Lawless Libya

Libya demonstrates the agenda-pushing aspect of the paper quite nicely. Was a concern until Khadafy was killed; coverage has done a fade since.

"Militias try to storm Libyan official’s office; Guard killed during attack" by Rami Al-Shaheibi  |  Associated Press, May 09, 2012

TRIPOLI, Libya - Libyan militias armed with machine guns and mortars tried Tuesday to storm the prime minister’s office, triggering a gun battle with security forces that left one guard dead, government officials said.

Government spokesman Nasser al-Manei said the armed protesters tried to push their way into the building, some of them carrying mortars. The building was evacuated as the firefight with the security guards developed, leaving one guard dead and four wounded, he said.  

Ah, armed protesters. Couldn't be our guys then, right?

Libya has been hit by lawlessness since the ouster last year of longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy, with militiamen who fought the dictator’s forces refusing to hand over their weapons.  

We call it liberation.

The protesters were demanding compensation from the government....  

Oh, they were people who haven't been paid by our puppets.

Libya’s transitional government has offered salaries to former fighters who helped topple Khadafy and is trying to integrate them into a national force, so far with patchy success....

Manei said some of the several hundred protesters were demanding their delayed salaries. Others were demanding compensation for the wounded and more efforts to locate those missing since the civil war last year, and earlier in Khadafy’s prisons.

“We didn’t stop giving salaries, but we have postponed [paying] salaries so we can apply a new mechanism that ensures no corruption is involved and no money is wasted’’ on fake claims, Manei told reporters.

He rejected the violence. “This isn’t the way we negotiate things, by using force to get rights. These are the ways of Khadafy’s regime, using force against his own people.’’  

That's how you were installed, asshole!

Khaled Bshair, the commander in charge of the security guards at the prime minister’s office, said 14 armed men were arrested and are under investigation. He said some of the protesters were unarmed but accused unidentified parties of trying to incite violence.

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"Libyan militia takes control of Tripoli airport" Associated Press, June 05, 2012

TRIPOLI, Libya - A group of disgruntled militiamen took over the country’s main airport on Monday, storming it with heavy machine guns and armored vehicles and forcing airport authorities to divert flights, a security official said.

Libya’s interim leader, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, said the government retook control of the airport several hours after the attack. He declined to say how the facility was overrun so easily, but vowed that it would not fall out of government control again....

Tribal rivalries have swept Libya since deposed ruler Moammar Khadafy was overthrown last year. Much of the fighting has pitted militias that fought Khadafy against those who remained loyal to his regime.... 

Related: Loyalist Rebellion In Libya

Libya Looking Like Iraq

Libya Looks Like.... 

And they called it democracy.

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Their first step towards democracy: 

"Libya bans religious political parties" Associated Press, April 26, 2012

TRIPOLI, Libya - The National Transitional Council issued a new law Wednesday that bans parties based on religious principles, the council spokesman said, a surprising move that was denounced by Islamists organizing to compete in upcoming elections.

Mohammed al-Hareizi said the provision, included in a law that governs the formation of political parties, was designed to preserve “national unity.’’

“Parties shouldn’t be based on ethnic or religious ideologies,’’ he said. “We don’t want the government to be divided by these ideological differences.’’

The law comes two months ahead of the country’s first general elections to choose a 200-member assembly tasked with writing a new constitution and forming a government.

The Muslim Brotherhood, Libya’s most organized political movement, denounced the law.

“This is not democracy,’’ said Mohammed Gaira, spokesman for the Freedom and Development party founded by the Muslim Brotherhood this year.

“We don’t understand this law . . . It could mean nothing, or it could mean that none of us can participate in the election,’’ he added. “We are a nationalist party and Islam is our religion. This law is unacceptable and only suits liberals.’’

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"Arms smugglers detained near Libya border" Associated Press, May 11, 2012

CAIRO - Egyptian security forces seized dozens of heavy weapons Thursday near the Libyan border, arms that were allegedly bound for the Sinai Peninsula to stir up trouble ahead of upcoming presidential elections, a police official said.

Authorities uncovered the munitions - including 40 surface-to-surface missiles, 17 rocket-propelled grenade launchers, mortar rounds, automatic rifles, and around 10,000 artillery shells - in three vehicles near the Mediterranean resort city of Marsa Matrouh, some 270 miles northwest of Cairo, the official said.

Three Egyptian Bedouin smugglers were arrested, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The official said the men told authorities they were transporting the weapons to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to use “against army and police forces securing the borders to create chaos before presidential elections.’’

Egypt’s first presidential vote since last year’s uprising that ousted longtime leader Hosni Mubarak is set for May 23-24. 

See: Sunday Globe Special: Egyptian Election Eliminations

The confiscated weapons probably came from Libya, which has become a key source of illicit arms since the civil war there last year, the official said.

Another failure(?) of western policy.

During the eight-month conflict that led to the toppling and killing of Moammar Khadafy, Libyan citizens stormed weapons storehouses and military camps to arm themselves, and the country is awash in everything from machine guns to mortars.

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"Ex-Khadafy ally wanted by Interpol is in France" Associated Press, May 02, 2012

PARIS - The late Libyan dictator Moammar Khadafy’s former chief of staff is living in France with the government’s permission despite facing US sanctions and being wanted by Interpol.

The presence in France of Basher Saleh threatens to make life even more complicated for French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who confirmed Tuesday that Saleh is here. Sarkozy has had a roller-coaster relationship with Libya and faces an uphill battle for reelection Sunday.

I honestly don't think it mattered.

The French leader already has denied recent allegations that Khadafy’s regime offered to finance his 2007 presidential campaign.

Saleh served as Khadafy’s chief of staff, chief of the Cabinet, and chairman of the government-controlled Libya Africa Investment Portfolio, according to the US government. A former Libyan rebel described Saleh on Tuesday as a key Khadafy adviser who knows many of the regime’s secrets.

Sarkozy said in an interview with RMC radio Tuesday that “Saleh is in France. . . . because his family was in France.’’

Sarkozy said the French government is “working hand in hand with the Libyan authorities’’ to determine how to handle Saleh’s case.

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Also see: Noriega is the News

Then there is the strange death of Shokri Ghanem; however, I no longer have questions about Lockerbie  because "prosecutors have always believed Megrahi did not act alone." 

Related: Lieberman Gets Last Word on Lockerbie

Actually, no he doesn't:  MORE EVIDENCE ON LOCKERBIE APPEARS TO IMPLICATE THE CIA