April 1, 2011
Rense.com

The Truth About Libya

by Stephen Goodson

Colonel Muammar Gadaffi is frequently referred to in the media as a "mad dictator" and "bloody tyrant", but do these allegations accord with the facts?

Libya consists of over 15O tribes, with the two main groups, the Meghabra living in Tripolitania in the west and the Wafallah living in Cyrenaica in the east. Previous attempts to unite these tribes by the Turkish (1855-1911) and ltalian (1911-43) colonial rulers failed and the country was split in two for administrative purposes.

Oil was discovered in Libya in 1959, but King ldris of the Senussi tribe allowed most of the oil profits to be siphoned into the coffers of the oil companies. The coup d'etat on 1 September 1969 led by Colonel Gadaffi had countrywide support. He subsequently married a woman from the royal Barqa tribe and adroitly unified the nation.

By retaining Libya's oil wealth for the benefit of all its people, Gadaffi had created a socialist paradise. There is no unemployment, Libya has the highest GDP in Africa, less than 5% of the population is classified as poor and it has fewer people living below the poverty datum line than for example in Holland. Life expectancy is 75 years and is the highest in Africa and 10% above the world average.

With the exception of the nomadic Bedouin and Tuareg tribes, most Libyan families possess a house and a car. There is free health care and education and not surprisingly Libya has a literacy rate of 82%. Last year Gadaffi distributed $500 to each man, woman and child (population 6.5 million).

Libya has a tolerable human rights record and stands at 61 on the International Incarceration Index, comparable with countries in central Europe (the lower the rating, the lower the standing - the USA occupies the no.1 spot!). There is hardly any crime and only rebels and traitors are dealt with harshly.

Anyone who has read Gadaffi's little Green Book will realize that he is a thoughtful and enlightened leader. Libya has been accused of having committed numerous acts of terrorism in the past, but many of these have been perpetrated by foreign intelligence agencies as false flag operations - the Lockerbie bombing being a prime example.

The CIA and MI6 and their frontmen have been stoking up dissent in the east of the country for almost 30 years. Libya produces exceptionally high quality light crude oil and its production cost of $1 a barrel, compared to the current price of $115, is the lowest in the world.

Riba (usury) is not permitted. The Central bank of Libya is a wholly-owned by the Libyan Government and is run as a state bank, issuing all government loans free of interest. This is in contrast to the exploitative fractional reserve banking system of the West. The no-fly zone and the bombing of Libya have nothing to do with the protection of civilians. It is an act of war a blatant and crude attempt by the oil corporations and international bankers to steal the wealth of Libya. . . .

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CAVEAT: Mr. Goodson's account needs verification. We believe this is the same Stephen Goodson who is the leader of the Abolition of Income Tax and Usury Party, and who "back in 2003 . . . unseated mining boss Brian Gilbertson from the Bank's board" in South Africa.

[Col. Haftar is now reported to be the leader of a contra-style group based in the U.S. called the Libyan National Army. This group is supported by the U.S., and has been given training facilities in the U.S.--Enver Masud, "Libya: Who's Terrorizing Whom," The Wisdom Fund, March 26, 1996]

Paul I. Adujie, "AFRICOM: African Security or Western Interests?," New Liberian, August 22, 2009

"Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya," United Nations Human Rights Council, January 4, 2011

2010 HDI Rankings: Norway 1, United States 4, France 14, Italy 23, UAE 32, Bahrain 39, Libya 53, Saudi Arabi 55, Iran 70, South Africa 73, Jordan 82, Egypt 101, Indonesia 108, India 119, Afghanistan 155--"Human Development Index," undp.org

[The conflict in Libya is not a revolution, but a counter-revolution. The struggle "is fundamentally a battle between Pan-African forces on the one hand, who are dedicated to the realization of Qaddafi's vision of a united Africa, and reactionary racist Libyan Arab forces who reject Qaddafi's vision of Libya as part of a united Africa." . . .

Thousands of Indians, Egyptians, Chinese, Filipinos, Turks, Germans, English, Italians, Malaysians, Koreans and a host of other nationalities are lining up at the borders and the airport to leave Libya. It begs the question: What were they doing in Libya in the first place? Unemployment figures, according to the Western media and Al Jazeera, are at 30%. If this is so, then why all these foreign workers?

. . . Qaddafi committed some "cardinal sins." He dared to challenge their reactionary and feudal notions of Islam. He has upheld the idea that every Muslim is a ruler (Caliph) and does not need the Ulema to interpret the Quran for them. He has questioned the Islam of the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda from a Quranic/theological perspective and is one of the few political leaders equipped to do so.--Gerald A. Perreira, "Libya, Getting it Right: A Revolutionary Pan-African Perspective," blackagendareport.com, March 2, 2011]

Enver Masud, "Libya Oil Grab Disguised As Humanitarian Assistance," The Wisdom Fund, March 8, 2011

[ . . . impose as quickly as possible a no-fly zone for all Libyan military aircraft over the full extent of northern Libyan airspace, and implement such measures as may be required to render the Libyan air force inoperable throughout the country.--"Letter to President Obama about Libya," Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy, March 14, 2011

Enver Masud, "Revealed: America's Hidden Hand Behind The UN Resolution For A No-fly Zone Over Libya," The Wisdom Fund, March 19, 2011

Eric Margolis, "Libya: A New Crusade," ericmargolis.com, March 21, 2011

[I do not believe it meets the Catholic church's criteria for a Just War--Enver Masud, "Reply to CSID's Open Letter Opposing the No-fly Zone," The Wisdom Fund, March 22, 2011]

[This is not the first imperialist attempt to lynch Qaddafi and bring Libya to its knees. In 1986, the US falsely accused Libya of the bombing of a discotheque in Berlin and Reagan attempted to assassinate Qaddafi, by bombing the Bab al-Azizia compound in Tripoli where he was housed, killing Qaddafi's daughter and over one hundred Libyans. Next, Libya was falsely accused of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing as an excuse for initiating sanctions, in order to economically cripple the revolution.

. . . Already an estimated 16,000 African freedom fighters (not mercenaries as the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera would have us believe) have poured into Libya from the Congo, Guinea, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Southern Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Burkina Faso to fight to the death for the Libyan revolution and Brother Muammar Al Qaddafi.

. . . The Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (South Africa) travelled to Libya to meet with Qaddafi face to face and express their support and solidarity.--Gerald A. Perreira, "Coalition of Crusaders Join with al Qaeda to Oust Qaddafi and Roll Back Libyan Revolution," blackagendareport.com, March 23, 2011]

Pepe Escobar, "Libya Endgame: Divide, Rule And Get The Oil," Asia Times, March 25, 2011

Curtis Doebbler, "Why the Attack on Libya is Illegal," counterpunch.org, March 28, 2011

[They are entitled to free treatment, and their hospitals provide the best in the world of medical equipment.

Education in Libya is free, capable young people have the opportunity to study abroad at government expense. When marrying, young couples receive 60,000 Libyan dinars (about 50,000 U.S. dollars) of financial assistance.

Non-interest state loans, and as practice shows, undated. Due to government subsidies the price of cars is much lower than in Europe, and they are affordable for every family. Gasoline and bread cost a penny, no taxes for those who are engaged in agriculture.--"Testimony of Russia Doctors in Libya: The Destruction of a Country. The Bombing of Civilian Targets," Global Research, March 28, 201

Mark Hosenball, "U.S. agents were in Libya before secret Obama order," Reuters, March 31, 2011

[Washington pursues world hegemony under the guises of selective "humanitarian intervention" and "bringing freedom and democracy to oppressed peoples." On an opportunistic basis, Washington targets countries for intervention that are not its "international partners." Caught off guard, perhaps, by popular revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, there are some indications that Washington responded opportunistically and encouraged the uprising in Libya. Khalifa Hifter, a suspected Libyan CIA asset for the last 20 years, has gone back to Libya to head the rebel army.--Paul Craig Roberts, "The New Colonialism: Occupying the World," counterpunch.org, April 1, 2011]

[Hafiz Ghoga, a spokesman for the protesters' new National Libyan Council, insisted that calls for foreign intervention were entirely unwelcome, adding that the protesters have taken most of the nation and "the rest of Libya will be liberated by the people."

. . . rebel leader Mahmoud Jibril . . . said: "We do not want outside forces.--Enver Masud, "LIBYA: Is it the rebels or the Post that is struggling to explain the rift in leadership?," veteranstoday.com, April 5, 2011]

"UN Praised Libya's Human Rights Record. Washington Attempted to Block Release of UNHRC Report," Global Research, April 5, 2011

[I did all I could to give people houses, hospitals, schools, and when they were hungry, I gave them food. I even made Benghazi into farmland from the desert. . . .

I helped my brothers and sisters from Africa with money for the African Union; I did all I could to help people understand the concept of real democracy, where people's committees ran our country.--"Recollections of my Life: Col. Mu'ummar Qaddafi, The Leader of the Revolution," opednews.com, April 8, 2011]

[The 2010 UN Human Development Index - which is a composite measure of health, education and income - ranked Libya 53rd in the world, and first in Africa.

In its first two decades, he wrote, the revolution brought many benefits to ordinary Libyans: widespread literacy, free medical care, education, and improvements in living conditions. Women in particular benefited, becoming ministers, ambassadors, pilots, judges and doctors. The government got wide support from the lower and middle classes.

The down side was a demagogic regime that revelled in rituals of hero worship and cynically embraced violence.--Mahmood Mamdani, "Libya after the NATO invasion," aljazeera.net, April 9, 2011]

[Several writers have noted the odd fact that the Libyan rebels took time out from their rebellion in March to create their own central bank - this before they even had a government. . . .

According to a Russian article titled "Bombing of Libya - Punishment for Ghaddafi for His Attempt to Refuse US Dollar", Gaddafi made a similarly bold move: he initiated a movement to refuse the dollar and the euro, and called on Arab and African nations to use a new currency instead, the gold dinar. Gaddafi suggested establishing a united African continent, with its 200 million people using this single currency.

During the past year, the idea was approved by many Arab countries and most African countries. The only opponents were the Republic of South Africa and the head of the League of Arab States. The initiative was viewed negatively by the USA and the European Union, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy calling Libya a threat to the financial security of mankind; but Gaddafi was not swayed and continued his push for the creation of a united Africa.--Ellen Brown, "Libya all about oil, or central banking?," atimes.com, April 14, 2011]

The Real News, April 19, 2011

[Libyan rebels will be betrayed just as quickly as Qaddafi was.

. . . The oil money that once built water ways, public housing, and farms from Benghazi to Tripoli, will be funneled directly out of the country and into the corporate-financier's accounts.--Tony Cartalucci, "Libyan Rebels Fighting the Globalists' War," landdestroyer.blogspot.com, April 20, 2011]

[This operation was supported by the very representative of the Libyan Investment Authority, Mohamed Layas: as revealed in a diplomatic cable published by Wikileaks, on January 20 Layas informed the U.S. ambassador in Tripoli that the LIA had filed $ 32 billion in U.S. banks. Five weeks later, on February 28, the U.S. Treasury had "frozen" the assets. According to official statements, is "the largest sum of money ever blocked in the U.S.", money that Washington keeps "in trust for the future of Libya." It could actually be an injection of capital into the ever more indebted U.S. economy. A few days later, the EU had "frozen" around 45 billion euros of Libyan funds.--Manlio Dinucci, "The plunder of the century: the assault of the 'volonteers' on Libyan SWFs," democrateafricain.blogspot.com, April 23, 2011]

Robert D. Crane, "Qaddafi Launched Program to Privatize Libya's Oil to Every Citizen of Libya," The Wisdom Fund, May 12, 2011

[ . . . the future of Libya is decreasingly likely to be determined by Libyans. Foreign intervention is turning into an old-style imperial venture. Much the same thing happened in Iraq in 2003 and in Afghanistan in the past few years. In Iraq, the US invasion to overthrow Saddam Hussein, a ruler detested by most Iraqis, soon turned into what many Iraqis saw as a foreign occupation.--Patrick Cockburn, "What NATO is Doing to Libya," counterpunch.org, May 23, 2011]

KPFA-FM, August 22, 2011 -- Reminds me of "They Paved Paradise".

[The objective of the NATO bombings from the outset was to destroy the country's standard of living, its health infrastructure, its schools and hospitals, its water distribution system.

And then "rebuild" with the help of donors and creditors under the helm of the IMF and the World Bank.--Michel Chossudovsky, "Destroying a Country's Standard of Living: What Libya Had Achieved, What has been Destroyed," Global Research, September 20, 2011]

Sheila Kimathi, "Col Muammar Gaddafi: What he did for Libya," Kentv, October 21, 2011

[When I first came to Libya in 1975, it was little more than a fuel and rest stop on the road between Alexandria and Tunis. Only united in 1951, Libya barely existed at the time. Its doddering king, Idris, was a British puppet. The US has its largest overseas air base in Libya.

Gadaffi, for all his crazy antics, daffy outfits, spasmodic cruelty and nutty "Green Revolution," managed to unite Libya, providing it with housing, hospitals, roads, a thriving oil industry and the trappings of modern civilization. But he also wasted billions on his madcap Great Manmade River that brought ancient artesian water from the Sahara to the coast.--Eric Margolis, "THE GADAFFI I KNEW," lewrockwell.com, October 22, 2011]

"The Libyan Bedlam: General Hifter, the CIA and the Unfinished Coup," middle-east-online.com, February 20, 2014

[ . . . the BBC had to admit that Gaddafi's "particular form of socialism does provide free education, healthcare and subsidized housing and transport"--Brian Cloughley, "Libya: Be careful what you wish for," atimes.com, December 11, 2014]

"Gaddafi's Last Speech," igberetvnews.com, December 27, 2015

Robert Mendick, "Colonel Gaddafi warned Tony Blair of Islamist attacks on Europe, phone conversations reveal," telegraph.co.uk, January 7, 2016

"Muammar Gaddafi: If the western world only knew the truth," March 8, 2016

[Before 2011, Libya had achieved economic independence, with its own water, its own food, its own oil, its own money, and its own state-owned bank. It had arisen under Qaddafi from one of the poorest of countries to the richest in Africa. Education and medical treatment were free; having a home was considered a human right; and Libyans participated in an original system of local democracy. The country boasted the world's largest irrigation system, the Great Man-made River project, which brought water from the desert to the cities and coastal areas; and Qaddafi was embarking on a program to spread this model throughout Africa. . . .

Qaddafi's government holds 143 tons of gold, and a similar amount in silver . . . . This gold was accumulated prior to the current rebellion and was intended to be used to establish a pan-African currency based on the Libyan golden Dinar. This plan was designed to provide the Francophone African Countries with an alternative to the French franc (CFA). . . .

Conspicuously absent is any mention of humanitarian concerns. The objectives are money, power and oil. . . .

African oil-producing nations were planning to abandon the petro-dollar, and demand gold payment for oil/gas. . . .

NATO not only bombed the pipeline but finished off the project by bombing the factory producing the pipes necessary to repair it. Crippling a civilian irrigation system serving up to 70% of the population hardly looks like humanitarian intervention.--Ellen Brown, "Exposing the Libyan Agenda: a Closer Look at Hillary's Emails," telegraph.co.uk, March 14, 2016]

"What Was Libya Like 20 Years Ago?," Journeyman Pictures, May 11, 2016

Rim Taher, "War-weary Libyans miss life under Kadhafi," france24.com, October 17, 2016

PHOTOS, VIDEOS: "NATO & Al-Qaeda War Crimes In Libya," federaljack.com

[Amnesty International has called for an independent inquiry into deaths that occurred there in 1996, an incident which some have referred to as the Abu Salim prison massacre. Human Rights Watch believes that 1,270 prisoners were killed. However, its estimate is mostly based on the account of a single former inmate.

. . . On 25 September 2011 the National Transitional Council (NTC) announced that a mass grave had been discovered outside the prison.

. . . However, investigators from CNN and other organizations could find no evidence of mass graves at the supposed site - only some animal bones.--"Abu Salim prison," wikipedia.org]

How Rivers Were Built In Libya Right Under The Sahara, Pandora US, August 11, 2021