News & Media in Toronto written by Ian Chow:
Libya is Harper’s new project to continue and follow in the wake of the military industrial complex. In my previous article, I mentioned the military industrial complex. This should briefly be explained to understand more of what is happening in Libya.
The term was first used by Dwight D. Eisenhower on his exit speech on January 17, 1961which can be found here . He warns us of the misuse of this power at 8:30
The modern-day term “military industrial complex” can be simply put as: government, corporate, military and financial institutions all playing a role in creating a conflict (lest it be true or imaginary) for mutual benefit of financial gain. The model would look something like this:
The government creates an issue; perhaps a “dictator” that the world must be rid of. They “free” the people of said dictator via military power. After the war, a country is completely torn up – enter corporations. They come in and help “re-build” the nation under the command of “freedom and democracy”. The financial institutions play a vital role in monetary investments so that all the investors back home would get their money. The victims of these countries are all strategically picked out for one main resource: oil.
In Libya’s case among the oil, there is also the domination of a new and powerful currency that challenges the US Dollar; the dinar, and speculation has it, the taking over of their financial institution to a central banking system controlled by people from the Bilderberg Group. But that all spans the scope of this article.
With that said, how does this model fit into Libya and Canadian relationship? First it must be shown that NATO countries in part created and exaggerated Gaddafi’s image as a “dictator”. As we are well aware, the news and media institution is the perfect tool for this. What was hidden? Here’s a video that might help put things in perspective: Truth about Gaddafi Libya that NATO, CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera & CO. keep hidden
From this video the point is illustrated that Gaddafi’s image as a dictator is easily manipulated by the media institutions as this video manipulated him to show that he is indeed a great leader. But from all the Western news we read, he has been hailed as a corrupt and brutal dictator. Whether he was or not, or to what degree of truth is behind the news is not the point. The point is the creation of the image of who he is. (More on message manipulation via media: Occupy Wall Street: Media Control)
First hurdle jumped: the creation of the issue. Now we have a reason for invasion in the eyes of the public. The public can now justify this invasion. Without public support the war is good as nothing. The military gets involved and we know what happens, we win the “war” to rid an “evil dictator”. It must be included that NATO always “reluctantly goes into this conflict as a pre-emptive war to stop a global catastrophe” but we know that is just a façade.
Next the corporate companies come rolling in to help re-build the nation as many war torn countries would suffer the loss of infrastructure. What companies are involved? Let’s take a look:
- SNC Lavalin, a Montreal based engineering firm is in charge of building and airport, man-made river project and a prison.
- Pure Technologies, a Calgary based company in charge of inspection and monitoring technologies put in place by SNC Lavalin.
And of course we have the oil companies; as that is the main reason of “intervention”.
- We have Caradan Chemicals provides products used in oil and gas industries.
- Sonde Resources, a Calgary based oil company owned by Libya and Tunisia.
- And finally we have Suncor who merged with Petro Canada; one of the dominating oil companies in Canada who also is responsible for the Oil Sands.
Moreover, Libya has been a member of OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) since 1962. 95% of their export revenues come from oil. All these companies have a hand in Libya to help re-build the nation after it was deliberately torn apart by the same (NATO) countries that wants Libya’s resources.
The analogy can be drawn as this: You destroy your neighbors’ house saying it was not safe. Then you take your construction company and charge your neighbor for the re-building services. Or more simply put: we are stealing their resources under the name of “freedom, democracy and globalization”.
When we look at Suncor, one of the major oil companies from Canada in Libya, their stocks dipped when they announced in their 3rd quarter that their production has stalled in Libya. However, they made grounds in October maybe due to the gaining ground of NATO participation in the civil war which has turn the tides in the country allowing more stable oil production. This shows that Suncor‘s monetary worth responds to military intervention in Libya. Libya represents 23% of their international oil production.
RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), BMO (Bank of Montreal) and TD Bank are some of the major shareholders of Suncor. So it’s not implausible to see when Suncor needs more money, the banks will lend it to them as they will all profit from these endeavors. Suncor will then re-invest the profits back into itself to continue to expand. Through this, politicians, policy makers, and other people of influence (to the matter) would have stocks and bonds with Suncor allowing the corporation’s influence dictate what policies should be changed or made. And those people are the same people who create “issues” and tells the media to sell it to the public to gain support for a war – oops, did I say war? I meant humanitarian aid.
Libya has been one of the most prominent examples of the military industrial complex at work since Harper has taken the majority government. This shows how the government and military, corporations and financial institutions all play a role on the world stage for mutual benefit of financial gain. Albeit, that’s not to say that people gather and plan these out deliberately either. It is just the nature of what has become of our Western system.
Most recent application of this misuse of power of the military industrial complex can be reflected through other involvement with the Middle East, namely, Iraq and Afghanistan among other historical situations and now speculated, Syria will suffer the same fate
Our now-majority Conservative government has deemed it appropriate to exercise the right in this military industrial complex and taint the image of Canadian peace keepers as we have established our image as Peacekeepers from the Suez Canal crisis in creating the world first UN Peacekeepers under Lester B. Pearson in which he was award the Nobel Prize in 1957.
We are now following in America’s destructive path of crusade and global domination under the tarnished flag of “freedom, democracy and globalization”. If there is any moral fiber in your body, we can agree to these few simple statements: War is bad, lying is bad and usury is bad. Those are the realities in which NATO countries are making profit.
Now you know.