It makes me feel liberated from this s***:
"UN envoy in talks with Libyan rebels, Khadafy regime; Sides meeting separately in Tunisia" August 17, 2011|By Bouazza Ben Bouazza and Karin Laub, Associated Press
ZAWIYA, Libya - The United Nations’ special envoy for Libya said yesterday that he was meeting with representatives of both sides of the conflict, days after rebels made a dramatic advance that brought them within 30 miles of Moammar Khadafy’s stronghold in the capital of Tripoli.
A Tunisian security official said the discussions late Monday centered on a “peaceful transition’’ in Libya. The official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said the rebels reacted angrily to the proposal, with one member of their delegation throwing a shoe during the meeting to show his deep disdain.
Abdel-Elah al-Khatib, Jordan’s former foreign minister, arrived in the Tunisian capital of Tunis on Monday for the meetings with representatives of both Khadafy and the rebels. He said there were no direct negotiations as he met the two sides separately in the neighboring country. He did not identify those he met or say what they discussed, speaking to reporters after a meeting yesterday with Tunisian Foreign Minister Mouldi Kefi al-Khatib.
The Tunisian security official said the UN envoy might also meet with a representative of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Chavez’s envoy has been on the Tunisian isle of Djerba for the past few days.
Also see: Chavez to start chemotherapy round
Back in Libya, a rebel advance over the weekend into the strategic city of Zawiya on the Mediterranean coast, put the opposition force in the strongest position since the six-month-old civil war began to attack the capital. Residents were fleeing Tripoli and other cities on the coast in long lines of cars, fearing the fighting would soon reach them.
The Obama administration said Monday that the US was encouraged by the rebel advances and hoped they had broken a months-long stalemate with Khadafy’s forces.
In a sign of the regime’s growing distress, US defense officials said Libyan government forces tapped into their stores of Scud missiles this weekend, firing one for the first time in the conflict. No one was hurt. The missile was fired toward a second front line in the east of the country around the town of Brega.
The missile launch was detected by US forces shortly after midnight Sunday and the Scud landed in the desert about 50 miles outside Brega, said one US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations...
Hmmm. They only decided to use one, huh?
Yesterday, rebels and Khadafy forces fought for control of Zawiya on a main road leading from Tunisia in the west to Tripoli. Rebels are trying to cut off two major supply routes into the capital from Tunisia in the west and another in the south.
The routes are critical with NATO imposing a no-fly zone over Libya. Rebels said Monday they also cut oil pipelines from Zawiya to Tripoli. Oil-rich Libya’s only functioning refineries are in Zawiya.
Medics at a field hospital on the outskirts of Zawiya said that 15 people were killed the day before in an artillery strike.
--more--"
"Rebels besiege Libya’s last working oil refinery; Win in Zawiya would further isolate Khadafy" August 18, 2011|By Karin Laub, Associated Press
ZAWIYA, Libya - Dozens of opposition fighters surrounded Libya’s last functioning oil refinery yesterday and laid siege to about 100 government troops, part of a push that brought them closer to seizing this strategic western city.
A rebel victory in Zawiya could be a turning point in the six-month-old war and leave Moammar Khadafy nearly cornered in his increasingly isolated stronghold of Tripoli, the capital, just 30 miles to the east along the Mediterranean coast.
Rebel fighters are now closing in on the capital from the west and the south, while NATO controls the seas to the north. The opposition is in control of most of the eastern half of the country and has declared Benghazi, 620 miles east of Tripoli, as its de facto capital....
--more--"
"Libyan capital is fearful as rebels eye Tripoli
ZINTAN, Libya (AP) — Families fleeing their homes to avoid a possible rebel assault on the Libyan capital described deteriorating living conditions in Tripoli: Power outages lasting days, gun battles at night and a climate of fear in which no one dares to criticize the regime — even among friends.
With opposition fighters steadily gaining ground in the six-month-old civil war, there are signs that Moammar Gadhafi's 42-year-old rule may be unraveling. The rebels seized Libya's last functioning oil refinery Thursday and claimed to have captured most of the nearby city of Zawiya, just 30 miles west of the capital along the Mediterranean coast.
A rebel victory in Zawiya could leave Gadhafi nearly cornered in his increasingly isolated stronghold of Tripoli. Rebel fighters are now closing in on the capital from the west and the south, while NATO controls the seas to the north. The opposition is in charge of most of the eastern half of the country.
I'm not even going to argue the third to half bit.
The Libyan leader has given no indication he is willing to relinquish power, however, and rebels could easily get bogged down on the way to the capital or face a protracted battle there....
Apparently not according to the media script.
On Thursday, five loud explosions shook the center of Tripoli, possibly striking near Gadhafi's compound. The thunderous blasts rattled a hotel where journalists are staying. Gadhafi's compound is near the hotel and a frequent target of air raids.
NATO jets flew overhead minutes after the blasts. It wasn't clear what was hit or if there were civilian casualties. NATO has bombarded military targets all over Libya since March when a no-fly zone was instituted.
Yeah, who cares if NATO tossed around bombs and murdered people?
Zintan local officials met Thursday with representatives from the United Nations' main refugee agency to find a solution for the growing number of refugees....
Yeah, ANOTHER FORGOTTEN ASPECT in the GLORY of VICTORY!
The head of the city council, Ahmed Ammar, said he has asked the U.N. to set up a tent camp in Zintan. Up to now, many of the newcomers were hosted by families in the mountains, but space is running out, he said.
Laurent Groisbois, a U.N. official, said the aim is to set up shelter for the refugees in Libya, and prevent another mass exodus to already overburdened Tunisia. Thousands of Libyans have fled there since the start of the civil war.
"When you look at the political situation in Tunisia, they have elections coming in October, there are already local tensions, the prices have already increased due to the massive arrival of Libyans, and Libyans want to stay in their country," Groisbois said after a meeting with city council members.
Because the media leaves you with the impression it's been a 50-50 split from the start when it hasn't, why are we supposed to believe them now?
--more--"
Related: Libyan rebels seize oil refinery, edge closer to Tripoli (By Kareem Fahim, New York Times)
I think I'll pass on that one. You will soon see why.
"Khadafy’s grip is loosening as rebels take strategic sites; In Tripoli, talk of imminent ouster, flight" August 20, 2011|By David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times
CAIRO - Six months after the outbreak of the revolt against his 42 years in power, Moammar Khadafy’s hold on his Tripoli stronghold shows signs of slipping.
Tripoli residents, who for months hesitated to talk openly over the phone, said in calls last night that they believed Khadafy’s flight or ouster could be imminent. Three people said the feeling of fear was ebbing in the streets....
With unexpected swiftness this week, the ill-trained and ill-equipped rebels from the western mountains overtook much of the strategic coastal town of Zawiya, with its enormous oil refinery, just 30 miles west of Tripoli, the country’s capital. Yesterday, the rebels took Gharyan, an important outpost along the trade route to the south. Khadafy’s troops had concentrated in both towns, and their retreat in the face of the amateurish rebels raised new doubts about the loyalist forces’ will and cohesion.
Or WE ARE BEING SOLD a BIG PILE of BS!!
As a result of those victories, most of the main roads that had supplied Tripoli have been closed. The city’s residents, accustomed to soaring food prices, weeklong waits for gas, and long electrical blackouts, say they are now coping with a crime wave and uncollected garbage....
Residents and officials of the Khadafy government said the NATO assault on Tripoli reached a new peak this week as bombs rained down on Khadafy’s compound and the palatial home of his intelligence chief and brother-in-law, Abdullah Senussi.
Yeah, that was kept kind of quiet in my paper.
The Libyan leader himself has not made a televised appearance in three months, although he released a low-quality audio recording on Monday exhorting Libyans to fight, saying that “the blood of the martyrs is fuel for the battlefield.’’
Yeah, so, what are you implying?
Yet some US officials cautioned yesterday that the intelligence about what was happening in Tripoli remained murky.
Uh-oh!!
“Clearly, the regime is feeling the pressure, and the opposition is gaining ground each day,’’ said one US official familiar with the intelligence about Libya. But, he said, “How or when that translates into a tipping point or what the endgame might look like is hard to determine.
“At this stage,’’ he added, “Khadafy might not know what he’s going to do from one day to the next.’’
This is by no means the first time the rebels have seemed to have Khadafy on the ropes. At the beginning of the uprising, Tripoli and most other cities in the country rose up against Khadafy, before his militias reasserted control in the west and NATO stepped in to defend the east.
I'm being told NATO is clearing places out with bombs, running rebels in there, and having news media take pictures. Then when they go away, the rebels retreat, and Khadafy's forces return.
But don't believe me; you have a nice, fine newspaper here.
There was fierce fighting yesterday in Zawiya and in Zlitan, a coastal city east of Tripoli, an indication that at least some elements of the well-equipped Khadafy forces remained determined to carry on the fight.
Driven out by a NATO attack overnight, the loyalists returned to Zawiya with renewed force, lobbing mortar rounds and rockets and retaking buildings around central Martyrs Square.
By the end of the day, however, rebel fighters were pouring in from other cities to counter the Khadafy forces, and a reporter for Al Jazeera in Zlitan said the rebels had prevailed there.
There are rumors out there that it may well be Al Jewzeera.
As the fighting draws closer to Tripoli, residents are feeling the pressure. For the first time, they say, they cannot easily leave the city. Hundreds of them have clogged narrow back roads as they try to flee to the relative safety of the rebel-held mountains to the south.
Certainly not loyalists.
That the mountains would beckon as a refuge is a measure of their fear, since conditions there are often hardly comfortable. Electricity and many supplies are still scarce in many places....
Same as where they are leaving without the NATO bombing.
And what got cut from the printed version:
Rebels now control the eastern portion of Libya along the Egyptian border, the commercial center in Misrata along the central coast, the western mountains along the Tunisian border, with Zawiya, a beachhead along the western coast.
But Khadafy retains bastions of support. The souther city of Sabha has enabled Khadafy to keep supply lines open to other African countries.
What?
Many African governments are grateful for Khadafy's financial support, and if he did choose to leave Libya other African countries are the most likely to offer him a place of refuge.
The isolated one has allies?
--more--"
"Libyan rebel forces launch battle for Tripoli; Heavy fighting begins in capital; Zawiyah seized" by Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times / August 21, 2011
ZAWIYAH, Libya - For the first time in months, witnesses in Tripoli reported heavy fighting in multiple neighborhoods in the capital late last night, even as rebel forces said they encircled the city by taking major towns to its east, west, and south.
Rebel leaders in Tunis and eastern Libya characterized the fighting as the beginning of a new uprising in the capital against Moammar Khadafy’s rule. After months of rebel offenses that crumbled or stalled despite heavy support from a NATO airstrike campaign, it marked the first time since the uprising began in February that the rebels threatened Khadafy’s ultimate stronghold.
The rebels said they launched the assault on Tripoli in coordination with NATO forces, and unusually heavy gunfire and explosions could be heard in the capital last night. The fighting erupted just hours after the rebels captured the key city of Zawiyah nearby. By afternoon, the rebels had driven Khadafy’s forces out of the strategic oil refinery town of Zawiyah, 30 miles west of Tripoli. After a week of heavy fighting there, residents began to celebrate in the main square.
The Arab news network Al-Jazeera reported that Zlitan, a crucial Khadafy barracks town east of Tripoli, also had fallen to the rebels. They captured Gharyan, the gateway to the south, last week.
Farther east, the rebels said they seized the residential areas of the oil port of Brega, a prize that has changed hands many times since the uprising began.
A senior US official said Khadafy’s days “are numbered.’’
“It is clear that the situation is moving against Khadafy,’’ Jeffrey D. Feltman, an assistant secretary of state, said after meeting rebel leaders in Benghazi, the rebel capital. “The opposition continues to make substantial gains on the ground while his forces grow weaker.’’
Rebel leaders were optimistic. “The end is very near’’ for Khadafy, said Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, leader of the rebel’s governing council. “We have contacts with people from the inner circle of Khadafy,’’ he said. “All evidence is that the end is very near, with God’s grace.’’
But the battle was hardly over. In the past six months, the rebels have frequently proven unable to hold captured territory, sometimes keeping it no longer than a few days. Government forces were still fighting fiercely outside Zawiyah, and in Brega they controlled the oil refinery.
So HERE WE GO AGAIN, huh?
Tripoli, while under new pressure, remains a Khadafy stronghold, as does Surt, a coastal city to the east, and Sabha to the south. Government officials continued to insist that they would fight to the end.
Still, with rebels virtually surrounding the capital and NATO bombing the city from their positions in the Mediterranean, residents were feeling increasingly under siege. The main supply routes closed, making electricity and fuel scarce. Crime is increasing and garbage is piling up in the streets....
Same as the stack of papers on my desk.
--more--"
Maybe I should have passed on that one, too:
"New York Times: Lying about Libya and Palestine - by Stephen Lendman
Note: A follow-up article will continue the narrative below. Currently, events in Tripoli are fluid.
Progressive Radio News Hour contributor Mahdi Nazemroaya's overnight email said:
"NATO landed insurgents in (Tripoli) harbor. They are attacking my hotel. I almost got shot. They're still lying a lot (about claims of controlling the capital), but we are in real danger."
He's saying that armed guerrilla gangs, mercenaries, indistinguishable from (also armed) Tripoli residents, are waging street warfare.
Russia Today reported about 1,300 deaths. No one knows for sure. However, events are fast-moving and chaotic.
On Russia Today, Nazemroaya also said heavy looting occurred, including insurgents breaking into hotel rooms and ransacking them. In addition, he said NATO WANTS A BLOODBATH.
In fact, they're getting one, exacerbated by intense terror bombing, deliberately targeting civilians.
"Myself, the Press TV journalist (Lizzie Phelan), three French nationals, the Cuban and Telesur journalists are in danger."
"One of my French colleagues was told: 'You are going to suffer the consequences of your actions for opposing the NATO war."
Sunday, on Russia Today, Nazemroaya said he was told that CNN said he personally would pay for opposing the war.
REPEAT: CNN THREATENED MADHI NAZEMROAYA FOR REPORTING TRUTHFULLY ABOUT EVENTS ON THE GROUND, NOT THE PRO-NATO PROPAGANDA CNN (THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND OTHER MAJOR MEDIA) REPORT DAILY.
What's ongoing in Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Palestine, as well as throughout North Africa/the Middle East/Central Asia is part of a COUP D'ETAT AGAINST FREEDOM - PLANNED, ORCHESTRATED AND DIRECTED FROM WASHINGTON.
Below covers the situation through Sunday PM. The narrative aims directly at shameless New York Times propaganda.
Rather than not send out because new events alter the picture I present, I believe it's nonetheless important to do so because:
(1) The New York Times, CNN and rest of the major media are part of Washington/NATO's war against freedom.
(2) They publish or broadcast falsified pro-war reports.
(3) They shamelessly support crimes of war and against humanity.
(4) On the ground "reporters" have provided NATO with bombing coordinates.
As a result, at the risk of inaccuracies because of subsequent events, the original article written Sunday begins as follows:
There they go again. Another day, more lies, shameless ones. Their correspondents prostitute themselves daily, making street whores, pimps, and dope peddlers look respectable in comparison.
On August 19, David Kirkpatrick headlined, "Qaddafi's Hold in Tripoli in Doubt as Rebels Advance," saying:
Gaddafi's "hold on his Tripoli stronghold shows signs of slipping....Residents (believe his) flight or ouster could be imminent. Three people said the feeling of fear was ebbing in the streets," suggesting it's because they think he'll soon be gone in contrast to the vast majority of supportive Tripoli residents, besides 85% of Libyans overall.
According to Kirkpatrick, "(w)ith unexpected swiftness, the ill-trained and ill-equiped rebels....overtook Zawiyah with its enormous oil refinery, just 30 miles west of Tripoli."
He quoted an unnamed US official saying, "Qaddafi might not know what he's going to do from one day to the next."
The article discussed other advances, existing solely in the mind of the Pentagon propagandist and unnamed US official who fed Kirkpatrick this rubbish he published.
On August 20, Kareem Fahim and Kirkpatrick headlined, "Heavy Fighting Reported in Tripoli; Rebels Encircle City," saying:
"For the first time in months, witnesses in Tripoli reported heavy fighting across the capital late Saturday night, even as rebel forces claimed to have encircled the city by taking major towns to its east, west and south."
According to "rebel leader" Anwar Fekini, "We are coordinating the attacks inside, and our forces from outside are ready to enter Tripoli."
On August 21, Kareem Fahim headlined, "Libyan Rebels Pass Defense Ring Near Tripoli," saying:
"Libyan rebels advanced to within 10 miles of Tripoli on Sunday, pushing past the city's outer defense lines and vowing to combine forces with insurgents who have waged intense battles inside the city," Gaddafi's "final stronghold."
As previous articles stressed, these reports read more like bad fiction than true accounts of conditions on the ground, exposing lies about alleged rebel victories.
Stratfor Global Intelligence (SGI) offered a mixed analysis, discounting notions of Gaddafi's imminent collapse, while nonsensically suggesting nonexistent rebel "advanc(es) toward Tripoli," indicating they "may be beginning an attempt to lay siege on the Libyan capital" and claim victory.
At the same time, SGI admits a "rebel disinformation campaign....in full swing....designed to trigger an uprising from within the capital to facilitate the rebel invasion....A lot of loose talk (about) a lot of explosions in Tripoli can be expected in the meantime."
In fact, Stratfor tried having it both ways, claiming rebel victories based on "disinformation," then exposing them as lies.
A Reality Check
On August 20, Progressive Radio News contributor Mahdi Nazemroaya's Global Research.ca article headlined, "Rebel Advances on Tripoli is Media Disinformation," saying:
Rebel disinformation claims "(h)eavy gunfire and explosions" in Tripoli. By the end of August, they say a final battle to take the city could begin. Other falsified reports indicate fighting in several city neighborhoods, including Tajoura, Soug Jomaa and Arada.
In fact, besides ongoing NATO bombing, "gunfire in the Libyan capital is sporadic and disorganized." Its main purpose "is to break down the morale here and cause panic."
"The media here at the hotel where I am staying have been part of this disinformation campaign. They just want to feed the panic here and want the regime to collapse. They are fueling and feeding this psychological war against this country."
At the same time, Libyans overwhelmingly support Gaddafi, determined to resist efforts to oust him. New York Times and other media sources, however, never report it. Instead, they lie, doing it shamelessly and badly.
Appearing August 20 on Russia Today (RT.com), Nazemroaya confirmed sporadic gunfire only, adding:
"It's not organized, and it's meant only to break down the morale" of Tripoli residents "and cause panic....In fact, the (major) media" are a key part of the disinformation campaign.
"They're talking about airlifts. (They're) saying migratory workers want to flee Tripoli. That's not true at all. They just want to (create) panic and make the regime collapse....They want Tripoli to be in panic. That's their whole aim," also spreading other lies "to cause trauma, (and) that's the truth."
"It's NATO that's doing all the fighting" with relentless daily bombing, mostly targeting civilians, "civilian checkpoints that are mostly protected and manned by volunteers," and civilian infrastructure.
"But when the media say insurgents are moving in, that's not correct. It's NATO that's doing all the hard work here." Except for scattered elements, rebels won't "come into Tripoli. The population (is committed) to oppose them," and well armed by Gaddafi to do it.
"This is a NATO operation," controlling everything, rebels taking orders from them. Reporters are giving bombing coordinates to NATO, including civilian checkpoints, hospitals, and other nonmilitary targets to terrorize Libyans into submission.
"The media here are part of the war machine."
Also appearing August 20 on RT, Franklin Lamb said he just returned from traveling all around Tripoli. "There's no heavy fighting" as falsely reported. "There is sporadic bombing every hour" or so, and some anti-aircraft fire. "It's clear that the rebels are not here....Now it's very quiet." Claiming rebels are there "is nonsense."
On the same day, independent journalist Lizzie Phelan told RT:
Tripoli gunfire and fireworks now heard is celebratory among Gaddafi supporters, not falsified claims of rebel attacks.
Earlier there were some scattered rebel fighters in the city, perhaps sleeper cells awaiting orders. Libya's government calls them gangs. "They've now been cleared out of the city, captured and arrested."
"The only explosions (heard are) from NATO bombing and sound bombs to create a sense of panic....Now what we're hearing happened earlier today is that the rebels (by) their own media, their own channels, including Al Jazeera at the center of the media conspiracy, is that they created some fake footage inside Zawiya, claiming they're (there) and in Tripoli."
It was done to create panic. Scattered rebel gangs began firing and threatening people, saying they'd be assassinated if they didn't join them.
Other "armed Libyans came out to defend their capital." Control was reestablished. Now people are out because they feel safe again, showing relief with fireworks and celebratory gunfire, ready to resist other rebel attacks if they come.
Gaddafi also spoke live by phone, insisting he's alive, well, and inside the country. Moreover, "NATO isn't having any successes on the ground, so (their only recourse) is to fabricate them by (media lies) to convince the Security Council and most people that the war is worthwhile."
Since the beginning of the conflict, "people have been armed to the teeth," using weapons Gaddafi supplied. They're "ready to defend their capital and country, and stand by their leader Muammar Gaddafi."
They understand the unacceptable alternative. As a result, they're committed to fight to prevent it.
Phalen's Sunday report said scattered fighting continues. In other words, rebel pockets claim advances not made, solely for media-spread propaganda purposes to incite panic in Tripoli.
Residents are too smart to buy it. Well-armed and committed, they're ready to defend their city and country, unwilling to surrender to NATO, rebel cutthroats, and media liars....
--MORE--"
Related:
Libyan rebels advance to outskirts of Tripoli
Hundreds of Libyan rebels reached the Tripoli suburb of Janzour today, where they were greeted by civilians lining the streets and waving rebel flags.
After the president was briefed on the situation in Libya, he visited a private beach, then went to play golf at Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown.
Libya rebels in Tripoli, Khadafy defenses collapse
Libya rebels in Tripoli, Khadafy defenses collapse
A senior rebel official says the military unit in charge of protecting Moammar Khadafy and the capital Tripoli has surrendered.
Can you blame me for not wanting to read them?
"Rebels storm into Tripoli, pushing Khadafy to brink; Insurgents arrest two of ruler’s sons " by Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times / August 22, 2011
Wait until you get about halfway through....
TRIPOLI, Libya - Moammar Khadafy’s grip on power was swiftly slipping away today as rebels marched into the capital and arrested two of his sons, while residents raucously celebrated the prospective end of his four-decade-old rule.
I heard one was shot to death on TV.
In the city’s central Green Square, the site of many manufactured rallies in support of Khadafy, jubilant Libyans tore down green flags and posters of Khadafy and stomped on them.
The agenda-pushing bias is showing.
The rebel leadership announced that the elite presidential guard protecting the Libyan leader had surrendered and that they controlled many parts of the city, but not Khadafy’s leadership compound.
The National Transitional Council, the rebel governing body, issued a mass text message saying, “We congratulate the Libyan people for the fall of Moammar Khadafy and call on the Libyan people to go into the street to protect the public property. Long live free Libya.’’
Officials loyal to Khadafy insisted that the fight was not over and there were clashes between rebels and government troops early this morning. But NATO and US officials made clear that Khadafy’s control of Tripoli, which had been this final stronghold, was now in doubt.
“Clearly the offensive for Tripoli is underway,’’ State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. The statement said “Khadafy’s days are numbered’’ and urged the rebel leadership to prepare for a transfer of power and “maintain broad outreach across all segments of Libyan society and to plan for a post-Khadafy Libya.’’
After six months of inconclusive fighting the assault on the capital unfolded at a rapid pace, with insurgents capturing a military base of the vaunted Khamis Brigade where they had expected to meet fierce resistance, and then speeding toward Tripoli and then through several neighborhoods unopposed.
A separate group of rebels waged a fierce battle near the Rixos Hotel, a bastion of Khadafy support near the city center. It was there that a team of rebels said it captured Khadafy’s son and onetime heir apparent, Seif al-Islam. Rebels also said they accepted the surrender of a second Khadafy son, Mohammed.
Rebel spokesmen said their fighters had surrounded the Bab al Aziziya compound where they believed Khadafy may still be holding out, but they were reluctant to begin an all-out assault.
Khadafy issued defiant audio statements during the night, calling on people to “save Tripoli’’ from a rebel offensive. He said Libyans were becoming “slaves of the imperialists’’ and that “all the tribes are now marching on Tripoli.’’
Mahmoud Hamza, a senior official of the Khadafy foreign ministry, acknowledged in phone call at 1 a.m. today that “it is getting near the end now.’’ But he said that the Khadafy forces had not given up.
“Tripoli now is very dangerous. There is a lot of fighting but there not yet an assault on Bab al Aziziya,’’ he said. “For me this is the most fearful thing, I hope it does not come to that.’’
Al Arabiya television broadcast images of Libyans celebrating in central Tripoli and ripping down Khadafy posters. Huge crowds gathered in Benghazi, the capital of the rebel-controlled eastern part of the country, as expectations grew that Khadafy’s hold on power was crumbling.
Earlier yesterday, protesters took to the streets and cells of rebels inside Tripoli clashed with Khadafy loyalists, opposition leaders and refugees from the city said. Fighting had been heavy in the morning, but by midnight Khadafy’s forces had allowed many districts of the capital to fall without a major battle.
This is beginning to read like the taking of Baghdad.
A rebel spokesman said insurgents had opened another new line of attack on Tripoli by sending boats from the port city of Misurata to link up with fighters in the capital. It was not clear how many fighters were involved in that operation.
Moussa Ibrahim, the government’s spokesman, issued media statements through the night, saying more than 1,300 people had died in fighting in the city but that government troops remained in control. Those assertions could not be confirmed.
But the turmoil inside Tripoli and the crumbling of defenses on its outskirts suggested a decisive shift in the revolt, by far the most violent of the Arab Spring uprisings.
NATO troops continued close air support of the rebels all day, with multiple strikes by alliance aircraft helping clear the road to Tripoli from Zawiya. Rebel leaders in the west credited NATO with thwarting an attempt yesterday by Khadafy loyalists to reclaim Zawiya with a flank assault on the city.
Seif Khadafy has been central in the Libyan revolt. Before the uprising began he was known as Libya’s leading advocate of reform in both economic and political life.
He cultivated an Anglophile persona, and often appeared to be waging a tug-of-war against his father’s older and more conservative allies. He was increasingly seen as the most powerful figure behind the scenes of the Libyan government as well as his father’s likely successor.
When the revolt broke out it was Seif Khadafy who delivered the government’s first public response, vowing to wipe out what he called “the rats’’ and warning of a civil war.
In his last public interview, he appeared a changed man. Sitting in a spare hotel conference room, he wore a newly grown beard and fingered prayer beads. After months of denouncing the rebels as dangerous Islamic radicals, he insisted that he was brokering a new alliance with the Islamist faction among the rebels to drive out the liberals.
While rebels expressed hope Khadafy’s forces were losing their will to fight, support for the government could remain strong inside some areas of Tripoli.
Analysts said the crucial role played by NATO in aiding the rebel advance in the relatively unpopulated areas outside the capital could prove far less effective in an urban setting, where concerns about civilian casualties could hamper the alliance’s ability to focus on government troops.
A senior US military officer who has been following the developments closely and who has been in contact with African and Arab military leaders in recent days, expressed caution yesterday about the prospects for Libya even if the Khadafy government should fall.
Even if Khadafy is deposed in some way, the senior officer said, there was still no clear plan for a political succession or for maintaining security in the country....
And you know what that means: TROOPS on the GROUND!!
See: Globalist Richard Haas Calls for NATO Occupation of Libya
That was the plan all along.
US officials say they are preparing contingency plans if and when Khadafy’s government falls to help prevent the vast Libyan government stockpiles of weapons, particularly portable antiaircraft missiles, from being stolen and dispersed.
I'm just wondering why he didn't use 'em (except for that one Scud?).
Untold numbers of the missiles, including SA-7’s, have been looted from government arsenals, and US officials fear they could circulate widely, including heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles that could be used against civilian airliners.
Yeah, LET the FALSE FLAGS FLY, 'eh!?
“What I worry about most is the proliferation of these weapons,’’ the senior military officer said, noting that the United States had been quietly meeting with leaders of Libya’s neighbors in Africa’s Sahel region to stem the flow of the missiles.
Maybe we would have been better off not instigating a coup then invading, huh?
And what the web gave me:
The shocking collapse of the Khadafy forces appeared to signal the end for one of the world’s most flamboyant and mercurial political figures, the leader of an idiosyncratic government that was frequently as bizarre as it was brutal.
At least, THAT is the MEDIA SCRIPT!
Long a thorn in the side of the West, Khadafy had managed an awkward reconciliation in recent years, abandoning his fledgling nuclear program and paying billions of dollars to the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, which was attributed to Libyan agents.
Related: Scotland defends decision to free Lockerbie bomber
MORE EVIDENCE ON LOCKERBIE APPEARS TO IMPLICATE THE CIA
German TV exposes CIA, Mossad links to 1986 Berlin disco bombing
It's all lies all the time, isn't it?
While denying that he headed the government, Khadafy created a cult of personality that centered on his Green Book, a volume that could be as trivial as it was impenetrable.
Otherwise known as a presidential election in AmeriKa.
His decades of iron-fisted rule have produced a country, analysts say, that is devoid of credible institutions and any semblance of a civil society - a potential source of trouble in the months and years ahead....
Years? We are going to be there years?
--more--"
And LOOK WHAT VERY WELL MAY BE BEHIND the AGENDA-PUSHING!
"NATO racing to wrap up campaign" by Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press / August 22, 2011
BRUSSELS - With NATO’s bombing of Libya now in its sixth month, a new sense of urgency is gripping the alliance as two crucial deadlines loom next month.
Yeah, better WRAP IT UP QUICK and DECLARE VICTORY so the media coverage will begin to fade.
After months of combat stalemate, the insurgents have made dramatic gains in recent weeks against Moammar Khadafy’s forces and have encircled Tripoli. The rapid advance offers NATO the chance to bring to a conclusion a campaign that has drawn increasing international criticism and caused serious rifts within the alliance....
In other words the BREAKING NEWS is ALL a STAGED and SCRIPTED EVENT!!!
--more--"
Also see: Obama calls on Khadafy to relinquish grip on power
ZATO and the Wannabe Whores of Babylon
Can you blame me for not wanting to read them?
"Rebels storm into Tripoli, pushing Khadafy to brink; Insurgents arrest two of ruler’s sons " by Kareem Fahim and David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times / August 22, 2011
Wait until you get about halfway through....
TRIPOLI, Libya - Moammar Khadafy’s grip on power was swiftly slipping away today as rebels marched into the capital and arrested two of his sons, while residents raucously celebrated the prospective end of his four-decade-old rule.
I heard one was shot to death on TV.
In the city’s central Green Square, the site of many manufactured rallies in support of Khadafy, jubilant Libyans tore down green flags and posters of Khadafy and stomped on them.
The agenda-pushing bias is showing.
The rebel leadership announced that the elite presidential guard protecting the Libyan leader had surrendered and that they controlled many parts of the city, but not Khadafy’s leadership compound.
The National Transitional Council, the rebel governing body, issued a mass text message saying, “We congratulate the Libyan people for the fall of Moammar Khadafy and call on the Libyan people to go into the street to protect the public property. Long live free Libya.’’
Officials loyal to Khadafy insisted that the fight was not over and there were clashes between rebels and government troops early this morning. But NATO and US officials made clear that Khadafy’s control of Tripoli, which had been this final stronghold, was now in doubt.
“Clearly the offensive for Tripoli is underway,’’ State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said in a statement. The statement said “Khadafy’s days are numbered’’ and urged the rebel leadership to prepare for a transfer of power and “maintain broad outreach across all segments of Libyan society and to plan for a post-Khadafy Libya.’’
After six months of inconclusive fighting the assault on the capital unfolded at a rapid pace, with insurgents capturing a military base of the vaunted Khamis Brigade where they had expected to meet fierce resistance, and then speeding toward Tripoli and then through several neighborhoods unopposed.
A separate group of rebels waged a fierce battle near the Rixos Hotel, a bastion of Khadafy support near the city center. It was there that a team of rebels said it captured Khadafy’s son and onetime heir apparent, Seif al-Islam. Rebels also said they accepted the surrender of a second Khadafy son, Mohammed.
Rebel spokesmen said their fighters had surrounded the Bab al Aziziya compound where they believed Khadafy may still be holding out, but they were reluctant to begin an all-out assault.
Khadafy issued defiant audio statements during the night, calling on people to “save Tripoli’’ from a rebel offensive. He said Libyans were becoming “slaves of the imperialists’’ and that “all the tribes are now marching on Tripoli.’’
Mahmoud Hamza, a senior official of the Khadafy foreign ministry, acknowledged in phone call at 1 a.m. today that “it is getting near the end now.’’ But he said that the Khadafy forces had not given up.
“Tripoli now is very dangerous. There is a lot of fighting but there not yet an assault on Bab al Aziziya,’’ he said. “For me this is the most fearful thing, I hope it does not come to that.’’
Al Arabiya television broadcast images of Libyans celebrating in central Tripoli and ripping down Khadafy posters. Huge crowds gathered in Benghazi, the capital of the rebel-controlled eastern part of the country, as expectations grew that Khadafy’s hold on power was crumbling.
Earlier yesterday, protesters took to the streets and cells of rebels inside Tripoli clashed with Khadafy loyalists, opposition leaders and refugees from the city said. Fighting had been heavy in the morning, but by midnight Khadafy’s forces had allowed many districts of the capital to fall without a major battle.
This is beginning to read like the taking of Baghdad.
A rebel spokesman said insurgents had opened another new line of attack on Tripoli by sending boats from the port city of Misurata to link up with fighters in the capital. It was not clear how many fighters were involved in that operation.
Moussa Ibrahim, the government’s spokesman, issued media statements through the night, saying more than 1,300 people had died in fighting in the city but that government troops remained in control. Those assertions could not be confirmed.
But the turmoil inside Tripoli and the crumbling of defenses on its outskirts suggested a decisive shift in the revolt, by far the most violent of the Arab Spring uprisings.
NATO troops continued close air support of the rebels all day, with multiple strikes by alliance aircraft helping clear the road to Tripoli from Zawiya. Rebel leaders in the west credited NATO with thwarting an attempt yesterday by Khadafy loyalists to reclaim Zawiya with a flank assault on the city.
Seif Khadafy has been central in the Libyan revolt. Before the uprising began he was known as Libya’s leading advocate of reform in both economic and political life.
He cultivated an Anglophile persona, and often appeared to be waging a tug-of-war against his father’s older and more conservative allies. He was increasingly seen as the most powerful figure behind the scenes of the Libyan government as well as his father’s likely successor.
When the revolt broke out it was Seif Khadafy who delivered the government’s first public response, vowing to wipe out what he called “the rats’’ and warning of a civil war.
In his last public interview, he appeared a changed man. Sitting in a spare hotel conference room, he wore a newly grown beard and fingered prayer beads. After months of denouncing the rebels as dangerous Islamic radicals, he insisted that he was brokering a new alliance with the Islamist faction among the rebels to drive out the liberals.
While rebels expressed hope Khadafy’s forces were losing their will to fight, support for the government could remain strong inside some areas of Tripoli.
Analysts said the crucial role played by NATO in aiding the rebel advance in the relatively unpopulated areas outside the capital could prove far less effective in an urban setting, where concerns about civilian casualties could hamper the alliance’s ability to focus on government troops.
A senior US military officer who has been following the developments closely and who has been in contact with African and Arab military leaders in recent days, expressed caution yesterday about the prospects for Libya even if the Khadafy government should fall.
Even if Khadafy is deposed in some way, the senior officer said, there was still no clear plan for a political succession or for maintaining security in the country....
And you know what that means: TROOPS on the GROUND!!
See: Globalist Richard Haas Calls for NATO Occupation of Libya
That was the plan all along.
US officials say they are preparing contingency plans if and when Khadafy’s government falls to help prevent the vast Libyan government stockpiles of weapons, particularly portable antiaircraft missiles, from being stolen and dispersed.
I'm just wondering why he didn't use 'em (except for that one Scud?).
Untold numbers of the missiles, including SA-7’s, have been looted from government arsenals, and US officials fear they could circulate widely, including heat-seeking antiaircraft missiles that could be used against civilian airliners.
Yeah, LET the FALSE FLAGS FLY, 'eh!?
“What I worry about most is the proliferation of these weapons,’’ the senior military officer said, noting that the United States had been quietly meeting with leaders of Libya’s neighbors in Africa’s Sahel region to stem the flow of the missiles.
Maybe we would have been better off not instigating a coup then invading, huh?
And what the web gave me:
The shocking collapse of the Khadafy forces appeared to signal the end for one of the world’s most flamboyant and mercurial political figures, the leader of an idiosyncratic government that was frequently as bizarre as it was brutal.
At least, THAT is the MEDIA SCRIPT!
Long a thorn in the side of the West, Khadafy had managed an awkward reconciliation in recent years, abandoning his fledgling nuclear program and paying billions of dollars to the victims of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing, which was attributed to Libyan agents.
Related: Scotland defends decision to free Lockerbie bomber
MORE EVIDENCE ON LOCKERBIE APPEARS TO IMPLICATE THE CIA
German TV exposes CIA, Mossad links to 1986 Berlin disco bombing
It's all lies all the time, isn't it?
While denying that he headed the government, Khadafy created a cult of personality that centered on his Green Book, a volume that could be as trivial as it was impenetrable.
Otherwise known as a presidential election in AmeriKa.
His decades of iron-fisted rule have produced a country, analysts say, that is devoid of credible institutions and any semblance of a civil society - a potential source of trouble in the months and years ahead....
Years? We are going to be there years?
--more--"
And LOOK WHAT VERY WELL MAY BE BEHIND the AGENDA-PUSHING!
"NATO racing to wrap up campaign" by Slobodan Lekic, Associated Press / August 22, 2011
BRUSSELS - With NATO’s bombing of Libya now in its sixth month, a new sense of urgency is gripping the alliance as two crucial deadlines loom next month.
Yeah, better WRAP IT UP QUICK and DECLARE VICTORY so the media coverage will begin to fade.
After months of combat stalemate, the insurgents have made dramatic gains in recent weeks against Moammar Khadafy’s forces and have encircled Tripoli. The rapid advance offers NATO the chance to bring to a conclusion a campaign that has drawn increasing international criticism and caused serious rifts within the alliance....
In other words the BREAKING NEWS is ALL a STAGED and SCRIPTED EVENT!!!
--more--"
Also see: Obama calls on Khadafy to relinquish grip on power
ZATO and the Wannabe Whores of Babylon
