"Libya’s capital struggling with shortages of fuel, food; Rebels ready to attack Khadafy hometown" by Paul Schemm and Hadeel Al-Shalchi, Associated Press / August 28, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya - Rebel fighters pushed nearly leaderless regime gunmen to the outskirts of Tripoli yesterday, as severe shortages of fuel, water, and electricity paralyzed the battle-scarred capital.
The rebels, who now control most of Libya, are trying to open up the coastal road from Tunisia to Tripoli, a major supply route.
Opposition fighters have taken control of the Tunisian-Libyan border crossing on the Mediterranean but have been unable to ferry goods from Tunisia because regime loyalists were shelling the coastal road near the city of Zwara, about 70 miles from Tripoli, yesterday....
The rebels’ information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, said the hunt for the defeated dictator will not hold up efforts to build a new administration and try to get the situation in Libya under control....
Much of the capital is without electricity and water. Streets are strewn with torched cars and garbage, because trash has not been collected in many neighborhoods for months. Corpses crowd abandoned hospitals. Stores are closed. Bombed planes sit on the Tripoli’s airport’s tarmac.
Fuel prices have skyrocketed....
We like to call it the gift of freedom.
The shortages come as Muslims around the world, including in Libya, prepared for a three-day holiday, Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan early next week. Traditionally, children get new clothes, shoes, haircuts, and toys for the holiday.
In a string of towns stretching to the west of Tripoli, clothing stores were bustling with mothers, children in tow, shopping for Eid clothing.
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Time to leave the Libyan mall and go home.
"The family’s mansions turn out to be not so grand" by Anthony Shadid and Kareem Fahim, New York Times / August 28, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya - Given Khadafy’s noted flamboyance, the residences of the House of Khadafy were not quite as grand as people might have supposed.
What?
They lacked the faux grandeur of Saddam Hussein’s marbled palaces. There are no columns that bear Khadafy’s initials, or fists cast in replica of his hands, or river-fed moats with voracious carp.
But in Baghdad and Tripoli, what remained still projected the distance between power and powerlessness.
As rebels and residents started to pick through the detritus of the Khadafys’ lives, there was a sense of laying claim to a country commandeered by the Arab world’s longest-ruling leader....
There was also a sense of something incomplete. Even as people picked through the Khadafys’ belongings, the colonel and his children remained at large....
“Khadafy was not living like a rich man, I admit that,’’ said Malik el-Bakouri, a 27-year-old doctor from Tripoli....
Yeah, turns out HE WAS TAKING CARE of HIS PEOPLE -- and for that he must be destroyed!
Khadafy’s sons’ behavior would have made a reality show proud - Saadi was a professional soccer player, and Hannibal repeatedly had brushes with the law in Europe.
I'm really beginning to wonder if that is not all we are seeing on the scripted and staged news channels.
But the sons’ villas on a sand bluff overlooking the Mediterranean had a distinctly 1970s feel. They were not lavish; the brown paint on the patio decks was peeling....
A leader who actually set a moral example -- which is why the agenda-pushing press of AmeriKa consider him a monster.
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And WTF? No one answer the door yet?
"Khadafy’s wife, 3 of his children flee to Algeria; Libyan dictator believed to be hiding in Surt" by David D. Kirkpatrick and Neil Macfarquhar, New York Times / August 30, 2011
TRIPOLI, Libya - The departure of his relatives from Libya was powerful new evidence that Khadafy has lost control in the six-month-old conflict....
Anytime the NYT or some other war presstitute cites powerful new evide.... oh, thanks for the salt shaker. How did you know I needed to take a few grains?
The whereabouts of Khadafy remain unknown, along with those of his other sons....
A rebel spokesman said Sunday that Khamis Khadafy may have been killed on Saturday, but that no positive identification had been made.
Khadafy’s vexing vanishing act has been the looming question in Libya since the alliance of Libyan rebels invaded Tripoli on Aug. 20, overran his heavily fortified compound on Aug. 23, and finally established control after days of bloody street fighting.
The rebels have said they will not consider their victory complete until they capture or kill the colonel, who has ruled Libya for 42 years and was the Arab world’s longest-ruling leader.
Algeria is the only North African neighbor of Libya that has not recognized the Transitional National Council as the legitimate new government....
Then Algeria just better watch themselves or I'll soon see they are a government that supports terror.
A senior American counterterrorism official said that many American intelligence analysts believe that Khadafy has probably slipped out of Tripoli and is hiding in Surt, his tribal home and one of his government’s last remaining strongholds, about 200 miles east of the capital....
Isn't this beginning to have a whole Saddam Hussein feel to it? Basic script I guess.
The official and others interviewed in Washington acknowledged that they had only the sketchiest information about Khadafy’s possible location. They say they have even fewer insights into what he might do next, now that members of his family have fled the country.
Rebel forces reported earlier yesterday that they were approaching Surt and were seeking a negotiated surrender of the town, which has also been the target of three consecutive days of NATO bombings.
In Tripoli, rebel leaders took visible new steps toward installing themselves as the country’s official government, signing new energy deals with ENI, Italy’s biggest oil company, and permitting France and Britain - the leading countries in a NATO alliance that assisted the rebel movement - to send advance teams into Tripoli with the intent of reestablishing their embassies in the capital.
Yup, that is what this WHOLE THING WAS ABOUT!
Woe to YOU who SIT UPON ENERGY RESERVES COVETED by the EMPIRE!
Rebel officials, meanwhile, appealed yesterday for NATO forces to continue the air campaign....
“We believe the Khadafy regime is near collapse, and we’re committed to seeing the operation through to its conclusion,’’ said US Admiral Samuel Locklear, the head of NATO’s Joint Operations Command, according to Reuters.
Locklear added that NATO air strikes had destroyed 5,000 military targets in Libya.
And never any talk of all the civilians they have "accidentally" killed.
Yeah, this s*** does read like a broken record and probably why I'm really tired of it.
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And what was I saying about Algeria?
"Algeria draws scrutiny over Khadafy kin; Country harbors family members who fled Libya" September 01, 2011|By Caroline Alexander and Flavia Krause-Jackson, Bloomberg News
LONDON - While Algeria saw some protests at the start of the year, the uprising was suppressed and petered out after the government ended the 19-year-old state of emergency in February.
And the West didn't make a big deal of it at the time.
The act of taking the closest relatives of an increasingly isolated dictator could spark a fresh wave of discontent at a delicate time for a country battling record-high food prices and waiting on its government’s oft-promised reforms.
“This shows Algeria supports the Khadafy regime and will widen the rift between the Algerian regime and the people, which is already at an explosive level,’’ Jeremy Keenan, an Algeria specialist at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, said. “Algeria has been unbelievably foolish.’’
Ah, the ALLIANCES for WORLD WAR THREE are being DRAWN AS I TYPE!
TO WAR!!! TO WAR!!!!!!!!
The Algerian government has allowed mercenaries, fuel, and weapons to come into Libya over the past six months, said Guma Al Gumaty, the rebel’s British coordinator. “It is very unwise to be working against Libyan people’s interest. They should be looking toward the future.’’
Algeria is one of a handful of African states that have not recognized the rebel’s National Transitional Council as Libya’s de facto government. Another is Zimbabwe....
Oh, lumping them in with Mugabe the Monster now.
Algeria’s actions have alarmed Western powers too.
TO WAR!!! TO WAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The United States is concerned that the Khadafy family’s travel across the border “isn’t in keeping with travel ban restrictions’’ under United Nations resolutions, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said....
Just wondering when Dick Cheney, George Bush, or a handful of Israelis that come visit will be turned over to the ICC.
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"Rebels extend Khadafy deadline; Libyan leader vows to fight" September 02, 2011|By David Kirkpatrick and Rick Gladstone, New York Times
TRIPOLI, Libya - The transitional government of Libya’s triumphant rebels decided yesterday to extend the deadline given to Moammar Khadafy and his remaining fighters to surrender by up to a week, but the fugitive leader rejected the ultimatum and raged at his enemies in a new broadcast that called for the country to be engulfed in flames.
Khadafy, whose whereabouts remained a mystery, delivered the screed in an audio message that was first broadcast by Al Rai, a television channel in Syria that has often carried pro-Khadafy news and propaganda.
Ah, SEE, now SYRIA is with him!!!
Related: Declassified: Massive Israeli manipulation of US media exposed
Well, you know what prizm I'm seeing my newz through, no?
It was not clear how the channel received Khadafy’s message - apparently his first after more than a week on the run - or whether it had been prerecorded....
Now he is bin Laden-esque!! Pffft!
--more--"
Hey, anybody seen Moammar around?
"Libyan fighters inch closer to hometown of Khadafy; With Tripoli in hand, rebels are in no hurry to attack" September 03, 2011|By Karin Laub and Paul Schemm, Associated Press
TRIPOLI, Libya - Rebel fighters pushed closer to Moammar Khadafy’s hometown yesterday, despite the extension of a deadline for the town’s surrender and negotiations with tribal leaders aimed at avoiding bloodshed.
With the capital, Tripoli, firmly in their hands, the rebels are in no rush to assault the loyalist-held town of Surt, rebel officials said, hoping the town would surrender without an attack. But the rebels are also moving their forces into position in case an assault is needed.
“Military action will be the last option, because after the fall of the capital, we are not in a hurry,’’ said Khaled Zintani, a spokesman for the rebels in the remote mountain town of Zintan.
Tribal elders in Surt had asked that a delegation from Zintan be sent to Surt to help with negotiations, he said, because of a long history of bad blood with rebels from towns closer to Surt.
Despite the extension of a Surt surrender deadline to Sept. 10, rebel forces have not stopped advancing, said another rebel spokesman, Abdel-Hafiz Ghoga. Rebel brigades have pushed to the town of Wadi Hawarah, just 30 miles from Surt, he said.
But they are not hurrying.
Un-f***ing-believable.
Can you SEE WHY I AM SO SICK of this SHIT JOURNALISM?!!!!!!!!
“The rebels at the front line are very eager to move without delay,’’ he said. “They live in harsh conditions there in the middle of the desert, and in hot weather,’’ he said.
Khadafy remains a fugitive and there have been conflicting reports about his whereabouts....
But even with Khadafy still on the run, rebel leaders are trying to stabilize Libya.
A Libyan official said at least five foreign oil and gas companies have returned to the country in recent days to try to get production going again. Libya’s economic future could hinge on its lucrative oil and gas sectors, whose production ground to a halt during the insurgency against Khadafy.
Didn't they say all that about IRAQ?
Advance teams from oil and gas companies are assessing damage and trying to restart their facilities, said Aref Ali Nayed, a member of the rebel-lead government’s so-called stabilization team. He spoke in Paris after talks with UN and other international officials.
While fighting has subsided in much of Libya, the six-month civil war between rebels and Khadafy’s forces disrupted supply lines and damaged infrastructure across the country, leaving many people facing severe shortages of food, fuel, and medicine, UN officials said.
Yeah, I'm sure the NATO bombings had nothing to do with the damaged infrastructure.
But despite those shortages, thousands of people gathered in Tripoli’s central plaza, recently renamed Martyrs’ Square, to celebrate the downfall of the Khadafy regime.
Many of those celebrating were women, a rare sight in a country where women have long had a very limited public role. Some, though, said it was time for that to change....
Khadafy styled himself an advocate of women’s rights, creating a special force of female bodyguards and placing a handful of women in top positions in the regime....
But he was a sexist, and the women of the war-promoting paper told me so pffft!
I'm thinking I've overstayed my welcome at the Globe.
Tripoli’s new military commander, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, addressed concerns yesterday about his Islamist past. Belhaj is the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, which fought alongside Al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oh, HE'S CIA-Duh's man!!
In an interview at his headquarters at Tripoli’s military airport, Belhaj said he refused to join Al Qaeda because he disagreed with its ideology of global jihad, or holy war, and wanted to focus on ridding Libya of Khadafy.
Oh, he QUIT CIA-Duh! Gimme a f***ing break!
He lauded the West for supporting the rebels with NATO airstrikes and diplomatic efforts. “The UN Security Council and the whole world stood by us in the cause and have helped us to get rid of Khadafy,’’ he said.
The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group is not a monolithic entity, said one US official familiar with the group. Some branches have had connections with Al Qaeda, while others dropped all ties to the terrorist group.
Belhaj leads a faction that disavowed Al Qaeda, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters of intelligence. But US officials are “watching to see whether or not this is for real, or just for show,’’ he said.
Yup, CIA-Duh is ALL an INTELLIGENCE AGENCY CREATION and OPERATION, folks!
I DO NOT LIKE IT ANYMORE THAN YOU DO, but THERE IT IS!!
--more--"
And that fighting that has subsided? Must be near the house.
"Libyan rebels gird for attack on loyalist town; Talks collapse over surrender of stronghold" September 05, 2011|By Hadeel Al-Shalchi and Maggie Michael, Associated Press
TARHOUNA, Libya - Negotiations over the surrender of one of Moammar Khadafy’s remaining strongholds have collapsed, and Libyan rebels were waiting for the green light to launch their final attack on the besieged town of Bani Walid, a spokesman said....
From who?
Rebel forces control most of the oil-rich North African nation and are already setting up a new government, but Khadafy and his staunchest allies remain on the run and enjoy support in several central and southern areas, including Bani Walid and the fugitive leader’s hometown of Surt.
The rebels have said the hardcore loyalists are a small minority inside the town but are heavily armed and stoking fear to keep other residents from surrendering.
In other words, acting like the AmeriKan government.
“We feel sorry for the people of Bani Walid,’’ said rebel negotiator Abdullah Kanshil, himself a native of the town, speaking to reporters at a rebel checkpoint about 40 miles to the north. “We hope for the best for our town.’’
The rebels have extended to Saturday a deadline for the surrender of Khadafy’s hometown of Surt and other loyalist areas, but some have warned they could attack Bani Walid sooner because many of the most prominent former regime officials were believed to be inside....
“This battle has already been decided,’’ said Ahmed Bani, the rebels’ military spokesman based in Benghazi. “It is only a matter of hours.’’
He said that how many days ago?
He said there had been clashes around the town for the last four days....
And the paper didn't see fit to mention them (or did I just tune them out with a big blue X)?
Thousands of rebel fighters have converged on Bani Walid in recent days from multiple directions.
The rebels say Khadafy does have some genuine supporters in Bani Walid, mainly people linked to the dictator through an elaborate patronage system that helped keep him in power for nearly 42 years.
That's how every leader does it; otherwise, you aren't leading very long.
Khadafy supporters are “claiming that [rebel] fighters will come and rape their women,’’ said Mubarak al-Saleh, the representative from Bani Walid to the rebels’ transitional council. “We are trying to assure people that the fighters are true Muslims who will not harm anybody except those whose hands are stained with blood.’’
They have, but since they were serving the agenda they were just boys horsing around. Remember the woman hollering rape at the beginning of this thing (which later turned out to be a fraud)?
Like I've said, readers, I have reached the end with the distortions, obfuscations, omissions, and lies.
Rebels arriving from Misurata, a western port that played a central role in the war, reported late Saturday they faced no resistance when they took two military camps on the outskirts of Bani Walid.
“Negotiations are over, and we are waiting for orders’’ to attack, said Mohammed al-Fassi, a rebel commander. “We wanted to do this without bloodshed, but they took advantage of our timeline to protect themselves.’’
Fassi said more Khadafy loyalists have moved into Bani Walid from the south outlined by a line of high hills, but did not know how many.
NATO, meanwhile, reported bombing a military barracks, a police camp, and other targets near the southern stronghold of Surt overnight, as well as targets near Hun, a possible staging ground in the desert halfway between Surt and Sabha.
It also reported bombing an ammunition storage facility near Bani Walid. Yup, the NATO BOMBINGS go on but the war is over.
NATO has been bombing Khadafy’s forces since March under a United Nations mandate to protect Libyan civilians.
Of course, they have killed civilians doing it but, you know.... (sigh).
But that mandate expires on Sept. 27, and the rebels may be anxious to end the fight before it runs out - because it may be politically difficult to get it renewed....
Why would such a noble effort to remove a piece of human slime be so difficult, blah, bah, blah, blah, sigh.
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"Libyan rebels in talks with holdouts; UN envoy tours prison; Tripoli gets water service" September 06, 2011|By Rod Nordland, New York Times
TRIPOLI, Libya - Rebel negotiators have resumed talks with loyalist holdouts in the desert town of Bani Walid in an effort to persuade them to surrender peacefully before a Saturday deadline set by the interim government, Libyan officials said yesterday.
Striking notes of increasing confidence, rebel officials announced that they had made progress on several nonmilitary fronts....
NATO warplanes continued to attack, carrying out 52 airstrikes Sunday, mostly in Surt....
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"Libyan rebels grappling to find their way; Government hasn’t set up in capital yet" September 09, 2011|By Rod Nordland, New York Times
TRIPOLI, Libya - The interim government’s prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, said the war was still not over and would not be until Moammar Khadafy and his remaining holdouts were defeated. He said many people were misled by the growing appearance of normalcy in most of the country; only four widely scattered towns or cities remain under control of Khadafy loyalists.
In other developments yesterday, Khadafy denied rumors he had fled Libya, vowed never to leave the land of his ancestors, and exhorted followers to keep fighting. The message was broadcast on a pro-Khadafy satellite TV channel based in Syria.
Khadafy hasn’t been seen in public for months. Finding him would help seal the new rulers’ hold on the country and probably trigger the collapse of remaining loyalist resistance.
In yesterday’s five-minute audio message, aired on Al-Rai TV, a man who sounded like Khadafy said he was still in Libya....
The high cost of bringing down Khadafy’s regime, meanwhile, came into sharper relief, as the country’s interim health minister said that at least 30,000 people were killed and 50,000 wounded during the six-month civil war.
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"Libyan rebels begin attacks on strongholds; Interpol issues arrest warrant for Khadafy" September 10, 2011|By Rod Nordland, New York Times
TRIPOLI, Libya - Former Libyan rebels began attacking the loyalist holdouts of Bani Walid and Surt last night, a day before their own deadline for the surrender of those cities took effect.
“It’s full steam ahead right now,’’ said Abdulrahman Busin, a spokesman for the military.
The former rebels reportedly were inside Bani Walid but fighting continued, Busin said. The attack on Surt had just begun and the former rebels were still on the outskirts.
Busin said the Bani Walid attack took place early because loyalist forces inside the small city had opened fire on former-rebel positions outside. As for the attack on Surt, he said, “They may have pushed forward a few hours early simply because it was a strategic advantage.’’
**********************
Despite an international manhunt, the whereabouts of Libya’s top officials have been uncertain since rebels took Tripoli last month. Since then, Khadafy and his son have taunted the transitional government in audio messages and urged their loyalists to continue fighting. The Interpol notices, which were requested by the International Criminal Court at The Hague based on allegations of war crimes committed by the three men, require any of Interpol’s 188 member nations to arrest the suspects and turn them over to the court.
Among the member nations is Niger, which borders Libya on the south and has received a number of convoys of loyalist officials fleeing overland. No high-ranking figures in the former government have been confirmed to be accompanying them.
Yesterday, 14 Khadafy loyalist officials arrived in the northern Niger city of Agadez, including General Ali Kana, who is said to be a Tuareg tribesman in charge of Khadafy’s southern troops, according to a Reuters report. Tuareg tribesmen, who live on both sides of the Libya-Niger border in the Sahara, have been major supporters of the Khadafy government.
The group also included General Ali Sharif al-Rifi, commander of the Libyan air force, and two other top officials, who were said to be staying at the Etoile du Tenere hotel in Agadez, according to the news agency. The hotel is said to be owned by Khadafy.
Niger’s justice minister, Marou Amadou, confirmed that the two generals were in Agadez and were “being well guarded’’ but were not “in a building belonging to the state.’’
Late last month, two of Khadafy’s sons and his second wife fled to Algeria, which granted them asylum on humanitarian grounds, leading to criticism from Libyan transitional leaders. Algeria is also one of Interpol’s member countries, as are all of Libya’s neighbors.
Residents of Tripoli planned to converge on Martyrs’ Square last night to protest against people who had supported Khadafy until the very end and then switched sides.
Protesters who gathered in the late afternoon said that they did not want such people to retain or gain positions in government.
They also objected to the National Transitional Council’s minister of health, Naji Barakat. They that said he was a holdover from Khadafy’s time and that he was still acting as authoritarian as before.
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"Arab nations promised $58b for reform; G-8, other lenders increase amount previously offered" by Greg Keller, Associated Press / September 11, 2011
MARSEILLE - Yesterday’s meeting was notable for its inclusion of Libya, where rebel forces recently took control of most of the country and are working to create a government to replace Moammar Khadafy’s brutal regime. Libya is not yet officially part of the program but could soon receive funding, according to Jim Flaherty, Canada’s finance minister.
Libya’s vast oil wealth means it is unlikely to need substantial aid over the long term....
Where have we heard that one before, Americans?
Didn't Wolfowitz testify to Congress that Iraqi oil money could be stolen, 'er, tapped to pay for reconstruction?
You think we forgot out here?
In another step for Libya’s Transitional National Council, it won recognition yesterday from the International Monetary Fund, according to the organization’s chief, Christine Lagarde. She said she would dispatch teams to Libya to help with technical assistance and policy advice as soon as it was safe....
Yeah, ANOTHER REASON Khadafy needed to go. He was bailing out of that crooked scheme.
The plan was hatched in May by the G-8 nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States - as they sought to support the revolts and changes inspired by the Arab Spring.
Blog editor is skeptical of any plan hatched by that group.
How many dictators. etc, have they supported all these years?
How many countries have they invaded now?
They hope the money will reward reform.
Oh, right, I forgot; they were always looking out for the masses best interest. Explains all the poverty in the region.
The Syrian government, which is involved in a bloody crackdown on dissent, was pointedly not invited....
It's the WAR AGENDA ALL THE TIME!!!
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Related: Libya to fold militias into police, military (By Rod Nordland, New York Times)
Also see: Khadafy elusive as battle for Tripoli continues (By Alan Cowell and Kareem Fahim, New York Times)
Khadafy hometown gets ultimatum (By Leila Fadel, Washington Post)
Khadafy’s regime rejects offer for surrender (By Leila Fadel, Washington Post)
Rebels press Khadafy loyalists to surrender (By Anne Barnard, Adam Nossiter and Alan Cowell, New York Times)
Rumors about Khadafy multiply (By Rod Nordland, New York Times)
Libyan rebel leader arrives in Tripoli (By Simon Denyer, Washington Post)
My printed paper carried an AP piece.
Gas mask shipments add to concern over Libya’s chemical arsenal (By Simon Denyer, Washington Post)
That last one never appeared in my stinking printed paper.
