NATO, TRIBAL WARRIORS, AND OIL.

          After 7 months of NATO blasting the infrastructure of Libya so that a mixed bag of rival tribal groups and religious fundamentalists could take over, Libya is not a peaceful place. Over the last 4 days or so there have been clashes in and around Tripoli with armed groups firing all manner of weapons at each other. To the west of Tripoli there has been fierce fighting between the city of Zawiya and the tribal lands of Warshefana which was still continuing today Sunday. The residents of Tripoli are complaining that armed groups have taken over many “desirable” locations in the city, including a gated seaside resort.

        This is the bunch of self interested groups, now armed to the teeth, that we have unleashed on the Libyan people. We spent billions of our tax payers money destroying many of the Libyan towns and cities, then handed the rubble to tribal warriors and religious fundamentalists, but we did get our hands on the oil. The oil that gave the Libyan people free health care, free education, a lump sum on the birth of their first child, a deposit for newly weds to help to purchase their first house, cheap fuel and free clean drinking water. Now that the West controls the oil, and now that Libya has joined the “free democratic capitalist West” how much of the oil money will the Libyan people see, and how much will go towards their “free” infrastructure and social services,? Oh, and bye-bye 19p a gallon petrol. That's capitalism for you.

ann arky's home.

AN EMPTY COMPOUND???

           

             Just a thought, I don't know about you but the information being reported from Tripoli doesn't seem to add up. It was being reported that there were fierce gun battles raging to take the "Compound" with strong resistance coming from those defending it, then there is the beakthrough. The "rebels" enter the "Compound" and we  don't see any Gaddaffi fighters surrender or wounded or dead, where did they go? All we see is the "rebels" looting an empty place and firing their guns in the air. Was there nobody in the "Compound" defending it? Did they all just march out through the doors before the "rebels" arrived? Where did they go with all their weapons, their wound and their dead, did they leave in a convoy through the occupied streets? As usual, in the fog of war, we never get told the truth, we get the usual media spin.

ann arky's home.

LIBRARIES OR BOMBS??

     

      While the Cameron/Clegg public school thugs shout cuts, cuts, cuts, Cameron's little Libyan war has become Cameron's killing fields. The “No-fly zone” has now escalated into a continual bombardment of Western Libya. NATO has just completed its heaviest bombardment of the city of Tripoli since the so called, “protect civilians” campaign began. How do you protect civilians in a densely populated city by heavy bombardment of weapons of mass destruction? Perhaps the citizens of Tripoli are worth less than the citizens of Benghazi.

      All this killing doesn't come cheap, oh dear no. While the millionaire duo shout, “We can't afford” social services, libraries, education, child care, etc. the bill for Cameron's violent little ego trip, is reckoned to cost around about £1 billion by the autumn. Experts state that the cost to date is around the £300-£400 million with the bill rising by about £38 million a week. A far cry from smug low life Osborne's figure which he quoted at the start of the killing that it would only be in the tens of millions. To people of his ilk, that's just pocket money, he could probably pay for that himself.

WHO NEEDS SOCIAL SERVICES?

        The true cots will not be known for some weeks yet, when the Defence Officials make their announcements. Of course all the cost will be understated as we are about to escalate this affair with the announcement that we will be now using attack helicopters. Another little very expensive military toy that we can obviously afford.

A HOSPITAL??

       Why do we tolerate “our” government spending over £1 billion in six months on the destruction of a country and the killing of its people. This continual free spending when it comes to foreign military intervention and slashing and cutting at all our social services while muttering, we can't afford, we can't afford, lays bare the unbridled hypocrisy of this millionaire cabal of public school thugs.

        This is the situation that capitalism and its bed partner, party political politics, has given us, an elite bunch of pampered parasites controlling everything and showing complete disregard for the ordinary people. However, wonderful sparks of hope keep springing up, with the latest being Madrid and some other cities in Spain. Support appearing in other cities across Europe, with the ordinary people beginning to realise their power and the growing awareness that with solidarity we can change this world. We can create a fairer and more just world freed from the capitalist greed and profit motive, we have the power to create a world we would be proud to leave to our children and our grandchildren. As the world is at the moment, being raped, plundered and polluted, all for profit for parasitical shareholders, we fear for the future of our children and our grandchildren. It doesn't have to be that way, there is an alternative, all we have to do is all come together and discuss the world we want for the future.

ann arky's home.

PAYING FOR THE WAR WITH NURSES AND TEACHERS!!!!

    
       Some updates on the financial cost of Cameron's Libyan caper, it seems that every Prime Minister needs a war. These figures are from defence analyst Francis Tusa's estimate gathered from Parliamentary Questions.

      The four RAF Tornado GR4s now based in Italy. Running costs are £35,000 an hour, once they are in the air. The Tornados fired Storm Shadow and possibly Brimstone missiles during their first two sorties, but the MoD won't say how many they used. Each missile costs £750,000 to £800,000.
      The 10 Typhoon fighters also in Italy, more expensive because they are new. The cost to fly them is thought to be £70,000 an hour, though that may reduce to £40,000 an hour the longer the operation goes on.
       The Trafalgar-class submarine HMS Triumph, which has been in the Mediterranean for more than a week. It has been firing Tomahawk cruise missiles at Gaddafi's air defence systems. Running a submarine costs up to £200,000 a day. Its cruise missiles cost £500,000 each.
      The navy's two frigates in the Mediterranean – HMS Cumberland and HMS Westminster. Running costs about £90,000 a day. HMS Cumberland was diverted to Libya on its journey home to be scrapped, so every day it is there is above and beyond budget.

     
       That's a lot of teachers and nurses and it will not stop the Libyans from killing Libyans, which can be added to those that are being killed and maimed by the compassionate West's weapons of mass destruction. I know that we are not getting figures of casualties, "collateral damage" but it is inconceivable that such weapons can be rained down on a large city, (Tripoli, population 1,065,405 (2006 census) night after night and the people are unscathed. But doesn't the West always fights clean wars, we never kill civilians, only combatants. Remember "Shock-and-Awe" in Iraq and the following slaughter across that country including Fallujah December 23, 2004?
      Forty odd years of us supplying Qaddafi with hi-tec weapons of mass destruction and then going in with ours to knock his out. No doubt after this is all over we will have to re-arm Libya, now that is good business.

ann arky's home.