Chris Floyd

As protests against the Mohammed-bashing film now spread to Yemen -- where the Peace Laureate is drone-bombing the hell out of the populace on a regular basis -- Simon Tisdall has more on the bitter blowback of the Laureate's much-lauded regime change in Libya. First, Tisdall notes that despite the effusion of shock and horror emanating from Washington over the attack on its diplomats, the American government had in fact anticipated the possibility of such an incident:

The assassination in Benghazi of the American ambassador to Libya is an appalling act – and one foreseen by his employers. On 27 August, the state department warned US citizens against all but essential travel to Libya, painting a picture of a country beset by increasing instability and fraught with danger.

"The incidence of violent crime, especially carjacking and robbery, has become a serious problem… Political violence, including car bombings in Tripoli and assassinations of military officers and alleged former regime officials in Benghazi, has increased. Inter-militia conflict can erupt at any time or any place in the country," the state department said.

This is in marked contrast to the vague and gauzy notion of a plucky young democracy that was the general image of the new Libya advanced by our political and media classes. As always, those on the inside -- such as the late ambassador -- were given the real picture, while the rabble are palmed off with soundbites and fairy tales.

Any number of other Libyan armed groups might have had a hand in the killings. But in truth, responsibility may also be traced back, directly or indirectly, to those in London, Paris, Brussels and Washington who launched last year's Nato intervention in Libya with insouciant disregard for the consequences. It was clear then, or should have been, that toppling Muammar Gaddafi was the easy bit. Preventing an Iraq-style implosion, or some form of Afghan anarchy, would be much harder.

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Stephen Lendman

Post-9/11, Washington declared war on Islam. Islamophobia facilitates war on terror policy. Muslims became public enemy number one. Imperial wars followed. Endless direct and proxy ones continue. Others are planned.

Dehumanizing Islam violates core US beliefs about religious freedom and respecting all faiths equally. America only respects money power and imperial dominance.

It targets anyone challenging its quest for global hegemony. Millions of corpses attest to its resolve. They're strewn across North Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and other parts of the world without end. Their numbers increase daily.

The business of America is war, imperial dominance, and corporate empowerment. Ravaging one country after another follows. Fear is created and manipulated to facilitate what should be condemned. Where it ends who knows. Perhaps a mushroom-shaped cloud future awaits.

Muslims know America's dark side best. It victimizes them daily. Millions died since Gulf War mass killings ignited nearly 22 years of genocidal slaughter.

They've been mercilessly targeted for praying to the wrong God. They're used for political advantage. They're pretexts for permanent wars. They're ongoing with no end in sight.

Media scoundrels misreport or ignore them. Attacks on US Cairo and Benghazi diplomatic missions made headlines and ignited rage. Capitol Hill flags were ordered lowered to half mast. US Libyan ambassador Chris Stevens and three members of his staff were killed. Millions of dead Muslims go unnoticed.

Stevens previously was Obama's representative to America's puppet Libyan National Transition Council. It helped Washington and NATO partners ravage the country mercilessly.

They're responsible for killing tens of thousands of civilians, causing widespread destruction, leaving countless numbers homeless, displaced, and impoverished, as well as ending cherished social programs Gaddafi instituted.

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