Paul Craig Roberts / Counter Currents – 2011-03-01 00:15:02
http://www.countercurrents.org/roberts280211.htm
War Ãœber Alles
Paul Craig Roberts / Counter Currents
(February 26, 2011) — The United States government cannot get enough of war. With Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s regime falling to a rebelling population, CNN reports that a Pentagon spokesman said that the US is looking at all options from the military side.
Allegedly, the Pentagon, which is responsible for one million dead Iraqis and an unknown number of dead Afghans and Pakistanis, is concerned about the deaths of 1,000 Libyan protesters.
While the Pentagon tries to figure out how to get involved in the Libyan revolt, the commander of US forces in the Pacific is developing new battle plans to take on China in her home territory. Four-star Admiral Robert Willard thinks the US should be able to whip China in its own coastal waters.
The admiral thinks one way to do this is to add US Marines to his force structure so that the US can eject Chinese forces from disputed islands in the East and South China seas.
It is not the US who is disputing the islands, but if there is a chance for war anywhere, the admiral wants to make sure we are not left out.
The admiral also hopes to develop military ties with India and add that country to his clout. India, the admiral says, “is a natural partner of the United States” and “is crucial to America’s 21st-century strategy of balancing China.” The US is going to seduce the Indians by selling them advanced aircraft.
If the plan works out, we will have India in NATO helping us to occupy Pakistan and presenting China with the possibility of a two-front war.
The Pentagon needs some more wars so there can be some more “reconstruction.” Reconstruction is very lucrative, especially as Washington has privatized so many of the projects, thus turning over to well-placed friends many opportunities to loot.
Considering all the money that has been spent, one searches hard to find completed projects. The just released report from the Commission on Wartime Contracting can’t say exactly how much of the $200 billion in Afghan “reconstruction” disappeared in criminal behavior and blatant corruption, but $12 billion alone was lost to “overt fraud.”
War makes money for the politically connected. While the flag-waving population remains proud of the service of their sons, brothers, husbands, fathers, cousins, wives, mothers and daughters, the smart boys who got the fireworks started are rolling in the mega-millions.
As General Smedley Butler told the jingoistic American population, to no avail, “war is a racket.” As long as the American population remains proud that their relatives serve as cannon fodder for the military/security complex, war will remain a racket.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
US Moves Warships Closer to Libya, Freezes Assets
New York Times & Reuters
WASHINGTON (February 28, 2011) — The United States moved warships and aircraft closer to Libya Monday and froze $30 billion in assets, ramping up pressure on what a top U.S. envoy called a “delusional” Muammar Gaddafi to relinquish power.
In the hardest-hitting US denunciation yet of Libya’s leader, US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice said Gaddafi is “disconnected from reality,” is “slaughtering his own people” and is unfit to lead.
The United States also pressed Gaddafi’s inner circle to abandon their leader. “You have to think very, very seriously which side you want to be on. … You will be held accountable,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
The military preparations and tougher US rhetoric follow days of criticism of President Barack Obama’s administration by Republican lawmakers, conservative commentators and others for an initially cautious response to the turmoil in Libya.
The administration has defended its response, saying it had been reluctant to take any steps that could endanger US citizens in the North African country. Washington imposed sanctions on Libya Friday just hours after a plane carrying some of the last Americans flew out of the capital Tripoli.
While its position on Gaddafi is now clear, the United States is still struggling to develop a coherent policy toward the various rebel groups. US officials are in contact with them but have ruled out any immediate military aid.
One major problem is that while Libyan opposition groups have demonstrated they are capable of organizing themselves to confront Gaddafi, they are “not coalescing,” a senior U.S. national security official told Reuters on condition of anonymity. The rebellion largely remains bereft of obvious leaders who the United States could deal with, he said.
Financial Squeeze
In the meantime, US authorities are putting the financial squeeze on Gaddafi to pressure him to go.
A US Treasury Department official said about $30 billion in assets in the United States have been blocked from access by Gaddafi and his family. David Cohen, acting Treasury under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said the sum was the largest ever blocked.
Gaddafi appeared to shrug off the stepped-up pressure in an interview with ABC’s Christiane Amanpour, laughing when asked if he would step down and insisting that Libyans loved him.
Asked about Gaddafi’s comments, Rice said: “It sounds just, frankly, delusional. And when he can laugh in talking to … an international journalist while he is slaughtering his own people, it only underscores how unfit he is to lead and how disconnected he is from reality.”
Foreign governments are increasing pressure on Gaddafi to leave in the hope of ending fighting in Libya that has claimed at least 1,000 lives and forced thousands of people to flee.
Colonel David Lapan, a Pentagon spokesman, said the US military is moving ships closer to Libya “in case they are needed.” Lapan also said the Pentagon is repositioning planes nearer to Libya.
The US ships could be used for humanitarian and rescue missions, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in Geneva, where she told the UN Human Rights Council it was “time for Gaddafi to go — now.”
“There is not any pending military action involving US naval vessels,” Clinton said.
The Pentagon gave no details of the forces being moved but the United States has a major base near Naples, Italy, home to its Mediterranean headquarters, as well as in Rota, Spain.
As of Monday, the US Navy had eight ships in the Sixth Fleet’s area of operations, which includes the Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Atlantic Ocean usually patrolled by frigates and destroyers. It has two aircraft carriers further southeast in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea.
Washington is also working with allies on imposing a possible “no-fly” zone over Libya, US officials said.
A no-fly zone would stop Gaddafi from using warplanes or helicopters to attack rebels who have seized large parts of the country, although it is unclear how big a role the Libyan air force has played in the crisis so far.
The Obama administration has said military action is one option it is looking at, although many analysts say the United States is highly unlikely to launch a ground invasion or air strikes because of the volatile situation on the ground.
U.S. planes bombed Libya in 1986, killing more than 40 people including Gaddafi’s adopted baby daughter, in response to a Berlin bombing blamed on Libya that killed three people in a Berlin disco used by U.S. servicemen.
Obama, in a call to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as part of an effort to forge international unity on Libya, agreed on the need to deter further violence by Gaddafi’s government and also to weigh other options against it “should they become necessary,” the White House said.
Additional reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland, Glenn Somerville, Matt Spetalnick, Mark Hosenball and Alister Bull in Washington, Andrew Quinn in Geneva and Peter Apps in London; writing by Ross Colvin; editing by Will Dunham.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
