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iks83
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« Reply #160 on: March 21, 2011, 06:34:52 AM » |
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With Africom in Stuttgart Germany again is at the forefront in a war of aggression. Well thank god we prevented all the neonazi rightwing extremist parties to gain power.
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Freeski
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« Reply #161 on: March 21, 2011, 06:48:06 AM » |
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How do you gain points in the polls? Why you murder people, of course... Mar. 20, 2011 | 6:01 PM ET http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Harper+wins+political+points+with+Libya+participation+experts/4474133/story.htmlPrime Minister Stephen Harper’s decision to use Canadian military jets to help secure a Libya no-fly zone has given him the opportunity to stand prominently on the world stage as the “leader of the people,” an image the other parties must counteract if they hope to be successful in a looming federal election, political experts say. “This is excellent for Harper,” Mr. Wiseman said of the decision to send six CF-18 fighter jets to enforce the UN-mandated no-fly zone in Libya. “It gives him a stage on which to say, ‘I represent the government of Canada. I stand for the people of Canada.’ ”-------- They all need to be in prison. |
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"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Freeski
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« Reply #162 on: March 21, 2011, 06:55:14 AM » |
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“Flying an airplane and dropping a bomb from 20,000 feet can seem a lot like a video game,” said the retired lieutenant colonel. “(But) at some point, you realize there are some serious consequences to what you’re doing.... The Canadians at Kosovo had extensive experience with that. We were responsible for our share of civilian casualties, as well-trained as we were, as disciplined as pilots try to be.”http://www.nationalpost.com/news/world/Canada+take+large+share+Libya+mission/4474488/story.html
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"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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Freeski
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« Reply #163 on: March 21, 2011, 07:03:29 AM » |
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Our response to the instability in Northern Africa demonstrates once again that our Canadian Forces are a highly trained and motivated team that is ready to deploy anywhere in the world on short notice. I am sure I speak for all Canadians when I say how proud I am that our soldiers, sailors, airmen and airwomen stand for freedom and democracy. - Peter MacKay, Minister of Defence http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/v2/nr-sp/index-eng.asp?id=11599These people make me ill.
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"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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larsonstdoc
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« Reply #164 on: March 21, 2011, 07:07:21 AM » |
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http://www.alternet.org/story/150311/obama%27s_women_of_war?akid=6697.268369.TF1GTz&rd=1&t=12Obama's Women of War Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and Samantha Power pushed Obama into accepting the demands of neoconservatives and enter the civil war in Libya.
The following article first appeared in the Nation. For more great content from the Nation, sign up for their email newsletters here. So Obama’s women wanted war against Libya. We’d like to think that women in power would somehow be less pro-war, but in the Obama administration it appears that the bellicosity is worst among Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and Samantha Power. All three are liberal interventionists, and all three seem to believe that when the United States exercises military force it has some profound, moral, life-saving character to it. Far from it. Unless President Obama’s better instincts manage to reign in his warrior women -- and happily, there’s a chance of that -- the United States could find itself engaged in open war in Libya, and soon. The troika pushed Obama into accepting the demands of neoconservatives, such as the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, Joe Lieberman and John McCain, along with various other liberal interventionists outside the administration, such as John Kerry. The rode roughshod over the realists in the administration. The press is full of reports about how Clinton, Rice, and Power pushed Obama to war. The New York Times, citing insiders, reports that Obama shifted to intervention in Libya only under pressure from the trio: “The change became possible, though, only after Mrs. Clinton joined Samantha Power, a senior aide at the National Security Council, and Susan Rice, Mr. Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, who had been pressing the case for military action, according to senior administration officials speaking only on condition of anonymity.”
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bigron
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« Reply #165 on: March 21, 2011, 07:16:30 AM » |
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First Blood: American Missiles Rain Down on Libyaby Chris Floyd Empire burlesque, March 19, 2011 http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2108-first-blood-american-missiles-rain-down-on-libya.htmlWhen the UN intervention into Libya was first announced, we immediately heard how the United States would not be in the forefront of the military action; the lead would be taken by other nations, with US acting largely as a supplier and facilitator for the "broad-based coalition" arrayed against Libya (including some real live Ay-rabs! as the interventionists enthusiastically noted.) But it took less than two days to give the lie to this claim. On Saturday, just after the French -- who have extensive oil interest in Libya -- jumped the gun on the UN coalition and started attacking Libyan ground forces, the United States joined in with a missile attack on Libyan cities. Not a few missiles; not 10 or 30 or 50 missiles -- but a full barrage of 110 Tomahawk missiles, slamming into Tripoli and Misurata. This was always in the cards, from the earliest mooting of a "no-fly zone." This PR concept conjures up the idea of knightly pilots chasing the aircraft of the evil ones from the sky -- a jousting between combatants high in the heavens, far removed from the people below. But "no-fly zones" are always accompanied, of necessity, by attacks to "degrade" the "command-and-control centers" of the designated enemy of the day. (Almost always a heinous dictator swimming in arms and money given to him by the West before he did something to displease his patrons and business partners.) This means attacks on ground installations and headquarters -- which, as in the United States, are often located in the midst of civilian areas, and, as in the United States, filled with civilian workers. It also means, invariably, attacks on regular miltary forces of the designated enemy who are helping sustain the miscreant's operations. A "no-fly zone" always means a full-scale military attack with everything except ground troops, with an inevitable harvest of civilian deaths. Hell, you can even conduct a whole war with this mechanism, as the United States and its allies did against Serbia. In any case, the game is now afoot. Barack Obama has drawn his first blood from Libya, which now becomes the sixth (at least) Muslim nation in which he has launched deadly military actions, joining Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia. (Of course, the Administration has bragged that it is carrying out secret wars and covert operations in more than 70 countries, with several other Muslim nations certainly among that number.) The West and its reliable dictators in the Arab world are now fully committed to one side in the Libyan civil war, and are actively seeking to bring to power an armed opposition group led by a man who was a chief agent of Gadafy's repression. (As As'ad AbuKhalil has noted, Gadafy's erstwhile strongmen have "hijacked" the Libyan revolution.) Meanwhile, the autocratic allies of Barack Obama and the other interventionist powers continue to kill and repress unarmed civilians in Yemen and Bahrain without the slightest negative consequence, beyond a few hackneyed harrumphs served up briefly for public consumption by their string-pullers back in Washington. But this too is another invariable by-product of armed intervention: murderous hypocrisy. Meanwhile, Abdel al-Bari Atwan (editor-in-chief of Al-Quds Al-Arabi, the pan-Arab newspaper based in London) asks some pertinent questions about the intervention in a Guardian piece aptly titled, "Relief will fade as we see the real impact of intervention in Libya": First, what motives lie behind this intervention? While the UN was voting to impose a no-fly zone in Libya, at least 40 civilians were killed in a US drone attack in Waziristan in Pakistan. And as I write, al-Jazeera is broadcasting scenes of carnage from Sanaa, Yemen, where at least 40 protesters have been shot dead. But there will be no UN no-fly zone to protect Pakistani civilians from US attacks, or to protect Yemenis. One cannot help but question the selective involvement of the west in the so-called "Arab spring" series of uprisings. ... Gaddafi knows how to play the Arab street, too. At the moment he has little, if any, public support; his influence is limited to his family and tribe. But he may use this intervention to present himself as the victim of post-colonialist interference in pursuit of oil. He is likely to pose the question that is echoing around the Arab world – why wasn't there a no-fly zone over Gaza when the Israelis were bombarding it in 2008/9? ... Finally, there is the worry that the Arab spring will be derailed by events in Libya. If uprising plus violent suppression equals western intervention, the long-suffering Arab subjects of the region's remaining autocrats might be coerced into sticking with the status quo. The last point may be the crux of the matter. Western leaders have obviously been casting about for some way to put the brakes on the Arab Awakening before it sweeps away any more of their reliable client-dictators. Libya presents the perfect opportunity for them to muddy the waters, and try to turn the whole movement into the usual murky, bloody quagmire of global power politics. In any case, it is hard to believe that a burning, yearning solicitude for the people of Libya is what is actually motivating our noble interventionists -- who haven't shown the slight crumb of concern for the Libyan populace until now. NOTE: To decry the course of action being taken by the interventionists in Libya is not to "support" Gadafy. (Unlike his present attackers, who have supported him most sumptuously for years.) This should go without saying, but of course it can't; this witless denunciation is invariably trotted out against anyone who does not immediately jump on the bloodsoaked bandwagon whenever our leaders start killing people. (You can only oppose this mass production of foreign corpses after it's over -- and even then, you can only describe it as a mistake, or an example of good intentions gone awry through incompetence or happenstance.) But as I noted in the comments here recently: To oppose an outside military invention is not the same thing as "supporting" whomever the intervention is aimed against. It is simply to look at the historical record and see what the fruits of these interventions actually are. They are, invariably, a widening of the conflict, a vast increase in civilian suffering (even in interventions ostensibly launched specifically to prevent civilian suffering), years of widening, rippling instability, pervasive corruption by war profiteers, and a further militarizing of world society. It is exacerbating an evil by contributing an equal or even greater evil to the mix. This is especially true in this case, as at present, the Libyan opposition is being led by a breakaway faction of Gadafy's own thuggish regime. The leader of the opposition was, until just a few weeks ago, an integral part of Gadafy's use of "brutality against his people." If he and his clique are the ones who take power after an intervention, we will have merely exchanged one faction of Gadafy's regime for another. But I doubt if this would bother our humanitarian interventionists; they have been making profitable deals with Gadafy for years. They can go on making profitable deals with one of his former henchmen just as well. http://www.chris-floyd.com/component/content/article/1-latest-news/2108-first-blood-american-missiles-rain-down-on-libya.html
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shipgeek
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« Reply #166 on: March 21, 2011, 07:20:37 AM » |
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Libya has descended to a situation tantamount to civil war, with forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the west pitted against rebels from the east. One of the biggest problems faced by Western governments has been identifying exactly who the rebels are. Many of them, including former Libyan Justice Minister Mustafa Abdel-Jalil and former Interior Minister Gen. Abdel Fattah Younis, defected early on from the Gadhafi regime and represent part of the leadership of the National Transitional Council, which lobbied Western governments for support soon after its formation. Challenges posed by geography and lack of military capabilities remain, however, meaning that even with the aid of foreign airstrikes against Gadhafi’s forces, the rebel council will struggle to achieve its stated goal of militarily toppling Gadhafi and unifying the country under its leadership.
Read more: Libya's Opposition Leadership Comes into Focus | STRATFOR
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shipgeek
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« Reply #167 on: March 21, 2011, 07:27:04 AM » |
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2 Tornado ECR + 1 Tornado IDS just departed from Trapani LaRepubblica.it is reporting.
They will be escorted by 2 Italian F-16s.
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larsonstdoc
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« Reply #169 on: March 21, 2011, 07:34:23 AM » |
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What the hell Norway. Why do they want to be in this mess? |
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shipgeek
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« Reply #170 on: March 21, 2011, 07:59:18 AM » |
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larsonstdoc
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« Reply #171 on: March 21, 2011, 08:03:47 AM » |
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Maybe the Danes will drop poisoned Danish Rolls over Libya. |
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infotechsailor
Member
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« Reply #172 on: March 21, 2011, 08:06:41 AM » |
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Can anyone provide me with the youtube link for that tv interview that Alex aired with the British man and the british sounding woman anchor , where the british man was saying he was upset with the "hypocrisy" of the war in libya, he also talked about how we "sit by and watch" dictators in other countries, and that the libyan war was all about oil?
Thanks--
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oklahoma sovereignty
Randy Brogdon for Governor
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Freeski
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« Reply #174 on: March 21, 2011, 08:13:29 AM » |
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Here's a nasty Orwellianism: http://www.prisonplanet.com/obama-starts-another-illegal-war-rangel-calls-for-draft.htmlAnd get this, on the very same day of this unconstitutional act of war, ethically-challenged Charlie Rangel reintroduced his National Service “Draft” bill. Rangel pointed out in his announcement that the government lied us into the Iraq war that ultimately resulted in the deaths of over 4,400 servicemen with over 32,000 injured. He claims this is the reason we need a draft: "Based on false pretenses of weapons of mass destruction and involvement in the 9/11 attacks, the unfunded war in Iraq has cost our nation not only $800 billion dollars, but the lives of more than 4,400 brave American patriots. Over 32,000 U.S. soldiers have also been seriously wounded in the war we should not have been in the first place. It is because of these devastating statistics and the commitment our nation must make to sharing in duty and service that I reintroduced the Universal National Service Act, commonly known as the draft bill."You can’t make this stuff up. So, our government lies us into wars for profit and oil, thrusts our brave young men and women in harms way against poor nations who in their wildest dreams couldn’t threaten America, and puts off paying for them as long as the banks and China get their interest payments at gunpoint from the taxpayer. And now you want to force all of our kids to take part in this sociopathic behavior? |
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"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it." Martin Luther King, Jr.
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infotechsailor
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« Reply #175 on: March 21, 2011, 08:46:08 AM » |
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im no fan of rangel, the wars, or the draft, but this may be smart of him. he could be introducing it, using the war as an excuse, to make people get mad at the draft, and then the war.
in other words, he may be introducing it not really wanting it to pass, but to wake people up to be against the war... in politics, it makes sense.
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oklahoma sovereignty
Randy Brogdon for Governor
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shipgeek
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« Reply #176 on: March 21, 2011, 09:06:15 AM » |
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Ham Radio says Lybian air defense and communications are kaputt. Saudi F16s and Qatari Mirage 2000s in transit in Sudan. Destination "unknown".  |
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shipgeek
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« Reply #177 on: March 21, 2011, 09:33:10 AM » |
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Operational Briefing On Libya AnnouncedGen. Carter F. Ham, commander, U.S. Africa Command, will provide the media an operational update concerning Libya by satellite from his headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, at noon EDT in the Pentagon Briefing Room (2E973). http://www.defense.gov/advisories/advisory.aspx?advisoryid=3328 
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chrisfromchi
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« Reply #179 on: March 21, 2011, 09:44:07 AM » |
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With Africom in Stuttgart Germany again is at the forefront in a war of aggression. Well thank god we prevented all the neonazi rightwing extremist parties to gain power.
Professor Griff from the Obama Deception.... krs one starts this clip but at 1:29 griff starts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUNylW4bC1I |
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shipgeek
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« Reply #180 on: March 21, 2011, 09:44:58 AM » |
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Operational Briefing On Libya AnnouncedGen. Carter F. Ham, commander, U.S. Africa Command, will provide the media an operational update concerning Libya by satellite from his headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, at noon EDT in the Pentagon Briefing Room (2E973). http://www.defense.gov/advisories/advisory.aspx?advisoryid=3328 Ham Radio Khadafi forces attack oil installations near Misurata. Listen to the briefing live on Pentagon Channel http://www.pentagonchannel.mil/French air force active in Libya. |
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shipgeek
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« Reply #182 on: March 21, 2011, 11:37:52 AM » |
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Norwegian F-16s deployed today to Decimomannu (Sardinia) will not take part in odysseydawn until the "command issue" is solved, says Norway Ministry of Defense.
.................Have they got too many war planes I wonder?
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shipgeek
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« Reply #183 on: March 21, 2011, 12:26:37 PM » |
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Italy will add two more aircraft to the 8 already contributing to odysseydawn Italian Ministry of Defebse affirmed today. |
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shipgeek
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« Reply #184 on: March 21, 2011, 01:22:00 PM » |
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Coalition Fires More Missiles at Libyan Targetshttp://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/-Coalition-Fires-More-Missiles-at-Libyan-Targets-118375309.html?utm_campaign=twitterfeed&utm_source=voaafrica-twitter-account&utm_medium=twitterThe U.S. military says a multinational coalition enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya has fired at least 10 more cruise missiles at Libyan military targets. U.S. military officials said Monday the missile strikes were carried out Sunday night into Monday. A U.S. official also says a British air strike on the Tripoli compound of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi late Sunday targeted his "military command ability." The strike heavily damaged a building inside the compound. There was no word on casualties. U.S. officials say the military action is aimed at protecting civilians from attacks by Mr. Gadhafi's forces, not at targeting the Libyan leader. Aircraft from several coalition nations patrolled Libyan skies Monday, but there were no reports of new airstrikes. British Prime Minister David Cameron told the nation's parliament Monday that the coalition has "neutralized" Libyan air defenses and made "good progress" in achieving its goals of protecting civilians. Libyan rebels trying to end Mr. Gadhafi's 42-year rule were taking advantage of the coalition assault by pushing to reclaim territory lost to the government during the past 10 days. After regrouping Monday, the rebels moved on the eastern town of Ajdabiya, attacking the positions of Gadhafi loyalists. Western media reports say the rebels later pulled back. But, opposition sources in the western city of Misrata said government troops surrounding the rebel enclave continue to harass it, allegedly using civilians as a shield against any attacks by foreign forces. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Washington expects to turn control of the mission in Libya over to a coalition - probably headed by the French and British or NATO - within days. U.S. President Barack Obama will take questions from reporters Monday for the first time since the allied assault began, during a joint news conference in Chile. Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
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Stan
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« Reply #186 on: March 22, 2011, 01:52:48 AM » |
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Norwegian F-16s deployed today to Decimomannu (Sardinia) will not take part in odysseydawn until the "command issue" is solved, says Norway Ministry of Defense.
.................Have they got too many war planes I wonder?
I was beginning to wonder myself. It's nice that they're all lining up to drop bombs on a third world country though. I can feel my testosterone levels rising just thinking about it. |
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menace
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« Reply #187 on: March 22, 2011, 02:18:16 AM » |
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virtually unknown in the West: Libya's water resources We still wonder how on earth did Gaddafi manage to stay in power for forty years? Did no one notice his madness until now? Did no one notice that he built a HUGE FRESH WATER PIPELINE to the Benghazi region, that lunatic? Were they waiting for him to finish? http://twelfthbough.blogspot.com/2011/03/virtually-unknown-in-west-libyas-water.html |
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shipgeek
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« Reply #188 on: March 22, 2011, 03:19:05 AM » |
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More big lies via AFRICOM21 March 2011 Libyan Airstrikes Needed to Prevent Humanitarian CatastropheWashington — President Obama’s national security adviser says actions taken by an international coalition against the regime of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi are necessary to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. National Security Adviser Tom Donilon told reporters that the aim is to stop troops loyal to Qadhafi from any further attacks on civilians across Libya. Donilon is traveling with the president, who is on a five-day, three-nation trip to Latin America. “The president authorized the armed forces of the United States to begin a limited military action in Libya in support of an international effort to support and protect Libyan citizens,” Donilon said at a March 20 briefing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “That had three … elements to it, which are … limited in duration and scope: one, to set the conditions for the enforcement of a no-fly zone in Libya; second, to take actions to protect citizens in Libya from attack; and third, to set the conditions and open up the ability for humanitarian assistance to reach citizens in Libya,” Donilon said. In an agreement with international partners, the United States is providing a set of its unique military assets — sea-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles and electronic jamming — at the front end of the effort, he said. That effort is being coordinated by General Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command based in Stuttgart, Germany. “That’s allowed us in the first 24 hours of this operation to take very aggressive action against air-defense systems in Libya … [and] air assets that the regime possessed that were being used against civilians,” Donilon said. Ham told reporters at a Pentagon briefing in a videoconference from his Stuttgart headquarters March 21 that U.S. and British navy forces in the last 24 hours had launched 12 more Tomahawk cruise missiles at Libyan command-and-control facilities, a Scud missile battery, and an air-defense site that had previously been attacked. On March 19 at the outset of coalition operations, U.S. and British navy ships in the Mediterranean Sea fired 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets inside Libya. “Coalition air forces from France, Spain, Italy, Denmark and the United Kingdom flew missions to sustain the no-fly zone over Benghazi to protect civilians from attack by regime ground forces and to conduct further reconnaissance,” Ham said. “Air attacks have succeeded in stopping regime ground forces from advancing to Benghazi and we are now seeing ground forces moving southward from Benghazi,” he said. “I assessed that our actions, to date, are generally achieving the intended objective.” Since the coalition airstrikes and cruise missile strikes began March 19, U.S. and international partners said they have not observed Libyan military aircraft operating, and there has not been any indication of the regime’s long-range air-defense radar operating. Donilon said there has been a significant effort by coalition forces to protect Benghazi and lessen the threat posed by the regime’s armored and ground forces that were on the outskirts of the eastern coastal city of more than 700,000 people. He said the specific short-term goal of the military operation is to protect civilians, which is what the United Nations sought in its March 17 resolution. In the next phase of the operation, which involves maintaining a no-fly zone over Libya and preventing any attacks on civilians, the United States’ role will change and events will be coordinated by coalition partners using NATO machinery, Donilon said. The unique assets the United States can provide include electronic jamming, intelligence support and fueling support. U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 was approved by the council by a 10-0 vote with five abstentions on March 17. It authorizes the use of all means necessary including a no-fly zone to stop the military forces of the Libyan regime from attacking the Libyan people. http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2011/March/20110321155734elrem0.6086389.html 
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Stan
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« Reply #189 on: March 22, 2011, 03:34:21 AM » |
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I wasn't aware of that. If you follow the map on Google Earth you can see the huge circular reservoirs. A wonder indeed. |
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Stan
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« Reply #190 on: March 22, 2011, 04:44:51 AM » |
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US warplane crash lands in Libyahttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12816226A US warplane has crash landed in Libya, a US military spokesman says. The spokesman, Kenneth Fidler, told the BBC there was no indication that the F-15 Eagle was brought down by hostile fire. He said one crew member had been recovered safely. An operation is under way to recovered another. It is not clear where the plane went down. The development follows a third night of allied air strikes against Col Gaddafi's forces. Explosions and anti-aircraft fire were heard near Col Gaddafi's compound in the capital, Tripoli. Fighting between the forces loyal to the Libyan leader and the rebels has also continued, despite the declaration of a ceasefire by the government.
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iks83
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« Reply #193 on: March 22, 2011, 05:18:27 AM » |
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Funny how a no-fly zone doesnt include missiles and NATO jets.
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bigron
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« Reply #194 on: March 22, 2011, 05:36:25 AM » |
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Middle East Mar 23, 2011 http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MC23Ak02.html THE ROVING EYE The West bombs, the Arab League ducksBy Pepe Escobar To follow Pepe's articles on the Great Arab Revolt, please click here. http://atimes.com/atimes/others/Pepe2011.htmlHistory will surely register the irony that the new war doctrine of United States President Barack Obama took shape on board Air Force One on the way to deeply pacifist Brazil; then in a message delivered to America from Brasilia (yes, Operation Odyssey Dawn was launched from the tropics, and not from the Mediterranean); and finally in a war room set up in sunny, sexy Rio. Here are the parameters. 1. The Pentagon must conduct a "limited operation" with no ground troops involved (think the 1990s Bill Clinton approach to Bosnia and Kosovo). 2. The US is part of a "coalition" (of the willing), but is not leading it (think the opposite of George W Bush in Iraq). 3. The operation is to "protect civilians", and not about "regime change" (once again Clinton trumps Bush). 4. It's all based on "solid international legitimacy" – conferred by UN Security Council resolution 1973, which is more explicit than the one authorizing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to act in Kosovo (not to mention the non-existent resolution for Bush to bomb Iraq). Yet immediately after the Tomahawks started flying the White House ran into trouble. The "limited operation" - as in bombing Muammar Gaddafi's air defenses and military installations - may be practically over, and the Americans are dying to be relived of the heavy lifting. But who's going to be in charge? General Carter Ham, the head of the US Africom and the present commander of Odyssey Dawn, pretty much summed it all up, saying, "The first thing that has got to happen is identification of what that organization is." You fight, we watchIt won't be the Arab League, whose vote for a no-fly zone over Libya has been extensively pimped by every single Western diplomat as laying the groundwork for the United Nations resolution. But then Arab League secretary general Amr Moussa backtracked, saying the attack had gone beyond the initial objective, which was to protect, not kill, civilians. And finally the demagogue, opportunist Moussa got his marching orders again from the House of Saud (who pushed heavily for the no-fly zone); another about face and he said the resolution was fine. What is never mentioned by Western corporate media is that among the 22 Arab League members it was Saudi Arabia - as leader of the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - which obsessively lobbied for no-fly to apply (thanks to visceral bad blood between King Abdullah and Gaddafi (see The Odyssey Dawn top 10 Asia Times Online, March 22) http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MC22Ak02.html; and that only Qatar will actually send a maximum of four of its Mirage fighters (no one knows when). Even though Obama personally called Sheikh Khalifa, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) backtracked from sending its jets and will only assist in "humanitarian" matters. The head of the GCC, Abdul Rahman bin Hamad al-Attiyah, insisted in Abu Dhabi that Qatar and the UAE were part of the "coalition" - but he refused to explain how. As for the King of Bahrain, Hamad al-Khalifa, he preferred to dabble on how the tiny kingdom had thwarted an "external plot" to undermine its security and stability; he also profusely thanked the Saudi invasion forces who are now helping him to repress any peaceful protests. The GCC/Arab League astonishing dithering and hypocrisy is compounded by the outright hostility of the African Union (AU) to the "coalition", expressed by a communique from Nouakchott, Mauritania, calling for "an immediate end to all attacks". The AU only demands that Gaddafi makes sure "humanitarian aid" arrives for those who need it. This explodes the myth that the "international community" is behind Odyssey Dawn. The Arab dictatorships - which once again have sanctioned an attack on a Muslim country - are scared to death of the backlash from their populations if "collateral damage" balloons. The Arab blogosphere is saturated with accusations that the UN and the Arab League have sanctioned a shameless Western plot to get Libya's oil. The African countries are mostly against it. The key emerging powers - Brazil, India, Indonesia, Turkey - are not part of it. The four top BRIC members (Brazil, Russia, India, China) all abstained from the UN vote. China has been very much aware that in both Africa and South America - where its business interests are now rivaling America's - support for the "coalition" is minimal. And Russia has gone one step beyond; according to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, "The resolution is defective and flawed ... It allows everything. It resembles medieval calls for crusades." True: Russia has weapons contracts with Libya to the tune of US$4 billion, half of it pending. No wonder Pentagon supremo Robert Gates has not managed to convince Moscow to support the "coalition". Catfight This means this "coalition" is in fact all about the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Or is it? There's a major catfight going on inside NATO. No one knows how to interpret this "allow everything" resolution. In Britain, the Ministry of Defense swears that taking out Gaddafi is not part of the mandate (mirroring Gates, who said it would be "unwise"). But the David Cameron government thinks this is all about regime change. As it is in practice for the Obama administration - see everyone from President Obama to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton insisting "Gaddafi must go". France - following President Nicolas Sarkozy's Napoleonic syndrome - doesn't want to relinquish command to NATO. Other NATO members loudly complain that the Anglo-French plus the US monopolize all the decisions. Turkey, extremely worried about civilian deaths, and most of all worried about preserving its current very good standing in the Muslim world, is adamantly against a NATO intervention - calling instead for a review of other possible strategies and even for an immediate Western ceasefire. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Military intervention by NATO in Libya or any other country would be totally counter-productive". In this context, it's absurd to believe - like the proverbial think-tank suspects - that a NATO intervention modeled on Kosovo would be "a success". In 1999, NATO bombed Yugoslavia for 78 days; dropped no less than 20,000 tons of bombs; and produced thousands of "collateral damage" - all in the name of humanitarian "protection" of Albanians in Kosovo. The Srebrenica massacre, by the way, happened after NATO imposed a no-fly zone over Bosnia. League of crooks The Anglo-French-American consortium leading Odyssey Dawn has fallen for its own propaganda - blindly convinced that the Arab League is on board. And even if the Arab League were totally on board, this means Odyssey Dawn is endorsed by the very nasty people the great 2011 Arab revolt is trying hard to get rid of. The Arab League's position is based on two very shady motives. One is King Abdullah and the House of Saud's obsession on taking out Gaddafi. The other is Moussa's campaign to become the next Egyptian president. Moussa takes orders from the House of Saud while trying to seduce Washington to support his bid for the presidency. The UN resolution has nothing to do with a ceasefire. The "rebels" themselves already said they would settle for nothing except regime change. The resolution points towards regime change - no matter what the British and American militaries are saying. Expect more cruise missiles visiting Gaddafi's compound in Bab al-Aziziya. If Gaddafi holds, things will get even messier. Under international law, his regime will still be legitimate. He may even invoke the right to fight against an armed insurrection trying to topple his regime - in fact much more of a right than the dictatorships in Yemen and Bahrain, who have been shooting unarmed protesters. The real test for the new Obama war doctrine - and its European minions - will be how to get regime change without a land war. Yet history may rule that just like in Georgia, Cyprus, Nagorno-Karabakh, Kosovo or North/South Korea, we may be on our way to kiss unified Libya goodbye. Pepe Escobar is the author of Globalistan: How the Globalized World is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble Books, 2007) and Red Zone Blues: a snapshot of Baghdad during the surge. His new book, just out, is Obama does Globalistan (Nimble Books, 2009).
He may be reached at pepeasia@yahoo.com. http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MC23Ak02.html |
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bigron
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« Reply #195 on: March 22, 2011, 05:40:15 AM » |
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Central Asia Mar 23, 2011 http://atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MC23Ag02.html Gaddafi triggers Kremlin riftBy M K Bhadrakumar The Libyan crisis has triggered a hairline fracture in the Russian power structure. It all surfaced late on Monday. But the day began innocuously. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, while on a visit to a missile production complex somewhere in the Urals, chose to give factory workers some plain-speaking on developments in Libya. He came down heavily on the Western air strikes. "The Security Council resolution [1973] is deficient and flawed; it allows everything and is reminiscent of a medieval call for a crusade. It effectively allows intervention in a sovereign state." He added for good measure, "This US policy is becoming a stable trend," recalling the US air strikes on Belgrade under Bill Clinton and Afghanistan and Iraq under the two Bush administrations. "Now it's Libya's turn - under the pretext of protecting civilians. Where is the logic and conscience? There is neither. The ongoing events in Libya confirm that Russia is right to strengthen her defense capabilities." The metaphor of the crusades and the analogy of the West's dismantling of the former state of Yugoslavia cannot be accidental. Nor, perhaps, the implicit criticism of the raison d'etre of Russia's much-wonted ''reset'' with the United States, a process attributed to President Dmitry Medvedev. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also delivered plain-speaking in a phone call to Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa. According to Russian media, Lavrov told Moussa: "We strictly oppose using military force against civilians, this is why Russia joined the international call to end violence against civilians [in Libya]. Nobody could now predict the consequences of the situation in Libya. We hope they will be minimal and will not damage the territorial integrity of Libya and the whole region.'' Lavrov seemed to imply that Western intervention in Libya, leading to a civil war or the country's disintegration, might have serious consequences for several African countries similarly placed in terms of the fragility of their post-colonial nationhood. Russian experts have been voicing apprehension in this direction. However, on a parallel track on the same day, Medvedev also took a major decision that will have a bearing on the future course of Russian diplomacy over Libya. He appointed a new special representative on ties with African countries. Curiously, his choice fell on the well-known politician Mikhail Margelov, who is a quintessential ''insider'' in Russian politics today but has a past as a liberal-minded aide to Yabloko leader Grigory Yavlinsky. Margelov currently heads the foreign affairs committee of the Russian Duma's upper house and is an influential and familiar voice on Russian foreign policy. Although a specialist on Africa by academic background, his current forte is Russia's relations with the West. On this, he comes out as an ardent enthusiast of the United States-Russia reset. Margelov uses very colorful language (not unusual for Russian politicians) and two weeks ago he called Muammar Gaddafi a "demoniac colonel" whose regime is doomed. "Gaddafi's regime is agonizing. It is dead-trapped, as hunters say. Not only Libyans are fed up with Gaddafi, but also the international community." Margelov hoped that the blood of those killed in Libya will put an end to the "eerie list of crimes by the demoniac colonel." So, all things taken into account, Medvedev's decision is quite interesting. His main consideration for the Kremlin must have been that the Americans will feel comfortable with Margelov. Margelov already has a track record for having voiced Russian support for recognizing the result of the referendum in Sudan paving the way for the country's division MORE http://atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MC23Ag02.html |
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bigron
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« Reply #196 on: March 22, 2011, 06:27:15 AM » |
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I am Every Child by Felicity Arbuthnot. March 21, 2011 I am Every Child.
Right. I will only say this once. For those saying "humanitarian intervention" is right in Libya.
I am every child soiling him or her self, in terror at the sound of the "liberating" 'planes.
I am every child that throws up in terror.
I am every child that loses their home, and if they survive, sit on the bricks of the place they called sanctity, safeness, being: "kissed better."
I am every child whose limb you have blown off - whose parents you have blown to bits, who is alone and five years old.
"Liberators", Look yourselves in the mirror and weep. |
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bigron
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« Reply #197 on: March 22, 2011, 06:41:47 AM » |
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UN rejects emergency meeting sought by LibyaAFPMarch 21, 2011 http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTx2qLIAaj2mpZBmwBfAQf5uWowg?docId=c2b284d2590449f7bbd4bf505db4c5aaUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council on Monday rejected a Libyan request for an emergency meeting to halt what it called "military aggression" by France and the United States, but the council will get a briefing on Libya Thursday from the secretary-general. Council members held closed-door discussions in response to a letter dated Saturday from Libyan Foreign Minister Musa Kousa who claimed that "an external conspiracy was targeting ... (Libya) and its unity and territorial integrity." According to the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, Kousa accused France and the U.S. of bombing "several civilian sites" in violation of the U.N. Charter and called for "an emergency meeting in order to halt this aggression." The Security Council late Thursday adopted a resolution authorizing military action to protect civilians from attacks by Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's forces and imposed a no-fly zone over the country. On Saturday, U.S., French and British forces launched airstrikes against Libyan air defenses, tanks, armored personnel carriers and other military hardware. India's U.N. Ambassador Hardeep Singh Puri said the resolution requires Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report to the Security "within seven days" on the implementation of its provisions, which also include a more robust arms embargo and additional Libyan individuals, companies, banks and other entities subject to travel bans and asset freezes. "That seven days is on Thursday, so people didn't want to get into a discussion on who represents whom and what the letter is," Puri said. "They want to have a discussion on substance which will be on Thursday." One of the sticky issues if the council had agreed to an emergency meeting would have been who would speak for Libya. The entire Libyan mission to the United Nations, including the ambassador and deputy ambassador, is supporting the opposition and has called for Gadhafi to step down. MORE http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTx2qLIAaj2mpZBmwBfAQf5uWowg?docId=c2b284d2590449f7bbd4bf505db4c5aa
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bigron
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« Reply #198 on: March 22, 2011, 06:50:56 AM » |
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LIBYA: GADDAFI IS A LEGITIMATE TARGET AND WE'D KILL HIM, REVEALS LIAM FOXExpress.co.uk http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/235850/Libya-Gaddafi-is-a-legitimate-target-and-we-d-kill-him-reveals-Liam-Fox/March 21, 2011 COLONEL Gaddafi himself could be targeted by air strikes if there is no risk to civilians, the Defence Secretary said yesterday. Dr Liam Fox said allied forces would not take a "gung-ho attitude" but refused to rule out targeting Gaddafi if the chance presented itself. He told the BBC's Politics Show yesterday: "There's a difference between someone being a legitimate target and whether you would go ahead with targeting. "You would have to take into account what might happen to civilians, we don't simply - with a gung-ho attitude - start firing off missiles." Ministers and opponents of the regime have called for military action to remove the dictator, but the UN resolution authorising military action does not legally allow regime change. Any explicit attempt to target the Libyan ruler may therefore prove controversial. Royal Marines were put on alert yesterday for possible action in Libya. As a second evening of air raids began, Britain was playing a major role in operations. The MoD said British jets had been involved in another bombing mission against Libyan air defence systems. Tomahawk missiles were also launched again from a Trafalgar Class submarine in the Mediterranean. An administrative building inside Gaddafi's compound at Bab al-Aziziya in Tripoli was said to have been "completely destroyed" by one missile. There were large explosions across the city, interspersed with anti-aircraft fire, and smoke was reportedly seen rising from the Presidential Palace. The government claimed last night that it had instructed its armed forces to observe a ceasefire from 7pm GMT - but the same announcement on Friday was breached within hours. Military chiefs fear a rapid reaction force may be needed to go in if the Libyan leader orders his henchmen to commit atrocities against his own civilians. Another big concern among military chiefs is Gaddafi's stockpile of chemical weapons - including deadly mustard gas. They fear he could unleash the weapons if he thinks he is about to be ousted by the rebels. United States Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said of the mustard gas worries: "We're watching very closely. He does have a store of that, a significant quantity." There have been widespread reports that British SAS troops and other special forces teams have been in Libya for weeks, liaising with rebel groups. Now an officer from 40 Commando, based at Norton Manor Camp, Taunton, Somerset, has revealed his men have been put on notice to leave for North Africa by the end of the week. The elite corps took heavy losses during their last tour in Afghanistan, returning to Britain only in October after a six-month tour. The source added: "A large number of commandos have just left for Afghanistan for another tour there. So we are the available ones for Libya if required." The Marines could be stationed on one of two British frigates off the Libyan coast, HMS Westminster or HMS Cumberland - or even France's aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle. A Libyan spokesman last night claimed its armed forces had been ordered to follow a ceasefire despite facing "barbaric armed aggression". He said: "We, the Popular Social Leadership of Libya, recommend to the armed forces to announce an immediate ceasefire to all military units." Earlier, in a rabid telephone interview broadcast on national TV, Gaddafi vowed to fight a "long war" to protect his homeland. From an unknown location, he said: "We will not leave our oil to America or France or Britain or the enemy Christian states that are aligned now against us. "We will not leave our land. We will fight for every inch of our land and liberate every inch of it. "Now the arms depots have been opened and all the Libyan people are being armed." He claimed the leaders of Britain, France and the US were acting like fascist dictators and would "fail like how Hitler failed, Napoleon failed, Mussolini failed". He added: "All tyrants fall under the feet of the people." The Foreign Secretary William Hague acknowledged the possibility of non-occupying ground troops moving into Libya, which he claimed would not breach the terms of the UN resolution. MORE http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/235850/Libya-Gaddafi-is-a-legitimate-target-and-we-d-kill-him-reveals-Liam-Fox/
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