Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

Despite what the Tánaiste says, the UN was not at the centre of operations. In reality, it stood back and allowed NATO call the shots. The Tánaiste has again reiterated there would be no military presence. We were told this all during the situation yet everybody knows that special forces from the US, France and Britain were actively on the ground in contravention of the UN resolution. The point is they facilitated regime change in a country that has the biggest oil reserves in Africa. Clearly what is designed here is not assistance to develop democracy in Libya but to move in on that country's vital resources, including oil and water, and potentially one also will see a US military base on that continent.

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