Russia is Finally Awakening to a Real NATO Threat

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Russia urged the U.N. Security Council on Thursday to investigate civilian deaths in Libya from NATO's bombing campaign, a move the United States immediately dismissed as "a cheap stunt" to distract from Moscow's failure to condemn the Syrian government's ongoing killing of protesters.

The sharp exchange reflected the deep division in the council over the NATO campaign which the U.S., France, Germany and others hailed for saving hundreds of thousands of Libyan lives, but which Russia, China and the African Union have strongly criticized.

Russia and its supporters argue that NATO misused the limited council resolution imposing a no-fly zone and authorizing the protection of civilians as a pretext to promote regime change in Libya. Libya's longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was ousted after 42 years, captured and killed in October.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said a council-mandated investigation is essential "given the fact that initially we were led to believe by NATO leaders there are zero civilian casualties of their bombing campaign."

U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice, who stepped to the microphone after Churkin, said: "Oh, the bombast and bogus claims."

"Is everyone sufficiently distracted from Syria now and the killing that is happening before our very eyes?" she said.

"I think it's not an exaggeration to say that this is something of a cheap stunt to divert attention from other issues and to obscure the success of NATO and its partners - and indeed the Security Council - in protecting the people of Libya," Rice said.

France's U.N. Ambassador Gerard Araud, standing beside her, said there were two ongoing investigations of NATO's actions in Libya, one by a U.N. Human Rights Council which is scheduled to report in March and the second by the International Criminal Court.

"We are not talking about years ... and in the two cases they are absolutely competent to handle the NATO military operations," he said. "So why ask for a third one while we don't have any investigation committee in Syria, when in the last 3-4 days more than 250 people have been killed."

Last month, NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu in Brussels said NATO is confident its forces carried out the campaign "in full compliance with international law."

NATO leaders have hailed the precision with which the mission was carried out, citing the small number of civilian deaths caused by the bombing as evidence of its success. Representatives of the military alliance based in Brussels have said that all NATO air strikes in Libya were aimed at military targets.

Churkin, this month's council president, insisted that he was not diverting attention because Thursday's council meeting was on Libya and heard a briefing by videolink from U.N. envoy Ian Martin in Tripoli.

Martin said "the past few weeks have witnessed a series of armed clashes of varying seriousness, giving rise to growing popular pressure, in particular in Tripoli, to put in place security arrangements which do not rely heavily on the armed brigades" who fought in the uprising against Gadhafi.

Martin warned that unless the security situation is addressed quickly and effectively, "the legitimate authority of the state" could be undermined.

In what many saw as a backlash against the council's authorization of military action to protect civilians in Libya, Russia and China vetoed a European-backed resolution in October threatening sanctions against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime if it didn't immediately halt its military crackdown against civilians.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_UN_NATO_LIBYA?SITE=AP&SECTION=H...

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[statewithinastate]

And for those who dont know yet Jewgle have removed all images of dead and woulded Libyan civilians from Google images. They want to ptretend the war never happened or if it did it was a peaceful one.

[AfriSynergy]

@statewithinastate

They can remove and try to hide the genocide committed by NATO and the NTC rats in Libya but we have the videos and the pictures and they will be posted and reposted faster than they can be removed.

[Wyldstylist]

Russia Helped them commit crimes against Humanity Putin created fake-debt documents for Russia which allowed Nato to rob all the Libyan people in order to launder the money .

[Wyldstylist]

UN NEEDS TO BE DESTROYED , ONLY BY NATIONS LEAVING THAT INSANITY CLUB!!

[PoshBirdGabi]

#Russia asked for investigation into NATO bombing of #Libya. Imperialists vetoed him.

[americaisbacktrump]

Russias deplorable washing of hands over Libya means it has zero respect as regards Syria. Russia showed real weakness over Libya and that has placed it in an inferior position in any coming confrontation with Rothschild-NATO-al Qaeda. If Russia had sent its navy to Tripoli it would have stopped the juggernaunt. Now it is too late. NATO will think nothing of whacking Russia who has a weak navy and whose forces are mainly land based and not in a position to attack outside Russia herself.

[MrChipmunkor]

@AfriSynergy hmm thats interesting thanks

[AfriSynergy]

@MrChipmunkor

Japan had its own brand of "superiority" which rivaled and may have been worse than white supremacy in the US.  The atomic and hydrogen bombs shocked them into a new reality and put them upon their knees to the white men where most of them have been ever since.

[theorbo1]

Perfect videoand the truth as well

[MrChipmunkor]

@MrChipmunkor Lol I mean year