You may have noticed that there is quite a lot of controversy surrounding the military “kinetic” conflict in Libya or what most people used to call “a war.” While much of this controversy surrounds the wisdom of engaging in another military conflict in a troubled and politically complex region, perhaps even more controversial is the question of NATO’s ultimate objectives in the region. Does the United States favor a policy of regime change? Do it’s allies?
UN Resolution 1973 which authorizes a no fly zone be established in Libya does not authorize the removal of the county’s leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. There is also a question of the legality of President Obama’s unilateral action under the US constitution.
That’s all known by journalists and historians studying the situation, but what isn’t being analyzed are the repeated attempts by western nations to assassinate Gaddafi over the previous decades. In 1996, UK intelligence developed and implemented plans to assassinate Gaddafi by having his generals betray him. The attack failed and the British government denied complicancy in the attempt. Soon after, government documents were leaked to the internet via Yahoo’s Geocities which showed that the government had advanced knowledge of the assassination attempt.
Journalist and former member of MI5 (British Military Intelligence) David Shayler maintains that during his time in the service he learned that MI6 had orchestrated the action. The government documents state that the generals wanted “rapprochement with the West” and stated that “if the coup was successful, the new government could enlist HMG (Her Majesty’s Government) support.” According to private intelligence company Stratfor, the UK, France and other European nations have strong strategic interests in Libya, not the least of which involves their oil reserves.
According to the government report, the assassination attempt took place in 1996 with the prior notification of Egypt, Tunisia and the United States.
The full government report can still be viewed in its entirety here.
