"...we are disappointed with the US
for not exercising leadership"
for not exercising leadership"
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| -Malta Times- |
The Libyan opposition -back on their heels as pro-Gaddafi forces consolidate fresh gains in what was rebel-controlled territory in the east- has been reduced to pleading for a targeted strike on Gaddafi's residential compound, ala Ronald Reagan 1986...
Seems they realize that in the unlikely event of Beijing and the Kremlin actually approving a UN NFZ, it's not going to have the desired effect on the outcome now... the rebels need a lot deeper intervention than that, but they're never going to get it:
Seems they realize that in the unlikely event of Beijing and the Kremlin actually approving a UN NFZ, it's not going to have the desired effect on the outcome now... the rebels need a lot deeper intervention than that, but they're never going to get it:
Libya's revolutionary leadership is pressing western powers to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi and launch military strikes against his forces to protect rebel-held cities from the threat of bloody assault.
Mustafa Gheriani, spokesman for the revolutionary national council in its stronghold of Benghazi, said the appeal was to be made by a delegation meeting the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in Paris on Monday, as G8 foreign ministers gathered there to consider whether to back French and British calls for a no-fly zone over Libya.
"We are telling the west we want a no-fly zone, we want tactical strikes against those tanks and rockets that are being used against us and we want a strike against Gaddafi's compound," said Gheriani. "This is the message from our delegation in Europe."
Asked if that meant that the revolutionary council wanted the west to assassinate Gaddafi, Gheriani replied: "Why not? If he dies, nobody will shed a tear."
Mustafa Gheriani, spokesman for the revolutionary national council in its stronghold of Benghazi, said the appeal was to be made by a delegation meeting the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in Paris on Monday, as G8 foreign ministers gathered there to consider whether to back French and British calls for a no-fly zone over Libya.
"We are telling the west we want a no-fly zone, we want tactical strikes against those tanks and rockets that are being used against us and we want a strike against Gaddafi's compound," said Gheriani. "This is the message from our delegation in Europe."
Asked if that meant that the revolutionary council wanted the west to assassinate Gaddafi, Gheriani replied: "Why not? If he dies, nobody will shed a tear."
Alas, as the regime's tanks, artillery, and fighter jets make quick work of the rebels, the US has come out far less hawkish than the British and French... and they haven't gotten the already-useless NFZ proposal anywhere near a Security Council vote anyway:
On the other hand -although the rebel stronghold of Benghazi lies just 150 mi from the front lines now and appears militarily threatened- Gaddafi's forces would face a difficult type of urban warfare there and likely take significant casualties, something altogether different from their chasing disorganized and outgunned rebels across the desert.
Additionally -with pro-regime supply lines stretched- the Libyan opposition will be defending their own homes and families. Rebel morale is holding up from most accounts, with Radio Behghazi even broadcasting a special Libyan rebel-rap song to the soldiers at the front. They've got an experienced new commander who recently defected from the Libyan Army, too- reportedly he's bringing 8000 men and some heavy weapons with him.
Additionally -with pro-regime supply lines stretched- the Libyan opposition will be defending their own homes and families. Rebel morale is holding up from most accounts, with Radio Behghazi even broadcasting a special Libyan rebel-rap song to the soldiers at the front. They've got an experienced new commander who recently defected from the Libyan Army, too- reportedly he's bringing 8000 men and some heavy weapons with him.
But that doesn't mean they're not scared in Benghazi: all in Libya know the life expectancy of any enemy-of-Gaddafi-now-at-his-mercy can be measured in minutes. And the guy's as twisted a sadist as you could imagine: in 1984 the Brotherly Leader scheduled the "trial" of a peaceful political protester -a respected engineer- in a basketball arena filled with Libyan schoolchildren: instead of a trial, the gallows were unveiled and he was promptly hanged...Gaddafi watched back home on live TV.
Most expect a horrendously bloody fight followed by battlefield massacres/mass executions if Benghazi falls: think Rwanda and you'll have some idea of what to expect from this vengeful, soulless monster: recall that both Gaddafi and son Saif have been promising "rivers of blood" right from the start...
Most expect a horrendously bloody fight followed by battlefield massacres/mass executions if Benghazi falls: think Rwanda and you'll have some idea of what to expect from this vengeful, soulless monster: recall that both Gaddafi and son Saif have been promising "rivers of blood" right from the start...
Al Jazeera's correspondent in the capital Tripoli said the (amnesty) offer will play on very anxious rebel forces who don't know how they will be able to put up a fight against Gaddafi's forces, given the overwhelming superiority of his military forces.
"There is an enormous degree of anxiety. It's an all or nothing game now," Anita McNaught said.
"If the rebels do not manage to hold out against Gaddafi and establish some kind of protective zone in the east of the country, it is almost certain in the wake of this there would be some dreadful purge of those who dared to raise their hands against the Gaddafi administration.
"People know that unless they are able to keep Tripoli at bay, that the alternative is almost too awful to contemplate. Those fears apply equally in Tripoli; they are just not expressed as openly as they are in the east."
"There is an enormous degree of anxiety. It's an all or nothing game now," Anita McNaught said.
"If the rebels do not manage to hold out against Gaddafi and establish some kind of protective zone in the east of the country, it is almost certain in the wake of this there would be some dreadful purge of those who dared to raise their hands against the Gaddafi administration.
"People know that unless they are able to keep Tripoli at bay, that the alternative is almost too awful to contemplate. Those fears apply equally in Tripoli; they are just not expressed as openly as they are in the east."
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| -Reuters- |
So how has Obama's inaction -while the rebels he claimed to support are cut to ribbons- gone over in Benghazi?
...Libyans are also increasingly vocal in their criticism of Washington in particular for what is seen as a failure to back up rhetoric against the regime.
However, Gheriani said that if the west failed to offer practical help to the revolutionaries to free themselves from Gaddafi's rule it risked frustrated Libyans turning to religious extremists.
"The west is missing the point. The revolution was started because people were feeling despair from poverty, from oppression. Their last hope was freedom. If the west takes too long – where people say it's too little, too late – then people become a target for extremists who say the west doesn't care about them," he said.
"Most people in this country are moderates and extremists have not been able to penetrate them. But if they get to the point of disillusionment with the west there will be no going back."
However, Gheriani said that if the west failed to offer practical help to the revolutionaries to free themselves from Gaddafi's rule it risked frustrated Libyans turning to religious extremists.
"The west is missing the point. The revolution was started because people were feeling despair from poverty, from oppression. Their last hope was freedom. If the west takes too long – where people say it's too little, too late – then people become a target for extremists who say the west doesn't care about them," he said.
"Most people in this country are moderates and extremists have not been able to penetrate them. But if they get to the point of disillusionment with the west there will be no going back."
We are frustrated, the UN should live up to its moral and legal obligations, and do what is right, we are disappointed with the US for not exercising leadership.
People went out to demonstrate peacefully, they were then faced with bullets and with air bombardment. We had to defend ourselves. This fight has been imposed upon us.
The Libyan people made up their mind, it is either victory or death, the rest of the world should know, that there is no room for negations because the other side left no room for negotiations...
People went out to demonstrate peacefully, they were then faced with bullets and with air bombardment. We had to defend ourselves. This fight has been imposed upon us.
The Libyan people made up their mind, it is either victory or death, the rest of the world should know, that there is no room for negations because the other side left no room for negotiations...
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