Stop bombing Libya

Regime change is not authorized by the resolution. Yet U.S. bombers targeted the Qaddafi compound and Obama said at a news conference in Santiago that it is "U.S. policy that Qaddafi needs to go." The resolution specifically forbids a "foreign occupation force." But it is unlikely that the United States, France and Britain will bomb Libya and leave. Don’t be surprised to hear there are Western forces on the ground in Libya to "train" or "assist" the rebels there.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates pegged it when he said that a "no-fly zone" over Libya would be an "act of war." Although the Arab League reportedly favored a no-fly zone, Amr Moussa, Secretary General of the Arab League, said that "what is happening in Libya differs from the aim of imposing a no-fly zone." He added, "What we want is the protection of civilians and not the shelling of more civilians." He plans to call a new meeting of the league to reconsider its support for a no-fly zone.

The military action in Libya sets a dangerous precedent of attacking countries where the leadership does not favor the pro-U.S. or pro-European Union countries. What will prevent the United States from stage-managing some protests, magnifying them in the corporate media as mass actions, and then bombing or attacking Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, or North Korea? During the Bush administration, Washington leveled baseless allegations to justify an illegal invasion of Iraq.

Moreover, Obama took military action without consulting Congress, the only body with the Constitutional power to declare war. It is not clear what our mission is there or when it will end. Congress and indeed, the American people should debate what we are doing in Libya. We must not support a third expensive and illegal war. There is a crying need for that money right here at home. And we should refuse to be complicit in the killing of more civilians in a conflict in which we don’t belong.