The Reagan outcry against a chemical factory in Libya was ballyhooed as a plan to produce chemical weapons. For our public via the media, former Secretary of State George Schultz publicized Libya’s chemical factory, ignoring the existence of our own vast chemical weapon stockpiles and replacement by newer, more dangerous ones. Also, 20 other nations stockpile chemical weapons, but the Reagan regime persecuted Libya again. It was rumored that Moammar Khadafy wanted to assassinate Reagan. Instead, earlier, the Associated Press did note that our secret intelligence aimed to assassinate Khadafy. Probably to cover up some discrepancies in our national policies, the Reagan regime bombed Libya reportedly to kill Khadafy, instead killing 1,200 Libyans.

Likewise, amid the chemical controversy, under the Reagan-Bush era, two Libyan planes were destroyed. Similarly, the Reagan administration persecuted tiny Nicaragua, costing U.S. taxpayers millions and the lives of 40,000 Nicaraguan civilians, while teaching the contra terrorists brutality.

At the Paris conference in January, the U.S. and France opposed a ban on chemical warfare. Other nations wanted a ban.

During the Reagan-Bush era’s persecution of Libya, it also selected to persecute Germany, for its Fredrick Genschler, a Free Democratic official, listens to the anti-nuclear Green Party of Germany. It could be that the Reagan-Bush Administration, which built the biggest deficit (bigger than the combined spending of all prior American presidents for the military) along with tremendous cutting of taxes of the top 10 percent of wealthiest Americans, wants to unseat any European German from power in order to entrench abroad our nuclear weapon system. Therefore, claiming a German corporation sold chemicals to Libya, both an anti-nuclear German official and Libya could be persecuted in order to change the German cabinet with its anti-nuclear war Genschler, weaken the anti-nuclear Green Party, and persecute Libya.

Libya does have the lucrative commodity of OIL. Since Reagan allowed the return of U.S. oil corporations to Libya, Libya may suffer less persecution, though less profit from its oil. The Reagan-era war on another small nation may end, but U.S. taxpayers pay heavily for U.S. global interference.

Bernice Russell

alumna of NIU

economics