Libyan Follies – Will we never learn?

By Walter Wolfgang

We are back in the 19th century, conscious of the white man’s burden and “la mission civilizatrice de la France”. We have forgotten that it is the west that has exploited the middle east and has backed dictators as long as they have protected Western interests, especially oil.

So are we bombing Saudi Arabian forces, which are helping to suppress a popular uprising in Bahrain? Of course not. Western morality is selective. Because it is selective it is not moral at all.

We should all welcome the popular uprisings which are not just demanding democracy. They also want to deal with economic oppression. But the western record has been so exploitative its support will in the long run hamper those it says it will help. Democracy cannot be imposed from the barrel of a gun.

It is bad enough if Gaddafi is killing his own people. We do not help by killing even more by air strikes.

It is disgraceful but this misguided attack has only been opposed by 15 MPs. We must demand that the air strikes should stop. If this is not immediately obtainable Britain should immediately refuse to participate in them. That is the least we can do if we still claim to be a civilised society.

W. J Wolfgang is Vice-President of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Vice-Chair of Labour CND and a former member of the Labour Party National Executive Committee.