Libyan Revolution Day 42 part 2 (more setbacks, but one high level defection)

[joshcryer]

Links to sites with updates: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-30">AJE Live Blog March 30 (today) http://blogs.aljazeera.net/twitter-dashboard">AJE Twitter Dashboard http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418">BBC Live Blog http://live.reuters.com/Event/Middle_East_Protests">Reuters Live Blog http://feb17.info/">feb17.info http://www.livestream.com/libya17feb?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks">Libya Alhurra (live video webcast from Benghazi) http://www.libyafeb17.com/">libyafeb17.com

Twitter links: http://twitter.com/#!/aymanm">Ayman Mohyeldin, with AJE http://twitter.com/#!/bencnn">Ben Wedeman, with CNN http://twitter.com/#!/tripolitanian">tripolitanian, a Libyan from Tripoli http://twitter.com/#!/BaghdadBrian">Brian Conley, reporter in Libya http://twitter.com/#!/freelibyanyouth">FreeLibyanYouth, Libyan advocate http://twitter.com/#!/LibyaFeb17_com">LibyaFeb17.com twitter account http://twitter.com/#!/ChangeInLibya">ChangeInLibya, Libyan advocate

Useful links: http://audioboo.fm/feb17voices">feb17voices http://www.google.com/search?q=time+in+libya">Current time in Libya http://www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayerNew.php?country=libya">Prayer times in Libya

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x777524">Day 42 part 2 here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwx_B38678">Marching On in Libya, for the revolutionaries!

Rebels leave the rebel-held port of Brega for the frontline (March 29)

Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/world/libyas-foreign-minister-mousa-kousa-defected-crossed-malta-london">Libya's foreign minister Mousa Kousa has 'defected' and 'crossed' over Malta to London
Libya's foreign minister and Gaddafi right hand man has defected, and is reportedly in London after meeting holding a series of negotiations by telephone with UK foreign secretary William Hague and senior US officials. He also met with senior French diplomats in Djerba after crossing the Tunisian border. The Maltese government confirmed last night that it had not received any contact by Libya’s foreign minister Mousa Kousa, as reports trickled on his defection.

Kousa, known to be a close aide to Col. Gaddafi was spotted in a Djerba hotel yesterday while accompanied by a number of people, including a woman and a youth. The news was revealed worldwide by MaltaToday.

A number of luggages were seen in one of a number of Libyan diplomatic plated cars that sped from Djerba towards the capital Tunis.

The news, tweeted by MaltaToday yesterday made the rounds of the newswires, as foreign diplomats in Tunis rushed to confirm Mousa Kousa’s presence in the country.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31#update-21811">1:11am Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught tells us that Koussa was not alone, and that there are several senior Libyan government figures waiting to fly to European capitals.

She said they include the current head of intelligence, the oil mininster, the secretary of the general peoples' congress and a deputy foreign minister. She tells us:

It seems the government of Gaddafi is collapsing around him tonight, and they're running for the hills.

But its all about Cololnel Gaddafi here. The people are loyal to him, not to his ministers, so how this will be taken by the Libyan people is another matter - that's if they know what's going on. Today, state TV said that Moussa Koussa was going on holiday. We'll see if they say the same for these others.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/30/gaddafi-regime-africa-court">Gaddafi regime ordered to appear before Africa's highest court
Gaddafi's regime has been ordered to appear before Africa's highest court to face charges of "massive violations of human rights" for killing peaceful demonstrators in the early days of the uprising.

The announcement from the African court on human and peoples' rights in Arusha, Tanzania, is likely to be welcomed by the Nato coalition as a significant sign of international support.

The "order for provisional measures" issued by the court unanimously declares that the "government of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" must immediately refrain from any action that would result in loss of life or breach human rights. It also summons the Tripoli regime to appear before the court within 15 days to explain what measures have been taken to implement the order.

The African court on human and peoples' rights is the continent's equivalent of the European court of human rights. The legal action has been initiated by another continental body, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/30/gaddafi-forces-cancel-out-rebel-gains">Gaddafi forces cancel out much of rebels' weekend gains
Muammar Gaddafi's forces have continued their rapid advance despite continued coalition air strikes, retaking much of the territory gained by rebels at the weekend.

Their advance also threatens to humiliate the western coalition by again coming within striking distance of Benghazi, the rebels' de facto capital that Paris, Washington and London launched the aerial campaign to defend.

People who had returned to the strategic town of Ajdabiya after it fell to the rebels on Saturday again fled as the government's army seized two important oil towns further along the coastal highway, Ras Lanuf and Brega.

It was not immediately clear if the regime intended to try and take Ajdabiya again after its forces were heavily pounded by air strikes at the end of last week. But the government has nevertheless pressed ahead with its counter offensive using not only the artillery that it still retains but what appears to be a larger ground force than previously deployed.

Video of the convoy sent to take Benghazi, taken from a dead soliders cell phone (shows how massive the operation was): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwWwOeZqz6M

Sky News went with Gaddafi minders to find a "civilian town bombed" only they were never shown any such thing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O5KJavfiQo

TNC presser talking about various details of the revolution (thanks to Waiting for Everyone): http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=730234&mesg_id=731532

Topic on the women of the revolution, dispels myths that they are treated poorly: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x594751

Videos to bring the Libyan Revolution into context:

The Battle of Benghazi: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0vChMDuNd0

BBC Panorama on Libya Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyaPnMnpCAA

BBC Panorama on Libya Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMzwQvcx62s

Tea of Freedom Song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD5tu5bJWKc

Latest indiscriminate shelling in Misurata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wop3C4zrPXI

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x677397">Text of the resolution.

How will a no fly zone work? AJE reports: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWEwehTtK2k

Canada: http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110317/cf-libya-canada/20110317/?hub=WinnipegHome">Canada to send six CF-18s for Libya 'no-fly' mission Norway: http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFOSN00509220110318">Norway to join military intervention in Libya Belgium: http://www.lesoir.be/actualite/monde/2011-03-18/la-belgique-prete-a-une-operation-militaire-en-libye-828970.php">Belgium ready for a military operation in Libya Qatar and the UAE: http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/776/?SID=e80884adc09a37d26904578a9b5978cb">Run-up for Western world’s next military commitment ... with unusual support Denmark: http://www.cphpost.dk/news/international/89-international/51229-denmark-ready-for-action-against-gaddafi.html">Denmark ready for action against Gaddafi France: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/19/world/africa/19libya.html?src=twrhp">Following U.N. Vote, France Vows Libya Action ‘Soon’ Italy: http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFLDE72G2HE20110317">Italy to make bases available for Libya no-fly zone-source United Kingdom: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12770467">Libya: UK forces prepare after UN no-fly zone vote United States: http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/nations-draw-up-plans-for-no-fly-zone-over-libya-1.2765122">Nations draw up plans for no-fly zone over Libya Jordan: http://www.smh.com.au/world/military-strikes-on-libya-within-hours-20110318-1bzii.html?from=smh_sb">Military strikes on Libya 'within hours' Spain: http://english.cri.cn/6966/2011/03/19/2801s627320.htm">Spain Expected to Join NATO No-fly Zone Enforcement over Libya

"One month ago (Western countries) were sooo nice, so nice like pussycats," Saif says in a contemptuous sing-song tone."Now they want to be really aggressive like tigers. (But) soon they will come back, and cut oil deals, contracts. We know this game." - http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058389,00.html">Saif Gaddafi

(Yeah, Saif, as if you weren't "cutting oil deals, contracts" with western states. Who are the 'tigers' now? Bombing your own people.)

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-10-0">March 10 7:28pm Saif al Islam Gaddafi says "the time has come for full-scale military action" against Libyan rebels. He goes on to say that Libyan forces loyal to his family "will never surrender, even if western powers intervene".

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/03/2011328194855872276.html">Libyan Karzai? Chalabi? Forget it
Fortunately, the Council wasn't made-in-the-USA or manufactured by another foreign power. Rather it came into existence, a month ago, at Libyans' own initiative, soon after the winds of revolutionary change blew Libya's way, and after its people rose to the occasion with pride and courage.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/04/04/110404taco_talk_anderson#ixzz1HvS7iW22">Who Are the Rebels?
During weeks of reporting in Benghazi and along the chaotic, shifting front line, I’ve spent a great deal of time with these volunteers. The hard core of the fighters has been the shabab—the young people whose protests in mid-February sparked the uprising. They range from street toughs to university students (many in computer science, engineering, or medicine), and have been joined by unemployed hipsters and middle-aged mechanics, merchants, and storekeepers. There is a contingent of workers for foreign companies: oil and maritime engineers, construction supervisors, translators. There are former soldiers, their gunstocks painted red, green, and black—the suddenly ubiquitous colors of the pre-Qaddafi Libyan flag.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/vision-democratic-libya-interim-national-council">A vision of a democratic Libya
The interim national council, formed by opposition groups in Libya, has said it will hold free and fair elections and draft a national constitution. Here is its eight-point plan in full.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/02/25/world/middleeast/map-of-how-the-protests-unfolded-in-libya.html">Click here for updated map

Military Installations



Oil Map



http://bit.ly/fe3P">Google Earth DL here to see positions of army and patrolling route of mercenaries

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=212059469427545728757.00049c4df2474b6543347&ll=31.203405,30.058594&spn=96.173452,183.867188&z=3">MAP of Protests across the Middle East

Mohammed Nabbous, killed by Gaddafi's forces while trying to report on the massacre in Benghazi

"I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to lose the battle" -Mohammed Nabbous, a month ago when all this began

I'm struggling to come up with something to say about this man. I was not aware of the Libyan uprising until I saw Mo's first report, begging for help, posted here on DU. I was stricken. Here was a man giving everything he had to explain a situation that clearly terrified him, I would not call him a coward in that moment, but you could see the fear in his eyes, and desperation in his voice. For 30 days Nabbous would spend many hours covering the uprising in Benghazi. For many nights I would go to sleep with the webcast of Benghazi live on my computer screen, looking to it occasionally to be sure it was still 'there.' Mo treated the chat room as if we were his friends, and in some way, we were. I never signed up to LiveStream to thank him for all his work and it seems somewhat shallow to do so now, given that I was a lurker for so long. Ever since I took over posting these threads "Libya Alhurra" has been linked as a source of information. It wasn't until last night, when I posted, and twitter posted on Mo's adventures out into Benghazi to try to determine the truth of the situation, that Mo's webchannel became a hit, over 2000 people were watching him stream live. This was curious to him because he'd done many reports like this in the past but he appeared somewhat bemused that the view count exploded as it did. Last night Mo became a star. This is a man who first started out with a webcast replete with fear and desperation finally overcoming that aspect of himself and losing that fear, to become someone who was a fighter for the resistance just as much as those who held the guns. Reporting on the front lines of Benghazi became his final act, and for that he should never, ever be forgotten. I'm so sorry Mo that I never got to know you better.

Mo's first report, which many of you may remember, begging for help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EXALI60hg

Mo's last report, a fallen hero trying to spread the word to the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecu_iWLn-rg

Mo leaves behind a wife who is with child, she had http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/23/a_bright_voice_from_libyas_darkness">this to say about the No Fly Zone and R2P UN resolution:

We started this in a pure way, but he turned it bloody. Thousands of our men, women, and children have died. We just wanted our freedom, that's all we wanted, we didn't want power. Before, we could not do a single thing if it was not the way he wanted it. All we wanted was freedom. All we wanted was to be free. We have paid with our blood, with our families, with our men, and we're not going to give up. We are still going to do that no matter what it takes, but we need help. We want to do this ourselves, but we don't have the weapons, the technology, the things we need. I don't want anyone to say that Libya got liberated by anybody else. If NATO didn't start moving when they did, I assure you, I assure you, half of Benghazi if not more would have been killed. If they stop helping us, we are going to be all killed because he has no mercy anymore.

[joshcryer]

1. Current time in Libya, 2:28pm Thursday, March 31

[joshcryer]

2. Tearful Libyan rebel: 'We want freedom'

Fighter who dropped out of college in Canada to join revolt tells of near miss with rocket and rebels' struggles.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/42352231#42352231

Thanks to gately.

[tabatha]

3. I teared up seeing that.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

66. This may be a typical rebel

He showed up for the fight, dropped a bunch of money on a gun, almost no ammo, doesn't know how to load it, and he's going to fight a trained army.

Or, rather, he's not really going to fight, he's going to plead for more support and supplies from elsewhere.

One more member of "the gang that couldn't shoot straight".

There's no way the rebels win this without professional help, boots on the ground, actual soldiers.

[tabatha]

97. And if the same had happened in Egypt

where it went to a fight, we would probably have seen the same thing.

[MedleyMisty]

105. Yeah

I am increasingly cool with the CIA being there - I've been thinking what I would do if I were Obama. I'd be doing all I could to help the rebels, on the down low. Which there would be limiting factors there - too much activity and it would get out on the internet (hmm - but announcing that the CIA would be there is a good covering your ass move there, because you could say hey - it's no secret, we told you they were there), and of course you would want to avoid casualties...

You know, I really am learning a lot from this. About political reality, about life, about how there are no easy answers to anything and how there are always opposing forces that you have to work against, that sometimes you have to take losses, that the world comes in a lot of colors.

[pinboy3niner]

4. K&R

Good morning, Josh! :hi:

[joshcryer]

8. Morning! Got to get going. :/

Sorry I was passed out.

And sorry that you won't guys get recs until the end of the day... not that we do this for "recs" it's just disappointing our efforts are ignored or slighted in that way.

[joshcryer]

5. Captured by Qaddafi's Forces - video

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/03/30/world/africa/100000000752052/libyafour.html">Captured by Qaddafi's Forces
On March 15, four New York Times journalists covering the Libyan conflict were captured. They were freed six days later. Back in New York, they reflected on Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's Libya.

[tabatha]

6. Outgunned and outfought, the rebels crumble

Libyan rebel forces retreated in disarray yesterday as the battle in the east swung dramatically in favour of Colonel Gaddafi. The oil town of Brega changed hands for the sixth time in six weeks, as regime troops backed by heavy artillery won back most of the ground they had lost in recent days.

Last night Gaddafi loyalists were once again closing in on the key town of Ajdabiya, which they had abandoned on Saturday in the face of devastating coalition airstrikes. Ras Lanuf and Bin Jawad had already fallen again.

As civilians began to flee there were reports that fresh Nato air raids were being carried out against the regime advance.






Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1371595/Libya-Gaddafi-rebels-crumble-Mad-Max-style-retreat-Ras-Lanuf.html#ixzz1IBBqYfdS

Somewhat droll account of events so far this week.

[pinboy3niner]

9. AJ's Sue Turton is there

She reported in the last couple of hours that the 'front' is now about 15 km east of Brega. Rebels tried to make an advance but a mortar barrage took out their forward vehicles and they backed off. The rebels have deployed some Katyusha rockets and multi-fire AA guns there and are holding on.

On the positive side, she reported that rebel commanders believe their fighters are showing better discipline today.

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

28. UPDATE: More former army troops now reported in rebel ranks

There is more organization, according to AJ's correspondent, with rebels now having "several formations" around Brega and they "are trying to spread into the desert" as well.

Defected soldiers are also reported in the organization of checkpoints along the road to Benghazi. The checkpoints are now giving information and directions to those passing through.

[tabatha]

7. K & R went to 0. Early unrec'ers.

pinboy3niner do you ever sleep? I hope so.

Good morning, Cryer/Niner.

[pinboy3niner]

12. What is this thing you call 'sleep'? :)

:rofl:

Good morning, Tabatha! I take what Josh likes to call my 'catnips,' and I've now raised dozing at my computer desk to an art form. At some point later I'll have to check out to get some real sleep, but I'm okay for a while. I expect it to be pretty busy until evening in Libya.

:hi:

[tabatha]

13. Well those catnaps are good for your brain

but don't your legs feel neglected?
They probably need to go join the rebels running up and down the same road.

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

18. What is this thing you call 'running'?

:rofl:

[joshcryer]

10. Coalition forces have bombed pro-Gaddafi forces near Brega, and they have been pushed back to Bishr

1340: Coalition forces have bombed pro-Gaddafi forces near Brega, and they have been pushed back to the village of Bishr, west of the city, BBC Monitoring reports, quoting privately-owned online newspaper Libya al-Yawm. "Brega: Alliance forces bomb the hardware of Gaddafi's brigades near the village of al-Urqub to the south of Brega... Brega: Gaddafi brigades driven back to the area of the village of Bishr west of Brega," the paper said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418

[Yosarian71]

33. The only good thing about the rebel defeats

in recent days is that it drew Gadhafi's troops into the open desert where they are easier targets for the coalition airstrikes.

[tabatha]

11. NATO Takes Control Of Libya Air Ops.

NATO's chief said Thursday the alliance doesn't support U.S. and British suggestions that the U.N. mandate for the international military operation in Libya allows arming rebels who are fighting Moammar Gadhafi's troops.

NATO assumed command of all air operations over Libya early Thursday, taking over from the U.S., which had been eager to be rid of that responsibility. NATO Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen told reporters in Stockholm that NATO's position is that "we are there to protect the Libyan people, not to arm the people."

Britain and the U.S. believe that existing U.N. Security Council resolutions on Libya could allow for foreign governments to arm the rebels, despite an arms embargo being in place.

The NATO secretary-general said he has "taken note of the ongoing discussions in a number of countries but as far as NATO is
concerned ... we will focus on the enforcement of the arms embargo."

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/nato-takes-control-of-libya-air-ops.

[joshcryer]

14. 40 civilians dead in Tripoli strikes-Vatican official

http://af.reuters.com/article/algeriaNews/idAFLDE72U12E20110331">40 civilians dead in Tripoli strikes-Vatican official
ROME, March 31 (Reuters) - At least 40 civilians have been killed in air strikes by Western forces on Tripoli, the top Vatican official in the Libyan capital told a Catholic news agency on Thursday, quoting witnesses.

"The so-called humanitarian raids have killed dozens of civilian victims in some neighbourhoods of Tripoli," said Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli.

"I have collected several witness accounts from reliable people. In particular, in the Buslim neighbourhood, due to the bombardments, a civilian building collapsed, causing the death of 40 people," he told Fides, the news agency of the Vatican missionary arm.

Libyan officials have taken foreign reporters to the sites of what they say were the aftermath of Western air strikes on Tripoli but evidence of civilian casualties has been inconclusive.

:( :cry:

[joshcryer]

15. Rebels in Ivory Coast besiege Abidjan

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110331/ap_on_bi_ge/af_ivory_coast">Rebels in Ivory Coast besiege Abidjan
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – Rebels fighting to install Ivory Coast's democratically elected president began besieging the main city of Abidjan on Thursday after seizing a key seaport overnight. The top military commander of the country's entrenched ruler fled to the residence of South Africa's ambassador.

United Nations radio announced that the port of San Pedro, 190 miles (300 kilometers) west of Abidjan, was taken by rebels late Wednesday. Residents said by telephone that soldiers retreated in trucks while firing into the air as the rebels moved in.

In Abidjan, rebels already in control of several northern districts of the city attacked a prison and freed the inmates, a rebel commander said.

The rebels, who support internationally recognized leader Alassane Ouattara, also advanced into Yopougon, a district of Abidjan that fervently supports incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo, witnesses said.

More freedom fighters I support. I wish they could get foreign intervention but they're ... black. And we know http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKjprq67kYI">how the world treats blacks.

[MedleyMisty]

106. Same here

And yeah - being black is even worse than being brown.

I was also thinking - lack of internet access might have something to do with it. Not a lot of pictures, of videos, of first person accounts for the world to see what's going on and become emotionally involved and feel a moral imperative to help. I've added #gbago and #ivorycoast to my saved searches on Twitter but it doesn't seem to get nearly as much activity as it should - and what it does get is headlines and bits of news from outsiders. Nothing personal to give it an emotional human face.

I'm thinking that internet access is a human right. Like Anonymous says - the internet is our global mind. And everyone should have a say in it.

Not that internet access would instantly overcome racism/classism/prejudice in general, but I do think it would really help a lot if we had the same Twitter feeds and videos and interaction with people on the ground there as we do in Libya.

[tabatha]

16. In Libya, CIA is gathering intelligence on rebels

The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identities and capabilities of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to U.S. officials.

The information has become more crucial as the administration and its coalition partners move closer to providing direct military aid or guidance to the disorganized and beleaguered rebel army.

Although the administration has pledged that no U.S. ground troops will be deployed to Libya, officials said Wednesday that President Obama has issued a secret finding that would authorize the CIA to carry out a clandestine effort to provide arms and other support to Libyan opposition groups.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/in-libya-cia-is-gathering-intelligence-on-rebels/2011/03/30/AFLyb25B_story.html

[pinboy3niner]

17. Amnesty International: Gov't must end campaign to discredit Eman al-Obeidi & release her

The Libyan authorities must end their campaign to discredit Eman al-Obeidi, says Amnesty International, after the government said she was being sued by the security officials who she says raped her: "It is simply outrageous that Eman al-Obeidi is now being targeted by the very officials whom she has accused, with the apparent approval of the Libyan authorities. This looks to be nothing but an attempt at face-saving by the government. Instead of carrying out this smear campaign, they should release her and independently investigate her allegations. Eman al-Obeidi has effectively disappeared. We fear that she is being detained and put under pressure to withdraw her allegations."

1333:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418

[defendandprotect]

54. LIBYA HURRA -- !!

[tabatha]

19. 'If he is dead, I hope not this way': a Libyan father's prayer for his rebel son

Mohammed Ahmed Boulika feared the worst, and it was not that his son had been shot dead in the heat of Libya's revolution.

Dressed in a black robe, with a pistol on his hip, Boulika walked the streets of the frontline town of Ras Lanuf with a picture of his son, more passport than rebel fighter, hanging around his neck alongside a sign: "I'm asking about my missing son, Ahmed Mohammed.

"I see the bodies of the rebels. The things they've done to them is the way you wouldn't treat an animal. They cut their ears, their lips, they pull out their nails, their beards. I can see they do this before they kill them," he said. "I clean the corpses at the hospital. I see things like this, strange things. If Ahmed Mohammed is dead I hope it is not this way."

Boulika, 56, and his son abandoned their jobs as lorry drivers to join the flood of rebel volunteers who grabbed a gun and tore off to the front at the beginning of Libya's revolution, imagining that the sheer weight of the uprising would roll over Gaddafi's forces and into Tripoli.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/libya-father-searches-rebel-son?CMP=twt_gu

Very, very sad. I hope they get the bastards.

[tabatha]

20. Statement of the Transitional National Council on Counter-Terrorism

The Transitional National Council affirms the Islamic identity of the Libyan People, its commitment to the moderate Islamic values, its full rejection to the extremist ideas and its commitment to combating them in all circumstances, and refuses the allegations aiming to associate al-Qaeda with the revolutionists in Libya.

It emphasizes that the danger of terrorism threatens all nations and it should not be associated with any religion, culture or ethnicity; and it affirms its strong condemnation and its commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.

It emphasizes also its full commitment to the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions on Counter-Terrorism, including the resolutions on the Sanctions concerning al-Qaeda and Taliban, with the full commitment to all measures and sanctions concerning any individual or entity associated with al-Qaeda and Taliban as determined by the Sanctions Committee.

http://ntclibya.org/english/counter-terrorism/

[pinboy3niner]

21. Reuters says two of its journalists are missing in Syria

Diplomatic sources told the agency that Suleiman al-Khalidi, a Jordanian based in Amman, was detained by Syrian authorities in Damascus on Tuesday. Khaled al-Hariri, a Syrian photographer based in Damascus, has not been in contact with colleagues since Monday. Happier news on Ammar-al-Hamdan, a journalist working for al-Jazeera's and Ny Tid, a Norwegian magazine. He has been released by the Libyan government in Tripoli.

1.42pm:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/31/libya-middle-east-syria-gaddafi

[tabatha]

22. With Rebels In Retreat, What Are U.S. Options?

First step: airstrikes.

Increasing Firepower

In the past few days, the Americans brought in more firepower for that job — two warplanes specially designed to target Libyan troops hiding among civilians in cities. One is the A-10 Warthog; the other is the AC-130 gunship. Both are armed with cannons and Gatling guns.

"They can be very precise in very small quarters," says retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Dave Deptula, who designed the air campaign for the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

NATO strikes are also targeting Libyan army fuel depots and ammunition dumps.

Obama told NBC these airstrikes could determine the coalition's future course in Libya.

"Do we start getting to a stage where Gadhafi's forces are sufficiently degraded, where it may not be necessary to arm opposition groups? But we're not taking anything off the table at this point," he said.

http://www.npr.org/2011/03/31/134991591/with-rebels-in-retreat-what-are-u-s-options

[pinboy3niner]

23. Misrata: Heavy shelling by Gaddafi forces continues after brief lull

Opposition spokesman Saddoun al-Misrati has confirmed Misrata has been subjected to heavy shelling: “the city of Misrata has been subjected to heavy shelling and heavy artillery fire by Gaddafi forces throughout the night and in the early hours of this morning. The shelling stopped for an hour or two eariler this mroning, but continued all the way thruogh the afternoon, and including up till the last few minutes,” he told the BBC World Service’s Newshour programme.

3:00pm:
http://feb17.info/

[tabatha]

24. World Food Program: On The Front Lines In North Africa

As WFP and its partner, the Libyan Red Crescent, prepare to launch the first food distribution to some 7,000 internally displaced people in eastern Libya, our emergency logistics team is on the front lines. WFP staff are already operating in Benghazi, the major city of eastern Libya where a total of 10,900 metric tons of food -- enough to feed more than half a million people -- has either entered the country or been prepositioned to be tapped when needed.

Much of the logistics work and preparations for delivering future humanitarian assistance in Libya are taking place on the desert border areas of Egypt and Tunisia.

"The future of the public food distribution system in Libya is very worrying to us," said WFP Logistics Director Martin Ohlsen. "To the best of our knowledge, the food that is in the country is currently being consumed without being adequately replenished."

http://www.wfp.org/stories/logistics-front-lines-wfps-north-african-operations?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=twitter_update&utm_campaign=libyalogsstory

[pinboy3niner]

25. US SecDef Gates to tell Congress: Removing Gaddafi "not part of the military mission"

US secretary defence Robert Gates, who cautioned against military involvement in Libya, is due to testify on Capitol Hill soon. The Pentagon will carry a live feed, but meanwhile Reuters carries a snippet from his prepared statement. Gates and US secretary of state Hillary Clinton testified yesterday but failed to satisfy congressional critics, the Guardian's Richard Adams wrote on his blog yesterday.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will likely be removed from power over time by his own people, as a result of political and economic measures, Gates said. But in prepared remarks to Congress, Gates stressed that removing Gaddafi was "not part of the military mission" by coalition forces acting under a UN security council mandate. The comments came a day after revelations that President Barack Obama signed a secret order authorising covert US government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Gaddafi.

2.17pm:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/31/libya-middle-east-syria-gaddafi

[defendandprotect]

55. LIBYA HURRA -- !!

[Waiting For Everyman]

92. I saw this hearing today on C-SPAN3.

Gates stressed that there is a military mission and a political mission (through the State Dept.). Taking out Gaddafi is not part of the military mission; but it IS the objective of the political mission, via diplomacy. The military action is to put pressure on Gadaffi to negotiate an exit out of Libya, in addition to protecting civilians.

I think some people are misunderstanding this, and viewing it as a contradiction. There really isn't a contradition, just a separation of responsibility within a unified goal.

Of course that could change. At some point down the road the coalition might want to just end it via bombing Gadaffi's personal location etc.

[pinboy3niner]

93. Thanks for that clarification

It seems like all the stories I see have snippets here and there, often without critical context.

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

26. Is Obama Trying to Scare Qaddafi Out of Libya?

Is Obama Trying to Scare Qaddafi Out of Libya?

By Max Fisher
Mar 31 2011, 8:05 AM ET

With news of CIA involvement, consideration for arming the rebels, and the sudden departure of top regime officials, the U.S. may be clearing the way for the colonel's exit



Perhaps two of the organizations least known for leaking, the CIA and the Obama White House, the latter of which has made a special habit of prosecuting leakers, appear to have both leaked the same story at the same time to the New York Times and to Reuters, the latter of which cites four separate sources. Together, they report that President Obama signed a secret finding authorizing the clandestine operations in support of Libya's rebels, including Central Intelligence Agency agents on the ground but not including arms for the rebels. It's possible that these officials all decided to risk joining past leakers in prison, like Bradley Manning. It's possible they all made the decision simultaneously, apparently on the same day, though the finding is now two to three weeks old. And it's possible they all chose to reveal about the same level of detail. Such a leak would be nearly unprecedented in scale and coordination -- nearly all such leaks are made by lone individuals -- and, judging by the Obama Department of Justice's past response to leaks, would bring about a large and almost assuredly successful investigation.


All of these things are possible. But it's also possible that the leak was planned, as so many U.S. government leaks are. There are several reasons that administrations willingly leak secrets: a desire to release information without publicly owning it or associating it with the president, legal restrictions that make it impossible for the White House to publicly acknowledge a program, or simply wanting to give the appearance that something should be a secret without actually keeping it that way. All of these factors could be in play in a possible decision to let slip Obama's secret finding. Such a leak makes appear Obama more bullish on Libya without requiring him to explain the plan for this new secret authority. It wards off domestic pressure without actually engaging those pressuring him. It also prepares the American people for the possibility of clandestine actions without actually carrying them out or even promising to consider carrying them out. After all, though the finding's approval may be broad, very little appears to have actually been done with it. Arming the rebels, the first logical step in a serious clandestine commitment, doesn't have the necessary congressional approval.

...


http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2011/03/is-obama-trying-to-scare-qaddafi-out-of-libya/73264/

[David__77]

44. I think that's part of it, sure.

But, if so, it's misguided. The planned leaks may always backfire, since it makes it look as if there is poor security in the government.

[pinboy3niner]

27. More on Moussa Koussa...

From the Guardian:

My colleague Simon Jeffery has been trawling through the WikiLeaks US state department cables for material on Moussa Koussa. The cables show, Simon says, that he was involved in all key bilateral issues from Bulgarian medics, ending cooperation with Iran, visas for US tourists, human rights, working on Darfur peace talks, discussions on the location of the new US embassy and repatriated Guantanamo detainees.

Simon writes: He was cited as one of the Libyan officials who understood US concern about Megrahi getting a hero's welcome. The key quote is: Kusa is the rare Libyan official who embodies a combination of intellectual acumen, operational ability and political weight. When he was reshuffled into the foreign ministry, organisations linked to Saif al-Islam likened it to moving pieces on a chessboard and said it would not help economic reform. A cable pointed out as spy chief he was one of the people who kept the regime in place.

The Observer's Peter Beaumont has this profile of Koussa, "Britain's toxic guest".

What is clear is that his flight has caught many observers on both sides of the Atlantic on the hop. US observers had previously speculated that the American-educated former head of Libya's external security service – and a keen basketball fan – was too closely implicated in the previous wrongdoings of the regime to be a likely candidate as a defector.

2.40pm:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/31/libya-middle-east-syria-gaddafi

[pinboy3niner]

29. Moussa Koussa could know truth about Lockerbie bombing, say campaigners

Source: The Guardian

Moussa Koussa could know truth about Lockerbie bombing, say campaigners


Victims' families say defection of former Gaddafi spy chief raises hopes of finding facts behind bombing of Pan Am flight 103


Severin Carrell , Scotland correspondent guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 March 2011 14.30 BST


Crucial questions about Libya's role in the Lockerbie bombing could finally be answered after the defection of the country's foreign minister, say campaigners.

Professor Robert Black and Jim Swire, whose daughter, Flora, was killed in the attack, said Moussa Koussa had been a pivotal figure in the Gaddafi regime and his defection was a "fantastic day" for the victims' families.

Scottish prosecution authorities plan to interview Koussa about the bombing of Pan Am flight 103, which killed 270 people on 21 December 1988. The Crown Office has been "liaising closely with other justice authorities", while Dumfries and Galloway police, which has kept open its files on the bombing, said it was waiting for direction from the Crown Office before asking permission to interview Koussa.

Swire and Black say they have spoken to Koussa, formerly Muammar Gaddafi's head of intelligence, on numerous occasions and describe him as "the scariest man" they have met. He even terrified other Libyan government officials, they said. They said Koussa had stuck rigidly to the official position that Libya was not responsible for the bombing.

...


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/moussa-koussa-truth-lockerbie-bombing?INTCMP=SRCH

[defendandprotect]

59. Perhaps give us a key to unraveling Gaddafi's rule?

[pinboy3niner]

61. His evidence could assure prosecution--and conviction--of Gaddafi and others at the ICC

He knows where all the bodies are buried--figuratively and literally. He's likely in jeopardy himself, though, so he's sure to demand immunity for his cooperation.

I think you're right--Moussa Koussa is the key.

:hi:

[defendandprotect]

79. Fingers crossed --

that it may lead to some further weakening of Gaddafi --

see you are still on duty!

Thank you -- these threads are a wonderful record for DU -- and everyone here

should be very proud of this effort!

:hi:

[pinboy3niner]

30. Once prosperous, Libyan city now bears many scars of war

Source: CNN

Once prosperous, Libyan city now bears many scars of war

From Fred Pleitgen, CNN

March 31, 2011 -- Updated 1335 GMT (2135 HKT)


Misrata, Libya (CNN) -- Five weeks of battle and Misrata looks apocalyptic. Bullets made Swiss cheese of buildings. Wreckage litters streets that are empty save opposition fighters desperately defending their city against Moammar Gadhafi's heavy armor.

The Libyan leader laid seige to the nation's third largest and most prosperous city after opposition fighters took control here. Just two hours east of Tripoli, it was the final rebel stronghold in the West.

Now it is a city of fear, uncertainty and human suffering.

...


Gadhafi's forces lob shells into Misrata from encampments on the outskirts. Rooftop snipers take aim at civilians in the heart of the city. One Misrata resident had earlier told CNN that Gadhafi's men are terrorizing the city; the carnage "beyond imagination."

...


Mohammed, 12, and his older brother were both wounded when mortars hit their home. Mohammed lost several fingers on his left hand. His right hand is gone. His father vows revenge.

"Gadhafi should be killed," he says.


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/31/libya.misrata/

[pinboy3niner]

31. Al-Arabiya: chief of (external) intelligence Abu-Zayd Durdah has fled to Tunisia (unconfirmed)

Al-Arabiya TV is reporting that chief of Libyan (external) intelligence Abu-Zayd Durdah has fled to Tunisia. There is no independent confirmation of the report.

1514:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418

[pinboy3niner]

32. Libyan govt. spokesman: Hopefully 2 female journos will meet w/ Eman al-Obeidi by Sat.

He said they would be able to meet her at a special facility for rape victims in Tripoli.

[pinboy3niner]

34. Govt spokesman says Moussa Koussa is "totally exhausted mentally, psychologically, physically"

He said he was totally exhausted..."due to his age".... He also said, in effect, that he would be welcome to come back if he gets better, lol!

[pinboy3niner]

35. Monitors find 2 minefields, 12 Gaddafi warehouses with "tens of thousands" of mines

Human rights and mine experts on Thursday said that Gaddafi's forces have planted land mines including Brazilian-made anti-personnel mines and Egyptian-made anti-tank mines in areas around Ajdabiya.

Monitors discovered two minefields following Saturday's retreat of government troops, believed to have been laid during their 10-day occupation of the crossroads town south of the rebel capital, Benghazi.

Human Rights Watch monitor in Benghazi, Peter Bouckaert, said his team found stocks of mines abandoned by Gaddafi's forces.

We found 12 warehouses of anti-vehicle mines in Benghazi, tens of thousands of them.

Bouckaert's team also found 35 warehouses full of munitions in Ajdabiya, which had no land mines but had vast quantities of artillery shelss, mortar bombs and anti-tank missiles.

4:33pm
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31

[defendandprotect]

56. LIBYA HURRA -- !!

[pinboy3niner]

36. NATO: 'Nothing to hide' in Libya mission

Source: CNN

NATO: 'Nothing to hide' in Libya mission

By Paula Newton, CNN

March 31, 2011 -- Updated 1443 GMT (2243 HKT)


Brussels, Belgium (CNN) -- On NATO's first day of command in Libya on Thursday, the alliance reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing the arms embargo and not providing weapons to the rebels.

"The Alliance has the assets in place to conduct its tasks under Operation Unified Protector -- the arms embargo, no-fly zone and actions to protect civilians and civilian centers. In line with the mandate of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, NATO's focus is on protecting civilians and civilian-populated areas against the threat of attack, " NATO said in a statement, adding that the "operational tempo" of the mission had not changed because of the handover.

...


Russian diplomatic officials, meanwhile, warned against a "creative" interpretation of the U.N. resolution and hinted it was beginning to regret its decision to abstain during the U.N. vote. Russia, as one of the Security Council's permanent members, has veto power.

But NATO officials insist they are employing the strictest interpretation of the resolution. "The alliance has nothing to hide -- not to Russia and not to you," Adm. Giampaolo Di Paola, chairman of NATO's Military Committee, told a press briefing at NATO headquarters.


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/31/libya.nato/

[pinboy3niner]

37. For the first time in a few days, the rebels have been able to hold their ground--Al Jazeera

Hoda Abdel Hamid reports that professional military men are now on the front lines near Brega "and they seem to be organizing themselves and organizing the civilian volunteers." They are now holding their positions in the fighting with Gaddafi forces.

[pinboy3niner]

38. Photo: Rebel fighters armed with RPGs driving through Ajdabiya Thursday

The photo below shows Libyan rebel fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades driving through Ajdabiya on Thursday as they fought for control of the eastern oil town of Brega. A day earlier Gaddafi's forces them back along a coastal strip under a hail of rocket fire.


Photo: Reuters


5:03pm:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31

[pinboy3niner]

39. Defections tighten noose around Gaddafi

Source: Reuters

Defections tighten noose around Gaddafi


Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:24pm GMT


By Adam Tanner and Paul Taylor


RABAT/PARIS (Reuters) - The noose is tightening around Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and his family after his foreign minister and another top diplomat defected in the highest-level desertions since the start of a civil war.

But Gaddafi's spokesman vowed on Thursday that the "brother leader" would fight on unbowed.

...


Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, a former spy chief and a close Gaddafi adviser since the 1970s, slipped out of the country to Tunisia and flew to Britain on Wednesday in a stunning blow to Gaddafi.

...


On Thursday, Ali Abdussalm Treki, a former foreign minister who had been appointed Libyan ambassador to the United Nations, said he had resigned over the "spilling of blood" by government forces and would work at "saving this precious nation".

Treki announced his move in a statement in Cairo sent to Reuters by his nephew, Soufian Treki, a Libyan diplomat at the Arab League.


http://af.reuters.com/article/topNews/idAFJOE72U0NR20110331

[pinboy3niner]

40. The Guardian's summary of the day's events so far in Libya and the Middle East:

• A day after his dramatic defection from Gaddafi's inner circle, Scottish prosecutors say that they have told the Foreign Office they want to interview Moussa Koussa in connection with the Lockerbie bombing

• Western air strikes have killed at least 40 civilians, Reuters has reported. The news agency said the top Vatican official in Tripoli told a Catholic news agency of the deaths

• The CIA, MI6 and dozens of British and US special forces and intelligence officers are working inside Libya. US officials told the New York Times that British forces have have been directing air strikes and gathering intelligence about the location of Libyan government forces

• Nato is officially in command of all air operations over Libya, having taken over from the US. The alliance took charge at 6am GMT this morning. The operation, codenamed Unified Protector, includes includes enforcement of the no-fly zone, maintaining the arms embargo on Libya, and the protection of civilians

• Reuters says two of its journalists are missing in Syria. Suleiman al-Khalidi, a Jordanian based in Amman, is said to have been detained by Syrian authorities in Damascus on Tuesday. Khaled al-Hariri, a Syrian national and photographer based in Damascus, has not been in contact with colleagues since Monday


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/31/libya-moussa-koussa-gaddafi-live

[pinboy3niner]

41. A fishing trawler packed with food and med. equip. has docked in rebel-held Misrata--AFP

A fishing trawler packed with food and medical equipment has docked in rebel-held Misrata, bringing one of the first aid shipments to the besieged Libyan city since it came under attack by Col Gaddafi's forces 10 days ago, AFP reports.

1627:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418

[pinboy3niner]

42. CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 6:15 PM THURSDAY, MARCH 31

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, GMT +2 hours

[pinboy3niner]

43. More senior Libyan officials defecting, Libyan opposition TV says--BBC (unconfirmed)

More senior Libyan officials are defecting, Libyan opposition TV says. BBC Monitoring says the broadcast lists several officials who it claims are "all at Tunisia's Jerba airport waiting to join Moussa Koussa and to announce their breakaway from the Libyan regime". The information cannot be verified.

1710:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12776418

[Yosarian71]

71. So what?

These are rats abandoning a sinking ship. They realize that there are two outcomes right now: 1) the rebels win and there is retribution for 42 years of tyranny or 2) Gadhafi wins and begins the mother of all purges once he secures power. Pretty awful outcomes for anyone who thinks they are not BFF's with Muammar.

Successful revolutions need insiders in the regime to topple it. A senior intelligence officer feeding the rebels troop locations and working to recruit more defectors is worth 10x a senior bureaucrat fleeing to London to save his skin.

[pinboy3niner]

45. Gates, Mullen: Gaddafi forces degraded by 25% but still outnumber opposition 10-1

More on the appearance before Congress by US defence secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff.

The pair said that Gaddafi's military forces had been "degraded" by as much as 25% – but Mullen said that the regime's forces still outnumber the rebels by around 10-to-1, with the disjointed opposition operating independently from place to place. Only around 1,000 of the rebels have military training.

Gates said political and economic pressures will eventually topple Gaddafi, but that disabling his armed forces would remove a source of support for his regime.

5.09pm:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/31/libya-moussa-koussa-gaddafi-live

[pinboy3niner]

46. Libya foreign minister Moussa Koussa must face atrocities trial, rebels declare

Source: The Guardian

Libya foreign minister Moussa Koussa must face atrocities trial, rebels declare


Rebel leadership wants defector returned and tried for crimes against humanity once Gaddafi is toppled


Chris McGreal in Benghazi guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 March 2011 13.02 BST


Libya's rebel leadership has called for Moussa Koussa, the former Libyan foreign minister who has defected to the UK, to be returned for trial for murder and crimes against humanity after Muammar Gaddafi is toppled.

Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the revolutionary council in its de facto capital, Benghazi, said that the rebels were not bent on revenge against the regime's officials but that some of Gaddafi's closest associates "have a lot of blood on their hands" and must stand trial.

The British foreign secretary, William Hague, has said that Britain is not offering Koussa immunity from prosecution, and called for other regime figures to abandon Gaddafi.

Gheriani alleged that Koussa had been partly responsible for assassinating opposition figures in exile, murderous internal repression and the Lockerbie plane bombing.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/moussa-koussa-foreign-minister-trial

[defendandprotect]

57. LIBYA HURA -- !!

[David__77]

60. Will they also try the former interior minister or the former justice minister?

I really have wondered that. For now, they are in positions of leadership. Later on, they could face serious difficulties.

[pinboy3niner]

47. Turkey PM Erdogan has rejected the idea of arming the Libyan rebels

Turkye's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the idea of arming the Libyan rebels to remove Gaddafi from office.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his British counterpart David Cameron in London, he said:

Doing that would create a different situation in Libya and we do not find it appropriate to do that.

This could also create an environment which could be conducive to terrorism, and that would itself be dangerous. It should be NATO which should protect the civilians from cruelty.

5:37pm
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31

[pinboy3niner]

48. 'The tank shell amputated my leg' – one Libyan boy's story from Misrata

'The tank shell amputated my leg' – one Libyan boy's story from Misrata
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/video/2011/mar/31/libya-boy-loses-leg-video

[pinboy3niner]

49. Ali Abdessalam Treki, recently named Libya's envoy to UN, rejects job, flees to Egypt

A senior Libyan diplomat has announced his resignation and fled to Egypt, becoming the second high-profile reported defection from Gaddafi's government in as many days.

Ali Abdessalam Treki, who was recently named as Libya's envoy to the UN, said in a statement posted on several opposition websites that he is not going to accept that job or any other.

We should not let our country fall into an unknown fate. It is our nation's right to live in freedom, democracy and a good life.

7:17pm
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31

[David__77]

58. i.e., "I'm gonna take the money and run!"

There's a lot of things going on. We are not seeing principled moves, but opportunistic ones. I have no idea why that guy fled to London, only to face imprisonment. But others, smarter, will flee to neutral countries with their bloated bank accounts. Their only concern appears to be their own safety.

[kenny blankenship]

67. I guess the only ones who'll be left will be the real HEROES - right?

Their city shelling, civilian slaughtering, landmine laying, human shield using motives are pure.

[David__77]

74. Is that what you think?

I don't think so. I think they are opportunists as well. I wouldn't call that heroism, but you're free to.

[pinboy3niner]

50. Eman al-Obeidi to meet with journalists, Libyan government says ("hopefully")

Source: CNN

Alleged rape victim to meet with journalists, Libyan government says


By the CNN Wire StaffMarch 31, 2011 -- Updated 1713 GMT (0113 HKT)


Tripoli, Libya (CNN) -- A woman who was dragged away by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's officials after telling journalists that some of his troops had raped her will finally be seen by journalists in the coming days, a government spokesman said Thursday.

Eman al-Obeidy will "hopefully" be visited by two or three female journalists by Saturday, Mousa Ibrahim said.

He added that he did not know where she was Thursday.

"The only place she will be other than her family house" is a shelter for women who have been raped, kidnapped, or otherwise victimized, he said. "Maybe she is there."

But al-Obeidy's mother, Aisha Ahmad, told CNN on Tuesday that she had not seen her. The family is worried about her.


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/31/libya.rape.case/

[pinboy3niner]

51. Gates: Highly unlikely for al-Qaeda to "hijack" the uprising in Libya against Gaddafi's rule

US defence secretary Robert Gates on Thursday said it is highly unlikely for al-Qaeda to "hijack" the uprising in Libya against Gaddafi's rule.

Gates played down the threat posed by the group's regional affiliate, al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, saying:

I think that the future government of Libya is going to be worked out among the principal tribes.

So I think that for some outside group or some element of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb to be able to hijack this thing at this point looks very unlikely to me.

On Tuesday NATO's top commander Admiral James Stavridis had talked about "flickers" of possible al-Qaeda or Hezbollah influence among the opposition ranks.

7:57pm:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31

[pinboy3niner]

52. 'If he is dead, I hope not this way': a Libyan father's prayer for his rebel son

Source: The Guardian

'If he is dead, I hope not this way': a Libyan father's prayer for his rebel son


Ahmed plunged himself into the uprising around Ras Lanuf. His father, Mohammed, fears he has been tortured and killed


Chris McGreal in Ras Lanuf guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 March 2011 12.31 BST



Libyan father Mohammed Ahmed Boulika looks for his son, Ahmed Mohammed, in Ras Lanuf. Photograph: Sean Smith for the Guardian


Mohammed Ahmed Boulika feared the worst, and it was not that his son had been shot dead in the heat of Libya's revolution.

Dressed in a black robe, with a pistol on his hip, Boulika walked the streets of the frontline town of Ras Lanuf with a picture of his son, more passport than rebel fighter, hanging around his neck alongside a sign: "I'm asking about my missing son, Ahmed Mohammed.

"I see the bodies of the rebels. The things they've done to them is the way you wouldn't treat an animal. They cut their ears, their lips, they pull out their nails, their beards. I can see they do this before they kill them," he said. "I clean the corpses at the hospital. I see things like this, strange things. If Ahmed Mohammed is dead I hope it is not this way."

Boulika, 56, and his son abandoned their jobs as lorry drivers to join the flood of rebel volunteers who grabbed a gun and tore off to the front at the beginning of Libya's revolution, imagining that the sheer weight of the uprising would roll over Gaddafi's forces and into Tripoli.

...


"We were here together when Gaddafi attacked Ras Lanuf. I went back. At my age and my health I can't go fighting the way the battles are raging back and forward," he said. "My son went forward and joined the fighters at the front. I tried to tell him to come with me. My son said he didn't come here to retreat but to fight. He disappeared."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/libya-father-searches-rebel-son

[pinboy3niner]

53. Al Jazeera reporting a wave of defections by senior regime officials

I saw a report by Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught in Tripoli saying 4 or 5 senior officials had fled the country and defected. She named positions, not names: the head of the intelligence service, the Oil Minister, the Deputy Foreign Minister (who, she said, traveled to Tunisia with Moussa Koussa), and the Secretary of the General People's Congress.

She said the Oil Minister was a question mark because he reportedly told Reuters by phone that he is still in Tripoli--but that could not be confirmed.

[pinboy3niner]

62. Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports on wave of defections, regime's reaction on Koussa:

Watch at AJE (at 8:25pm timestamp)...

Question marks over reported Libyan defections (2:50):
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-31

...or watch on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A072lzbqLDM&feature=player_embedded

[defendandprotect]

82. LIBYA HURRA -- !!

[pinboy3niner]

63. "We have a lot of soldiers – ex-army that are returning, pledging to the revolution"

The Guardian's Chris McGreal is in Libya near the frontline of the fighting, and sees more confusion in the rebel forces:

Mustafa Gheriani, a spokesman for the revolutionary council in Benghazi, said that in spite of the setbacks, which have seen the rebels almost forced back to their positions of a week ago, the situation is far from lost.

"We are very actively building a professional army, or as close to a professional army as possible. We're trying to make sure they're properly armed," he said.

"We have a lot of soldiers – ex-army that are returning, pledging to the revolution. But this process takes time. It takes quite a bit of time to train a professional soldier. But there's quite a bit of progress. I think in the next few days we'll see developments that are going to be very positive."

7.56pm:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/31/libya-moussa-koussa-gaddafi-live?intcmp=239


An Al Jazeera correspondent near the front at Brega reports ex-army troops are organizing themselves and organizing the civilian volunteers, and have set up "several formations" around Brega and were trying to extend into the desert. This reporting supports the claim that progress is being made.

[defendandprotect]

83. LIBYA HURRA -- !! ....

Just an aside on this --

(and feel free to ignore anything my comments as I well understand how tense

and busy this thread is!!)

But wondering if Gaddafi found problems with the mercenaries, as well in regard

to them being untrained? Presume they are still coming in from Chad though the

allied forces were trying on the Med to keep them from coming in by air or sea.

Glad to hear about the second defector!!

:)

[pinboy3niner]

64. WaPo: U.S. Spending on operations in Libya drains Pentagon

The U.S. military operations in Libya will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and force Congress to seek help next week for the cash-strapped Pentagon, which is operating on a short-term funding resolution.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-spending-on-military-operations-in-libya-drains-pentagon/2011/03/23/ABB02ZLB_story.html

Also posted in GD:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x783488

[defendandprotect]

84. Bake sales for the Pentagon? How about ending the tax cuts for the rich ... ending two wars!!

[Iterate]

65. Hamid Dabashi: “A new world giving birth to itself…”

Hamid Dabashi: “A new world giving birth to itself…”

By Chris Lydon· March 29, 2011

Hamid Dabashi is here to calm our nerves through the dreaded American Decline. “Empires don’t last,” he smiles. “If they did, we’d be speaking Persian.”

All the news looks bright to the sometimes gruff and provocative Iranian historian of culture and colonialism at Columbia University. Even Qaddafi’s last spasms in Libya have the virtue of putting the seal of King Lear’s madness on a half-century, now finished, of post-colonial tyranny. “Qaddafi was the nativist aftertaste of European colonialism — the bastard son of its militarism, charlatanism, barefaced barbarity…” he writes.

Even the cruelty and sickness today in Hamid Dabashi’s native Iran will be seen one day as a bad episode in a long and vivid dream of democracy. It’s a dream sustained in a century of Iranian poetry, fiction and film and in conversation with the globe — a dream that came to life in the Green Movement in 2009 and in the now global raps of Shahin Najafi and the sublime music of Mohsen Namjoo, seen and heard all over the world on YouTube. Young Iran in 2009 helped generate the revolutionary waves of 2011, Dabashi is saying, and Iran’s dream will rise again with the others.

“The world after Tahrir Square is like Christopher Columbus approaching the new continent. A new world is giving birth to itself… We are looking at a seismic change, not informed by miracles or ideology but by demography and economics” — that is, by the young majority in the world and by the mobility of labor and capital. Egypt in 2011 is “the first post-modern revolution,” not led by a designated or charismatic figure, but with a built-in distrust of grand narratives, Islamic or Marxist, and of grand illusions. The shape of the new map is still unimaginable. “We don’t know what the future is, but, boy, is it good to be alive and witnessing it.”

...

More, and listen to the interview:
http://www.radioopensource.org/hamid-dabashi-a-new-world-giving-birth-to-itself/

Hamid Dabashi was sought out frequently in for his insight into Iran in 2009 and 2010, but here his comments are more directed to current events. Some of the things he says in regards to the potential and depth of the Arab Spring have been written in GD, but perhaps his clarity and authority is needed to give them more serious consideration. Great insight; hang in there, it just keeps getting better.

Favorite tiny quote: "After the Tahrir Square, with the same token that United States and Israel are loosing their friends in the region, something even worse is happening to Islamic Republic, Islamic Republic is loosing its enemies, and in that region, loosing enemies is worse than loosing friends."

Wow. I don't think that's the only region where that applies.

[pinboy3niner]

68. Gates: "I am preoccupied with avoiding mission creep and...an open-ended...commitment"

Robert Gates the US Defence Secretary has said the United States should not seek to direct the future of a post-Muammar Gaddafi Libya. Gates, who is expected to retire this summer, told a Senate hearing today:

I think that the last thing this country needs is another enterprise in nation building. My view is that the future of Libya - the United States ought not take responsibility for that, frankly. I think there are other countries both in the region and our allies in Europe who can participate in the effort, particularly with nonlethal aid to the help the development of Libya.

I just don't think we need to take on another one.

He added: "I am preoccupied with avoiding mission creep and avoiding having an open-ended, very large-scale American commitment in this respect. We know about Afghanistan; we know about Iraq.

20.51:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html

[MedleyMisty]

78. I get what he's saying

and I like what I'm hearing about how he has no desire to "nation-build", i.e. install a puppet regime and kill the country for profit.

I've been thinking today, and I increasingly think that all the conspiracy theories about this are absurd and show that both the left and the right have American exceptionalism going on. On one side we're the best country ever and should make the rest of the world just like us and we're awesome and everything we do is right. On the other we're the worst country ever and we rule the rest of the world and manipulate all of it to our liking.

But the more I hear about what's going on in the coalition, the more it seems like it's Turkey who has the interest in predatory nation building, the French really want to help the Libyans, and we're just kind of reluctantly along for the ride.

[defendandprotect]

85. Well, if Iraq and Afghanistan are examples of our "nation building" ---

then our military officials don't know the difference between destruction and building!!

These are two immoral and illegal wars of aggression -- and about controlling oil in the

region. Iraq a long sought second attack on them -- and we've been bombing them for 20 years!

We also refused first time around to clean up the depleted uranium we had littered the country with!

We destroyed their infrastructure which is allegedly illegal under Geneva Accords.

Both of these wars should be closed down immediately.

And, let's find that $3.4 BILLION the Pentagon lost track of -- !!

[pinboy3niner]

69. *****EXCLUSIVE--Revealed: Gaddafi envoy in Britain for secret talks--The Guardian*****

Source: The Guardian

Revealed: Gaddafi envoy in Britain for secret talks


Exclusive: Contact with senior aide believed to be one of a number between Libyan officials and west amid signs regime may be looking for exit strategy


Peter Beaumont , Nicholas Watt and Severin Carrell guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 March 2011 21.30 BST


Colonel Gaddafi's regime has sent one of its most trusted envoys to London for confidential talks with British officials, the Guardian can reveal.

Mohammed Ismail, a senior aide to Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam, visited London in recent days, British government sources familiar with the meeting have confirmed.

The contacts with Ismail are believed to have been one of a number between Libyan officials and the west in the last fortnight, amid signs that the regime may be looking for an exit strategy.

...


"There has been increasing evidence recently that the sons want a way out," said a western diplomatic source.

...


One idea that the sons have reportedly suggested – which the Guardian has been unable to corroborate – is that Gaddafi give up real power.

Mutassim, presently the country's national security adviser, would become president of an interim national unity government which would include the country's opposition.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/gaddaf-envoy-britain-secret-talks-exit-strategy

[pinboy3niner]

70. Posted this story in LBN also:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4795617

[defendandprotect]

87. A deal to save face for Gaddafi by making him a powerless leader?

Strange, indeed!

If the sons want to save themselves, think they'd best get down to more

hard core decisions!

[defendandprotect]

88. LIBYA HURRA !!

[pinboy3niner]

72. Gaddafi is calling on leaders of countries attacking his forces to resign

Col Gaddafi has issued a defiant statement after two high-profile departures from his regime, and is calling on leaders of countries attacking his forces to resign. The Libyan news agency says Gaddafi accused Western leaders of being "affected by power madness" and wanting to create another war between Muslims and Christians.

The Libyan government earlier confirmed the resignation of Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who had defected a day earlier. Ali Abdessalam Treki, a former foreign minister and U.N. General Assembly president, also announced his resignation on Thursday.

19.24:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8390035/Libya-Live.html

[pinboy3niner]

73. With defections, Libya has tough time getting envoy to U.N.

Source: CNN


With defections, Libya has tough time getting envoy to U.N.


From Ivan Watson and Richard Roth, CNNMarch 31, 2011 -- Updated 2049 GMT (0449 HKT)


(CNN) -- The drama over who will next represent Libya at the United Nations deepened Thursday in the wake of two apparent defections.

Moammar Gadhafi's government earlier this month asked that former Foreign Minister Ali Abdussalam Treki be approved as its envoy.

...


With recent questions over Treki's whereabouts, it appeared Libya had shifted to Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, a former president of the U.N. General Assembly and a former Nicaraguan foreign minister, to be its envoy.

...


Former Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa signed a letter requesting that Brockmann be the new Libyan ambassador. The letter, produced by the Nicaraguan government, was seen by several U.N. member countries, but was not properly submitted.

Brockmann canceled a Thursday news conference and another that had been scheduled for Friday.


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/31/libya.un.ambassador/index.html

[pinboy3niner]

75. Louis Farrakhan Defends Gaddafi, Rips U.S. Action In Libya

Louis Farrakhan Defends Gaddafi, Rips U.S. Action In Libya


The Huffington Post/AP

First Posted: 03/31/11 04:43 PM ET Updated: 03/31/11 04:46 PM ET


Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan continued his defense of embattled Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafi during a press conference in Chicago Thursday, and slammed the United States' decision to get involved in the conflict.

...


"It is a terrible thing for me to hear my brother called all these ugly and filthy names when I can't recognize him as that," Farrakhan said of Gaddafi, according to the Tribune. "Even though the current tide is moving against him ... how can I refuse to raise my voice in his defense? Why would I back down from those who have given so much."

Farrakhan has publicly defended Gaddafi a number of times since the Libyan uprising began. He reportedly visited the Libyan leader in the 1980s, and told attendees of a Nation of Islam convention in February that the United States should stay out of Libya's affairs.

He also said that if Gaddafi is persecuted for crimes against humanity, the same should apply to former President George W. Bush for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Name one ruler that has the 100 love of his people," Farrakhan said in February. "You can't find one."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/louis-farrakhan-defends-g_n_843241.html

[al bupp]

76. Mr. Farrakhan tarnishes his reputation, as do some here on DU, defending Gaddafi /nt

[MedleyMisty]

77. Found this petition link on Twitter

http://www.petition2congress.com/4254/support-house-resolution-188-to-assist-in-ending-qadhaffi-regime/

I signed it - lets my representatives know that I stand in solidarity with the Libyans.

[defendandprotect]

81. Thank you -- also signed it --

Shall we post it in GD --

and I'm asking because I spent some very strange time in GD yesterday having

to tell people what's actually been going on since few of them were watching

the Libyan Revolution threads!!

Get this -- it isn't "genocide" --

Gaddafi is a "liberal" --

Gaddafi doesn't have underground prisons -- and they know nothing about his

bringing in mercenaries -- and don't believe it!!

other than that ... if you wish I'll be happy to post it in GD!!


:) :hi:

[Iterate]

80. "We called it 'the place between the blood and eyes'."

Libyan rebels reveal dark secrets
Hamish Macdonald From: The Australian April 01, 2011 12:00AM

"WE were always so scared of this place, we never said its name out loud," says Yusuf Fanoush. "We used code. We called it 'the place between the blood and eyes'."

Until the rebels seized control of Benghazi recently, the eastern headquarters of Libya's Internal Security Agency was home to late-night interrogations, brutal treatment and indefinite detention. The office and its associated prison cells are housed in between the Benghazi blood bank and the eye hospital - hence the code name.

Fanoush, a young Libyan architect, was detained by Internal Security when he went to collect a computer keyboard from his friend's house.

"Just because I'm in the wrong time in the wrong place, that's it. That was my charge," says Fanoush. He was kept in solitary confinement for 24 days without access to a toilet. His friend with the keyboard was held for three years. Today, Fanoush tours the facility he once hoped he'd never return to. The building has been burnt and ransacked since the rebels pushed pro-Gaddafi forces out. Many of the files on individuals have been stolen or destroyed.

<more>
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/rebels-reveal-dark-secrets/story-e6frg6so-1226031586790

[pinboy3niner]

86. CURRENT TIME IN LIBYA = 1 AM FRIDAY, APRIL 1

Libya time = EDT +6 hours, PDT +9 hours, GMT +2 hours

[pinboy3niner]

89. Gadadfi's forces have advanced this week because of the weather, says the US military

Gadadfi's forces have advanced this week - because of the weather, says the US military. Admiral Mike Mullen, the country's top military officer, told senators:

The biggest problem the last three or four days has been weather.

We have not been able to see through the weather or get through the weather to be able to do this kind of identification of targets ...

And that has more than anything else reduced the impact... reduced the effectiveness, and has allowed the regime forces to move back to the east.

Gaddafi's forces had consolidated their positions to the south of Ajdabiya and were expected to renew an offensive towards Benghazi, Mullen said.

12:20am
http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/

[MedleyMisty]

99. I can sort of believe that

They are being very very very careful with targeting - they absolutely do not want to take the slightest risk of hitting anyone except Gaddafi's forces. This does fit with the earlier reports of pilots not bombing legitimate targets due to risk of hitting civilians or the rebels.

I'm keeping an open mind and waiting for more information and to see how things go.

BTW - is a nefarious plot by Turkey ever mentioned in the anti-intervention, "what's really going on" type threads? Because I'm hearing a lot of chatter about Turkey and how they're the major block holding NATO back.

[pinboy3niner]

102. I'm probably not the best person to ask about what's happening in other threads

But here's something I posted in these threads before--a good background and explanation about Turkey's position(s), from the BBC:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12864742

[pinboy3niner]

90. Gaddafi army 'not at breaking point'

Source: BBC


31 March 2011 Last updated at 18:49 ET


Gaddafi army 'not at breaking point'



Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi's armed forces are not close to breaking point despite hundreds of allied air strikes, American military chiefs have said.

Adm Mike Mullen told a US Congress committee Col Gaddafi's troops still had 10 times the rebels' firepower.

At the same hearing, Defence Secretary Robert Gates reiterated the US would put no "boots on the ground" in Libya.

...


"<The weather> has more than anything else reduced the impact... reduced the effectiveness, and has allowed the regime forces to move back to the east," the AFP news agency quoted him as saying.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12924807

[pinboy3niner]

91. The key Libyans who have defected - and those who still support Gaddafi

Source: The Guardian

The key Libyans who have defected - and those who still support Gaddafi


After the defection of foreign minister Moussa Koussa, we profile other figures to desert the regime - and its remaining supporters


Peter Beaumont guardian.co.uk, Thursday 31 March 2011 21.57 BST

_________

Defectors
_________


Major General Abdul-Fattah Younis, defected 22 February

Former interior minister and now chief-of-staff of the Libyan revolution was one of the most important figures to abandon Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime. He ordered his soldiers to raid a military base near Benghazi and seize the weapons that have fuelled the uprising. He participated in the 1969 revolution against the king and for over four decades headed the country's special forces.


Mustafa Abdul Jalil, defected 21 February

The first prominent defector, Jalil was justice minister between 2007 and 2011. Before that he was president of the court of appeal in Tripoli which twice upheld the death penalty against five Bulgarian nurses allegedly accused of contaminating Libyan children with HIV. Despite this Jalil has had a reputation for condemning human rights violations perpetrated by the Gaddafi regime. Since his defection to the rebels he has been appointed chairman of the National Transitional Council in Benghazi and supported calls for a no-fly zone.


Ali Suleiman Aujali, former Libyan ambassador to the US, defected 22 February

One of the most senior of the dozens of Libyan diplomats to switch sides. Having publicly said he would not defect he switched sides the following day. On 26 February he became the first former diplomat to recognise the new transitional government in Benghazi.


__________

Supporters
__________


Brigadier General Abdullah Senussi

Variously reported sacked or killed in an abortive coup attempt, Senussi appears to still be very much in play. Gaddafi's brother in law, he was convicted in absentia by a French court for his part in the downing of a passenger jet over Niger that killed 170 people. Believed to be head of military intelligence his organisation is currently one of the most influential within the regime.


Saif al Islam al-Gaddafi

Gaddafi's heir apparent, Saif Gaddafi has been one of the most visible members of the regime since the beginning of the revolution with rhetoric hardly less bellicose than his father's. Although he had been regarded as the most reform minded within Gaddafi's circle, his performances since the uprising have dented his reputation for being a moderating influence, becoming one of the main propagandists of the regime's claims that the rebellion has seen an alliance of al-Qaida, criminal gangs and western imperialist ambitions. He is believed to want his father to step aside.


Khamis al-Gaddafi

Colonel Gaddafi's youngest son who commands his own elite unit which has been highly visible in defending Tripoli. Although he was reported killed after a suicide plane attack on his father's compound there has been no corroborating evidence of either the attack or indeed his death or injury in it. A mutiny or defection by his well-trained and equipped troops would be fatal for the regime's survival.




http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/31/libya-gaddafi-defectors-supporters

[pinboy3niner]

94. Crowds of Gaddafi supporters have formed a human shield at Gaddafi's compound

Crowds of Gaddafi supporters have formed a human shield, gathering for another night inside the Libyan leader's Bab al-Azizia compound in a southern Tripoli suburb, says the Reuters news agency. A teenage girl among the gathering told the agency:

You keep talking about human rights but you keep bombing our Libyan citizens. We are here and not afraid, we are not afraid of your no-fly zone. We will always protect our leader and we have been in Libya fighting with armed gangs and terrorists.

1:20am:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-1

[pinboy3niner]

95. New York Times Reporters Captured In Libya Recount Their Harrowing Ordeal

Jack Mirkinson


New York Times Reporters Captured In Libya Recount Their Harrowing Ordeal

...


At the Columbia event, Hicks, a photographer for the Times, described their captors to the packed audience.

"These are real thugs," he said. "They're really people who shoot first and ask questions later." He said it was clear, once they were captured, that "there was so little organization and absolutely no command structure going on...every single person that we were passed onto was just as bad, if not worse, than the previous one."

Farrell said he had seen "three different Libyas" during his time there. In one, just past the eastern border, he said, were the rebel forces, who kept calling for Gaddafi's ouster and were clearly grateful to see journalists. In another were the government forces, who, he said, were "beating and kicking and punching us," and "had their own propaganda."

Finally, he said, "a long drive and a short flight later, we were in Tripoli and you were in these official buildings with beautiful portraits of Arab stallions on the walls and tea and elegant gentlemen quoting W.B. Yeats at you." Shadid said he had last been to Libya in 1995, and that the situation now is "more nuanced and more ambiguous." He said that "the moment for the regime and the government is so precarious right now that it's impossible for them to completely stifle dissent."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/31/nyt-reporters-libya-speak-out_n_843366.html

[tabatha]

96. Several Libyan diplomats and politicians have resigned

Several Libyan diplomats and politicians have resigned or voiced opposition to the crackdown on anti-government protesters. Here are some of the major defections:

* Denotes new or updated entry:

AUSTRALIA: The embassy in the capital, Canberra, cut ties on February 22. Omran Zwed, the mission’s cultural counsellor said: “We represent the Libyan people and no longer the Libyan regime.”

BANGLADESH: Ahmed A.H. Elimam, Libya’s ambassador in Dhaka, has resigned, Bangladeshi media said on February 22.

CHINA: A senior Libyan diplomat in Beijing, Hussein Sadiq al-Musrati, resigned on February 21 during an interview with al Jazeera.

FRANCE: Tripoli’s ambassador to France, Mohamed Salaheddine Zarem, and its ambassador to UNESCO, Abdoulsalam El Qallali, resigned on February 25, a Libyan official said.

INDIA: The entire staff of Libya’s embassy in New Delhi renounced ties with Gaddafi’s government on February 25, al Jazeera reported. The ambassador, Ali al-Essawi, had already resigned.

INDONESIA: Salaheddin El Bishari, ambassador in Indonesia, resigned on February 22, media reports said.

JORDAN: Mohammed al-Barghathi, ambassador to Jordan said on February 24 he had left his post.

* LIBYA: Prosecutor-General Abdul-Rahman al-Abbar told al Arabiya television on February 25 he was joining the opposition.

for more see
http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/04/factbox-diplomats-desert-libyas-gaddafi/

[Iterate]

98. 11:31pm: Live caller from Misrata...gives a detailed update

11:31pm: Live caller from Misrata says that the last few weeks have been “hell”, he gives a detailed update, requests targeted intervention, and gives a moving discussion of fighters:

available at http://feb17.info/

Source: feb17voices
LPC #Misrata: Detailed update, request for targeted intervention, moving discussion of fighters. #Libya
http://audioboo.fm/feb17voices

"...it's not real soldiers that are fighting Gaddafi forces, it's people, it's people..."

and with that I'll leave his voice ringing in my ears, g' night all.

[tabatha]

100. www.mohamednabbous.com site updates

http://www.mohamednabbous.com/condolences.php

[pinboy3niner]

101. Getting Libya's Rebels Wrong

Getting Libya's Rebels Wrong


Don't buy Qaddafi's line: The rebels aren't al Qaeda.


BY NAJLA ABDURRAHMAN | MARCH 31, 2011



The recent remarks by Adm. James Stavridis, NATO's supreme allied commander for Europe, alleging "flickers in the intelligence of potential al Qaeda, Hezbollah" among Libyan rebels are indicative of a disturbing trend in much of the discussion -- and reporting -- on Libya over the past several weeks. Ambiguous statements linking Libya and al Qaeda have repeatedly been made in the media without clarifying or providing appropriate context to such remarks. In many instances, these claims have been distorted or exaggerated; at times they have simply been false.


The admiral's comments -- and the subsequent headlines they've engendered -- represent a new level of irresponsibility, constructing false connections, through use of highly obscure and equivocal language, between al Qaeda and Libyan pro-democracy forces backed by the Transitional National Council. The latter is itself led by a group of well-known and respected Libyan professionals and technocrats. Even more far-fetched is the admiral's mention of a Hezbollah connection, or "flicker" as he put it.


Statements of this type are troubling because of their tendency to create alarmist ripple effects. Such perceptions, once created, are nearly impossible to reverse and may do serious damage to the pro-democracy cause in Libya. The fact that Stavridis qualified his comments by stating that the opposition's leadership appeared to be "responsible men and women" will almost certainly be overshadowed by the mention of al Qaeda in the same breath. One must wonder, then, what precisely was the purpose of the admiral's vague and perplexing remarks.


There is a pressing need for officials and commentators to clarify connections drawn between Libya and al Qaeda and to provide more accurate and responsible analysis. And it's not just Stavridis's reference to al Qaeda that is problematic; two similar claims making the media rounds also demand careful scrutiny. One involves an anti-Qaddafi organization called the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) that confronted and was crushed by the regime in the 1990s. The second involves disturbing reports of the recruitment of Libyan youth by al Qaeda in Iraq, some of whom left their homes to take part in suicide missions in that country. Neither is connected to the current uprising, but both are frequently mentioned when discussing it.


...


http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/31/getting_libyas_rebels_wrong

[defendandprotect]

111. LIBYA HURRA -- !! K/R

[pinboy3niner]

103. US Fed. Reserve lent Libyan state-backed bank up to US $26 billion during the financial crisis

The Arab Bank Corporation, which is today 59.3 percent owned by the Libyan government, borrowed in slices as big as $1.175billion from the US central bank.

Democrat-allied Senator Bernie Sanders said the Fed made "46 emergency, low-interest loans" to the bank, providing a total of $26 billion in credit, though not all at one time. He said:

It is incomprehensible to me that while creditworthy small businesses in Vermont and throughout the country could not receive affordable loans, the Federal Reserve was providing tens of billions of dollars in credit to a bank that is substantially owned by the Central Bank of Libya.

The bank was not majority-owned by the Libyan government at the time of the loans, says the AFP news agency.

2:05am:
http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-1

[defendandprotect]

110. Federal Reserve Bank is private -- it sets our economic policy, interest rates, employment goals....

all issues which our elected officials/Congress should be dealing with!

In myriad ways, the right wing has continued to move decision making out of our

Congress -- !!

[joshcryer]

104. Day 43 here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x785780

[MedleyMisty]

107. Another petition

An AVAAZ one.

To Prime Minister Erdoğan and the government of Turkey:
With appreciation for your role in freeing other hostages taken in Libya, we urge you to use all diplomatic means to assist in ensuring the safety and release of Iman al-Obeidi and encouraging the full investigation of her rape and abuse.

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/free_iman_al_obeidi/?r=act

I figure it's like killing two birds with one stone - it's to help Iman and it also sends a message of popular support for the Libyans to Turkey.

[defendandprotect]

112. OK

[MedleyMisty]

108. Please get this article out into the world.

http://www.neontommy.com/news/2011/03/mohammed-nabbous

The world has dubbed these people “rebels”. Who are the Libyan rebels? questioned the headlines of several articles. Are they Al Qaeda? Are they Islamists? Who are these children wielding guns like toys, these men straddling tanks like horses?

And I wish I could answer: they are Mohamed Nabbous. They are Hamadi Herwees. They are Iman Al Obeidi. They are young children and old men; women and teenagers.

They are teachers and doctors; architects and engineers.

They are journalists and story-tellers. I call them family. I call them friends.

You can call them revolutionaries.

[joshcryer]

109. Thanks for that, I will post in the other thread.