The destruction in Libya reached $ 480 billion and USA is sending the Libyans ‘Sand bags’?
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The Chief Executive Officer responsible for the External Relations of the National Transition Council of the Libyan opposition, Mahmoud Jibril, announced almost ten days ago that the scale of destruction due to the long-bombing of Libyan cities ‘by Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi has reached about $ 480 billion’.
Jibril said that the rebuilding of Libya needs international support, stressing that the Grad missiles, artillery and tanks of Gaddafi have “flattened towns”, in reference to the cities of Misurata, Alzawyah and the cities of the western mountain.
No one would argue that Gaddafi has cause great harm to his people and his country, but I was baffled by Jibril’s statement. How was he able to distinguish between the destruction cause by Al-Gaddafi and the destruction caused by the western alliance who have been executing a fierce attack on the Libyan territories, and using the latest and up to date weapons while bombarding Libya on daily bases. How has he managed to attribute all the destruction to Al-Qaddafi and his troops alone?
Since western forces bombard Libya, it is tasteless to sound like demanding of them to fix what they have broken as if it is a request of charity. The NATO allies destroyed the infrastructure that used to serve the Libyan people, they did not harm Gaddafi. And as expected after this fiasco is over, it is only expected, from previous similar intervention in Middle Eastern countries, that the good old kind western governments who destroyed everything will come forward with charitable sounding offers claiming that they are willing to help in rebuilding the same Libya that they have destroyed while in return they will exhaust whatever left of Libyan resources, leaving the Libyans indebted for generations to come exactly as the US lead ‘mission of rescue’ has done to the Kuwaiti, Saudi, and Iraqi states in the past. Libya will be left up to its ears in debts and that will of course involve the presence of thousands of ‘experts’ and ‘security teams’ to supervise the renovation tasks, mean while, the state under reconstruction will become a base for spying activities in the region, and a sucking parasite that has a huge appetite for everything that susceptible to embezzlement, leading as usual to the appearance of war lords, corrupt local politicians, and professional mediators, leading to an expanding of the poverty patch.
Jibril said that the Council has already initiated the development plans and what they are going to do in the stage that will follow the fall of the regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. This statement expanded my smile even further like opening a set of curtains from wall to wall, it seems that Mr Jibril is an optimistic soul; he believes that the western powers will allow him to lead the way of reconstruction and management of his own country if the Libyans managed to get rid of Gaddafi.
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has not destroyed eight of the Libyan battleships that were dormant at the Libyan ports doing nothing, actually one of them was undergoing extensive maintenance; it’s the NATO raids of the international coalition who did so. The Libyan people who bought those same ships from the same source that has destroyed their national properties, and it is very likely that following the fall of Gaddafi’s regime, the Libyans will be persuaded to purchase again a new set of marine vessels from the same sources of destruction because those ships are used usually to patrol and safeguard the coastline. But of course no one should imagine that USA might offer the Libyans a replacement for free because Libya is not Israel.
The expected future damages caused by “NATO” bombings will increase the value of insurance on ships and goods coming to the Libyan ports, and the ships will avoid accessing the Libyan ports because of the ban.
Interestingly enough, The U.S. Department of Defence announced that it has delivered 120 thousand meals prepared in conformity with the Islamic Sharia to the Libyan opposition; furthermore Lt. Col. Dave Lapan announced that USA is planning on sending the Libyans sandbags to build barricades and other ‘personal equipments’ which ‘are not usable in killing’, and that these materials will be delivered to the Libyan opposition in the coming weeks.
From an Arab citizen’s humble point of view, these arrangements do not make any sense. USA is besieging Libyan ports and blocking all trade activities with Libya, yet it is showing mercy by sending some meals to some of the people it has been starving. Regarding the sand bags, even the Arab audience, including my humble self, watch the great British show of ‘Top Gear’, and amazingly enough the brilliant television team demonstrated without a shadow of doubt that ‘sand bags’ do not offer any protection even against bullets. I bet USA will charge Libya at least a barrel of oil for every sack of sand.
Fortunately, the Libyans have all the sand they need for free. I hope USA is not planning on selling the Libyans their own sand, besides, the proposal of sending the opposition some personal ‘equipments’ that can’t be used for killing sounds like a weird idea.
I kept thinking of what those ‘personal equipments’ might be? How can Uncle Sam extend his helping hand to the Libyan rebels, by sending them some ‘personal equipments, that can’t be used for ‘killing’ or defending themselves? I hope Uncle Sam is not thinking of sending the revolutionaries some shaving cream made in USA. I can’t see how sand bags and ‘personal equipments not usable for killing’ can free a nation? Can you?
tamimi@awmwc.net
