| The U.S. Marxist-Leninist Organization vehemently opposes U.S. plans for military intervention against the people of Libya. U.S. use of force against the Libyan people is a crime of aggression. The open plans promoted for intervention, including a “no-fly zone” are crimes against the peace. We say no to U.S. aggression! We urge the workers and people of the U.S. to stand against U.S. intervention in Libya. We call on the anti-war movement to remain united in opposing all U.S. aggression and demanding All U.S. Troops Home NOW! This is our contribution to peace worldwide. The U.S. is already positioning its warships and Marines near Libya and stepping up efforts to justify its intervention, with or without authorization from the United Nations. As President Barack Obama stated March 3, he has ordered plans giving the U.S. military “full capacity to act, potentially rapidly.” He said, “I don’t want us hamstrung,” adding that a “humanitarian crisis” or a “situation in which defenseless civilians were finding themselves trapped and in great danger,” would justify intervention by the U.S. In an earlier statement Obama made clear the U.S. could act unilaterally saying, “I’ve asked my administration to prepare the full range of options that we have to respond to this crisis. This includes actions we may take and those we will coordinate with our allies and partners, or those that we’ll carry out through multilateral institutions,” like NATO. As one of its first actions, the U.S. imposed sanctions, freezing $30 billion in assets. The sanctions include “the property and interests in property of the Government of Libya,” including those of Libya’s central bank — meaning funds belonging to the people of Libya. As the Treasury Department said, “This is the largest blocking under any sanctions program ever.” Obama justified them saying they will prevent “extreme measures against the people of Libya.” In fact it is U.S. sanctions and use of force that are the measures that will gravely harm the people of Libya, as they have the Iraqis. It is well known that sanctions imposed against Iraq were responsible for killing more than one million Iraqi children and damaging the economy. In the name of defending human rights, the Pentagon has also dispatched what it calls “aid teams” to Libya’s borders. As Secretary of State Clinton emphasized, “We do believe that there will be a need for support for humanitarian intervention.” These “aid teams” are military forces already on the ground, positioned for rapid deployment into Libya whenever Obama gives the word. These forces are currently positioned in Egypt and Tunisia. This means they could also be used against the strivings of the peoples there to put in place regimes that favor them, including ones that reject foreign interference in their countries and the region. Most recently, the U.S. is talking of establishing a “no-fly zone.” This too is supposed to protect the people of Libya by “neutralizing” the Libyan Air Force. Secretary of Defense Gates emphasized that the first act in establishing a “no-fly zone” would be massive bombing of Libya, targeting her substantial air defenses. Once again, Americans are expected to forget the experience of the Iraq “no-fly zones,” which like the sanctions are weapons of U.S. aggression and genocide against the peoples. USMLO calls on all to stand against these crimes and reject U.S. claims that aggression can be justified in the name of defending human rights and “stopping the killings” in Libya. U.S. imperialism does not have the interests of the people at heart, abroad or at home. It acts to safeguard its own narrow interests of empire and world domination. We see massive war funding and the robbery of trillions of the public treasury for war and repression abroad, while the human rights of workers, immigrants and youth are trampled in the mud with massive cuts and anti-worker and anti-immigrant laws at home. It is not the human rights of workers abroad or at home that are being protected, it is U.S. imperialism and its drive for world empire. Let all unite to insist, All U.S. Troops Home Now! No to Intervention in Libya! Defend the Rights of All Abroad and at Home! U.S. Intervention Increases Danger of World War U.S. plans for and use of force can only mean more crimes against the peoples while also increasing the danger of world war. Libya is a main supplier of oil to Europe. The U.S attempt now to grab control of the Libyan oil spigot of the European Union, a major competitor of the U.S. monopolies in world markets, is a seriously destabilizing factor in world politics. It increases the danger of world war as the big powers all strive for control over sources of raw materials and spheres of influence. And because of the inter-imperialist contradictions between the U.S. and European interests over control of Libyan oil, the Europeans will not want to play second fiddle to U.S. decisions. NATO will go all out to play a central role and the European Union will want more control over NATO actions. Within this situation, no one should doubt the possibility that the U.S. or NATO or both together will instigate a “situation in which defenseless civilians were finding themselves trapped and in great danger.” Their sanctions and threats of a “no-fly zone” have already brought great uncertainty. U.S. and European officials themselves keep saying they doubt a decision to intervene militarily will occur absent a dramatic, highly visible event such as widespread massacres or bombing of civilians. “It’s got to be graphic, it’s got to be real,” a NATO official said. The promotion of the need for such an event is prelude to an actual event, where the U.S. commits the crime and blames it on the Libyan government. The U.S. is notorious worldwide for just such actions, such as those used to justify war against Spain in 1898, aggression against Korea and Vietnam and numerous other examples. Let no one be fooled by U.S. claims of protecting human rights or claims about any such “event” occurring in the coming weeks. Remember the threat of a “mushroom cloud” and photos of the killing of babies in incubators — all “proven” and fabricated by the U.S. to justify invasion and the now 10-year occupation of Iraq. The firm stand required is: No to U.S. Intervention in Libya! No to Use of Force in Settling Conflicts Among Nations! All U.S. Troops Home Now! |