The Illegal War on Libya

by Cynthia McKinney (Editor)

In 2011, former Congresswoman and 2008 Green Party candidate for President, Cynthia McKinney, took a delegation of observers to Libya to monitor NATO's purported humanitarian intervention. Prefaced by Ramsey Clark, this collection of essays includes scholarly and legal analysis, as well as personal accounts by witnesses to the NATO assault on a helpless civilian population it had a UN mandate to protect, and the massive propaganda campaign that made it possible. It responds to the many questions left unanswered by a complicit mainstream media, such as: Why Libya, not Bahrain, Yemen or Egypt? What was life in Libya like under Qadhafi? What is the truth about the so-called "Black Mercenaries"? What was the role of Western NGOs and the International Criminal Court? What about Africom's Plans for Africa? What did it have to do with Liby'a independent central bank, its oil, its plans for an African currency, its efforts to free African states from the coils of the Bretton Woods Institutions? Cynthia McKinney and other contributors to this volume were in Libya during the period of the NATO bombardment of Libyan cities, and were among the few independent voices to report on the tragedy.

Genres: Libya, Africa, Politics, History, War

314 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sincerae Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edited by former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney who visited with a fact finding delegation to Libya in 2011 during the war, this book of essays was written by independent journalists and others, some who were in Libya as the country was being bombed and the capital collapsed. This book is an eye opener as to why the war against Libya was illegal, not based on any interest in protecting civilians, and was ultimately based on lies. The war against Libya is another tragedy and is a war crime against another sovereign nation at the beginning of the 21st century.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is broken into five main parts, each part consists of a collection of essays written by journalists, professors in political science, political consultant, war correspondent, Libyan doctor, etc. Most of whom have a short biography at the end of the book.
The five parts are:
1. On the Ground in Libya during "Humanitarian Intervention"
2. Why Qaddafi? Why Libya?
3. Orchestrating Consent to Regime Change
4. The Imperialist Plan for Africa
5. Postscript
This final part (Postscript) has a transcript of "Qaddafi's Speech to the United Nations General Assembly (Sept 23, 2009)" and a "Chronology of the NATO-led Assault...".

Despite a few typos it generally reads well. It is also referenced nicely in places, referring the reader to youtube videos or specific sources (or indeed the sources that suggest a lack of sources).
It doesn't spend a great deal of time looking into Qaddafi's Green Book politics, but the transcript of the NATO speech really paints a picture of a man wading into dangerous waters - not necessarily a dictator and tyrant as suggested and ultimately questioned here.

Truth or fiction it is certainly fascinating; and, if only true in part, utterly concerning.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall most of the essays are 4 stars and are quite amazing, but I gave it 3 stars because of the biased discussion of Qaddafi's writings upon women (decontextualized the larger quote) and the strange sexist rhetoric about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Ultimately, there's difference between critiquing policy and calling a female politician overweight in order to "vilify" her character.