Democratic Palestine : 14 (ص 4)
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- Democratic Palestine : 14 (ص 4)
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time. On another level, this claim is part
of Reagan's misinformation campaign -
the same directed against Nicaragua,
Cuba, Vietnam and other countries striv-
ing to protect and develop the indepen-
dence and social progress achieved by
their people. The aim of this campaign is
to keep all states that do not harmonize
with US policies in a state of weakness.
In reality, the two countries in the world
which have military institutions far out-
weighing their defense needs are the US
and ‘Israel’. This superiority is precisely
designed and expanded in order to
impose their policies on a global and
regional basis without meeting serious
obstacles, to control and exploit peoples
and resources far beyond their own bor-
ders.
The US administration's campaign
against Libya Is an old story. At the start
of his first term in 1981, Reagan branded
Libya an «outlaw nation». Later the
same year, US F-14s downed two
Libyan planes over the Gulf of Sidra
(part of Libya's territorial waters which
the US administration insists is interna-
tional waters). The next year, the US
banned the import of Libyan oil. These
measures, however, did not make much
of an impact, especially since US allies
in western Europe and Japan did not fol-
low suit. Thus, the Reagan Administra-
tion seized on the December 27th
attacks on the El Al (Israeli airlines)
counters at Rome and Vienna airports. It
hoped to blame these on Libya and
thereby deal a decisive blow to Presi-
dent Qaddafi with full international back-
ing, and preferably by collective action,
drawing at least its NATO allies into the
game.
Gunboat diplomacy
To this end, the US brought in the
new year by amassing its war fleet in the
Mediterranean off Libya's coast. On
January 3rd, the largest US aircraft car-
rier, the Coral Sea, and its battle group
left Naples port and sailed into the
Mediterranean in the direction of Libya.
Electronic warfare planes were dis-
patched to the Mediterranean. Five
Navy EA-6B Prowlers were sent to the
NATO base on Sicily, to intercept com-
munications and jam the radars used to
direct Libya's anti-aircraft system.
Another aircraft battle group, stationed
in Norfolk, Virginia, was ordered to be
ready to deploy in the Mediterranean.
The Pentagon drew up a new list of
potential targets in Libya. Contingency
exercises were conducted by the Penta-
gon, CIA and at US military facilities, to
4
test logistics for a planned military
attack, for example: how the US could
keep two aircraft carriers off the Libyan
coast for an extended period. The Joint
Chiefs of Staff considered sending B-52
bombers from the US, but rejected this in
favor of Navy carrier planes and long-
range fighter bombers stationed in Bri-
tain (International Herald Tribune,
January 6, 1986). In mid-January, the
aircraft carrier Saratoga was ordered out
of the Indian Ocean to join the Coral
Sea.
At this writing, the military attack on
Libya has not materialized. Meanwhile,
the Reagan Administration has imposed
a total economic boycott, frozen Libya's
assets in the US and ordered all US citi-
zens to leave Libya, while pressuring its
European allies to implement similar
measures. However, the military option
still cannot be ruled out. On January
16th, Secretary of State Shultz con-
firmed that the US must still consider
military action. According to Newsweek
magazine, January 20th, «The sanc-
tions Ronald Reagan imposed on Libya
last week are just the opening of a care-
fully graduated campaign...to isolate
Muammar Kaddafi, strengthen the dic-
tator’'s opponents within Libya - and
clear the way for a US military
strike... The plan focuses more sharply
than before on exploiting dissension
within Libya's military...Reagan stra-
tegists believe they must strike within
the next six to nine months or else miss
the tide...» This appears to be an up-
dated version of the CIA plan to topple
President Qaddafi, that was revealed in
1984.
The national security adviser of
Israeli Prime Minister Peres, Brigadier
General Gideon Machanaimi, gave
another idea of the form the US-Israeli
attack may actually take. Noting that
military retaliation was not advisable, he
pointed to assassination of leaders as
«the successful way to combat ter-
rorism.»
Whether or not the Reagan
Administration and ‘Israel’ embark on a
new military adventure or not, the war
scenario enacted serves a number of
purposes besides Reagan's cherished
aim of terrorizing Qaddafi. Chief among
these is covering up for the Israeli
aggression which is an integral compo-
nent of the US-sponsored ‘peace’ pro-
cess. Equally important is furthering the
US military network in the Middle East
and Mediterranean areas.
The source of terror
The deeper cause of the attacks at
the Rome and Vienna airports ts the fact
that the Middle East conflict, and the
Palestinian issue in particular, remain
unresolved. Responsible for this situa-
tion are the US and ‘Israel to whom sol-
ving the conflict means imposing their
joint hegemony in the area. This rules
out self-determination and statehood for
the Palestinian people, and ultimately
genuine independence for any Arab
country. That is why the many conces-
sions offered by the Palestinian right
wing have been met with more violence
- the iron fist in occupied Palestine, col-
lective punishment against the citizens
of South Lebanon, the Israeli bombing of
the PLO headquarters in Tunis, etc.
Reagan's campaign against ‘ter-
rorism’ is simply an attempt to shift the
blame. The best proof of this is that ‘Is-
rael’ is the only state in the world to have
expressed unqualified support to the US
campaign, while at the same time man-
ipulating it to special Israeli purposes.
Peres claimed that Abu Nidai’s group,
held responsible for the Rome and Vie-
nna attacks, is the «offspring of the
PLO», attempting to justify Israeli refusal
to deal with the PLO. - هو جزء من
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