'US, NATO premeditate Libyan civil war'

Western forces plan to invade Libya with a new type of military attack under the pretext of a “no-fly zone” -- in which aerial and drone units are used instead of ground troops, similar to the exit strategy in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq -- to strengthen their presence in the oil-rich region, reports a Libyan political analyst from the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Thierry Maisson speaks with Press TV about US and NATO manipulations in the Middle East crisis and the risk of a global financial disaster, as well as a world war.

Press TV: You are a Libyan political analyst. I'd like to get your assessment over what's been going on over the last few days. It's almost a surreal scenario in the sense that we have increasing violence but, at the same time, there seems to be a stalemate. Nothing seems to be changing on the ground.

Maisson Yes, but now what is at stake is the possibility -- or opportunity -- for NATO, it means for the US, to enter North Africa. They are trying to transform this uprising into a civil war to justify this kind of endurance. And as you see, there is a contradiction between some members of NATO. That's why we are now going with the story of no-fly zones. It means not an invasion, but another kind of endurance in Libya.

Press TV: You have mentioned no-fly zones. Is there a no-fly zone military intervention? Because, Robert Gates has come out and said, "Let's call a spade a spade; if we want to implement a no-fly zone, we will first have to bombard with aerial military equipment the whole of Libya." Is that what people want right now? Is the no-fly zone the way forward?

Maisson The no-fly zone is a way for the US, with NATO, to enter North Africa and to support the different regimes they are losing in that part of the world. As Mr. Gates said, it is very clear that when you decide for a no-fly zone you must first bomb/destroy the air force equipment of Libya. It means a new kind of invasion. Not with a lot of G.I.'s on the ground but a total military control of a country. And you see how they try to justify this new kind of endurance. They have only one person asking for this type of endurance, in fact. This is Ambassador Dubhashi of Libya at the United Nations. He is asking for NATO. But at the same time, the UK is trying to send people to Libya and to have contact with the insurgency. The insurgency will refuse contact and is opposed to NATO intervention.

Press TV: There is a breaking development from Washington. Barack Obama has said that NATO is, in fact, weighting its military options in the 'Libya crisis,' as it has called it, how do you respond to that then?

Maisson I think now this is the new development of this type of mentality in this part of the world. And of course, this is very severe. If the US is entering with NATO to Libya, it could be a new kind of war in the whole region of Africa.

Press TV: The White House Chief-of-Staff, William Daily, has come out and said that this jump in gas prices, because of the conflict in Libya and elsewhere, may seriously risk the recovery of the financial crisis globally. There is, of course, the international aspect to all of this as well. Do you think the economic branch of what's going on in Libya will far outweigh anything else when it comes to how NATO or the United Nations is making its decisions?

Maisson First, there is no real oil problem with the stop of production in Libya. And Two, right now in the US, a new energy lobby is trying to use this crisis to push new sources of energy like shale gas. This lobby is organized by Mr. Frank Keating, who is a very famous leader of the Republican Party. And if you remember, 10 years ago, when George Bush chose his vice president, Dick Cheney, he was hesitating between Cheney and Keating. So now, this is the revenge of this other lobby. They are trying to use their speculation on oil and the skyrocketing of a crisis to develop other sources of energy in the US. This is a manipulation in the United States.

Press TV: Bahrain, in the Persian Gulf, has very strategic routes and pathways, and, of course, is an oil-rich region. And we're talking about countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar. We've seen that there have been online movements to get people out on the streets and protesting in those two countries. Could we see a spread of protests from Bahrain to other areas, such as Saudi Arabia or Qatar?

Maisson Yes, of course. The problem is not the oil, only, in Libya. But if we see this uprising all over the Middle East at the same time, there will be an oil problem -- and especially that Bahrain is changing its regime; it will be an extending of the movement in Saudi Arabia, and this is a catastrophe for Western Economies.

But I want to make here a “parenthesis”. Two days ago on your channel, I talked about the influence of France in Bahrain, supporting the repression of the protesters. And yesterday evening, the Agence France-Presse announced that the special advisor for security to President Nicolas Sarkozy will open a file against me because of that. So, I will say once again what I said in your previous program. France is involved in the repression in Bahrain. At the same time, there is some military advisor for the kingdom of Bahrain. And, for two years, the special advisor for security, Mr. Alain Bauer, who is also working for Nicolas Sarkozy and also for some US agencies, and is the former grandmaster of the freemasons in France, that man, since two years [ago], is in charge of security in the kingdom [of Bahrain], and is the man who will decide the repression in Bahrain.

Press TV: Of course, I do have to add that from our point of view, we can't confirm any of the allegations that you're making but...

Maisson This is my own allegation and I want to say it again because I will not fear the intimidation of Nicolas Sarkozy and his team.

Press TV: Fair enough. Point made there.