Obama reasserting US domination

Opinion: April 8, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

By Glen Ford

McClatchy-Tribune

In Libya, President Obama is trying to accomplish President George W. Bush’s strategic objective while avoiding becoming embroiled in another Iraq.

That objective is to reassert America’s post-Soviet global supremacy.

In his March 28 speech, Obama acknowledged that Iraq proved too costly an occupation. Yet Obama is all about regime change in Libya. That’s why he reiterated his position that Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi must go. And he re-enacted Bush’s “shock and awe” — an assault involving numerous cruise missiles.

The lull that followed in “coalition” air strikes on Gadhafi forces, which allowed battered Libyan government units to retake ground briefly held by the highly disorganized and foreign-dependent rebels, could serve as a means for Washington to squeeze the bravado out of the insurgents — a kind of discipline by denial. Despite the West’s boundless praise for these purportedly democratic “freedom fighters,” it’s unlikely that Washington wants them to exercise authority over the entire country.

The president’s carefully crafted language indicates that Obama hopes to “stabilize” Libya under indirect U.S. dominion through a kind of protectorate involving various international entities, on the Haitian model. The key paragraph from his speech stated: “Gadhafi has not yet stepped down from power, and until he does, Libya will remain dangerous. Moreover, even after Gadhafi does leave power, 40 years of tyranny has left Libya fractured and without strong civil institutions. The transition to a legitimate government that is responsive to the Libyan people will be a difficult task.”

This is not a green light for the anti-Gadhafi crowd, whose Islamist elements are anathema to U.S. policymakers. It is a rationale for a long, Haiti-like occupation under a compliant United Nations or an improvised multinational coalition.

Glen Ford is executive editor of BlackAgendaReport.com. He wrote this for Progressive Media Project, a source of liberal commentary on domestic and international issues. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune.