 after 10 years of US torture in Guantanamo Bay, 2 years after a court ordered him released and Obama refused.
http://humanrights.ucdavis.edu/projects/the-guantanamo-testimonials-project/testimonies/prisoner-testimonies/poems-from-guantanamo
As a matter of interest, how many US diplomatic staff were murdered in Libya during Qadafi’s 60-year rule?
CE
Of course. Thise who wish to foment violence range on a spectrum from Bin Laden to Tony Blair. Same black hearts, all of them.
Article in The Nation; US Sponsored “Islamic Fundamentalism”: The Roots of the US-Wahhabi Alliance: http://counterpsyops.com/2012/09/12/us-sponsored-islamic-fundamentalism-the-roots-of-the-us-wahhabi-alliance/
Valueplus:
“What is not talked about as frequently as it should is that the extreme Islam used to be the belief of a very small minority.”
For a fascinating take on this theme I highly recommend Adam Curtis’s documentary “The Power Of Nightmares”. Actually I highly recommend anything by Adam Curtis – he is an extraordinary film maker.
http://thoughtmaybe.com/the-power-of-nightmares/