And so, just as was predicted, the US and its NATO allies have escalated the attacks and broadened the targets and have started murdering the family members of leaders it dislikes, even if it includes small children. Gadhafi’s 29-year old son and his three children, all under 12 years of age, have been murdered by a NATO air strike that targeted the compound where they lived.
Of course, NATO justifies this as an attack on a “military structure” and part of the “command and control structure” of the military. Right. Small children routinely hang around in high-level military buildings during wars. Presumably the school for disabled children that was also bombed by NATO was being used to train those children for the military. Imagine the reaction if a foreign power bombed the White House and killed the Obama children. Would we excuse the action because the White House is also a “command and control structure”?
And NATO is outraged, simply outraged, that some of its embassies and the UN offices have been attacked in retaliation, saying that such actions were “deplorable’ and “yet another breach of Gaddafi’s international obligations.” Such nasty people, these Libyans, not following proper diplomatic protocols.
Presumably these latest murders are meant to force Gadhali to leave office. Can anyone explain to me how this is any different from a hostage taking by thugs where someone is threatened with death to them or their loved ones unless they give in to the hostage takers’ demands?
But I am sure there will be many people willing, even eager to take up my challenge. Juan Cole, who has become the biggest cheerleader for the Libyan war, has already started the process of excuse-making.
In the coming days we can expect to hear a lot from the bipartisan warmongering class and the Obamabots (who cannot believe that their beloved leader can do any wrong) to come up with all manner of imaginative and not-so-imaginative excuses (expect to hear a lot of Hitler analogies) to make this latest atrocity not just excusable but even admirable.
I’d love to hear what kind of argument the apologists can come up with that these are not war crimes. Of course, the same NATO allies who perpetrated the crime control the International Criminal Court, so there is not the slightest chance that the criminals will ever be punished.
And what in the world has come over Juan Cole? If this had happened under Dubya he’d have had no problem seeing it for what it is.