The North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) is being...
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The North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO) is being heavily criticized for civilian casualties and a series of bombings apparently targeting essential non-military infrastructure in Libya, with some observers calling the actions war crimes. The Libyan rebels being supported by coalition forces have also been accused of wanton savagery and even crimes against humanity. Most recently, a NATO bombing campaign near the Libyan city of Zlitan earlier this month reportedly killed almost 100 civilians — more than half of them women and children. The attack sparked a new wave of outrage worldwide as journalists and activists called for investigations. Representatives of the Libyan government took a large group of foreign reporters to the site. They were reportedly shown bodies of women and children, including the remains of a baby. Multiple bombed out homes were also presented to international journalists. "Today was yet another crime by NATO against civilians," Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Fox News about the attack, noting that over 1,000 civilians had been killed by NATO so far. "They are killing women and children. This happens every day. Help us to stop this madness." The Western military alliance defended the strikes, saying they were against "legitimate" targets. According to NATO spokespeople, the coalition believed the town was being used as a staging ground for pro-Gaddaffi forces and tribes aimed at repelling an upcoming rebel invasion of Tripoli. But the victims cited in news reports said that was not the case. "NATO bombed us, for what reason? We did not do anything to them. We are civilian people," a man who lost his daughter and his home in the strike was quoted as saying in The Australian newspaper. "Why did they kill us? We had peace in my house with our family. What did we do to the other countries?" International law expert Franklin Lamb, writing in the Foreign Policy Journal from Tripoli over the weekend, accused NATO of committing a "massacre" after visiting the bombing site. Citing international lawyers, U.S. congressional staffers and human rights activists visiting the war-torn nation, he charged that NATO had "committed war crimes and crimes against humanity." Other foreign reporters — particularly from Russia — have been fiercely critical of the NATO campaign for months. "Do those who planned this and other crimes have a right to live? I'm talking about the Bilderberg club. What would they feel if their families are also deprived of a quiet life, and then killed in cold blood?" wrote Russian columnist Konstantyn Scheglikov following the bombings, attacking the "NATO maniacs who do not like the resistance of the small North African country." Other reporters who toured the site offered similarly devastating analysis of what happened. Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya with the Centre for Research on Globalization said civilians in Tripoli and other major Libyan cities were "bombed indiscriminately by NATO" in recent weeks. "In Zliten, 85 people were killed including 33 children, 32 women, and 20 men as a result of NATO's deliberate targeting of residential areas and civilian infrastructure," he wrote, posting a dozen pictures showing the aftermath of the attack, which he called "photographic evidence of NATO war crimes." International human rights groups also had questions about the bombing. "NATO continues to stress its commitment to protect civilians," said Amnesty International's Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui in a statement. "To that effect, it should thoroughly investigate this and all other recent incidents in which civilians were reportedly killed in western Libya as a result of air strikes." In addition to the hundreds or even thousands of "collateral damage" deaths so far, NATO is also under fire for air strikes on civilian infrastructure. On July 25, the Associated Press reported that the international coalition bombed a hospital, leaving several doctors dead. Another infrastructure attack that drew international condemnation was the bombing of facilities associated with Libya's so-called Great Man-Made River system, a pipeline that delivers water to a large percentage of the population. The Pakistan Observer said the attack was "a clear war crime" and could easily lead to a "humanitarian disaster."
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