Gaddafi orders oil sabotage, source tells Time columnist

[cali]

NEW YORK | Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:11pm EST

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Time Magazine's intelligence columnist reported on Tuesday that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has ordered his security forces to sabotage the country's oil facilities, citing a source close to the government.

In a column posted on Time's website, Robert Baer said the sabotage would begin by blowing up pipelines to the Mediterranean. However he added that the same source had also told him two weeks ago that unrest in neighboring countries would never spread to Libya -- an assertion that has turned out to be wrong.

"Among other things, Gaddafi has ordered security services to start sabotaging oil facilities," Baer wrote. "The sabotage, according to the insider, is meant to serve as a message to Libya's rebellious tribes: It's either me or chaos."

The growing violence in Libya has forced a number of oil companies to shut in production in Africa's third-largest oil producer and disrupted flows from the country's export terminals.

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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/02/22/us-libya-oil-time-idUSTRE71L6TK20110222?WT.tsrc=Social%20Media&WT.z_smid=twtr-reuters_%20com&WT.z_smid_dest=Twitter

[David__77]

1. Best of luck to the people of Libya.

Sitting here in the US, it is first and foremost my concern that the US not intervene against Libya. The people of Libya are fully capable of deciding their destiny.