Man is the only animal that deals in that atrocity of atrocities, War. He is the only one that gathers his brethren about him and goes forth in cold blood and calm pulse to exterminate his kind. He is the only animal that for sordid wages will march out and help to slaughter strangers of his own species who have done him no harm and with whom he has no quarrel . . . And in the intervals between campaigns he washes the blood off his hands and works for “the universal brotherhood of man” – with his mouth.
Mark Twain
When I was very young, I was a doormat to bullies. I got picked on every day. I was a coward when the big guys shoved me around. I avoided them the best I could but they would always seem to find me and make me the subject of their abuse.
As I got older, I outgrew my fear and stopped taking it. I started fighting back. Eventually, I started winning and, eventually, they started leaving me alone. I admit it took me a while but it taught me a lot about human nature, including my own. It made me stronger and made me look inside and understand where my fears came from, and how to deal with them.
Sometimes though, I just needed a little help from my friends.
The Marine Corp Hymn has a line in it that references “To the shores of Tripoli” Which comes from the first Barbary War. It really refers to the Battle of Derne and dates all the way back to 1805. Our brave Marines hoisted the American flag for the first time in the Old World. Long ago the problems started and still remain today.
Over two centuries ago the North African states of Tripoli, Tunis, and Algiers, also known as the Barbary Coast, caused problems for everyone in the area. The area was rampant with pirates. They would enslave or murder crews and demand ransom. The Ottoman Empire was the recipient of the money and treasure and built their empire with the funds.
These people were Muslins as they are now and believed the Qu’ran gave them the right; no, in fact it was a duty, to plunder and enslave all nations which didn’t acknowledge the Prophet Muhammad. They also believed every Muslim who died during this plundering was sure to go to paradise.
Sounds familiar?
I want to pause here and make my disclaimer. I am not doing it out of legal needs, but because of my own experiences. I spent many years in the Middle East…Iran, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia… and I met many, many fine, wonderful, people. They were good, giving, and decent people deeply concerned with their spirituality.
Their love of God was undeniable as it is today, but that doesn’t make them all terrorists. Yes, there are those that are dangerous fanatics, but let’s take a look at religion throughout history. We all know the death and destruction wrought at the hand of religion. I don’t think that’s what God meant when he said love thy neighbor as thyself.
The U.S. paid a lot of money during the time of the Barbary Coast in what was known as “tribute money”. When they couldn’t take it any longer, and had built up reserves from the Revolutionary War, they went in and stopped the bullies.
Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated in 1801. The Pasha of Tripoli was Yusaf Karamanli at the time and he told Mr. Jefferson he wanted $225,000 for the U.S. to ply the waters off his coast. Mr. Jefferson said he didn’t think so, and the ol’ Pasha declared war. Bad move. Algiers and Tunis didn’t join him in his thoughts and left Tripoli to their traditional declaration where they cut down the flagstaff at the consulate. That was a really bad move.
Mr. Jefferson was never one to back down easily. He had been following the situation for years, even to the point of running diplomatic interference to settle the problem. After years of paying the “tribute money” he said no more. Up, up, and away with a group of frigates.
Congress authorized Mr. Jefferson to send the frigates and give them the duty of using their vessels “to seize all vessels and goods of the Pasha of Tripoli and also to cause to be done all such other acts of precaution or hostility as the state of war will justify.”
Enterprise capturing Tripoli
The U.S. wasted no time eliminating threats and bringing peace to the Mediterranean. From 1801 through 1805 our Navy pretty much owned the Mediterranean and provided cover for freee commerce. Tripoli did capture the Enterprise but our Marines ended that in February 1804 by burning it to the waterline and taking over Tripoli itself in July of that year. Algiers tried to start up again but hostilities ended in 1807 when the Navy and Marines cleared the way for diplomatic gestures. The bullies were finished by the upstart U.S.
I am not a big believer in war, but I do believe there are times when it is necessary. Certainly Hitler had to be vanquished. North Korea had to be put in its place and may yet once again need to be dealt with. Evil must be met with the force of TRUE good. Make no mistake there are a lot of bad people out there doing a lot of bad things.
Enter Muammar al-Gaddafi.
There have been other nasty leaders in our era but without a doubt Gaddafi has ranked right up there among the worst of the worst. He has harbored terrorists, supported them monetarily, and though some of the acts can’t be proven, supported numerous acts of terrorism. So I hear you ask, Lee, what has he done that is so bad? I’m glad you asked.
Among the atrocities positively attributed to this disgusting man are:
Rome and Vienna Airport Attacks – On December 27, 1985the two airports were attacked starting at 8:15 am. Four gunmen walked into the Rome airport and set off grenades, killing sixteen and wounding ninety-nine. Three attackers died in the violence and the fourth was captured.
In an almost simultaneous attack, three terrorists killed two people and wounded thirty – nine in Vienna airport using the same technique of hand grenades. One terrorist died and two others were captured.
Rumors were rampant these attacks were supposed to be against Israel and El Al jets, with the final outcome to have been the jets exploding over Tel Aviv. The attack occurred in front of the El Al check in desk so it was finally concluded the attack had been executed as planned. Further rumors were the Frankfurt airport had been targeted as well, but it was never proven.
The apparent immediate culprit was the PLO but they denied and denounced. They screamed loudly they had nothing to do with the attacks. The Abu Nidal Organization later claimed responsibility as retribution for Israel bombing the PLO headquarters in Tunis. Although Libya denied it, investigations tied them to the funding and weapons, they praised the attacks as “heroic operations carried out by the sons of the martyrs of Sabra and Shatila.”
Gaddafi become quite open about the attacks saying he would support the Red Army Faction, the Red Brigade, and the IRA as long as Europe was intent on supporting his enemies. His foreign minister called the slaughter as heroic.
Attack on the U.S. Fleet: The Gulf of Sidra Incident – The year 1986 developed tensions with Gaddafi, the U.S. and the international community, that led to attacks on Libyan soil. The U.S. asserted a twelve mile territorial waters limit internationally recognized, but Gaddafi decided to challenge the U.S. The Gulf of Sidra became the disputed area and the U.S. sent a carrier task force to intervene.
In spite of the international community pressuring Libya to go along with the twelve mile radius, Gaddafi insisted on an exclusive sixty – two mile fishing zone as he had since 1972 (see how far this goes back?) and named it the line of death. Once again, the U.S. said no, insisting we had rights to conduct naval operations in areas recognized by other countries. Gaddafi didn’t agree.
The resulting action by the U.S. was not in Libya’s favor. The Gulf of Sidra became dotted with U.S. carrier groups.
The U.S. was already angry about the June hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985, not to mention the Rome and Vienna airport attacks. Abu Nidal was supported by Gaddafi and this angered the U.S.
March 23, 1986 brought maneuvers well within the boundaries of “the line of death.” Three aircraft carriers, five cruisers, six frigates, twelve destroyers, and over 27,000 personnel made display of force to keep international sea lanes open and “conduct naval and air exercises in every part of the globe.”
Although previously air intrusion by Libya had taken place, no shots were fired. That March 23rd proved different. Two Libyan MiG 25’s decided to take on the U.S. Navy after two SAMs had been fired at two Tomcats. The situation was becoming untenable.
Further aggressive movements were made by the MiG’s but no shots were fired by the U.S. and the MiG’s flew away unscathed. Tensions were definitely rising however, and Libya fired a couple of SAM’s again at aircraft over international waters.
When several Libyan patrol boats decided to stick their nose in the fray anxieties escalated exponentially. It was not to the advantage of the Libyans. They became aggressive and the Americans warships and aircraft responded in kind. The U.S. reported no injuries or losses but the Libyans lost a boat and several other craft along with 35 crewmen.
The Bombing of the “La Belle” nightclub in West Berlin – This act of savagery led to President Ronald Regan ordering an airstrike on Libya on April 14th, 1986. The April 5th bombing killed three people and injured 229. Libyan terrorists were directly implicated. Germany finally prosecuted them in the 1990’s.
The La Belle was apparently chosen because it was frequented by U.S. Servicemen. A bomb was placed under a table by the DJ booth. Of the injured, more than 50 were American soldiers.
Proof of Libya’s involvement came by way of intercepted telex messages from Libya to their East Berlin embassy congratulating them on a job well done. That’s all it took for Ronald Reagan to order an air strike on Tripoli and Benghazi. Operation El Dorado Canyon, although there is no actual known numbers, supposedly took the life of approximately one hundred people and caused two thousand injuries on Libyan soil.
Many discrepancies were reported, one the largest was the reported death of Gaddafi’s daughter. Her name was reported to be Hanna, and she was reported to be adopted and from the age of twelve months to six years. The propaganda flow was full and sometimes absurd. No one had ever heard of such a daughter. Gaddafi still proclaims the U.S. killed his daughter.
The Bombing of Pan American World Airways 103 – On December 21, 1988 a Pan Am flight was bombed killing 243 passengers and 16 crew members, not to mention 11 people on the ground. On February 24th, the resigned justice minister Mustafa Abdel – Jalil revealed Gaddafi himself ordered the Lockerbie bombing.
In a December 18, 2009 article for the American Thinker Jane Jamison (http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/12/wheres_the_lockerbie_bomber.html) covered the story of the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Abdel Baset al-Megrahi had gone missing. England has set him free to “die” from his diagnosed prostate cancer.
This hideous excuse for a human had been convicted of helping to plan and orchestrate the 1988 bombing. He wasn’t supposed to change his address and had to stay in Tripoli, but suddenly no one could find him.
He had gotten a life sentence but only seven years into his sentence the Scots decided he was near death and the humanitarian thing to do was let him die in his Libyan homeland to the horror of the 190 families of the victims.
When leaving Scotland he put on a great act of being sick and hobbled, but getting off the plane he was upright and returned a very vigorous hug from Momo with equal enthusiasm. Here’s one of the most disgusting things.
The deal was part of a bargain to resume trade with Libya and British Justice Secretary admitted the deal had been signed in 2007. Six weeks later…guess who came to dinner in Tripoli…our old friends at British Petroleum. They inked a deal for $24 billion with Libya.
Later three cancer doctors admitted they were paid by Libya to give the grave diagnosis.
Along with trade agreements, Libya was taken from the U.S. terrorist list after paying $2.7 billion to the victim’s families, barely more than a tenth of the deal with BP, and that doesn’t include other deals of equal magnitude.
In a world where considerable evil exists, Gaddafi sets the bar pretty high. Not only does he terrorize the free world, he terrorizes his own citizens. During the course of his over forty years as a dictator, it has been reported by organizations such as the Genocide Prevention Network, Gaddafi and repeatedly murdered citizens even to the point of ordering them hacked to death.
In a virtually unprecedented Saturday night session the United Nations Security Council the killing of civilians had gone too far and voted in an arms embargo, sanctions for financial transactions, and travel bans against Gaddafi and his family. They also brought the atrocities to the International Criminal Court for investigation and possible charges.
Even as far back as 2005 the U.N. World Summit recognized the man for what he is and created the doctrine of “responsibility to protect.” The doctrine authorizes an international collective action “to protect [a state’s] population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” if that state is unable or unwilling to protect its citizens, or worse, as in the case of Libya, if that state is responsible for the crimes.
So, here we are and the collective is attacking and doing their best to put Gaffafi in his place…far from the people and far from anyplace he can do harm. As much as I hate war, this is the right thing to do.
This is one elephant I am happy to saddle up.
