Continued from...
Libya XI
Thu, 2011-03-31 17:06
#1
Catchfire
Libya XI
Thu, 2011-03-31 18:40
#3
Turkey-Libya: Defusing Another UN Timebomb - by Eric Walberg
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Turkey-Libya-Defusing-ano-by-Eric-Walbe...
"In an interview with the Guardian Sunday, Erdogan fought back against his nemesis French President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying Turkey was ready to act as a mediator to broker an early ceasefire in Libya within the framework of NATO, the Arab League and African Union. He warned that a drawn out conflict risked turning the country into a 'second Iraq' or 'another Afghanistan' with devastating consequences both for NATO and the NATO states leading the intervention.
He was clearly referring to both 9/11 and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq was 'still paying a price' 20 years after the Gulf War of 1991. 'When western forces entered Afghanistan nearly 10 years ago, people were talking of it being over in days, and people said the same in Iraq. But a million have died and a civilisation has as good as collapsed. We don't want to see a similar picture in Libya. There is a civil war in Libya and we have to bring that to an end.'
Turkey is the only NATO member that still has both an embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli and a consul functioning in Benghazi. Erdogan is in personal contact with Gaddafi, and has now called on him to step down and allow for meaningful negotiations with the Benghazi-based opposition Transitional National Council. Turkey is about to take over the running of the Benghazi harbor and airport to facilitate humanitarian aid, in agreement with NATO, pre-empting any Franco-Anglo-American plan to use it as a base to launch a ground force invasion.
'Turkey's role will be to withdraw from Libya as soon as possible' and 'restore the unity and integrity of the country, based on the democratic demands of the people.'.."
US, Saudis Make Deal To Make Carnage
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172473.html
"An agreement between Saudi Arabia and the US has reportedly facilitated the carnage of civlians in Libya and Bahrain, where people have launched revolutions against their respective governments. Based on the deal, cited by British newspaper, The Telegraph on Thursday, Riyadh would support the Washington led war on fellow Arab country of Libya, in exchange for the American silence on the brutal crackdown on anti-government protesters in the Persian Gulf state of Bahrain. 'The US will lose its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain in a matter of weeks because they have sided with the al-Khalifa Monarchy, Ali-Ahmed, the director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, an independent thinktank in Washington DC told Press TV earlier this week..."
Thu, 2011-03-31 21:15
#4
Neoliberal Interventionism: America's Libyans - by Vijay Prashad
http://www.counterpunch.org/prashad03312011.html
"People like Mahmoud Jibril and Khalifa Heftir will be more accountable to their patrons in Paris and Washington that to the people of Libya, whose blood is being spilled on both sides for an outcome that is unlikely to benefit them.."
The Enemies of Our Enemy
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/30/the_enemies_of_our_enemy
"Libya contributed hundreds of the fiercest foreign fighters to Iraq's al Qaeda led insurgency. Should Washington be worried that its now backing these guys against Qaddafi?"
Thu, 2011-03-31 22:23
#5
Turkey-Libya: Defusing Another UN Timebomb - by Eric Walberg
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Turkey-Libya-Defusing-ano-by-Eric-Walbe...
"In an interview with the Guardian Sunday, Erdogan fought back against his nemesis French President Nicolas Sarkozy, saying Turkey was ready to act as a mediator to broker an early ceasefire in Libya within the framework of NATO, the Arab League and African Union. He warned that a drawn out conflict risked turning the country into a 'second Iraq' or 'another Afghanistan' with devastating consequences both for NATO and the NATO states leading the intervention.
He was clearly referring to both 9/11 and the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraq was 'still paying a price' 20 years after the Gulf War of 1991. 'When western forces entered Afghanistan nearly 10 years ago, people were talking of it being over in days, and people said the same in Iraq. But a million have died and a civilisation has as good as collapsed. We don't want to see a similar picture in Libya. There is a civil war in Libya and we have to bring that to an end.'
Turkey is the only NATO member that still has both an embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli and a consul functioning in Benghazi. Erdogan is in personal contact with Gaddafi, and has now called on him to step down and allow for meaningful negotiations with the Benghazi-based opposition Transitional National Council. Turkey is about to take over the running of the Benghazi harbor and airport to facilitate humanitarian aid, in agreement with NATO, pre-empting any Franco-Anglo-American plan to use it as a base to launch a ground force invasion.
'Turkey's role will be to withdraw from Libya as soon as possible' and 'restore the unity and integrity of the country, based on the democratic demands of the people.'.."
Clearly Turkey's record of human rights abuses and atrocities against Kurds has been forgotten. Shame.
Thu, 2011-03-31 23:46
#6
Libyan Toddler Dies, Family Says from Airstrike
http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1105ap_af_libya_civilian_death.html
KHORUM, Libya "The grieving mother sat on the ground rocking her 2 month old daughter under a blanket on her lap, crying softly and accepting the soft words of condolences from her neighbors. Nizha Abdel Salam and her family say her 18 - month old son Sirajuddin al-Sweisi was killed when debris pierced the wall of their house as NATO airstrikes hit an ammunition dump near her village of Khorum early Tuesday morning.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Abdel-Salam 27, said the blast hit their house at around 6 am Tuesday. She said she rushed to the living room where her son had been sleeping on a mattress on the floor with his father, and she saw that a hot piece of metal had embedded into the side of her child's face. She rushed to pick up her crying son.
'His blood was streaming down my arm,' she said Wednesday, choking back tears 'He was crying out, 'Mama, Mama,' reaching out his hand to me.'
The boy's uncle showed reporters a picture on his mobile phone of the baby on his deathbed. Sirajuddin's left cheek has a deep, dark-brown burn mark, his body swathed in a white shroud. 'We took him to the hospital where they treated him for the burns and some broken bones,' said Abdel - Hakin al-Sweiss, 'But by nightfall he was dead.'
US and European military officials said they have seen no credible evidence of civilian casualties from the air campaign and they say that precision weapons are used..."
This could be your 'death from above' NATO tax dollars at work Canada...and your unanimous, pro-war, no questions asked, parliament.
Thu, 2011-03-31 23:53
#7
Gaddafi Envoy in Britain for Secret Talks - by Peter Beaumont
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/gaddaf-envoy-britain-secret-...
"Contact with senior aide believed to be one of a number between Libyan officials and West, amid signs regime may be looking for an exit strategy. Libyan fixer's visit to London may show sons want way out: those who have defected and those who still support Gaddafi.."
Fri, 2011-04-01 05:18
#8
GRTV: Large Explosion Filmed in Libya
http://tv.globalresearch.ca/2011/03/breaking-news-large-explosion-filmed...
god only knows the kinds of things they could be 'battlefield testing' in Libya...
The War In Libya: It's Really About Broccoli
http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2011/03/war-in-libya-its-really-ab...
Fri, 2011-04-01 11:20
#9
N.Beltov
Vatican official reports 40 civilian dead from NATO bombing in Tripoli.
"NATO said it would investigate the report, but insisted there had been no civilian casualties in Tripoli."
Sure they'll investigate. What were those coordinates for the witness again?
Fri, 2011-04-01 13:49
#10
Rarely does Canadian Dimension get anything correct but this article from Petras and Abaya is just so dead-on.
Fri, 2011-04-01 14:06
#11
well it look like the further this goes on the more we realize the intentions of the Capitalists.
Fri, 2011-04-01 14:20
#12
Actually what is most disturbing is how some many people on the left threw history and facts out the window and wanted the imperialist powers to take over.
Fri, 2011-04-01 15:18
#13
NDPPRarely does Canadian Dimension get anything correct but this article from Petras and Abaya is just so dead-on.
I agree, (posted in X @ #95)
One would have thought after Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan, opposition to another 'humanitarian intervention' by Western imperial powers would have been automatic. However, even appreciation of this latest imperialist powerplay, without resistance in response, is still collaboration and complicity. Once again, the lack of a coherent or effective anti-war movement in Canada is an appalling deficiency that continues to faciliate and enable such wars. That politicians can run an election here without such things even being mentioned, is a pretty good indication that the canary in the coalmine has stopped singing and is motionless on the bottom of its cage. As should be obvious to all here - we have been disarmed:
Fri, 2011-04-01 15:41
#14
You didn't need to be an expert on Libya to know which way the wind was blowing - by Max Ajl
"Revolution is a delicate flower: we don't know how to make it bloom, but we do know from history quite well how to kill it: foreign intervention. Skip the Arab summer. The people running the show in Brussels, Riyadh, Qatar and Washington want to usher us in to a frozen Arab winter. Western intervention in Libya is the catalyst for this transformation "
Fri, 2011-04-01 16:10
#15
Bec.De.Corbin
Gaddafi forces storm Misrata, rebels offer truce
Gadaffi troops assault Misrata, seen some video of the fighting today... the rebels seem to be holding on for now. Fighting in the city is a big advantage for them.
Muammar Gaddafi's forces stormed the western rebel outpost of Misrata with tanks and artillery on Friday, a rebel spokesman said, while insurgents marshaled defenses in their eastern heartland.
Rebels speaking from Misrata said Gaddafi's forces had brought their superior firepower to bear on the insurgents' last western enclave with an intense bombardment.
"They used tanks, rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and other projectiles to hit the city today. It was random and very intense bombardment," the spokesman, called Sami, told Reuters by telephone. "We no longer recognize the place. The destruction cannot be described."
"The pro-Gaddafi soldiers who made it inside the city through Tripoli Street are pillaging the place, the shops, even homes, and destroying everything in the process."
The account from Misrata, Libya's third biggest city 200 km (130 miles) east of Tripoli, could not be verified. Authorities do not allow journalists to report freely from the city.
A doctor in Misrata told Reuters in an email the 32nd Brigade, one of the best-equipped and trained units, had been sent to seize control of the city. "So the question is where is the international community?" it said.
Mean while fighting continues near the oil town of Brega as the rebels start to show signs of reorganization.
Libyan rebels moved heavier weaponry toward government forces at the eastern oil town of Brega on Friday and sought to marshal rag-tag units into a more disciplined force to fend off Gaddafi's regular army and turn the tide of recent events.
Rebels said neither side could claim control of Brega, one of a string of oil towns along the Mediterranean coast that have been taken and retaken by each side in recent weeks.
But there were signs on Friday of a more ordered approach.
Rebels said more trained officers were at the front, heavier rockets were seen moving from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi toward Ajdabiyah to the south late on Thursday and checkpoints were screening those going through.
"Only those who have large weapons are being allowed through. Civilians without weapons are prohibited," said Ahmed Zaitoun, one of the rebel fighters and part of a brigade of civilian volunteers who have received more training than most.
"Today we have officers coming with us. Before we went alone," he said, and he pointed to a man complaining at being stopped at one of the checkpoints, adding: "He is a young boy and he doesn't have a gun. What will he do up there?"
The new approach has yet to be tested after the rout rebels sustained this week when a two-day rebel advance forward along about 200 km (125 miles) of coast west from Brega was repulsed and turned into a rapid retreat over the following two days.
Some reporters who are with the rebels say they are now seeing more satellite phones and better communication equipment amongst the rebels now (gee, that was fast) and army officers are taking charge of 5 to 7 gun trucks and organizing them into platoons. This could signal the movement of those better trained units that were in the Benghazi area I talked about up to the front.
Everyone have a great weekend.
Fri, 2011-04-01 18:37
#16
@ndpp
Ya it;s kind sickening to think about how callous people have become over war.
It's like when you watch those Sunday morning talk shows.. It goes something like this
"Ya and then I was with my kid watching the pregame show and then we switched it to CNN and watched a little of the bombing runs our heroes in Libya have been doing and then I went to make a sandwich and came because and turned on the cartoons for little Jake. Oh and then that ass whole Liberal leader was on.....bla bla bla...."
Fri, 2011-04-01 22:08
#17
Mean while fighting continues near the oil town of Brega as the rebels start to show signs of reorganization.
Libyan rebels moved heavier weaponry toward government forces at the eastern oil town of Brega on Friday and sought to marshal rag-tag units into a more disciplined force to fend off Gaddafi's regular army and turn the tide of recent events.
Rebels said neither side could claim control of Brega, one of a string of oil towns along the Mediterranean coast that have been taken and retaken by each side in recent weeks.
But there were signs on Friday of a more ordered approach.
Rebels said more trained officers were at the front, heavier rockets were seen moving from the rebel stronghold of Benghazi toward Ajdabiyah to the south late on Thursday and checkpoints were screening those going through.
"Only those who have large weapons are being allowed through. Civilians without weapons are prohibited," said Ahmed Zaitoun, one of the rebel fighters and part of a brigade of civilian volunteers who have received more training than most.
"Today we have officers coming with us. Before we went alone," he said, and he pointed to a man complaining at being stopped at one of the checkpoints, adding: "He is a young boy and he doesn't have a gun. What will he do up there?"
The new approach has yet to be tested after the rout rebels sustained this week when a two-day rebel advance forward along about 200 km (125 miles) of coast west from Brega was repulsed and turned into a rapid retreat over the following two days.
Some reporters who are with the rebels say they are now seeing more satellite phones and better communication equipment amongst the rebels now (gee, that was fast) and army officers are taking charge of 5 to 7 gun trucks and organizing them into platoons. This could signal the movement of those better trained units that were in the Benghazi area I talked about up to the front.
Very good! That's what I like to hear!
As war is evil, there is a terrible dichotmy:
The longer it continues, the more everyone suffers.
However, time is on the side of the Libertarias rather than Gadhafi's forces.
The longer the Revolution continues, the more the Libertarias will learn and the better and more disciplined fighters they will become. Thus their chances of success will increase.
Viva La Revolucion Libertaria!!!!!
Sat, 2011-04-02 05:22
#18
most of those went with the bloodsucking vampires on this one I'm afraid...
Sat, 2011-04-02 11:16
#19
[url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/841... 'signed order for CIA to arm [s]Contras[/s] Rebels 'n Qaeda'[/color][/url]
Sat, 2011-04-02 15:13
#20
Britain Seeking A Deal With Kusa
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172743.html
"...Despite claims by the British government that Libyan defector Musa Kusa will not be immune from court trials, reports say he will be rewarded for escaping to Britain. The Daily Mirror said in a report that London is considering giving Kusa a lucrative multi-million pound deal along with a safe haven in Britain or the US without holding him to account for the crimes he is said to have committed..."
UN's Coalition of the Opposed Grows
http://en.m4.cn/archives/7014.html
"Parallel to the growing criticisms of the Barack Obama administration's military gambit in Libya in the US Conress, which saw the House of Representatives speaker John Boehner demand an explanation from President Barack Obama on the 'contradictions' of his Libya policy, there is also a rising chorus of discontent in the UN community. This reflects sharp divisions over UN Security Council resolution 1973 last Saturday, which established a no-fly zone in Libya and was weakened from the outset by abstentions from several key countries - Russia, China, Germany, Brazil and India..
Sat, 2011-04-02 16:23
#21
The Agents of Washington and Britain Within Libya's Opposition - by Julie Hyband
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/oppo-a02.shtml
"The Interim Transitional National Council (TNC) was not officially able to participate in the conference held on Libya at London's Lancaster House on Tuesday, due to differences within the war coalition over support for the anti-Gaddafi leadership. However, Washington and London made clear their backing for what is being groomed as Libya's government in waiting - once, that is, the military onslaught against the country has achieved its desired objective: regime change..."
Leftists, Activists And All That Bloody Jazz - by Layla Anwar
http://arabwomanblues.blogspot.com/2011/04/leftists-activists-and-all-th...
"Within the space of a less than a month, Libya has turned from a functioning society to a country in chaos, subjected to bombs by the West, again!
Gaddafi did say (and I don't want to hear that same bullshit question that was asked when Iraq was invaded and totally annihilated in 2003, 'So you love Hussein right?'). Love has nothing to do with it o luminaries of politics, BUT SOVEREIGNTY DOES! So Gaddafi did say that the rebels - so called revolutionaries had ties to Al Qaeda. He was not lying. It turned out to be true..."
Sat, 2011-04-02 17:29
#22
Congressman Dennis Kucinich: Address To Congress On The War in Libya Part 1 (and vid)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf8xPy6-C18&feature=channel_video_title
On Obama's 'illegal' war in Libya
Sat, 2011-04-02 20:54
#23
Libya Rebels 'Receive Foreign Training'
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201142172443133798.html
"US and Egyptian Special Forces have reportedly been offering covert armed training to rebel fighters in the battle for Libya, Al Jazeera has been told. An unnamed rebel source revealed how he had undergone training in military techniques at a 'secret facility' in eastern Libya. 'He told us that on Thursday night a new shipment of Katyusha rockets had been sent into eastern Libya from Egypt. He said these were state-of-the-art heat seeking rockets.
The intriguing development raises several uncomfortable questions about Egypt's private involvement and what the arms embargo exactly means' said our correspondent..."
No Fly Zone: Clouding Words of War - by Tarak Berkawi
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/03/201132881618969257....
"...In essence, and without ever saying so, the message to Gaddafi is that he must stop defending himself from those who would overthrow him. Most perniciously is the way liberal war frames understanding of conflicts.."
Sat, 2011-04-02 21:10
#24
I agree, (posted in X @ #95)
One would have thought after Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan, opposition to another 'humanitarian intervention' by Western imperial powers would have been automatic. However, even appreciation of this latest imperialist powerplay, without resistance in response, is still collaboration and complicity. Once again, the lack of a coherent or effective anti-war movement in Canada is an appalling deficiency that continues to faciliate and enable such wars. That politicians can run an election here without such things even being mentioned, is a pretty good indication that the canary in the coalmine has stopped singing and is motionless on the bottom of its cage. As should be obvious to all here - we have been disarmed:
Canada has taken command of the war on Libya.
Things are looking steadily worse for the Libertarias now.
Herr (War Party leader Adolf Hitler) Harper loves (the Iraq, Afghan, Libyan) war.
Count Igula (other War Party leader bloodsucking vulture who thrives on the blood of dead Canadian soldiers) Ignatieff loves (the Iraq, Afghan, Libyan) war.
Thus, as the fortunes of war turn against the People, Libertarias and Revolutionaries of Libya, the NDP, the Bloc and the Green Party would do well, very well indeed to use this war on Libya fiasco as a stake (a hammer and sickle will do just fine also) and drive it throught the heart of these bloodsucking vampires/vultures.
THEY supported the WAR.
The WAR is going BADLY (for the people, the Libertarias, the Revolutionaries.)
Let THEM Wear It!
Sat, 2011-04-02 21:12
#25
Only 9 Out Of 22 Members Of Arab League Voted For No-Fly Zone
http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2011/04/only-9-out-of-22-members-of-arab-l...
"A full Arab League endorsement of a no-fly zone is a myth. Of the 22 full members, only 11 were present at the voting. The vote was essentially a House of Saud led operation..."
Sat, 2011-04-02 21:37
#26
Impeach Obama Over Libya Prof. Francis Boyle Tells Jack Blood
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfvMlyCnjDs
"Obama went to war with Libya with no consultation with Congress at all. With no authorization from Congress, Obama is guilty of an impeachable offense. I think we can impeach him with his own words and his own conduct..."
Sat, 2011-04-02 22:37
#27
Libya Rebels 'Receive Foreign Training'http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201142172443133798.html
"US and Egyptian Special Forces have reportedly been offering covert armed training to rebel fighters in the battle for Libya, Al Jazeera has been told..."
We could have guessed as much. [url=http://www.historycommons.org/entity.jsp?entity=ali_mohamed]US Army Sargent Ali Mohamed[/url], for example, was also a CIA spook and anticommunist "freedom fighter" from the 1980s trained by US special forces in the art of terrorism. He was also a high ranking officer in the Egyptian army before coming to America to train al-CIA'da hijackers. In the al-CIA'da training camps he was known as Abu Amriki Mohamed, or "Father Mohamed the American"
[url=http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3422][IMG]http://i...
![http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3422][IMG]http://i...](http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=3422][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/rabblerabble/Capture-31.gif[/IMG][/url]){kind=link}
Sun, 2011-04-03 01:16
#28
Washington May Arm Al Qaeda Linked Libya Rebels
Sun, 2011-04-03 02:35
#29
Terrorism Originates From the Western Colonial Powers - by Dr Mahboob A Khawaja
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24104
"Terrorism originates from the Western colonial powers but none would dare to concede it..."
Sun, 2011-04-03 04:51
#30
Exposed: The US-Saudi Libya Deal - by Pepe Escobar
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD02Ak01.html
"You invade Bahrain. We take out Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. This, in short, is the essence of a deal struck between the Barack Obama administration and the House of Saud.."
Sun, 2011-04-03 05:12
#31
From rt.com:
[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/rabblerabble/guns-01.jpg[/IMG]
![http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/rabblerabble/guns-01.jpg[/IMG]](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v697/rabblerabble/guns-01.jpg[/IMG]){kind=link}
Sun, 2011-04-03 17:44
#32
N.Beltov
The so-called "Allied" forces (i.e., the NATO aggressors) have "accidently" killed a number of the "rebel" forces.
Libya's embattled government has flatly rejected rebel calls for a ceasefire, describing their terms as "mad". At least 13 opposition fighters are reported to have been killed late on Friday by mistake in an attack by the international coalition.NATO is investigating the reports that the coalition air force killed rebels. According to witnesses, this happened after one of Gaddafi's soldiers mixed with the rebel group and fired at the coalition fighter jets the moment they were flying by. The planes bombed the group in response, killing some of them and destroying four of their vehicles.
Gadaffi rejects rebel calls for ceasefire ... (RT)
Yes, the NATO investigation will be about as useful as their PREVIOUS investigation ... of reports of civilian deaths by NATO bombing. Yes, they'll get RIGHT on it.
According to the latest reports, the rebels are now better organized. They are stopping inexperienced young fighters from reaching the front line, as they have shown themselves to flee in the face of chaos. Also, the rebels reportedly have new communication devices with them in the form of satellite phones and radios, which are believed to have arrived from abroad. They have enough supplies of water and the necessary equipment to continue their fight.
Now if they just had some NATO "advisors" all would be well ...
The UN Charter does not authorize a no-fly zone. The UN Charter does not authorize war, because that is what a no-fly zone does," he said. "What the Security Council did was basically authorize the three core belligerents - the US, UK and France - to illegally attack a non-belligerent country, so the council violated Article 51 of the UN Charter, which clearly says that no nation may attack another nation, except in self-defense. If another nation attacks the nation, the nation attacked may respond until the Security Council acts, but the Security Council may not act in violation of its own charter."
The belligerents have made a mockery of the UN Charter ...
"I really do not believe that [Gaddafi] is the issue," Rozoff declared. "I believe the issue is that the Western powers reserved for themselves the exclusive prerogative of waging war whenever, wherever and under whichever pretext they choose to do so. If he does [step down] under the pressure of several hundreds air sorties flown against his country and several hundred Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from US and British guided-missile destroyers and nuclear submarines in the Mediterranean, it is no great victory for anyone. It simply establishes that when the US and its NATO allies supply overwhelming military force against a targeted nation and government, they can succeed."
Yes, a mockery.
Sun, 2011-04-03 20:48
#33
STOP NATO: Libyan War in Third Week As NATO Takes Command - by Rick Rozoff
http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/2011/04/03/libyan-war-in-third-week-as-n...
"Pressure will be applied on the public to support a prospective invasion of Libya employing the same rationale used for the ongoing air war: The need for an alleged humanitarian internvention. NATO's first African war, following its first European and Asian wars in Yugoslavia and Afghanistan respectively, will be neither short nor limited in scale and intensity..."
Rebellious Eastern Libya 'Epicenter of Islamist Extremism' Canadian Document Reveals - by Daya Gamage
http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/04/02/rebellious-eastern-libya-epi...
"A Canadian intelligence report written in late 2009 called the anti-Gaddafi stronghold of eastern Libya an 'epicenter of Islamist extremism' and said 'extremist cells' operated in the region now being defended by a Canadian-led NATO coalition. The report by the government's Integrated Threat Assessment Centre said 'several Islamist insurgent groups' based in eastern Libya and mosques in Benghazi were urging followers to fight in Iraq.
Canada's National Post that obtained this classified document says it noted 'Within the region, the population holds more conservative views compared to the rest of Libya and Islamist activism is strongly concentrated.' In recent days the profile of the Libyan rebels is fast unfolding about their connections to radical Islamist movements that fight the US-led coalition in Iraq and Afghanistan."
Sun, 2011-04-03 21:23
#34
Pogo
I just wanted to thank the work of posters on this thread and especially for the plurality of opinions that are expressed on this thread. It has been very informative and helpful in understanding a very complex situation (which I am still far from figuring out).
Sun, 2011-04-03 21:57
#35
N.Beltov
I hope the fog of war hasn't got you confused about whether there is such thing as a "humanitarian bombing" of maternity wards, residential neighborhoods, and so on, and that you are clear about the meaning of violations of Article 51 of the UN Charter by the NATO countries ... regardless of the fig leaf of respectibility that the SC has given their actions.
It's despicable to me that anyone can describe aerial bombardment of civilians as some kind of moral high ground .. but that just goes to show how effective propaganda can be.
Mon, 2011-04-04 01:22
#36
All Smoke and Mirrors: UNSC Meeting March 17, To Authorize Bombing Of Libya - by Rhonda Hauben
http://en.m4.cn/archives/7025.html
"The false narrative they conjured up was that their military action was for the protection of unarmed civilians who were peacefully protesting their rights. What is happening in Libya, however, is an armed insurrection against the government. The insurrection is being led by former Libyan government officials who defected and joined with other opposition forces.
The Security Council resolution was crafted to provide foreign military intervention to aid this armed insurrection by attacking the military forces of the Libyan government along with other sites and installations.."
'Our Man in Tripoli': Islamic Terrorists Join Libya's Pro-Democracy Opposition - by Prof. Michel Chossudovsky
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24096
"Concepts are turned upside down.: The US -NATO military alliance is supporting a rebellion integrated by Islamic terrorists, in the name of the 'War on Terrorism'..."
What is Behind the Libyan Defections - by Gregory Elich
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24115
"More defections can be expected. British agents are currently in touch with 10 'leading Libyan officials.' And it can be assumed that CIA agents are active as well. What inducements are offered can only be surmised: immunity from prosecution? Or a promise of a light sentence rather than hard terms? Once again, the system of international war crimes justice is seen to serve a political purpose. Indictments against Libyan officials are already promised.
There is not a single government on earth that would fail to respond with force to an armed uprising, and it is ludicrous to demand that Libya be the exception. What is taking place in Libya is a civil war, where the West has intervened in that state's internal affairs on behalf of one of the parties in the conflict. Only those on one side of the civil war are to be charged with crimes.
More importantly, NATO and its members' states, as they rain down bombs and cruise missiles on Libya, are immune from prosecution."
Mon, 2011-04-04 07:04
#37
D'Escoto: 'The United Nations Is A Deadly US Weapon'
http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/2011/pl310311.html
"Former Nicaraguan Foreign minister Miguel D'Escoto, now appointed as the representative of Libya to the UN, said Thursday that the United Nations has become a 'lethal weapon of the Empire (United States)'. 'We have to get it back, because if it dies it will not be born again,' warned D'Escoto, who was president of the 63rd period of sessions of the UN General Assembly (2008-2009). In an interview with Prensa Latina in New York, D'Escoto, a Catholic priest, said the UN is dysfunctional, unable to fulfill the goals for which it was created.
D'Escoto harshly criticized UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, accusing him of betraying the UN Charter. He did not rule out coordination between the UN secretary general and the host country (the United States) to prevent former Libyan Foreign Minister Ali Treki from entering US territory..."
Mon, 2011-04-04 08:30
#38
Mounting Evidence Of CIA Ties to Libyan Rebels
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/liby-a04.shtml
"Numerous press reports over the weekend add to the evidence that the Libyan rebels fighting the regime of Muammar Gaddafi are under the direction of American intelligence agencies. The dubious character of the Libyan rebels was further underscored in a remarkable profile published Saturday in The Wall Street Journal of three Libyans who had fought with Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan and were now playing major roles in the rebel military effort.
For a decade, the US government under Bush and now Obama, has used the terrorist actions of Al-Qaeda and its alleged supporters as a pretext for one military intervention after another in the Muslim world - Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, the Philipines, Indonesia and now Libya..."
Mon, 2011-04-04 11:33
#39
Bec.De.Corbin
Libyan rebels retake much of key oil town
No real movement of the lines over the weekend; the fighting is still mostly around the Brerga area.
Libyan rebels on Monday took back much of a strategic oil town that has repeatedly changed hands in weeks of battles with Moammar Gadhafi's forces along the nation's northern coast.
There were bursts of artillery and shelling from Gadhafi's forces in the west as rebels pushed into eastern sections of the town. Women and children were seen fleeing Brega as the battle raged.
"New Brega is under control of our forces and we are mopping up around the university," said Lt. Muftah Omar Hamza, a former member of Libya's air force who had a satellite phone and a GPS around his neck.
Brega stretches out over several miles of the coast and is concentrated in three main sections: New Brega, a largely residential area on the east end; West Brega, which includes a refinery and housing for oil workers; and a university between them. West Brega was still contested.
Misrata still holding out...
On Sunday, Gadhafi's forces pressed on with attacks against Misrata, the last key city in the western half of the country still largely under rebel control despite a weeks long assault.
Government troops besieged civilian areas for around two hours Sunday morning with Grad rockets and mortar shells and lined a main street with snipers, said a doctor in the city.
Two shells landed on a field hospital, killing one person and injuring 11, he said. The attacks, including tank fire, began again after nightfall, he said. He did not want to be identified by name out of fear for his security.
Also over the weekend...
Mon, 2011-04-04 20:07
#40
Exclusive: Al Qaeda Acquiring Weapons In Libya: Algerian Official - by Lamine Chikhi
http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE7330LB20110404?sp=true
"Al Qaeda is exploiting the conflict in Libya to acquire weapons including surface-to-air missiles, and smuggle them to a stronghold in northern Mali, a security official from neighbouring Algeria told Reuters. The official said a convoy of 8 Toyota pick-up trucks left eastern Libya, crossed into Chad and then Niger, and from there into northern Mali where in the past few days it delivered a cargo of weapons.
The security official said the Western coalition which has intervened in Libya had to confront the possibility that if Gaddafi's regime falls, al Qaeda could exploit the resulting chaos to extend its influence to the Mediterranean coast. 'If the Gaddafi regime goes, it is the whole of Libya -- in terms of a country which has watertight borders and security and customs services which used to control these borders -- which will disappear, at least for a good time, long enough for AQIM to re-deploy as far as the Libyan Mediterranean.'
'In the case of Libya, the coalition forces must make an urgent choice: To allow chaos to settle in, which will necessitate a ground intervention with the aim of limiting the unavoidable advance of AQIM towards the southern coast of the Mediterranean, or to preserve the Libyan regime, with or without Gaddafi, to restore the pre-uprising security situation,' the official told Reuters."
Mon, 2011-04-04 20:52
#41
Obama's Terror War on Libya - by Stephen Lendman
http://sjlendman.blogspot.com/2011/04/obamas-terror-war-on-libya.html
"Wars are solely for wealth and power, never humanitarian intervention to liberate oppressed people or promote democracy. Why Gaddafi and why now? James Petras explained it's 'because he refused to actively contribute to Western military operations in Africa and the Middle East.."
Fukushima Hotspots In the Libyan Deserty - by Steve Beckow
http://stevebeckow.com/2011/04/fukushima-hotspots-libyan-desert/
"I apologize to my readers for my felt need to communicate the humanitarian disaster being staged in the Libyan Desert by NATO troops using depleted - uranium weaponry. Having heard that DU weapons are being used by NATO to take out Moummar Gaddafi's tanks, I cannot and will not remain silent. I am reminded of why Afghanis have come to hate their American 'rescuers' with a loathing not reserved for Russian invaders. When their babies were born deformed, the Afghan population woke up to the damage caused...The future of the nation of Libya will be the same as that of Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq as a result of DU usage.."
Mon, 2011-04-04 21:42
#42
Springtime For NATO in Libya - Lenin's Tomb
http://leninology.blogspot.com/2011/04/springtime-for-nato-in-libya.html
"Can I risk a modest proposition? NATO, the CIA and the Special Forces belonging to the world's imperialist states are not forces of progress in this world. Does anyone disagree with that? If not, then it follows as surely as night follows day that the successful cooption of the Libyan revolutionaries by NATO, the CIA and Special Forces is a victory for reaction.
It's no good hoping that the small, poorly armed, poorly trained militias of the east of Libya who are now utterly dependent on external support, will somehow shake themselves free of such constraints once - if - they take power. The opposition leaders are now adjuncts to a NATO strategy which may not even have been disclosed to them. Let's at least give credit where it's due. This is NATO's war. And that means this is Washington's war."
No Early Solution TO Libya Crisis: UN
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/173114.html
"A UN envoy says that an early solution to the crisis in Libya is unlikely..."
Mon, 2011-04-04 21:58
#43
Gaddaffi's African 'Mercenary' Story Is A Disinformation Ploy By the CIA - by Wayne Madsen
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=24129
"The CIA's propganda campaign against black Africans in Libya was not limited to the editorial offices of television news bureaus of Washington, London, Paris and New York...The connivance of Western intelligence agencies, in concert with Israeli elements of Western corporate media, laid the ground work for the massacre of black Libyans.."
Mon, 2011-04-04 22:03
#44
ov
If there was ever a case for war crime convictions it would be for the use of depleted uranium. General Heinz wrote in a memo while he was taking a leading role in the Manhatten Project (memo was automatically declassified after fifty years and fell through the cracks wrt reclassification) that even if the project wasn't able to achieve nuclear fission that depleted uranium could still be used for massive depopulation operations. Also notice that DU has been used only against Arab countries (though wind currents distribute the radiation around the world). How many generations will it take before everybody that is in these countries is sterile. This is a massive genocide program orchestrated by the "Never Again Crowd" and yet there is nothing but psychic numbing, no outrage, nothing except a "boring" and a big yawn. For a big clue about who is behind this identify the person that authorized the first use of depleted uranium as a weapon (elevator counter weights just aren't the same thing.)
Mon, 2011-04-04 23:35
#45
Making Peace In Libya
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110404/163371833.html
"China is now one of the leading voices for peace in the Libyan conflict, as is Russia. There are several other peace initiatives..."
Family of Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi
http://en.rian.ru/infographics/20110328/163250484.html
"The Libyan leader has 8 biological and 2 adopted children..'
Tue, 2011-04-05 02:41
#46
Petras: Libya And Obama's Defense of The 'Rebel Uprising'
http://www.countercurrents.org/petras040411.htm
"...Western imperialist intervention has heightened national consciousness among the Libyan people, who now view their confrontation with the anti-Gaddafi 'rebels' as a fight to defend their homeland from foreign air and sea power and puppet land troops - a powerful incentive for any people or army. The opposite is true for the 'rebels', whose leaders have surrendered their national identity and depend entirely on imperialist military intervention to put them in power. What rank and file 'rebel' fighters are going to risk their lives, fighting their own compatriots just to place their country under an imperialist or neo-colonial rule?"
US And Allies Gear Up For Protracted War in Libya
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/apr2011/liby-a05.shtml
NATO's Rasmussen, Erdogan Discuss Libya Truce Prospects
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-240206-natos-rasmussen-erdogan-discuss-l...
"NATO is among those saying a new UN resolution would be required to arm rebels, though Britain and the US disagree. Several world leaders, including Prime Minister Erdogan oppose arming rebels. 'This could also create an environment which could be conducive to terrorism, and that would be dangerous,' he said."
Tue, 2011-04-05 02:55
#47
Libya 'Ready' To Discuss Reforms (and vid)
http://english.aljazeera.net//news/africa/2011/04/201144235152904180.html
"Information minister says the people will decide their own future, calling Gaddafi a 'safety valve' for unity in Libya.."
ps - check out the new rocket assembly in the picture next to Mo's . These will be the ones they just got trained on in Eastern Libya by Egyptian and US Special Forces. Haven't had time to go to Janes and look it up yet. But so much for the pretense such things have yet to be decided..
Tue, 2011-04-05 04:15
#48
Whistleblower: Libya's 'Vampire War' Is About Oil, Lockerbie and CIA Heroin - by Susan Lindauer
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/Libya-s-Blood-For-Oil-the-by-Susan-Li...
"Last October, US oil giants -- Chevron and Occidential Petroleum -- made a surprising decision to pull out of Libya, while China, Germany, and Italy stayed on, signing major contracts with Gaddafi's government. As the US Asset who started negotiations for the Lockerbie Trial with Libyan diplomats, I had close ties to Libya's UN Mission from 1995 - 2003. Given this long involvement in the Lockerbie saga, I continued to enjoy special access to high level intelligence gossip on Libya.
Last summer that gossip got juicy.."
Tue, 2011-04-05 04:28
#49
Thanks NDPP. Lots of news to skim for sure. I'll have to read that Susan Lindauer piece later. She's written some juicy stuff before.
Tue, 2011-04-05 08:50
#50
'Somalia Scenario' In Libya A Real Threat Says Russian Politician
http://rt.com/politics/deputy-pm-warns-turn/
"Do you need a Somalia scenario in Libya? I doubt it. But it is a real threat,' he said. 'A Somalia-like situation could be the worst possible outcome of the developments in Libya. And it is quite possible..."
Tue, 2011-04-05 10:10
#51
Bec.De.Corbin
Government bombardment pushes back Libyan rebels
Gadaffi and rebel forces exchange artillery fire around Brega as Gadaffi's troops keep the upper hand for now.
Libyan government forces on Tuesday unleashed a withering bombardment of the rebels outside a key oil town pushing them back, even as the regime said Moammar Gadhafi might consider some reforms but would not stepping down.
The rebels managed to take part of the oil town of Brega the day before, aided by an international air campaign that NATO says has already destroyed nearly a third of Gadhafi's weaponry, but the rocket and artillery salvos unleashed on the rebels indicates the government's offensive capabilities remain very much intact.
"When you see this, the situation is very bad. We cannot match their weapons," said Kamal Mughrabi, 64, a retired soldier who joined the rebel army. "If the planes don't come back and hit them we'll have to keep pulling back."
Rebel attempts to fire rockets and mortars against the government forces were met with aggressive counter bombardments that sent many of the rebel forces scrambling back all the way to the town of Ajdabiya, dozens of miles (kilometers) away. There did not appear to be any immediate response from the international aircraft patrolling the skies that have aided the rebels in the past.
Early on Tuesday, however, there was an airstrike against a convoy of eight government vehicles advancing toward rebel positions, rebel officer Abdel-Basset Abibi said, citing surveillance teams.
Some better trained and equipped units' are showing up on the rebel side but are yet to influence the battle.
Rebel forces have been helped by the arrival on the front of more trained soldiers and heavier weapons, but they are still struggling to match the more experienced and better equipped government troops, even with the aid of airstrikes.
I found a picture of a rebel pickup truck with an aircraft rocket launcher pod bolted to the bed... While innovatively brilliant and resourceful I hope this isn't what the press is referring to as heavier weapons.
Well, ok, I guess you could call it a heavy weapon but Wow!