Berlusconi & Gadhafi finishing history, new centuries & stopping migrants
iosaf | 02.09.2008 08:35 | Analysis | Migration | World
This last week Berlusconi's propaganda machine ostentatiously presented an aid package with formal historical apology attached as the first time a European power has offered financial compensation to former imperial possession. Mr B's 5 billion dollars over 20 years would Colonel Gadhafi agreed set a precendent for blood money and completely make up for Mussolini's establishment of Italian provinces whose lasting legacies are the name "Libya" and the spiffing good movie about dashing heroics at the Battle of Tubrik.
This time neither Europe's leading fascist or Africa's most evasive dictator needed to push the migrant route thing. It was and has been for some time a "non-sequitor".
This time neither Europe's leading fascist or Africa's most evasive dictator needed to push the migrant route thing. It was and has been for some time a "non-sequitor".
Modern Libyans might be forgiven this week asking the clichéd post-colonial questions like "What did the Italians ever do for us?". Answers may pretty simply be divided into two classes as generally they are for such things :-
(a) they built roads and trainlines on which the trains ran punctually etc.,
(b) In four years they killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through starvation in camps) etc.,
Today's Libya though is far off from the dark fascist imperialist expansion dreams of Italy under Mussolini. Since 2002 its popular and uncontested leader Col. G has been enjoying regular meetings with Mr B over the important questions of Gas, Migrants and WMD. Col. G agreed to stop making WMD (despite nobody really being convinced he had been making them in the first place but they can be a good bargaining chip) & in return for a good price on Gas would agree to stop migrants entering Italy.
From 2004 onwards Libya became the largest recipient of EU aid channeled to the building of camps to house migrants before they got to the beaches and bravely dodging the jellyfish swam to Italy. This of course meant that the EU (& Italy) could outsource its migration worries and relocation troubles to a trusted partner state in the orbit of democratic accountable neighbouring regimes, where plod is friendly and a cup of mint tea is yours for the asking as long as you don't shag on the beach.
Sharpest analysts will note this took pressure off of Mr B on the home front allowing him to pitch more intellectual resources against the largest threat to Italian civilisation since Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery unleashed the secret weapon of Spike Milligan on the soft underflank of its Empire. The pieces thus fell into place for the gypsy child to be properly dealt with in the proper way which as we all know was putting paratroopers on the street.
Col G. comes out of all this really well too, less than a week since the Lebanese government rather weirdly indicted him for the murder of a nearly forgotten cleric who led shia muslims before Hezbolla - He now has 5 billion dollars for 20 years and might think of settling down and moving out of the tent he has lived in (as a Bedouin) to a proper settled home. His transformation from pan-arabic quirky socialist and sponsor of freedom fighters who lived in a tent to consort of the European rightwing is now a done & paid deal. He may contemplate his defence and intelligence accords with not only Mr B. but the only other European he likes Nik Sarkozy (Celia Bruni's dream come true). These accords mean increased play in the southern regions of the Libyan state under the pretext of offering logistic support to any intervention in Darfur (camps) or if that seems messy the Uranium rich veins which run from Northern Sudan through to Northern Chad. This of course the place where Libya and France went to war the last time. Those of us too dazzled by Celia Bruni might have forgotten that Chad was the first state of Sub-saharan africa to be roped into Sarkozy's new France century project.
this is of course very bad news for migrants.
If you can't see that it is bad news for migrants - then you don't see that the monsters are alligning for a new century of African imperialist expansion with effective but undeclared borders ever further south from the UK or even EU proper. It's too early to mutter about "the mediterranean union" of Sarko - for when we look at Mr B and Col G we gaze astoundedly at nasty old dogs who no matter how many times a stake is put through their hearts just come back ready for more. Nobody to my knowledge has of yet put a stake through Sarko's heart. Correct me if I'm wrong. So thus you see, his ideas as his influence are not yet proven by stamina.
the deal for $5 billion in compensation for "colonial misdeeds"
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Gaddafi_and_Berlusconi_sign_accord_worth_billions.html?siteSect=143&sid=9632925&cKey=1220116936000&ty=ti
http://www.corriere.it/esteri/08_agosto_30/berlusconi_libia_gheddafi_bengasi_478ee3f4-767e-11dd-9747-00144f02aabc.shtml
(a) they built roads and trainlines on which the trains ran punctually etc.,
(b) In four years they killed half the Bedouin population (directly or through starvation in camps) etc.,
Today's Libya though is far off from the dark fascist imperialist expansion dreams of Italy under Mussolini. Since 2002 its popular and uncontested leader Col. G has been enjoying regular meetings with Mr B over the important questions of Gas, Migrants and WMD. Col. G agreed to stop making WMD (despite nobody really being convinced he had been making them in the first place but they can be a good bargaining chip) & in return for a good price on Gas would agree to stop migrants entering Italy.
From 2004 onwards Libya became the largest recipient of EU aid channeled to the building of camps to house migrants before they got to the beaches and bravely dodging the jellyfish swam to Italy. This of course meant that the EU (& Italy) could outsource its migration worries and relocation troubles to a trusted partner state in the orbit of democratic accountable neighbouring regimes, where plod is friendly and a cup of mint tea is yours for the asking as long as you don't shag on the beach.
Sharpest analysts will note this took pressure off of Mr B on the home front allowing him to pitch more intellectual resources against the largest threat to Italian civilisation since Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery unleashed the secret weapon of Spike Milligan on the soft underflank of its Empire. The pieces thus fell into place for the gypsy child to be properly dealt with in the proper way which as we all know was putting paratroopers on the street.
Col G. comes out of all this really well too, less than a week since the Lebanese government rather weirdly indicted him for the murder of a nearly forgotten cleric who led shia muslims before Hezbolla - He now has 5 billion dollars for 20 years and might think of settling down and moving out of the tent he has lived in (as a Bedouin) to a proper settled home. His transformation from pan-arabic quirky socialist and sponsor of freedom fighters who lived in a tent to consort of the European rightwing is now a done & paid deal. He may contemplate his defence and intelligence accords with not only Mr B. but the only other European he likes Nik Sarkozy (Celia Bruni's dream come true). These accords mean increased play in the southern regions of the Libyan state under the pretext of offering logistic support to any intervention in Darfur (camps) or if that seems messy the Uranium rich veins which run from Northern Sudan through to Northern Chad. This of course the place where Libya and France went to war the last time. Those of us too dazzled by Celia Bruni might have forgotten that Chad was the first state of Sub-saharan africa to be roped into Sarkozy's new France century project.
this is of course very bad news for migrants.
If you can't see that it is bad news for migrants - then you don't see that the monsters are alligning for a new century of African imperialist expansion with effective but undeclared borders ever further south from the UK or even EU proper. It's too early to mutter about "the mediterranean union" of Sarko - for when we look at Mr B and Col G we gaze astoundedly at nasty old dogs who no matter how many times a stake is put through their hearts just come back ready for more. Nobody to my knowledge has of yet put a stake through Sarko's heart. Correct me if I'm wrong. So thus you see, his ideas as his influence are not yet proven by stamina.
the deal for $5 billion in compensation for "colonial misdeeds"
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/news/international/Gaddafi_and_Berlusconi_sign_accord_worth_billions.html?siteSect=143&sid=9632925&cKey=1220116936000&ty=ti http://www.corriere.it/esteri/08_agosto_30/berlusconi_libia_gheddafi_bengasi_478ee3f4-767e-11dd-9747-00144f02aabc.shtml
iosaf