In These New Times

“What is even more worrying is the fact that David Cameron ignored my request, in the House of Commons … for assurance that cluster bombs and depleted uranium weapons would not be used,” he added. “This is not peace. Let there be no mistake. This is war.”

Anti-war groups protest against anti-Gaddafi air strikes

Guardian

20th March, 2011

Shouting “Hands off Libya” and waving placards stating “The lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan have not been learnt”, a small but passionate group of anti-war protesters made their stand outside Downing Street.

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BBC

20th March, 2011

Click on above link for full article

The head of the Arab League has criticised the bombardments.

His comments are significant because the Arab League’s support for the no-fly zone was a key factor in getting UN Security Council backing for the resolution authorising the move.

“What is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone, and what we want is the protection of civilians and not the bombardment of more civilians,” said Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

Sujay Mehdudia

New Delhi, March 20, 2011

The Hindu

PressTV

19th March, 2011
To discuss the future of regional uprisings and revolutions, Press TV has conducted an interview with Kevin Ovendun, an author and political analyst in London.

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“I repeat, this all has nothing to do with promoting democracy. It is about promoting US interest, controlling and directing pro-democracy movements where they cannot be stopped, but more widely clamping down on them with brutal force in favour of US client tyrants.”

Craig Murray is right. Quid pro quo is a nice way of putting it: we’ll help you crush the Bahraini people is you help us crush the Libyan people.

Craig Murray’s Blog

18th March, 2011

I was much attacked, especially by “Liberal interventionists”, in comments across the blogosphere when I broke the news four days ago that:

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Subsequent events and revelations, by Thierry Meyssan and others, have, of course, shown this analysis to be completely wrong. This reflects both the effectiveness of propaganda at the time, notably that of Al Jazeera, and the appearance that the events in Libya were simply a response to the Arab Spring. We know now that the intervention in Libya was planned in advance of the Egyptian events suggesting the West may also have instigated those events too, a conclusion which certainly seemed most unlikely at the time. The West seems to have completely misread the Arab street and their various manipulations have not achieved their desired ends. Claims that Gaddafi attacked civilians also appear to false.

Cailean Bochanan

18th March, 2011

“We are concerned about the effects on freedom movements in north Africa and the Arab world. We admired the jasmine revolution in Tunisia … but we want these freedom movements to be strengthened, not weakened.”

Germany’s foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, explaining his opposition to military intervention in Libya

These words by German foreign minister Westerwelle are striking. He implies that the UN backed mission is directed against the Arab revolution itself. I have to agree. At this moment ferocious repression is being directed against the people in Bahrain and Yemen without so much as a murmur coming from Washington or London. Are we really to believe that the latter are intent on promoting democracy in the Arab world? Of course, they are not. And yet the Libyan opposition appears to have agreed to, even insisted on, this measure. I say”appears” because what is going on in Libya is far from clear, the fog of war has never been denser and I find it difficult to believe that Libyan revolutionaries really believe they can find their own emancipation in the sickening spectacle of a NATO bombing of their own country. If they have done it can only be in despair before the murderous violence of Gaddafi’s counter attack.

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