Oil, Hypocrisy, and the Beast: What will be the fate of the Libyan People?

The men, women and children of Libya are desperate.

For over 40 years they've suffered in the claws of a monster.  The big question: Are they any less deserving than the already liberated Tunisians and Egyptians?

Of course it's that sweet oil supply that's brought those American and European powers in to help the revolution rid the nation of sadistic, crazed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.  Absolutely right. Obama and the rest of 'em sending in the missiles and war jets ARE hypocritical.  Human rights had not a damn thing to do with blasting Muammar's assassins to smithereens.

Obviously if that were the case, the big powers would be out "protecting lives" in Bahrain, Yemen, Gaza, and other places where people are fighting for their lives.  It's all the more vile since the U.S. govt. supplies the very weapons its "client regimes" are using to slaughter civilians and crush the freedom wave.

In spite of all this, I can't help but still be sympathetic to the Libyans' struggle and want to see them freed from this gargoyle Gadaffi, in spite of the duplicity of their self-serving rescuers.    

There's more than enough evidence to show just how bad things have gotten there.  One of the voices came from an unnamed (for obvious reasons) Libyan, who was interviewed just a few days ago.  He is the only survivor of 25 detainees arrested after a peaceful protest on February 17 in Benghazi.  He told about the horrific torture carried out by Gadaffi's gestapo, which left him crippled and confined to a wheelchair.

The full account:

Victim: They hit us on our faces, hit us with rope as we entered the center[HQ security building.]

Reporter: Where did they hit you with the rope? On your bodies?

Victim: Yes, on our bodies, where ever the blows landed.  We were 26 people.  Not all were youth because there was an old man with us, probably 75 years old who was also beaten up. They took us to the center for the internal security forces. They tortured us in various ways.

Reporter: What ways were that?

Victim: They would say ‘’So you are the ones causing the rebellion’’ and hit us in our genitals.  They told told us they wanted to make it so we could not reproduce and create (more) ruffians like us.  Afterwards, they used electric wire and electrocuted us in our genitals and then on our backs, to our spinal cords.  They would turn the power on and we would begin to convulse, and fall down, unable to pick ourselves up.  They proceeded to hit our legs, backs, and hands until we were dizzy.

They pulled the old man's beard fiercely with their hands. They would spit in our faces and would step on us, walking back and forth on top of us.

They then took us to the police station in ‘’Gawarsha.’’ Before going, all our bodies were bound together.  Other people’s blood was all over me and mine all over them.  No body part could move, only my eyes were open and not properly.  The blood of others was on me to the extent that it crusted and I eventually couldn't even open my eyes.

Reporter: They put you on top of each other?

Victim: Yes, on top of each other.  As they transported us place to place, we were put on top of each other.

Reporter: Even the corpses?

Victim: Yes, even the dead.

Then they started to throw urine on us.  I was thirsty and thought it was water.  It was torture.  My lower body does not move.  My left leg has no feeling left.  My right leg, the slightest move of it feels like electricity which rushes to my head.  From the severity of the beating my stomach is in constant pain and knots.

A lot of people are understandably outraged over the self-serving American/European motives.  Concerned that these outsiders are pulling another Iraq fiasco, with oil being their one and only real interest.  Furious at the cost, worried it may drag on and kill more civilians than save them.  And especially livid that nothing is being done like this for the other Middle Eastern freedom fighters.

All very compelling arguments.  

But in the final analysis, as with the NATO intervention in stopping the Serbian slaughter of the people of Kosovo, the desired outcome--even if it is secondary--may just be the rescue of at least one more nation struggling to free itself from a maniac.

BBC it might be, but this following report makes a pretty strong case.