Political India: Engaging America

From The Hindu

In a possible indication that the United States is seeking to tamp down its involvement in West Asian politics, the White House has refused to officially recognise the Libyan Transitional National Council rebel formation, even as President Barack Obama accepted the resignation of his top West Asia envoy, George Mitchell.

Despite a high-profile meeting at the White House with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon, TNC President Mahmoud Gibril came away disappointed when he was informed there would as yet be no official recognition of his group as the alternative to Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi. While the White House spun the meeting as a positive development and said the U.S. viewed the TNC as a “legitimate and credible interlocutor of the Libyan people”, a State Department spokesman said the question of recognition was “one of many... policy issues... that are still under review”. He added it was up to the Libyan people, and not the international community, to decide who was to lead Libya.

Mr. Gibril had earlier said in an interview with CNN that his main message to the White House would be to clear up “misperceptions” about extreme elements in the opposition and to ask for formal recognition.

Even as these tensions became evident, the White House announced, following two years of failed efforts to get Israeli and Palestinian leaders to the negotiating table, that Mr. Mitchell would be resigning.

“Over the past two and a half years, George Mitchell has worked as a tireless advocate for peace as the U.S. Special Envoy for the Middle East. His deep commitment to resolving conflict and advancing democracy has contributed immeasurably to the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security,” said Mr. Obama.

While Mr. Mitchell said he had resigned based on his commitment to leave his role after two years' service under the Obama administration, foreign policy specialist Josh Rogin suggested that “Mitchell's departure is the clearest signal that no new peace initiative from the administration is forthcoming.”

From The Hindu

A top United States official has alleged that Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Qadhafi supplied Viagra, a drug to treat sexual impotence, to his forces in order to encourage them to commit mass rape.

Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, reportedly brought up the Viagra issue “during a discussion about whether there is moral equivalence between the Qadhafi forces and the rebels.”

Media reports said that her statements were based on claims by the Al Jazeera news channel last month that “Libya-based doctors... had found Viagra in the pockets of pro-Qadhafi soldiers.”

The Guardian quoted an unnamed diplomat as saying “I was in the room when she mentioned Viagra... She listed human rights abuses by Gaddafi's forces, including snipers shooting children in the street and the Viagra story." The report added that Ms. Rice was “trying to persuade doubters that Libya was not just a civil war and that Qadhafi was encouraging human rights abuses.”

Diplomatic sources reportedly said that no one else present at the meeting responded to the allegation and it “did not cause a stir.”

However contradicting Ms. Rice, NBC News carried comments by U.S. military and intelligence officials to the effect that there was no evidence that Colonel Qadhafi's forces were being supplied Viagra and engaging in systematic rape in rebel areas.

According to media reports, “The officials added that although rape has been used as a weapon in many other African conflicts, they have not seen reports of that coming from Libya.”

Apart from the political angle Ms. Rice’s claim about the use of Viagra also begs the medical question of what effects the drug has on the human body. Speaking to The Hindu a doctor said, “Viagra does not affect libido, it only acts locally. Further it has a limited period of action.”

She added that the link between Viagra and sexual drive was “very weak,” and concurred that it would only result in mass rape in this case if the soldiers were anyway intent on committing rape and at the same time suffering from problems relating to sexual impotence.

From The Hindu

The Obama administration on Thursday authorised the use of killer drones for missile strikes against government forces in Libya, in stark contrast to a statement earlier this week that it would only provide non-lethal military equipment to rebel groups. The drone deployment also runs contrary to the United States' stand that it would tamp down its direct military involvement in Libya by handing over operational command to NATO forces.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on Thursday announced the induction of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle, laden with Hellfire missiles, into the NATO combat mission in Libya, describing its role as “a modest contribution”.

While the Predator was said to have already been conducting surveillance missions over Libya for a few weeks, this would mark the first time in the two-month old conflict that the drone would be deployed for air strikes against the forces of Muammar Qadhafi, the Libyan leader.

This development makes Libya the fourth country in recent history — following Pakistan, Afghanistan and Yemen — to become a target for Predator strikes and officials said their primary focus would be “helping rebels in the besieged city of Misrata, where a humanitarian crisis has unfolded in the last week,” reports confirmed.

In a press briefing, General James Cartwright, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the first Predator mission in Libya was due to kick off on Thursday night but was reportedly abandoned due to inclement weather. He said two patrols of drones would be deployed above Libya “at any given time,” and they would seek out Colonel Qadhafi's forces in civilian areas.

He clarified why the drones were being used now, saying, “What they will bring that is unique to the conflict is their ability to get down lower, therefore to be able to get better visibility on targets... They are uniquely suited for urban areas.”

According to sources the U.S. move reflects both the fact that there are likely to be gaps in NATO's ability to “carry out complicated, extended combat missions without continued and significant American support,” and also that the rebel forces in eastern Libya are “poorly armed, inexperienced and disorganised.”

From The Hindu

Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi has reached out directly to United States President Barack Obama through a letter in which he described NATO as engaged in an “unjust war against a small people of a developing country” and called on Mr. Obama to “keep NATO off the Libyan affair for good”.

Addressing Mr. Obama as “Our son” and “Excellency,” Mr. Qadhafi said Libya had already been subjected to an arms embargo and sanctions and furthermore it also “suffered a direct military armed aggression during [the former U.S. President, Ronald] Reagan's time.”

Reminding Mr. Obama that democracy and the building of civil society could not be achieved by means of missiles and aircraft, or by backing armed member of Al-Qaeda in the rebel-held city of Benghazi, Mr. Qadhafi said though Libyans had been “hurt more morally [than] physically,” Mr. Obama would still “always remain our son whatever happened”.

Wishing Mr. Obama luck in his 2012 presidential campaign, he said, “We still pray that you continue to be President of the USA. We endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the new election campaigne [sic]. You are a man who has enough courage to annul a wrong and mistaken action.”

Even as Mr. Qadhafi's letter reached the White House, it became clear that a former U.S. Congressman with Libyan connections, Curt Weldon, had travelled to Tripoli in a private capacity.

State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said in a briefing that Mr. Weldon had not undertaken the trip at the behest of the U.S. government though he had informed the administration before travelling to Libya. Mr. Toner said, “I don't know if it is helpful or unhelpful... He is not representing the U.S. government.”

According to reports, Mr. Weldon had travelled repeatedly to Libya during the last decade, “becoming so close with the Qadhafi regime that the firm Weldon worked for even floated the idea of selling arms to Tripoli.” CNN reported that Mr. Weldon had returned to Libya at this time “to try to help negotiate a political settlement with Qadhafi and family”.

In an article, the New York Times said Mr. Weldon had travelled to Libya at the invitation of Mr. Qadhafi's chief of staff, and said his purpose was “to meet with Col. Qadhafi today and persuade him to step aside”.

In the strongest statement emanating from the White House United States President Barack Obama said on Friday that Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi needs to step down from power and leave.

At a joint press conference with visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Mr. Obama said that given the humanitarian crisis brewing in Libya he had authorised the U.S. Aid to send humanitarian assistance teams to the Libyan border, with the intention that they would work with the United Nations and international NGOs inside Libya “to address the urgent needs of the Libyan people.”

Earlier, reports quoted António Guterres, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, saying that “the numbers of workers able to leave Tunisia were still being dwarfed by the number of those pouring in,” and describing the situation as “a logistical nightmare.”

On Thursday Mr. Obama argued that Qaddafi had lost the legitimacy to lead and he must leave, and also that in addition to halting the violence, the Libyan regime ought to ensure that those who perpetrated violence against the Libyan people were held accountable.

However Mr. Obama cautioned that there may be situations in which Qadhafi “hunkered down in his compound but the economy or food distribution systems in Tripoli, for example, [started] deteriorating.” In that case the challenge would be to figure out how the U.S. could potentially get food in there, he added.

He also warned of the danger of “a stalemate that over time could be bloody,” and said that that was something that the U.S. was considering in its assessment of the unfolding situation.

In the last week the U.S. imposed unilateral sanctions, including an assets freeze, against the Libyan government, following which the UN Security Council also imposed sanctions. Recent days have also witnessed Western military forces repositioning around Libya, primarily to assist with and humanitarian evacuations and assistance.

Additionally, following the violent crackdown by Libyan forces on protestors in Tripoli “tens of thousands of people” had had gathered at a border and to help them reach their homes the U.S. was using military and civilian aircraft, he said.

Yet the President said that his administration would reiterate the clear message that “it’s time for Qadhafi to go,” over and above a host of military and non-military actions that the U.S. would undertake along with its partners. These measures might still include the possibility of a no-fly-zone, he said, an option that U.S. officials had been discussing but thus far not committed to.