Humanitarian Beheading?
There are a number of videos circulating about from "free Libya" showing grotesque head-loppings, executions, torture and desecration of bodies, of African mercenaries who apparently were captured or killed by the rebels in Libya. No doubt, the mercenaries were quite brutal thugs whom Qaddafi employed to coerce or kill his opponents; but the sort of barbarity we see is also the sort that we are subsidizing now with direct cash infusions, as well as with military logistics and support (and who knows whether today the on-off again U.S. participation in the NATO bombing "no-fly" zone missions is on again?). One could argue that these are isolated incidents beyond the control of the Westernized professionals who pop up on CNN and the BBC as the official face of the "rebellion", but the filmed savageries take place amid large crowds, urging the executioners and torturers on, often in an apparently jihadist manner, which suggests both race and religion contribute to the hatred of the hired enforcers. (When I was in Libya the most common complaint quietly aired against Qaddafi were his cash subsidies of all sorts to black Africans, both in and out of the country).
Because we know very little about the rebels—who they are, what is their agenda, where they get support—we have no idea whether their utopia to come would be, as Samantha Power, Susan Rice, and Hillary Clinton seem to think, a fuzzy version of Turkish-style Islamic "democracy" or a sort of justice in the streets, Khomeini-style, as the graphic Youtube videos illustrate.
And if the president's Libyan misadventure was intended to be a small "teachable moment" about the eclipse of American exceptionalism abroad, then he has succeeded beyond all expectation: we have been reduced to less than France. The U.S has no mission (humanitarianism, setting up a rebel enclave, or outing Qaddafi?), no method (no-fly zone, or bombing ground troops, or inserting trainers, or supplying others who bomb?) and no planned outcome (the rebels do what? set up a democracy, set up an Islamic republic, descend into a Somalia, or carve out a Kurdish no-fly zone?).
We have loudly and self-righteously subordinated our foreign policy to the Arab League and the UN to show how multilateral we are, and then surreally subverted that new internationalist stance by going well beyond the no-fly-zone limitations, as we must, if the rebels are to win. We have still not consulted the U.S. Congress, apparently subordinating it to an inferior role to that of the Arab League. In less than 2 weeks we ceased in mediis rebus military operations and outsourced them to the Europeans (if our goal was to highlight their new autonomy and muscularity, it backfired, since they have not the wherewithal to win, and will only be embarrassed by us as errant adolescents who rue moving out and want to come back home and reenlist U.S. carrier strikes.)
What is in our favor? Libya is a tiny country of less than 7 million, with a long Mediterranean shore, near Europe, a sort of ideal NATO air theater, with a hated monster in power who has little popular support. At some point and at some time, someone, either in the U.S. or Europe, will say 'enough is enough' to this fiasco, come in, get rid of Qaddafi in messy and bloody fashion, and then we will see utter chaos, and the new "humanitarian" diplomacy of Samantha Power will end—or, rather, just begin.
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Jun '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
It would only have been cruel and unusual if they put a wet towel over his face first, and asked him hard questions about "private" jihad stuff. That would be barbaric. But..lopping off heads...you have to have some cultural sensitivity in these matters. Was the blade sharp? Yes? Then it's no problem...just one of those mysterious and exotic local customs....
Aug '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood are openly promoting and organizing themselves within all these newly-destabilized Middle Eastern states, from what I've gathered. I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect nothing will ever be the same, and the Western Tradition has suffered a serious blow to its security and long-term prospects.
Civilization fatigue? Moral and spiritual decay? No doubt this is part of it. A civilization that accepts that "God is dead" (Nietsche), is bound to fall before the more highly motivated one that doesn't accept it.
May '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Does the American public care enough about these issues to put Obama out in 2012?
Has anyone else noticed that news coverage on Libya has all but dissapeared as of late?
Oct '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
It should be of no suprise the Muslim Brotherhood is opportunistic by nature. It may be likely they will prevail across the regions.
The MSM helped insure Obamas election and will not backpeddle on any efforts in their continued support. That would mean a retraction of sorts...
Feb '11
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
" the new "humanitarian" diplomacy of Samantha Power will end—or, rather, just begin."
Has Samantha Power remarked lately about the effectiveness of the "stain" repellent known as the UN R2P being used in Libya? Maybe she should be talking to the IDF about getting a few Iron Domes to be situated between the Gaddafi and rebel forces as it appears to be a civil war.
Dec '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Arafat camped out comfortably in Sidi Bou Said.
Qad’gadfly should invite the Palestinians to move their refugee juggernaut to the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya where their genius for corruption would thrive, the Arab League could hold their conventions in solidarity, and Samantha Power would figure as the patron saint of the world government functionaries’ Mediterranean spa, all paid for with US dollars under the auspices of our historic first Islamic apostate president’s “Arab Policy.”
Aug '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Libya reminds me in one particular respect of the Spanish Civil War- there is no good side among the protagonists. In Spain, Fascist and Stalinist proxies. In Libya a brutal dictator and a group of uncertain character but probably Islamist at it's core. Perhaps another similarity with Spain? One of the sides (the Stalinist one) is romanticised while the other is demonised (the latter deservedly, it just shouldn't be exclusively).I say a plague on both their houses!
Oct '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Agreed.
It's too bad to see John McCain in Benghazi today, expressing unreserved support for the rebels.
Jul '10
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
How stupid is America, again? Less than a decade from 9/11 we are aiding Al-Qaeda fighters in establishing another oil-fueled anti-liberty jihadist terror state.
The American headlines?
McCain: Libyan rebels are "my heroes" - CBS
McCain calls for greater help for Libya rebels - MSNBC
Nothing at all - ABC
Explain it to me: Conflict in Libya - CNN - A video categorically guaranteed to lower the IQs of anyone watching.
And the corrective from the much reviled by the Left Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch?
McCain Urges More Military Support for Libyan Rebels - Fox
Obama Approves Drone Use in Libya - Fox - Surprise, Obama drones some more.
So as long as we are forcing terrorist jihadi regimes on the peoples of the Middle East, they'll stop flying our aircraft into our skyscrapers? Cause we all know Napolitano and her unionizing henchmen are stopping squat.
This just in! In response to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Obama issues an executive order providing Japanese language lessons to all American schools and agencies, entitled: "Transition Enhancement and Kinetic Disimperialization of the American Experiment".
Watching McCain hail these sick butchers reminds me of just how appalling the choices were in 2008.
Edited on Apr 23, 2011 at 2:19pmMar '11
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Charles Mark: Libya reminds me in one particular respect of the Spanish Civil War- there is no good side among the protagonists.
I agree, except that neither side in the Spanish Civil War wanted to kill us or make us subject to sharia law.
We are in no way responsible for Islamic fratricide and it is not in our interest to interfere in it. The only sane thing to do is to keep a safe distance.
Jan '11
Re: Humanitarian Beheading?
Libya had a lot of black immigrant workers who had no connection with Qadaffi's mercenaries before this whole thing started - maybe a couple of million? I say "had" because I've seen reports that the rebels are going after all black men as if they were mercenaries. Which seems probable; Libyans in general didn't treat black immigrants very well before the war. I've no idea, at this point, how many have fled, how many are hiding, how many have been killed.
I did watch part of one of the videos you reference. There was indeed a large crowd which seemed to be quite enthusiastic about the proceedings; the only conflict was people elbowing each other out of the way to get a better video on their cell phones.
Seeing McCain cheerleading for the rebels reminds me of what worried me about him in 2008; I'm not always sure he's quite sane.
For once, I think we're better off with our dilatory, cowardly, ineffectual President than we would have been with McCain, whom I can easily see charging head-on into this disaster and taking untold American lives with him.