Response to Tom's Post about Libya

Thanks for your post Tom. Yes we have failings in US foreign policy. And yes, when you wrote your post the situation for the Libyan people was deteriorating, and we can only hope that intervention will end with a Libyan government representative of the will of the Libyan people. And it is positive that we have invoked UN Chapter 7 and gained the support of the Arab League.

And we can only agree with the thrust of the WSJ editorial that killing peaceful protesters should be stopped. But the subtitle, “Libya is what a world without U.S. leadership looks like,” is, to say the least, highly problematic.

First of all it should be reworded to read, “Libya is what a world with U.S. leadership looks like.” Where did those weapon used to suppress peaceful protesters come from? Who is the greatest arms supplier to repressive regimes? How does our military industrial complex factor in? How does the US empire with its military installation and bases in most of the countries of the world relate to the problems of people in our world?

This is from http://www.presstv.ir/usdetail/169760.html (with the sources noted in the quote):

“The U.S. State department controls the flow of American weaponry and weapons systems to other countries. Various reports indicate that U.S. arms are being used against people who have risen against their autocratic governments in the Middle East and Northern Africa that are longtime U.S. allies.

“The reports cast light on the fact that Washington's allies use American arms against their own peacefully protesting citizens.

“US arms sales to Libya, Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen

“The U.S. government approved $40 billion in worldwide private arms sales in 2009, including more than $7 billion to Mideast and North African nations that are struggling with political upheaval, according to newly released government figures. AP

“But they did reduce the sales approvals to Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan government to $15 million that year from $46 million in 2008. Daily Mail

“The State figures detailed sales of U.S. defense items for Egypt ($101 million) and Bahrain ($88 million). Daily Mail”

What kind of “leadership” has the world seen from the US? A short list: Iran, Vietnam, Chile, Nicaragua, Indonesia, Saddam, Pinochet, Mubarak, Gadaffi; resisting efforts to mitigate climate change, against the IWC, against the anti mine and cluster bomb treaties; spreading toxic assets and bringing down economies, etc., etc..

The mind set of Americans needs to change. We need to fully understand what our military industrial intelligence security media complex and our empire does to us and the world. We need to understand the State’s disregard for people here and in other countries. Then we need to act, like the Egyptians, sensibly and responsibly.

If not us …. ?