Democratic Palestine : 16 (ص 4)
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- Democratic Palestine : 16 (ص 4)
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Gulf of Tonkin Revisited ©
This article addresses
the questions of why the US has
singled out Libya as a target for aggression, and
why the US was cornered into doing its own dirty work.
Due to his choice of allies and his daring, plus finances to
back his principled positions, Qaddafi has constituted a real
threat to imperialist interests in the region. His ambitious plans
and achievements in the social and economic fields have
earned him a popularity not easily eradicated by mudslinging
or beefed-up CIA plots. Libya’s US-backed neighbors have
problems of their own, which would only be aggravated by any
attack on Qaddafi. Western Europe has too much to lose
economically to risk an all-out strike. Libyan opposition groups
have proved impotent despite the millions of dollars showered
on them. Added to this, the prevailing anti-US feeling in the
Middle East and other parts of the world, has caused the most
reactionary of regimes to hesitate before thinking of leveling a
strike at Qaddafi. This is not to mention the unswerving support
Libya receives from its socialist allies, particularly the Soviet
Union.
So despite the negative lessons of direct military interven-
tion in Vietnam and Lebanon, the US found itself cornered into
doing its own dirty work. On April 15th, the Reagan Administra-
tion brazenly attacked Libya. Among the eight targets bombed
in the air attack were civilian sites, a hospital, a school, and
Qaddafi’s own home. Cluster bombs were among the murder-
ous weapons used. It would be naive to claim surprise at the
attack since the US went out of its way to whip up cheap,
psychotic hysteria against Qaddafi, as a pretext for military
action against a country steering a course independent of
imperialism’s military-industrial complex.
However, even after the fatal bombing of Tripoli and Ben-
ghazi, Qaddafi’s enemies were unable to «lure (the Libyan
leader) into some...exploit that would give...opponents in the
Libyan military a chance to seize power;» nor were they able to
«give one of Qaddafi’s neighbors...a justification for respond-
ing to Qaddafi militarily» - the aims of the CIA plan as it was
expounded in the Washington Post on November 3, 1985.
Revolution for the people.
The 1969 bloodless revolution which overthrew King Idris
triggered a series of fundamental and far-reaching economic
and cultural changes which even Qaddafi’s critics have been
forced to admit. There is no doubt that the Libyan people have
benefitted from the revolution. Average yearly per capita
income for Libyans is the highest in Africa, reaching $ 6000-
7000. At the time of independence it was about $ 50. Before the
revolution, illiteracy ran at about 80% and almost 100%
among women; medical services were not available to the pub-
lic except in the two major cities. This resulted in high infant
2
mortality, malnourishment and a short life expectancy.
Today education is free in Libya, and about 60% of the
population are literate. Medical facilities have been made
available to all. The gap between rural and urban incomes has
been narrowed. Landlords have become a thing of the past
after Qaddafi made it illegal to own more than one house.
According to a western diplomat: «The people aren't starving;
they have a massive building program and a reasonably high
standard of living.» Even the V/orld Bank in Washirgton says:
«Libya has become one of the world’s best-fed countries.» On
a continent full of beggars, there is a striking absence in Libya.
The birth rate has risen to 3.9%, one of the world’s highest.
Libya has plans for a massive $ 25 billion water pipeline
and farm irrigation system which are going on as scheduled,
despite the termination of US companies’ involvement in the
project. This project known as the Great Man-made River,
involves the largest single civil engineering contract ever
awarded in the Middle East. It consists of a series of massive
pipelines intended to carry six million cubic meters of water a
day from beneath the Sahara for consumption. In volume, the
water flow would equal the world’s entire daily oil production. In
a country which is 90% desert, the prospects opened by the
completion of such a project are fantastic. Undaunted by many
an intervention and impediment, especially from the US, Qad-
dafi is pursuing plans for gaining access to nuclear projects. In
1982, the Tajura Centre was built and supplied with a small
TMA-4 Tokamak Nuclear Fusion Facility. The plant is run by
several hundred Libyans. Qaddafi has been bent on imple-
menting radical changes in the society. Military training for high
school girls is mandatory. Qaddafi, discerning the importance
of women's participation, is bent on integrating them as active
elements of society on all levels. The most prominent symbol
of the drive to make women and men equal is the military
academy which has trained 7000 women since it was opened
in 1978. Qaddafi has made considerable strides in improving
the status of women, challenging many a law and tradition in
doing so. There has been a five-fold increase in the number of
women enrolled in universities. Girls and boys attend primary
and secondary schools in approximately equal numbers. Child
marriage has been banned, and the minimum legal age for
marriage has been set at 18.
Libya depends on oil for 99% of its revenues, and many
would wish to claim that Qaddafi has been able to realize such
achievements because of the oil wealth rather than because of
political, social and economic policies. It would be instructive,
however, to compare what Libya has done for its 3.5 million - هو جزء من
- Democratic Palestine : 16
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