…..and in a recent news report Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi says it was all America’s idea to go into Libya and support the rebels.
From National Review OnLine today:
Back in late March, shortly after the start of the NATO bombing campaign against Libya, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Meet the Press that the U.S. had no “vital interest” in the country. The remark famously inspired Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to cut in and attempt to explain why, then, the United States was getting involved. Secretary Clinton’s explanation was that the Libyan campaign was in the vital interest of America’s NATO allies and that they had asked for U.S. support. “When it comes to Libya,” she said, “we started hearing from the U.K., France, Italy, other of our NATO allies. This was in their vital national interest.”
NRO author John Rosenthal goes on to tell readers that Italy did not push for the ouster of Qaddafi, first fearing that al-Qaeda was involved with the “rebels” and because of fears of just what has happened—thousands of refugees trying to leave Libya and aiming for Italy.
The Italian reluctance to support a military intervention also had to do with fears of seeing such an intervention provoke an exodus of tens of thousands of refugees from Libya, many of whom would inevitably end up in Italy. These fears have proven well founded.
Not in so many words, but Berlusconi now says this is Obama’s (and Hillary’s) War:
But now, according to a report in the Saturday edition of Il Corriere della Sera, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has confided to colleagues not only that he was opposed to the NATO intervention in Libya, but that he was pressured into making available Italian military capabilities by precisely the United States.
In a report from AFP today, we see that 330 more refugees reached the Italian island of Lampedusa while 25 others were asphyxiated in another boat confirming for all that Berlusconi’s fears were justified as Italy takes the brunt of the invasion of Europe.
ROME — A boat carrying 330 migrants from Libya arrived late Tuesday on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a day after officials found 25 people choked to death in the engine room of another Libyan refugee boat.
[…..]
Lampedusa, which has a surface area of just 20 square kilometres (7.7 square miles), is Italy’s southernmost point and is closer to North Africa than to the Italian mainland.
It is now the biggest gateway for illegal immigration into the European Union following the arrival of tens of thousands of people from North Africa this year.
Meanwhile those friends of America—-those rebel “freedom” fighters—are killing each other (here). Division and lawlessness in the ranks? No kidding!
What would we do without Leftist ideologues like Samantha Power bending Obama’s ear on the RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT. She is credited along with Susan Rice and Hillary Clinton with persuading Obama that the US needed to save the Libyan people from Qaddafi, here.
What a mess!
Endnote and related I think: Go to this photo essay of supporters of the Libyan rebels. I especially want you to scroll down to photo #10. That is Tammam al-Barazi (a Syrian by birth) who was arrested in the county where I live last month for killing his daughter’s new dog (he threw it in front of traffic). He objected to the dog for “religious reasons.” LOL! Of course our politically correct local paper leaves readers wondering which religion hates dogs?
I have no proof, but I think he may be one “advising” Hillary on the Middle East, here. He predicted in May that the Syrian Army would split (signs of that happening now). If this good agent provocateur is advising the Obama Administration, you can see why our Middle East policy is going up in flames. BTW, when arrested in Hagerstown his bags were packed for Egypt!