'NATO turned Libya into a destroyed state, not a failed state'
Libya should be called a ‘destroyed state’ instead of a ‘failed state’ because it didn’t fail on its own but was destroyed by US and NATO bombing, says Sara Flounders, Co-Director of the International Action Center.
RT: John Kerry has warned that Libya is on the way to becoming a failed state. What prompted him to say this now, do you think?
Sara Flounders: The very groups the US armed and financed the militias they’ve set up, these outrageous “rebel forces” of course not only can’t govern Libya, they can’t even reconcile and have relations with each other. The real failure in Libya was created by US bombs that systematically destroyed the entire infrastructure, especially the water, the irrigation, the electric grid, food services, everything in Libya that the population needed. And the only funds - the money - have been in weapons. So, this is a failed state created by US and NATO systematically, and the destruction of every single government agency which once provided the highest standard of living in Africa, and today - enormous misery. So, it is really not only hypocrisy, these are war criminals and they should be charged as such.
RT: Libya does not have a functioning government, control of its borders or basic public services; it's being torn apart by rival militant groups. By most people's definition, isn't it already a failed state?
SF: Yes, it is a failed state. It was failed ever since the overthrow - ‘regime change’ they called it – of Gaddafi and of his entire government, and it hasn’t functioned in the last five years. Since the war that went on for seven months in 2011. More bombs dropped in Libya than in WWII in Europe. It is incredible what was done to Libya, how massive the destruction was. And there has been no functioning government and no social services since that time: I’m talking about schools, healthcare; the most basic things do not function in Libya today.
RT: Kerry said the US is trying to help the rival factions unite. How long could this process take and what moves do you expect from Washington?
SF: The US has claimed that since the beginning and it has been an utter failure just as all of their wars, each one of them has been an absolute failure. They’ve had no better success 15 years into Afghanistan; they had no success in Iraq and look at the enormous destruction they are creating right now in Syria where a third of the population is displaced. So, there is no way that they can bring the very rival factions that they created, they armed and they brought into power, there is no way they can get them to reconcile and further bombs, further drone attacks will not do it for sure.
RT: France is reportedly carrying out anti-ISIS raids in Libya working with the US and the UK…Is this escalating into another military quagmire?
SF: Yes, it is absolutely a free-for-all and it is completely true that France, Italy, Britain - they all wanted a piece of the action. They all wanted the enormous cash; gold reserves existed in Libya, the enormous amount of oil. And they thought they could just take it as pirates, it was free for the looting. And ever since then they had been unable to bring any kind of stability to Libya and they still have no plan today because as I said just dropping bombs - whether they are US or French bombs or they have a NATO label on them - is not stabilizing the situation for the people in Libya, nor is it intended too. They want to create a completely compliant puppet government - proxies - there. But they have no interest in providing stability and social services for the people.
RT: It’s been five years since the intervention. Is the statement from Kerry an admission that the US they made a mistake?
SF: No, I don’t think he would ever admit to the US making a mistake; US arrogance admits no mistakes. The people of the world really should demand all of these US officials and NATO and French and Italian and British officials be charged as war criminals. Because that’s the only way you can characterize what was done to Libya. There was no reason, no purpose, except outright piracy. Libya had the highest standard of living and an enormous amount of stability. It had built up a vibrant infrastructure, it had modern cities. All of this has been completely and systematically destroyed. What was done to the water and the irrigation, the man-made river – all of this. It is unimaginable the crime and an accounting must be demanded, not further intervention. Because ‘failed state’ means this is ‘something that just happened’, it failed on its own. They should label it a ‘destroyed state’, a state destroyed by US and NATO bombing.
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.
