attack on Libya with one of the greatest campaigns of vilification and 'disinformation' in recent history. Qaddafi was declared a "mad dog' by Reagan. Libya was portrayed as d gigantic powerful terror state.
In reality Libya has a population of only 3.6 million - marginally bigger than Nicaragua. Its economy is only one fifteenth the size of Britain's - and one hundredth the size of the United States. Britain spends fifty times as much on arms as Libya, and the United States three hundred times 20 MUCH The US and British ruling classes hate Oaddati not because of any military or 'terrorist' threat he or Libya pose to them, but because Qaddafi's is one of the remaining Arab nationalist states in the Middle East - one which continues to oppose US and British policies.
JOHN ROSS looks at the nature of the Qaddafi regime against the background of the rise of the struggle for Arab liberation.
THE modern history of the 'Middle East' can only be understood against the background of the long struggle the Arab peoples LO hemselves from the direct and indirect rule of foreign powers - first European, then the United States and Israel in combination with the European powers.
The long permanent European rule of the Arab states began in 1830 with the French invasion of Algeria. In 1839 the British seized Aden at the tip of the Arabian peninsular. In 1860, for the first time, a French army was sent into Lebanon - although this time it withdrew.
Generalised European conquest of the African Arab states started in the 1880s. In 1881 France seized Tunisia. In 1882 Britain took effective control of Egypt. In 1898 Kitchener undertook a full scale invasion of the Sudan. In 1912 Morocco was made a French protectorate.
Italians had invaded Libya. Revolt Penetration into the eastern Arab world by the European powers was initially held back by the Turkish empire. The defeat of Turkey as a German ally in World War I — a defeat under the pressure of Arab revolt -was used by Britain and France to expand their rule in the Arab East.
Britain had directly instigated Arab risings against Turkish rule. These started with Husein, Sherif of Mecca, rising in revolt against Turkey on 5 June 1916 — the campaign being referred to in racist British legend as the activity of 'Lawrence of Arabia. Saudi Arabia was the state created by this struggle.
By 1919 Turkish rule had been Congress, meeting in Damascus in July 1919, proclaimed independence for a united Arab Syrian state covering what is now Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Israel.
But the British and French had no intention dependence. Already in 1917 Britain of allowing had issued the 'Balfour Declaration' tavouring the establishment of a Jewish settler state in Palestine - the nucleus of the future state of Israel. The French and British proceeded to seize and divide the liberated Arab territory.
France took control of Syria and artificially partitioned it poses of 'divide and rule' — into Syria and a christian dominated Lebanon. The British seized Iraq, Jordan, and Palestine - and establised de facto domination over what became Saudi Arabia.
Everywhere the European powers established or maintained reactionary local rulers — notably the monarchies in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Libya. These regimes were based on the large landowners. This was coupled to the consolidation of Zionist settement in raresune resisted by intense Arab struggles.
World War II shook European rule in the Middle East to its foundafree tions. The British seized the oppor- tunity of France's defeat by Germany in 1940 to push the French out of Syria and Lebanon in 1943. But the anti-French movement the British had themselves encouraged turned into pressure for Britain to get out which it was forced to do in 194.. Nationalism The decisive event in the rise of modern Arab nationalism came on 23 July 1952 with the overthrow of the Egypuan monarchy - and establisment of a government whose main figure became Nasser.
Britain and the United States had the aim both of encircling the USSR and confronting the radical Arab challenge. By 1955 they had organised the Baghdad pact members were Britain, Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Pakistan. Nasser played a key role in establishing the non-aligned movement China, Yugoslavia.
On 26 September 1955 the Egyp tian government announced it was agreement Czechoslovakia to purchase arms the first arms agreement signed with an East European state by an Arab country. This decision was followed by mass demonstrations in its support in Egypt.
In July 1056 Nasser announced nationalisation of the Suez canal. In October and November 1956 Israel, France, and Britain invaded Egypt.
Amid massive opposition from the Arab world, and direct pressure from sequences of the British action, the British, French and Israeli forces were forced to leave Egypt. It was a gigantic victory for Nasser making him the dominant figure of the Arab world.
Two years earlier, in 1954, revolt Arab against French rule in Algeria had started. In 1956, confronted with this threat, the French were forced to concede independence to Morocco and Tunisia. dependence the same year. After a further six years of struggle Algeria gained independence from France in 1962 — one of the great revolutions of modern history. for pur- In 1958, the Iraqi monarchy was overthrown. Armed struggle for the liberation of Aden from British rule started in 1965.
Independence
government in Libya represented part of this massive upsurge of struggle against European, US, and reac tionary Arab rule. Libya formally gained independence in 1951. In reality however the British, and then the - which was United States, domination over the country. Libya was ruled through the reactionary monarchy of king Idris. The US constructed the giant Wheelus airbase -the largest outside the United States Mediterranean. to transform the Libyan economy. From 1960 to 1977 Libya had one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world - an average of 17 per cent a year. In 1969, under the impact of these economic transformations, and radicalisation produced in the Arab world by Israeli aggression in the 196 Six Day War', Idris was overthrowr undertook 700,000 hectares distributed to small landholders and two million hectares brought under cultivation. A minimum wage of £100 whose direct medical care was established. month Was In turn support for the Qaddafi. The government presented itself as following a at the Ban. "third way' between capitalism and socialism Green Book.
PILO with lafi utilised the rapid growth of th West European economies during the late 1960s and early 1970s, to achieve a special economic relationship with western Europe and secure relative economic independence United States. By 1982 66 per cent of Libya's exports went to Europe with 19 percent going to France an another 18 per cent to Italy. In tur Libya became a significant market for European goods. Italy supplies 29 per cent of Libya's imports and West were not week. Weakness Sudan gained its which had itself.
The establishment of the Qaddafi maintained tota which commanded the eastern In 1960 the discovery of oil began Syria Opposition The new regime under Qaddafi position rapid social reforms.
OT WCIC The introduced. Free These major reforms created mass the only one -summarised in Qaddati's 1950s and 1960s.
On the international front Qad their economy.
from the With the economic features it can be seen there simply economic considerations which held back the European countries from endorsing the US attacks on Libya last Wal.
Politically Qaddafi initially pursued a course which combined opposition to Israel with virulent anti-communism. Libya was one of the chief backers of the reactionary coup in the Sudan in 1970 which smashed the Sudanese Communist Party and the Sudanese trade unions. In this Qaddafi followed the Nasser path — combined a foreign alliance with the USSR with ruthless suppression of the workers movement and Communist Party in Egypt Internally Libya is ruled officially by the direct democracy of peoples committees. In fact such committees are specifically excluded. from the police, the army, the oil industry, banking, and insurance - that is all the decisive areas of the economy and Jordan the state apparatus. Libya has in fact a dictatorial regime — which nevertheless achieved major reforms for the masses compared to the previously existing state of affairs.
In foreign policy Qaddafi has pursued a radical brand of Arab nationalism - Nasser being Qaddafi's openly acknowledged hero. Libya nas proposed at various times political union to Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and following the path of Nasser's union of Egypt and Syria.
Libya pursues a total policy of opIsrael. provides economic aid to Nicaragua. It has also supported the IRA. Interna- Libya tionally Libya has become increasingly aligned with the foreign policy of the Use United States attacks on Libya have grown precisely as the Nasserite wave of Arab nationalism has run its course. The most important success in US foreign policy during the 1970s — indeed one might say was precisely in exploiting the weakness of the Arab nationalist regimes which emerged in the States such as Egypt, Syria and Iraq nationalised massive sections of paratuses remained firmly capitalist. Nasser's army for example was in direct continuity with that left by the monarchy. The Nasserite, Iraqi, and Syrian regimes deliberately went out of their way to crush independent working class organisation.
onset of the economic crisis of the late 1960s and early 1970s the old 'nonaligned' path followed by Nasser was blocked. The 'radical' Arab states, above all Egypt, to stronger links with imperialism. This process rapidly accelerated after Nasser's death in 1970.
In 1972 Nasser's successor Sadat ordered all Soviet military advisers to leave Egypt. In 1973 Egypt allied with Syria to launch the 'Yom Kippur' The aim of the war was to establish a better bargaining position for the Egyptian bourgeoisie with the United States. The same year Egypt was opened up to foreign investment Agreements The treaty of friendship between Egypt and the USSR was ended. In November 1977 Sadat made his visit to Jerusalem to become the first Arab leader to recognise Israel. This opened up the process which led to the Camp David agreement and full ecognition of Israel by Egypt The Camp David agreements 1 turn heightened the aggression of the Israelis who in 1982 invaded Lebanon to attempt to impose a further client state on their northern border. Sinc then Israel has been attempting to pull into negotiations on its recognition.
With Egypt now directly allied to the United States Libya became a direct target for the United States. In 1977 Egypt, backed by the Us, provoked a war with Libya in which Egyptian planes bombed and strafed targets within Libya.
In 1981 US naval and air forces carrying out 'manoeuvres' in the Gulf of Sirte shot down two Libyan aircraft. In 1982 Washington banned the import of Libyan crude oil into the States In January 1986 Reagan ordered a total ban on all commercial contracts, and other transactions with Libyan assets in the United States. Reagan ordered that all US citizens should leave On 24 and 25 March 1986 US ships penetrated into the Bay of Sirte and began attacking Libyan targets. also emerged at that time that in July 1985 the United States had urged Egypt to invade Libya. Struggles The regime of Qaddafi is not socialist. It suppresses independent organisation of the working class in Libya. While it supports highly pr gressive struggles - against Israel, o the Irish people for independence, of Nicaragua — it has sold out other for its own purposes - for example the Polisario Front fighting for the independence of the Western Sahara from Morocco.
But Qaddafi's regime has brought real gains for the Libyan people. It is infinitely superior to anthing im perialism has to propose for Libya. Socialists should have no hesitation in fighting alongside it against the assault launched on Libya by the United States and Britain.
Socialist Action 25 April 1986