NATO Helping Cause Humanitarian Crisis in Libya
Where are all the anti-war progressives now. Under George Bush we heard wild accusations of hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths in Iraq. The Left was frothing at the mouth about the “unjust war”. Now we have crudely armed rebels wiping out civilians right and left in Libya, and what do we hear from the progressives? Crickets. They’re too busy throwing a fit on the Brooklyn Bridge and getting arrested.
The fighters of Libya’s National Transitional Council, the rebel movement turned temporary government, have launched what they say is a “final assault” on Sirte — hometown of ousted dictator Colonel Gaddafi and one of the last redoubts of his supporters.
Thousands of civilians have fled the town, but thousands more are trapped inside, unable or unwilling to leave. The Red Cross reports that conditions inside Sirte are deteriorating, with people dying in the main hospital due to shortages of medical supplies, fuel, and water; food is also said to be in short supply.
There are no reliable casualty figures, although pro-Gaddafi forces — not surprisingly — are reporting hundreds of civilian deaths caused by both NTC fighters and NATO airstrikes. While those claims can’t be verified, with both rebel forces bombarding the town for the past couple weeks it’s inconceivable that civilians are not being killed and injured.
No one can find a statistic for the civilian deaths, because it couldn’t be blamed on George Bush. They must protect dear leader at all costs.
