IT’S quite clear that the British public is being misled over our involvement in the intervention in Libya, just as we were in the cases of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Before the so called ‘revolution’ in Libya, the country had the highest development index, the highest gross domestic product (per capita, US$ 14,192), the highest life expectancy, and the lowest infant mortality rate in the whole of Africa.

Education and medicine were free, and it even had chain stores for large families with symbolic prices for basic foodstuffs.

Gaddafi may be a dictator but, as dictators go, he was extremely benevolent.

This so-called revolution is, in reality, a western-funded pre-planned coup d’état attempt, for which the ‘Arab Spring’ provided just the opportunity.

And the reason for it was the stated intention by Gaddafi to nationalise Libya’s oil and use the income directly to benefit the populace.

The ‘rebels’ are better described as terrorists, have links with Al-Qaida and have committed many crimes, including the ethnic cleansing of black Libyans in areas under their control, looting and the murder and rape of civilians.

It is not, of course, the first time the West has used terrorists in meeting objectives. It happened in Iraq, Afghanistan and is being used against Pakistan, Iran and and Venezuela.

Don’t be fooled by claims that the West is interested in making Libya democratic.

Clearly, if that was the case we would be just as concerned about what was happening in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The difference is that they are already subservient to US ambitions, with UK support, for world hegemony.

The intervention, however, is doomed to fail.Gaddafi has provided over a million weapons to the citizens of Tripoli – not the action of an unpopular dictator.

R LEE Burford Road Witney