Libya Arms Fueling Conflicts in Syria, Mali and Beyond: UN Experts

[Comrade Grumpy]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Weapons are spreading from Libya at an "alarming rate," fueling conflicts in Mali, Syria and elsewhere and boosting the arsenals of extremists and criminals in the region, according to a U.N. report published on Tuesday.

The report by the U.N. Security Council's Group of Experts - who monitor an arms embargo imposed on Libya at the start of an uprising in 2011 which ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi - said the North African state had become a key source of weapons in the region as its nascent government struggles to exert authority. Libyan government security forces remain weak and militias, made up of former rebel fighters, hold power on the ground.

"Cases, both proven and under investigation, of illicit transfers from Libya in violation of the embargo cover more than 12 countries and include heavy and light weapons, including man-portable air defense systems, small arms and related ammunition and explosives and mines," the experts wrote in the report.

"Illicit flows from the country are fuelling existing conflicts in Africa and the Levant and enriching the arsenals of a range of non-State actors, including terrorist groups," according to the 94-page report, which was dated February 15 but published on Tuesday.

<snip>

Much more at the link

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/09/us-libya-arms-un-idUSBRE93814Y20130409

---

You know, there may be something to be said for a non-interventionist foreign policy. Because it seems like every time we pull some shit like this, it comes back to bite us in the ass. God damn, we helped create the Afghan mujahadeen to screw with the Russians in 1980, and we're still paying the price for that. To this very day.

[redgreenandblue]

1. There where plenty of intellectuals on the left who predicted that this would happen.

They were not listened to. Since the outcome was so obvious it kind of makes one think that this was the goal of the intervention all along: Destabilize the whole region to weaken local governments to create a pretext for even further intervention.

[Comrade Grumpy]

2. I'd like to think we just don't think things through...

...but more sinister theories have turned out to be correct before. Just what in the heck was the CIA up to in Benghazi last year, anyway? We'll probably read all about it in a decade or two or three.

[joshcryer]

4. Rumor has it they were trying to get a handle on the arms trafficking:

http://www.examiner.com/article/did-cia-and-state-department-run-illegal-arms-trafficking-benghazi

what's more odious is the CIA's role in "consultive support" for the Syria rebels: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/world/middleeast/arms-airlift-to-syrian-rebels-expands-with-cia-aid.html

[joshcryer]

3. C.J. Chivers covered this before and predicted this sort of thing.

It's his specialty. One thing Chivers was good to point out was that regimes stockpiling lots of weapons like Gaddafi did could never end well, and that western states providing those arms was a truly diabolical thing to behold (European states were providing Gaddafi with arms before his downfall and the US was even slated to start providing arms). So it's not just a black and white "oh you meddled, arms started flowing." It's much more than that.

Regardless, at least in regards to Syria, the arms flow from Libya likely pales in comparison to the arms that Russia is providing Syria. The other states may or may not be doing well via Libya, but it's possible since they had a civil war and it will take years for the situation to normalize.

[green for victory]

5. It's worth it- if you own Cinnabon stock

Cinnabon in Tripoli as Libya Opens Up to Foreign Business
Matthew Campbel December 13, 2012
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-13/cinnabon-in-tripoli-as-libya-opens-up-to-foreign-business

After 42 years, the country formerly known as the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya is getting its first taste of consumer capitalism in an unlikely form: sweet, sticky cinnamon rolls. Cinnabon, the Atlanta-based bakery chain, is at the vanguard of a potential business boom in the North African country, which deposed dictator Muammar Qaddafi last year in a bloody civil war. In July the unit of Focus Brands became the first U.S. franchise to open since the revolution, with a two-level Tripoli outlet. It’s become a popular destination in a city with few diversions for residents.

Cinnabon’s bet on Libya—it plans to open at least 10 new locations over the next five years—shows the perils and potential of this wealthy new consumer market, which is being eyed by a growing number of foreign companies. Yes, Libya has a rickety electricity grid and few formal property rights. And due to ongoing sectarian violence, it remains a dangerous place. But the country sits atop Africa’s biggest oil reserves, which may generate as much as $55 billion for the state oil company this year. That means there are plenty of well-off locals and expats who can afford to pay for a Western-style sweet.

The country is a less incongruous place for Cinnabon than one might expect. Syrupy treats like baklava are beloved in Libya, as in other Arab countries, so local palates are ready-made for the chain, explains Mike Shattuck, president of Focus Brands International. What’s more, in a Muslim country where bars are almost nonexistent, young people need places to hang out. Finally, an influx of investment from Persian Gulf property developers means “down the road there’s no question there will be a big mall culture,” providing the natural habitat for future Cinnabon outlets.

For now the Tripoli store is very much a foreign oddity. Positioned as more upscale than the chain’s food court roots in the U.S., the shop has become a fixture on Gargaresh Road, Libya’s Fifth Avenue, where it attracts an affluent clientele. The prices are First World as well: A cinnamon bun and a regular coffee cost 6.50 dinars, or about $5.15, close to the price in the U.S...MORE
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-12-13/cinnabon-in-tripoli-as-libya-opens-up-to-foreign-business

****************

That's what Libya was about.

All detailed here:
Backing up Globalization with Military Might
New World Order Onslaught

McDonald's Needs McDonnell Douglas to Flourish

Corporations will stop at nothing

To achieve maximum profits these transnationals will stop at nothing. After all, they are non-human institutions that must expand through ever-greater profits, or go out of business. In so doing they have shown willingness to violate human rights-particularly workers' rights—to throw millions out of work, eliminate unions, use sweat-shops and slave labor, destroy the environment, destabilize governments, install or bolster tyrants who oppress, repress, torture and kill with impunity.
http://www.globalissues.org/article/448/backing-up-globalization-with-military-might#McDonaldsNeedsMcDonnellDouglastoFlourish

[Celefin]

6. Tsk tsk... you Gaddafi lover you

Sorry if the sarcasm icon wasn't obvious in the title.

Anyway, that's what you would have been called here on DU by a lot of posters at the time of intervention.
Indeed, what everybody got called who predicted that this and many other nasty realities of today would materialize following this course of action without thinking things through and making preparations for the aftermath when the TV cameras have moved on.
Provided, of course, that the actual goal was identical to the official goal.

Is there maybe a pattern here?
And if not... why on earth does it always seem to follow the same script?

[Arctic Dave]

10. I would call out the three trolls but that would be against the rules.

But I will in the most vague way say to them now, go fuck yourselves you idiotic douchenozzles.


I see nothing but chaos coming from Obama's foriegn policy for the two to three decades.

[leveymg]

7. I hate to say it, but I told you so. Here (9/13/12), and here (9/14), and there (10/25) . . . :

And, from the beginning, many at DU have not wanted to hear the awful truth about blowback in Benghazi, the workings of the U.S. regime change strategy across MENA, and how Clinton, Petraeus and others within the Obama Administration ignited and fueled a widening regional, religious war with heavy weapons looted from Libya, including MANPADs, flowing in a torrent to Jihadi terrorists in Syria.

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[4dsc]

8. Drop in the bucket compared to US arms

Arms are coming from everywhere.

[John2]

9. That is why I

disagree with President Obama's entire Foreign Policy of intervention. He is being prodded by the same characters in Congress that gave us this interventionist Policy. Sure he promised to leave Iraq and with draw from Afghanistan only to open a leak in other places. The same characters in Congress like Graham, McCain and of some Democrats are them the people formulating U.S. Foreign. The executive office of the United States is really weak, because the policies are influenced by politicians in Congress. They bring up binding Resolutions and places the President in a box to act. Whoever holds the office appeases them and don't formulate their own Policy.