Mr. President...Don't Listen to the War Mongers!

Shout out to all my Facebook friends for your thought provoking discussions on this issue.

I support the legitimate aspirations of all people for freedom and democracy. I was outraged when I heard reports of Gaddafi forces attacking and killing nonviolent demonstrators. See my articles Defending the Indefensible and Muammar Gaddafi: "People who don't love me don't deserve to live. If the allegations are true, I support U.N. sanctions and I.C.C. action. However, I do not support calls to impose a no fly zone in Libya. 

President Obama is under intense pressure from Republicans and fellow Democrats to wage war against Libya.  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates made it clear that the enforcing a no fly zone in Libya will be an obvious act of war.  As reported in The Hill,

"Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Wednesday said the U.S. military could establish a no-fly zone over Libya, but he cautioned that doing so would first require widespread air strikes across that nation.

“If it’s ordered, we can do it,” Gates told the House Appropriations's Defense subcommittee.

But establishing control of Libyan air space would “start with attacks to destroy” Libyan air defense systems. That kind of assault would require more U.S. military aircraft than “you would find on a single aircraft carrier.”

Listen to former President Bill Clinton, Senator John Kerry and Senator John McCain beat the drums of war.







I urge President Obama to ignore this call for war. First of all, U.S. national security is not jeopardized by the civil war in Libya. In fact, U.S. military intervention will pose a threat to our national security. It will help promote the false narrative that America is at war with Islam. Remember the establishment of a no fly zone in Iraq paved the way for the 911 terror attacks. To maintain the no fly zone, the U.S. had to keep troops in Saudi Arabia. Al Qaeda's primary grievance against the U.S. was the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, this proposed war is not about human rights or preserving human life. There are numerous armed conflicts around the world. I don't see the U.S. resorting to military intervention in those countries. In fact, when Clinton was in office, he did absolutely nothing to prevent to the genocide in Rwanda. Now, he has the audacity to call for U.S. military intervention in Libya.

Human rights are being violated in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Yemen. For example, as reported in the Washington Post,

"Witnesses in Bahrain said that more than 100 people were injured after police fired tear gas at protesters and attacked them with batons...

In Yemen, police on rooftops fired live bullets and tear gas at protesters, also injuring more than 100 people, a day after security forces killed seven demonstrators in protests around the country."

Since Yemen and Bahrain are U.S. allies, no one is talking about imposing no fly zones in those other countries.

Oil is the real reason why the U.S. is considering waging war in Libya. Corporate interests are probably driving this rush to war. Currently, Libya's oil industry is nationalized. Apparently, U.S. and other Western countries want to seize Libya's oil. No Arab League resolution will change that fact.

How any of our brothers, sisters, sons and daughters must be sacrificed to satisfy the insatiable greed of the oil industry?

America is already squandering tremendous financial and human resources in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now, politicians are urging the President to waste more lives and money in Libya.  Frankly, it is fascinating how those deficit hawks have no problem slashing valuable social programs. Yet, they always find enough money to wage war.

Moreover, the U.S. government probably knows virtually nothing about those Libyan insurgents. In addition to imposing no fly zones, some prominent politicians and pundits assert that the U.S. should provide military assistance to Gaddafi's opposition. For all we know, such actions may aid the Libyan version of the Taliban. In 1980s, the U.S. supported the Afghan groups opposing the Soviets. Some of those groups included the Taliban and Al Qaeda. We do not need to repeat that colossal mistake.

Many of us voted for Obama because of his opposition to the Iraq war. We viewed Obama as the candidate of peace, hope and change. We did not vote for war and political calculation. I urge the President to put the interests of the American people over the interests of the oil companies. During his inauguration and Cairo speeches, Obama discussed extending a hand to the Arab world. Bombing Libya will undermine that hopeful message. Mr. President, please don't listen to the war mongers.