the western powers have once again decided to go to war to protect their oil -- this time in libya, where the uncertainty that always rattles the markets was having a negative effect on the investing class.
"BENGHAZI, Libya — A coalition of American and European forces launched a military campaign Saturday to drive Moammar Gadhafi from power, bombing Libyan targets by air and sea in the first phase of the largest international military effort since the Iraq war." msnbc.comit doesn't matter how many civilians are massacred in yemen or bahrain, we'll choose our wars wisely, say the sainted powers of the west -- the ones whose commercial ties with libya would suffer the most if gadhafi were to repay his erstwhile patrons for their treachery by cancelling oil concessions.
even the language of "shock and awe" remains current in the vocabulary of this latest example of imperialism on the march.
it's been pointed out -- correctly, i must say -- that a well-targeted missile from one of the US' drones could've taken out gadhafi in one fell swoop, and saved us the drama of a full-blown military intervention.
perhaps the military doesn't have enough confidence in their drones -- which seem not terribly accurate except to massacre civilians in pakistan.
think again: this has some many ulterior motives, it's hard to keep track of them all. from the splintering of the old order across the mideast, and the violent reprisals to come when the saudi regime comes under threat, to the wobbly economic situation tied to the nuclear catastrophe in japan, there's too much going on in other places that are hogging the spotlight.
the spectacle of a war is just the kind of high-action distraction required to thrill fans of the home team, and to let everybody know that prices on out oil are on the way back down.
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