In his first interview since the successful Nation of Islam Saviours' Day 2011 convention, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan sat down in the studio with popular radio host and long-time friend Cliff Kelley on WVON-AM 1690 for a two and a half hour conversation.
A critically important portion of the discussion centered on the unrest in the North African country of Libya which the Minister spoke about for the very first time during his recent keynote address. He provided even more layered contextual understanding when questioned by Mr. Kelley March 10. Then the subject of Libya was raised. When the western media began reporting on Libya, Febbruary 15, it seemed as if it was a foregone conclusion that Col. Muammar Gadhafi would be ousted in the country he has led for over 42 years. Now, nearly a month later, he remains in power.
On March 12, the Arab League agreed on asking the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, days earlier, the African Union voted against it.
It is no secret that the Nation of Islam and Minister Farrakhan have enjoyed a mutually beneficial relationship with the Libyan leader for decades. The United States has long opposed Col. Gadhafi and attempted to force him out of office even bombing his country during the Reagan administration, Minister Farrakhan noted.
The Minister blasted President Obama and Secretary Clinton for their arrogance in meddling in another sovereign nation's affairs and publicly recommending regime change.
Minister Farrakhan instructed Americans to look beneath the surface to see who stands to benefit from the unrest, and warned President Obama to be careful of the words coming from advisors lobbying him to move in with military forces to depose Col. Gadhafi.
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"Well, today our dear brother (Obama) has to be very, very careful in this decision that he and his Secretary of State, and [French President Nicolas] Sarkozy and [British] Prime Minister [David] Cameron and others are planning. They would love to go into Libya and kill Brother Gadhafi, and kill his children as they did with Saddam Hussein and his sons, Qusay and Uday. You must remember, dear people of America, that whenever government wants you to think and act in a certain way that would bring justification to an action that they are already planning to make, they must make the person that they hate a 'boogey man,' " he said. Col. Gadhafi, who led a bloodless coup against a U.S. ally over 40 years ago, has seen constant negative publicity and was once called the "Mad Dog of the Middle East" by American leaders and analysts.
People unhappy with government are not solely in Libya, he pointed out. Many are unhappy with Mr. Obama, he said.
The U.S. government has a long history of deposing leaders of other nations in order to get natural resources, more specifically-oil, he continued, saying the imperialistic forces are not interested in saving those being killed, it is just a "noble motive to hide your (the U.S. government's) wicked agenda!"
"When George W. Bush was president, he said they wanted regime change in Iran, in (North) Korea regime change-how do you get regime change America? How do you do that? Congress, the Congress of the United States, voted to spend $150 million to replace the government in Iran that America doesn't like, so they send their agents in to work among the dissatisfied. So when they had this election, and the people in Iran rose up, they have legitimate grievances, all right-but stimulated from the outside," Minister Farrakhan continued. "Well, what about Libya? How much money is being spent to arm the so-called rebels? They're dissatisfied! Well, what is their dissatisfaction about? Do they (Libyans) have jobs? Yes. Do they have food? Yes. Has Gadhafi used the oil money to build Libya? Yes. Did Gadhafi use oil money and discover water under the Sahara Desert, and brought that water to the surface; and brought water from Benghazi all the way to the border almost of Tunisia? Did he impose farming in the desert so that they could feed their own people? Yes. Are there billions of dollars that he's spending building homes, building apartments for his people? Yes. So something is under this!" said Minister Farrakhan.
"Is it that you're (U.S. officials) so concerned over the blood that is being shed in Libya, when you looked the other way when the Israeli Defense Force was bombing the innocent people of Gaza, unarmed men, women and children? ... You looked the other way when the Israeli Defense Force went into Lebanon thinking that they were going to have an easy victory, then you had to come out with your tail between your legs?"
Minister Farrakhan said Col. Gadhafi has been investing money in Africa, enjoys international friendship, and should not be killed simply because he is not America's friend.
"Now, I want to warn you, in the Name of Allah, that this is more complex than what you think! Go into Libya if you want to. The Libyans do not want foreign occupation on their land. And when you make that kind of move, if you're not careful, you'll unite the Libyan people against you!"
Inside America members of the Branch Davidian religious sect were killed in 1993 in Waco, Texas, by federal law enforcement, while men, women and children of the MOVE organization were killed when police bombed their home during a 1985 standoff in Philadelphia, he said. Current American outrage is nothing but hypocrisy, the Minister said.
To President Obama, Minister Farrakhan delivered a pointed warning: "Don't let these wicked demons move you in a direction that will absolutely ruin your future with your people in Africa and throughout the world. They don't like the way you handled (former Egyptian President Hosni) Mubarak! They don't like the way you're handling the situation in the Arab world! So I would advise you to be careful-and move with wisdom and skill.
And then, Minister Farrakhan offered President Obama some divine advice.
"Why don't you organize a group of respected Americans, and ask for a meeting with Gadhafi? You can't order him to step down, and get out-who the hell do you think you are, that you can talk to a man that built a country over 42 years, and ask him step down and get out? Can anybody ask you? Well, well there's a lot, now, [that are] going to ask you to step out of the White House, because they don't want a Black face in the White House," said Minister Farrakhan.
"Be careful, brother, how you handle this situation because it is coming to America! It has already started. Look in Wisconsin! Look in Ohio! Look at what's going on in your country! And remember your words because the American people are rising against their own government: It's not Muslims; it's not Black people! It's White militias that are angry with their government, and they are well armed. Are you going to tell them-'Put your arms down, and let's talk it over peacefully?' I hope so. But if not, America will be bathed in blood, not because Farrakhan said so, but because the dissatisfaction in America has reached the boiling point. Be careful how you manipulate the dissatisfaction in Libya and other parts of the Muslim world," he warned.
