Libya: No need for pith helmets

Manuel Noreiga: jailed since 1989

In his article, Take Up the White Man's Burden, Eric Margolis adopts the "re-colonization of Libya" meme. But the notion is hopelessly misleading.

There will be no return to the tropics of pith-helmeted white men bound to serve "their captives' need." There are plenty of Libyan Ph.D.'s in economics and politics and all the rest of the technical twaddle deemed necessary for the management of a modern government.

Post-Gaddafi, the Government of Libya will be of the people, by the people, and ostensibly for the people, provided that the presumed interests of the people happen to coincide with those of the New World Order.That is to say, there will be an elected government, the members of which will find it richly rewarding to conform to the wishes of the multinational corporations so anxious to reconstruct Libya after the recent unfortunate deconstruction by aerial bombardment.

Saddam hanged: Image source

The Libyans who make up the government will enjoy all the perquisites of office, including the after-office payoffs that make puppetry such an rewarding occupation for the likes of Blair/Brown/Cameron/Sarkozy/Obama. And should they ever think to betray their corporate masters, they have the horrible examples of Saddam, Manuel Noriega, and now Gadhafi to remind them of their own true interest.