Turmoil in Libya (2011) and post-Gaddafi blowback

[The Bread Guy]

Any ideas whether the pro-Gadafi-ites'll create some insurgency trouble once he's gone?

 

[GAP]

I wonder if that will kill the next roto scheduled for Sept.....

 

[57Chevy]

Any ideas whether the pro-Gadafi-ites'll create some insurgency trouble once he's gone?

More than likely.....
                          Shared with provisions of The Copyright Act
A post-Gaddafi Libya 
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8715033/A-post-Gaddafi-Libya.html

In considering what comes after, both the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) and Nato will be only too aware of the mistakes made in Iraq. Those at the top must obviously go but at lower levels co-option is preferable to wholesale disbandment, as happened under the Iraqi de-Baathification programme. The Benghazi-based NTC will have to reconcile the two halves of the country, whose traditional rivalry has intensified in recent months. It will also have to bridge tribal divisions exploited by Gaddafi to ensure his hold on power. Its task is no less than creating conditions conducive to democratic elections in a country whose institutions have been all but destroyed.

full article at link...

 

[The Bread Guy]

So far, reporters are hearing initial "no troops destined for Libya" messages from the British and American government folks.

 

[old medic]

Rebels battle loyalist snipers in Gaddafi hunt
http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/08/22/libyan-rebels-seize-much-of-tripoli/
By Ulf Laessing and Missy Ryan

TRIPOLI — Muammar Gaddafi was a hunted man on Monday as loyal remnants of his forces made last-ditch stands in the capital while world leaders rushed to embrace the fractious rebel movement as new masters of Libya’s oil riches.

Two days after their irregular armies launched pincer thrusts into Tripoli in tandem with an uprising in the city, Gaddafi’s tanks and sharpshooters appeared to hold only small areas, including his Bab al-Aziziya headquarters compound.

Gaddafi’s whereabouts were not known. Rebels said they held three of his sons, including his heir apparent Seif al-Islam.

Civilians, who had mobbed the streets on Sunday to cheer the end of dictatorship, stayed indoors as machinegun fire and explosions punctuated some of the heaviest fighting of the Arab Spring uprisings that have been reshaping the Middle East.

President Barack Obama said the conflict was not quite finished but that Gaddafi’s 42-year rule was over. He urged him to surrender to end the bloodshed. Obama and his NATO allies backed the six-month revolt with air power but eschewed the ground combat that cost American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Your revolution is your own,” he told Libyans, offering U.S. aid but not troops and urging the rebels to avoid settling scores in blood. “The Libya you deserve is within your reach.”

Reuters correspondents witnessed firefights and clashes with heavy weapons, including anti-aircraft guns, as rebels tried to flush out snipers and pockets of resistance. Hundreds of people seem to have been killed or wounded since Saturday.

Al-Jazeera said that of three Gaddafi sons captured, one — Mohammed — had escaped. It added that the body of a fourth, military commander Khamis, might have been found along with that of powerful intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi.

The station, based in Qatar whose rulers have provided the most visible Arab support to the rebels, cited unnamed sources.

In a last, defiant, audio broadcast on Sunday before state television went off the air, Gaddafi said he was still in Tripoli, and would stay “until the end.” There has been speculation he might seek refuge in his home region around Sirte, or abroad.

It is over two months since he was last seen in public.......

 

[The Bread Guy]

From the "Play with the bull, don't be surprised at the horn" department....

Friends of a Canadian freelance journalist stuck in Libya as a violent rebellion seems poised to sweep dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power say they have grave concerns for his safety after frequent communications from him stopped Monday morning. Mahdi Nazemroaya, a 29-year-old from Ottawa, has been in Tripoli for two months covering the situation in the region for a number of international news agencies, including Al Jazeera and Russia Today. "We are fearing for his life," said Michel Chossudovsky of the Centre for Research on Globalization, with which Nazemroaya is affiliated. "He is a Canadian. . . . (He's) in a hostile environment and there's no exit strategy for an independent journalist," said Chossudovsky, a professor at the University of Ottawa ....

Postmedia News, 23 Aug 11

His mom wants Canada to do more to help, too.

I guess NATO forces are too busy to help given, as mentioned in a Centre for Research on Globalization article:

.... a NATO warship sailed up and anchored just off the shore at Tripoli, delivering heavy weapons and debarking Al Qaeda jihadi forces, which were led by NATO officers ....

Besides, how bad can it be?  An article quoting the missing chap says the mainstream media have it all wrong and that the rebels aren't even winning - no sweat.

 

[The Bread Guy]

EUCOM boss Admiral James Stavridis:  Beginning of the end?

I spent much of last night working on what appears to be the endgame of the Libyan campaign. By the morning of 22 August, it seemed clear that the end was in sight for the Kaddaffy regime .... now we come to the endgame for this mission. As the NATO Secretary General said this morning: “The Qadhafi regime is clearly crumbling. The sooner Qadhafi realises that he cannot win the battle against his own people, the better — so that the Libyan people can be spared further bloodshed and suffering. The Libyan people have suffered tremendously under Qadhafi’s rule for over four decades. Now they have a chance for a new beginning.”  There are still many challenges ahead for Libya, but it seems clear that NATO’s role in its UN mandated missions has played an important part in protecting the people of Libya from a brutal and repressive regime during a dangerous time. A new dawn is breaking in Libya, and it seems that the future of Libya will be in the hands of the Libyan people — as it should be.

EUCOMversations (official blog of EUCOM), 23 Aug 11

 

[midget-boyd91]

I guess NATO forces are too busy to help given, as mentioned in a Centre for Research on Globalization article

Thierry Meyssan, who wrote that piece also wrote a piece stating that the CIA placed an agent in France... the name of that agent; Nicolas Sarkozy.

 

[RangerRay]

Terry Glavin exposes the "Centre for Research on Globalization" here:

http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/2011/08/gaddafist-propaganda-central-ottawa.html

 

[The Bread Guy]

While NATO countries fly unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) high above Libya, none of these UAVs, or the vital intelligence they provide, was available to the Libyans fighting to free their country – they were fighting blind. So, they got one of their own. It can now be disclosed that the Libyan rebels have been using the Aeryon Scout Micro UAV to acquire intelligence on enemy positions and to coordinate their resistance efforts.

Mission Video

Representatives from the Transitional National Council (TNC) were looking for an imagery solution to provide to the troops on the ground. They evaluated a series of micro UAVs and chose the Aeryon Scout – and they needed it delivered immediately to those fighting at the front. Large UAVs are often flown far away from the frontline – often overseas – making it difficult to get the imagery to troops in combat. With the Aeryon Scout, the operator has direct control over the UAV and is able to see imagery in real-time.

The Aeryon Scout is a small, easy-to-fly man-packable flying robotic reconnaissance system design for operation in real-world, harsh conditions. It weighs just 3 pounds, packs into a suitcase or a backpack and can be quickly and easily deployed and operated by soldiers in the field. Instead of using joysticks, the Scout uses a map-based, touch-screen interface that allows new users to pilot the system in just minutes. The Scout essentially flies itself allowing the operator to focus on acquiring imagery ....

Company news release, 23 Aug 11 - more from Wired.com's Danger Room blog and CBC.ca - photos of imagery also attached

Looks like it might also be used by the OPP - check attached photo from this article from May of this year.

H/t to MarkOttawa for this.

 

[a_majoor]

Longer term look at the diplomatic falloout and the strategy (if any) behind things:

http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/08/22/the-day-of-the-jackal/?print=1

The Day of the Jackal

Posted By Richard Fernandez On August 22, 2011 @ 3:06 pm In Uncategorized | 47 Comments

Hanin Ghaddar [1] asks “Is the Arab Spring coming back to Lebanon?” That depends on where it’s headed. There is one fact and one question about the Arab Spring. The indisputable fact is that regimes are falling across the region. The question is in what direction they are falling? Kathryn Jean Lopez interviewed Barry Rubin at National Review [2] and got a critical estimate of the way Western diplomacy has handled things so far. In his view the Obama administration may have enabled the bad guys and crippled the good guys. Administration sources on the contrary are claiming that the international community is being vindicated all around. First Rubin:

    KJL: How would you rate U.S. leadership on all of this?

    RUBIN: Terrible! For a number of reasons: mishandling Egypt; empowering the Muslim Brotherhood; failing to support democratic oppositions in Turkey and Lebanon, and waiting too long to call for the downfall of the Syrian government; failing to consult with moderate Arab allies and totally dissing Saudi Arabia; not giving Israel strong support at a time when its security situation is worsening; ignoring the increasing Islamization and repression in Turkey; actually acting to help the survival of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by forcing reduced sanctions and supplying funds indirectly; and being far too slow and weak to respond to the Palestinian Authority’s unilateral independence bid.

    It is really amazing how badly they’ve done. And the above paragraph is not at all a partisan critique. Each of these factors is very obvious and visible even if they aren’t being covered in the MSM very much. It can be summed up as failing to recognize the revolutionary Islamist threat; failing to support allies; being too soft on enemies; and not showing American leadership.

    Obviously, the jobs and the economy will be the number-one issue in the 2012 elections. But if crises in the Middle East blow up — as I think they will — and make Obama’s foreign policy look like a disaster, might that be the number-two issue?

But that is in stark contrast to David Cortright’s evaluation at CNN [3]. He calls it a victory for the international community:

    Never before has the international community demonstrated such immediate and forceful resolve in responding to government abuse against its own people.

    Whether this action will serve as a model for other interventions against brutal regimes is uncertain. Some are asking if the Arab League and NATO should now take action to save the people of Syria from the murderous actions of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

    That seems unlikely in the near term, but the apparent success of intervention in Libya may give pause to tyrants who claim the right to massacre their own citizens with impunity. The NATO-led action in Libya may signal a more active international commitment to opposing genocide and mass murder.

The president himself [4] gave the “international community” center stage and pride of place, specially emphasizing his skill at avoiding putting troops on the ground. “And all of this was done without putting a single U.S. troop on the ground.” But he did not claim complete victory yet for two probable reasons. The first is because he doesn’t know how post-Gaddafi Libya will turn out. Second, he may want to avoid being asked for an encore.

    As we move forward from this pivotal phase, the opposition should continue to take important steps to bring about a transition that is peaceful, inclusive and just. As the leadership of the TNC has made clear, the rights of all Libyans must be respected. True justice will not come from reprisals and violence; it will come from reconciliation and a Libya that allows its citizens to determine their own destiny.

    In that effort, the United States will be a friend and a partner. We will join with allies and partners to continue the work of safeguarding the people of Libya. As remaining regime elements menace parts of the country, I’ve directed my team to be in close contact with NATO as well as the United Nations to determine other steps that we can take. To deal with the humanitarian impact, we’re working to ensure that critical supplies reach those in need, particularly those who have been wounded.

    Secretary Clinton spoke today with her counterparts from leading nations of the coalition on all these matters. And I’ve directed Ambassador Susan Rice to request that the U.N. secretary general use next month’s general assembly to support this important transition.

    For many months, the TNC has been working with the international community to prepare for a post-Gadhafi Libya. As those efforts proceed, our diplomats will work with the TNC as they ensure that the institutions of the Libyan state are protected, and we will support them with the assets of the Gadhafi regime that were frozen earlier this year. Above all, we will call for an inclusive transition that leads to a democratic Libya.

    As we move forward, we should also recognize the extraordinary work that has already been done. To the American people, these events have particular resonance. Gadhafi’s regime has murdered scores of American citizens in acts of terror in the past. Today we remember the lives of those who were taken in those acts of terror and stand in solidarity with their families. We also pay tribute to Admiral Sam Locklear and all of the men and women in uniform who have saved so many lives over the last several months, including our brave pilots that have executed their mission with skill and extraordinary bravery. And all of this was done without putting a single U.S. troop on the ground.

What neither side has mentioned in the Arab Summer calculus is oil. The presence of oil is the major external variable which might explain the activist policy toward Libya and the passive one toward Syria.  Already there is expectation that Libyan oil production can be ramped up. Already the Chinese and the Russians are jockeying with the French and Italians for the rights to it.

Oil is to the Middle East as meat on the hoof is to the Serengeti plain.  The cameraman on safaris see the beautiful animals, but the players are thinking in other terms: “How much meat is there on that hoof?”

The West will go to the mat for oil. While the “international community” may portray this as a victory for “human rights,” the more tangible benefit will be to European economies which are teetering on the brink of recession. Oil is that commodity which America is supposedly always going to war for but which mysteriously winds up in the possession of someone else.

In all other cases — Egypt comes to mind — the policy appears to be opportunistic. If the “street” works up, the administration will be glad to provide verbal support. But only in the case of Libya would it invest real hardware — and even then, not much of it to achieve an outcome. This suggests that the “Arab Spring” isn’t going to have a single trajectory but several. For countries in the region with large oil reserves, the Obama administration can be expected to make some effort to preserve its flow. But in countries like Lebanon or Syria, the insurgents are largely on their own. If the democrats can win, the Obama administration will gladly take credit. But if the Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamist groups win out, they will live with that too.

The underlying logic of the West’s policy since the Arab Spring started has been that of the scavenger. Except where oil is concerned, it won’t bring down a kill and then only when it is truly starving. In all other cases, it will act as opportunity presents itself, stealing a bone here and there. But it will leave the regime-hunting on the Middle Eastern plain to forces native to the region.

The Obama administration has approached events in the Middle East not as a lion but as a jackal. It reflects the weakened position of the West and not its strength. What happens next in the Arab Spring will be less due to the initiative and genius of  Washington, but how it fares according to luck. If the Libyans turn against the West, will the president overturn the anti-Western elements in them? If  Assad continues to hold on, will Obama push him over? If Lebanon makes a move to free itself, will Washington aid it?

The probable answers are no, no and no. That would take too much effort. “All of this will be done without putting a single U.S. troop on the ground” is necessity masquerading as virtue.  It would be good if things worked out well for all concerned, but for now the West is hostage to both fortune and its own weakness.  It is scouring the region for political bargains. One senses that even in the case of Libya, they hardly believed they could be so fortunate.

But they should not congratulate themselves yet. Gaddafi is gone. But who comes next?

“No Way In” print and Kindle edition at Amazon [5]
Tip Jar or Subscribe for $5 [6]

Article printed from Belmont Club: http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez

URL to article: http://pajamasmedia.com/richardfernandez/2011/08/22/the-day-of-the-jackal/

URLs in this post:

[1] Hanin Ghaddar: http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=303693

[2] National Review: http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/275161/watching-tripoli-arab-spring-dominos-falling-kathryn-jean-lopez

[3] David Cortright’s evaluation at CNN: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/08/22/cortright.obama.libya/

[4] president himself: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jloo2SaLJEn2tg86RXpJlTGiKcIA?docId=d969ef870fe54e6caa9b1a26183a4069

[5] “No Way In” print and Kindle edition at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1453892818/wwwfallbackbe-20

[6] Tip Jar or Subscribe for $5: http://wretchard.com/tipjar.html

 

[Edward Campbell]

The time is now ripe to withdraw Canada's military contribution ... while the sweet smell of victory is in our nostrils. It is also time to turn our diplomatic and political attention elsewhere: let France, and a few others, try (because it's not clear anyone can manage) the governance issues. There is an ongoing commercial role for Canada in the reconstruction and we must insist that we have a slice of that pie but we need to be wary of military boots civil service brief cases on the ground.

Is it now time to prepare for Syria? Who will lead? Why will we go, or not?

 

[Infanteer]

Is it now time to prepare for Syria? Who will lead? Why will we go, or not?

As I said above, unless sufficient political capital is invested in outflanking Iran, I don't see Op MOBILE II kicking off anytime soon.  As well, I'd argue that the Syrian Army is likely more capable than the Libyan forces and likely won't fold as easy.  I don't have anything to support this other than my personal hunch, but I think dealing with Israel every now and then means you have more than just a tin-pot force.

If anyone want's to test scenarios, this game is awesome!

 

[GAP]

There isn't the gonads in the EU or NA to do anything they've been doing in Libya in Syria.....someone might get hurt...

 

[Old Sweat]

The following story from the Daily Telegraph is reoroduced under the Fair Dealings provision of the Copyright Act.

Libya: SAS leads hunt for Gaddafi

British special forces are on the ground in Libya helping to spearhead the hunt for Col Muammar Gaddafi, The Daily Telegraph can disclose.

By Thomas Harding, Gordon Rayner and Damien McElroy in Tripoli

9:19PM BST 24 Aug 2011

As a £1 million bounty was placed on Gaddafi’s head, soldiers from 22 SAS Regiment began guiding rebel soldiers after being ordered in by David Cameron.

For the first time, defence sources have confirmed that the SAS has been in Libya for several weeks, and played a key role in coordinating the fall of Tripoli.

With the majority of the capital now in rebel hands, the SAS soldiers, who have been dressed in Arab civilian clothing and carrying the same weapons as the rebels, have been ordered to switch their focus to the search for Gaddafi, who has been on the run since his fortified headquarters was captured on Tuesday.


Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) said Gaddafi was wanted “dead or alive” and promised an amnesty to any of his inner circle prepared to betray his whereabouts.


Nato still has no idea where the despot is holed up, and on Wednesday he taunted his opponents by claiming in a television interview that he had secretly toured the streets of Tripoli without being spotted.


Gaddafi said he would fight on “until victory or martyrdom”, while his spokesman said loyalist soldiers were well prepared to carry on the battle “for years”.

In other developments:

* Dozens of journalists who had been held against their will for five days in a Tripoli hotel were freed without bloodshed

* Fierce fighting continued in Tripoli and elsewhere in Libya as hopes that Gaddafi’s forces would surrender proved to be fanciful

* Aid agencies warned of a humanitarian “catastrophe” on the horizon as food, water and medical supplies started to run out in the capital

* One of the leaders of the de facto government flew to Paris to ask western nations to speed up the unfreezing of £60 billion of Libyan assets held abroad.

With pro-Gaddafi forces putting up stubborn resistance in Tripoli and in loyalist towns including Sirte, the NTC and its Nato allies made urgent appeals for the swift capture of the former leader and his family.

Nato has ordered all available surveillance aircraft, including British spy planes, to focus on tracking Gaddafi.

Meanwhile SAS soldiers who had been sent to Libya several weeks ago to coordinate air strikes on key military targets have been ordered to stay on and help the rebels on the ground who are hunting him down.

After announcing the £1 million reward for anyone who turns in Gaddafi – put up by two Benghazi-based businessmen - the NTC added that any loyalists who provided information would be given immunity from prosecution.

Mustafa Abdel Jalil, leader of the NTC, said: “We know Gaddafi’s regime is not over yet. The end will only come when he’s captured, dead or alive.

“Gaddafi’s forces and his accomplices will not stop resisting until Gaddafi is caught or killed.”

The jubilation which followed Tuesday’s rout of Gaddafi’s Bab al-Azizia headquarters gave way to the grim reality of a guerrilla battle for the suburbs of Tripoli that are still held by the despot’s supporters.

Throughout the day fierce gun battles raged in Abu Salim, a mile-wide corridor to the south of Bab al-Azizia which is one possible location of Gaddafi’s current hideout.

While rebel fighters used Gaddafi’s compound as their new base, helping themselves to weapons left behind by his retreating soldiers, the loyalists took up positions in a wildlife park nearby and fired rockets and mortars into the compound.

With snipers trying to pick off anyone using the ports and airports, aid agencies have been unable to deliver fresh supplies of medicines, food or water, and hospitals in Tripoli have been overwhelmed with casualties, who include children.

Rosa Crestani, of the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, said: "The situation is very tough…it's almost a catastrophe. There are clearly shortages of life-saving medication and equipment. There are no antibiotics and instruments for life-saving surgery."

There were also reports of gunfights going on underground in the maze of tunnels below Bab al-Azizia through which Gaddafi is thought to have slipped away.

The former leader continued to urge on his supporters, using a telephone interview with a loyalist TV station to call for Tripoli to be “cleansed” of the “devils and traitors” who had captured it.

He also claimed to have toured Tripoli, saying: “I walked incognito, without anyone seeing me, and I saw youths ready to defend their city.”

Meanwhile his daughter, Aisha, told Libyans to “stand hand-in-hand against Nato”.

Gaddafi’s spokesman Moussa Ibrahim boasted that loyalist forces had the supplies and capability to fight on “not just for months, for years”, adding: “We will turn Libya into a volcano of lava and fire under the feet of the invaders and their treacherous agents.”

Scud missiles were reported to have been fired from Sirte, Gaddafi’s home town to the east of Tripoli, for the second day running,

But fears that 36 journalists and foreigners would be used as human shields after being held against their will for five days at Tripoli’s five-star Rixos Hotel proved unfounded.

The hotel guests, who included a former US congressman, were allowed to leave yesterday afternoon after persuading the last remaining guard to lay down his weapon.

As Mahmoud Jibril, the rebels’ deputy leader, flew to Paris for talks with Nicolas Sarkozy, who promised continued air strikes on Gaddafi hardware, the United Nations Security Council prepared to vote on the unfreezing of Libyan assets so they could be used by the NTC to rebuild the country.

William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, said the assets “ultimately belong to the Libyan people”.

 

[The Bread Guy]

Further to this....

From the "Play with the bull, don't be surprised at the horn" department....

Friends of a Canadian freelance journalist stuck in Libya as a violent rebellion seems poised to sweep dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power say they have grave concerns for his safety after frequent communications from him stopped Monday morning. Mahdi Nazemroaya, a 29-year-old from Ottawa, has been in Tripoli for two months covering the situation in the region for a number of international news agencies, including Al Jazeera and Russia Today. "We are fearing for his life," said Michel Chossudovsky of the Centre for Research on Globalization, with which Nazemroaya is affiliated. "He is a Canadian. . . . (He's) in a hostile environment and there's no exit strategy for an independent journalist," said Chossudovsky, a professor at the University of Ottawa ....

Postmedia News, 23 Aug 11

.... here's the latest:

Dozens of journalists, including a Canadian, who were stranded in a hotel in downtown Tripoli by the fighting were released Wednesday.

Journalists had been holed up inside the Rixos hotel under the watch of armed men loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

Among those released from the hotel was Mahdi Nazemroaya, a 29-year-old freelance journalist from the Ottawa area. His friend, Briton Amos, said Wednesday that Nazemroaya left the hotel with the other journalists and was "out of danger."

The Centre for Research on Globalization, for which Nazemroaya works as a correspondent, said in a statement Wednesday that he was safe aboard a chartered boat from the International Organization for Migration. It said Nazemroaya was set to return to Canada ....

Funny, the statement from the Centre for Research on Foil Hats Globalization didn't mention the bit I highlighted in yellow.  But it's still all NATO's fault, right?

Now we return to your regularly scheduled programming....

 

[old medic]

Here's another article about events in the hotel.

Journalist won Gadhafi gunman over: 'In the end, we're all human'
By Wayne Drash, CNN
August 25, 2011 4:02 p.m. EDT
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/08/25/libya.freed.journalists/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

(CNN) -- The gunman showed that he was human.

Most of the others who stalked the lobby of Tripoli's Rixos Hotel were young, brash, hostile Gadhafi diehards. Yet this man in his 50s, armed with a Kalashnikov, longed to see his children.

His kids were out there somewhere in the Libyan capital, he said, gunfire and explosions erupting around them.

"I really miss my family, too," CNN producer Jomana Karadsheh told him in Arabic. "I really want to go out and see my family. They're worried about me."

Tears welled in the gunman's eyes. Rebels were taking over the Libyan capital. And this man, who had known nothing but the Gadhafi regime for 42 years, wanted to go home, too.

It was in this moment that Karadsheh knew she had a chance. If the three dozen journalists being held against their will inside the five-star hotel for five days had a shot of being freed, it was now.

At 29, Karadsheh has a lifetime of experience in hostile regions. A native of Jordan who is fluent in Arabic and English, she's a stalwart of CNN's Baghdad bureau and known for her professionalism, persistence and persuasiveness.

If you encounter trouble, you want her at your side.

She'd come to Libya weeks before, meeting up with CNN Senior International Correspondent Matthew Chance. She'd built relationships with the government officials, media minders and security in the hotel, including this gunman. Now she and an Arabic-speaking cameraman from another news organization were negotiating to secure the journalists' safe release.

On her Facebook page, Karadsheh lists her favorite quote: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, champagne in one hand ... strawberries in the other and screaming: 'Woo Hoo! What a ride!' "

In the Rixos Hotel, Karadsheh wasn't ready for life's wild ride to end.

Phoning home to say goodbye

It had become apparent days earlier that the journalists -- from an array of news organizations, including BBC, Reuters, Fox and China's CCTV -- were prisoners of a dying Gadhafi regime.

The government officials and minders who'd monitored the journalists abandoned the hotel August 21. About 15 gunmen loyal to the regime remained behind, roaming the halls with Russian assault rifles. They told the journalists they could not leave the hotel.

Most of the loyalists were irritable, young, reckless. They adorned their weapons with the green flag of Gadhafi's regime. To avoid contact with this volatile bunch, the journalists moved to an upper floor.

A hotel chef initially took care of the group. One 21-year-old gunman -- a "nice guy," Karadsheh says -- ran through the hotel with his jeans covered in the blood of his cousin, killed in the fighting outside.

By Monday, tensions between the journalists and their captors escalated. Gunfire erupted outside the hotel, and smoke could be seen coming from the direction of Gadhafi's nearby compound. The gunmen were enraged.

"NATO spies," they shouted. "There are spies amongst the journalists!"

They walked amid the journalists, their guns drawn. They were angry, bitter.

"This could really turn out terribly for us," Chance thought.

The journalists tried not to antagonize. "We all had a calm panic, if there is such a thing," he recalled............

continues at the link.

 

[old medic]

Bling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DfclXiJXvo
Sky News Video
Libyan tries the Colonel's finery on for size


Gaddafi compound reveals dictator's taste for bling - and Condoleezza Rice

Bab al-Aziziya ruled by 'bigger, better and with more gold on' interior design principle beloved of other deposed despots
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/25/gaddafi-compound-condoleezza-rice-photos

Rebel fighters pose for a photo on a golden couch in the house of Gaddafi's daughter in Tripoli, Libya. Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP

There was the gilded bronze statue, of course, the golden pistols and a peacock-feather flyswat topped with a gold elephant. But among all the grotesque finery seized by jubilant rebels from Muammar Gaddafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound since his ignominious flight, one item emerged yesterday that may give a more revealing insight into the dictator's thinking than all his bling.

A group of rebels accompanied by an Associated Press photographer found an album full of pictures of the former US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice. Here she is in a smart black suit and gold necklace, addressing an unidentified gathering, here speaking from a podium, perhaps at the UN. Here consulting with an unnamed world leader or diplomat.................

continues at link

 

[Old Sweat]

The following story from the National Post is reproduced under the Fair Dealings provision of the Copyright Act.

Canada contributed a disproportionate amount to Libya air strikes: sources

Tom Blackwell Aug 25, 2011 – 9:17 PM ET


Canadian fighter jets were in the air again this week, striking at the Gaddafi regime’s tanks and artillery, part of this country’s surprisingly substantial contribution to the five-month-long NATO bombing campaign in Libya.

As one of three nations carrying out the bulk of the sometimes-controversial air war, Canada with its aging CF-18 fighters has made a contribution clearly disproportionate to the compact size of its air force, say alliance and academic sources.

While Britain and France have about three times as many fighter-bombers in the operation as this country and are usually credited with most of the fighting, Canada has been close behind in its role, said a NATO official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

It has also provided three planes for air-to-air refuelling and two reconnaissance aircraft, all of the crews based in the Italian island of Sicily. Canada is among a handful of NATO members that took on the bulk of the mission after the U.S. withdrew its 50 or so fighter jets early in the campaign.

“The burden of the strike sorties fell on the shoulders of predominately the Canadians, the British and the French,” said the NATO official. “I must say that, Canada in particular, being the smaller of the three air forces, once again punched well above its weight.”

NATO was keeping up its campaign on Thursday — bombing Sirte, Col. Gaddafi’s birthplace. Meanwhile, fighting continued to rage over pockets of Tripoli and rebel leaders, who are believed to be in control of much of the capital, said the war would be over only when the now fugitive Libyan leader was found, “dead or alive.”

Support for the operation among Canadians has been mixed, amid accusations of mission creep and controversy about civilian casualties; it seems clear, however, that for better or worse this country has well exceeded the peripheral role that many observers expected it to play.

The six CF-18s — backed up by one spare — have logged 733 bombing sorties above the North African nation, while the Canadian refuelling and reconnaissance aircraft have added hundreds more flights.

“The folks that are flying are flying hard and they’re flying a high tempo of operations,” said Brigadier-General Derek Joyce, commander of Task Force Libeccio, as the Italy-based Canadian team is called. “I’m very, very proud of what they’ve accomplished.”

It is difficult to get a precise picture of who is contributing what to the campaign, said Prof. Michael Clarke, director of the Royal United Services Institute, a British defence think-tank.

However, “the Canadians are reported to be doing a lot of [sorties],” he said in an emailed response to questions. “Only Canada, France and the U.K., among the allies, have kept up a constant high tempo of ground attacks. The other five who have done some attacking have been more variable. Also, Canada has the right aircraft for the role and has more appropriate weapons systems to deploy than some other allies.”

The mission began as Col. Gaddafi threatened to exact bloody revenge on opponents, with United Nations resolution 1973 authorizing member countries to take measures to protect civilians. Critics complain that the campaign has morphed into an attempt to overthrow the Gaddafi regime, as targets have grown to include the ruler’s family compounds in Tripoli, and several of his family members were reportedly killed by NATO bombs.

The Canadian CF-18s conduct two types of missions — planned “air interdiction” attacks on static military infrastructure, including buildings used for command and control, plus “surveillance, co-ordination and reconnaissance” sorties where pilots hunt for government tanks and other mobile weaponry to bomb, said Brig.-Gen. Joyce from his Naples headquarters. There was an initial sense of “euphoria” among the Canadians this week when rebels started streaming into Tripoli, but the pilots have continued their strikes, as it became clear the regime was still alive, firing artillery and rockets into Tripoli and other cities, the commander said.

NATO and Canadian officials insist that they have gone out of their way to try to avoid civilian casualties, creating a bombing war of “unprecedented precision.” Among those who screen targets before the Canadian pilots push the fire button is a National Defence lawyer, said Brig.- Gen. Joyce.

Civilian casualties have repeatedly sparked concern, with Italy at one point calling for a pause in bombing. Human Rights Watch investigators spent a week in Libya this month, visiting bombing sites with government minders, said the group’s Fred Abrahams.

Some sites clearly had been doctored, as evidenced by spotless baby bottles strewn around a crater where every other object was covered in dust, he said, but at other places, civilians definitely did die. They included one recent attack at Majer, where the regime said 85 were killed. Human Rights Watch and journalists found evidence of 19 or 20 bodies, he said.

“The evidence suggests [NATO] did exercise great care, but questions still exist about some of the choices,” said Mr. Abrahams. “The onus is on them to explain those cases.”

Steven Staples of the left-leaning Rideau Institute, usually a stiff critic of Canada’s foreign military adventures, said Thursday he was concerned about civilian casualties. He stopped short, though, of condemning Canada’s involvement in the Libya operation, saying it had a particular obligation to support the opposition, given that Canadian firms had been heavily involved with the Gaddafi regime.

 

[The Bread Guy]

How's HMCS Vancouver doing?

HMCS Vancouver steams out of port, her wake frothing the Mediterranean waters. After taking the baton of Operation MOBILE from HMCS Charlottetown on 18 August, the Esquimalt-based frigate is bound for the Gulf of Sidra, off Misrata, Libya .... In Operation MOBILE, “Task Force Charlottetown” becomes “Task Force Vancouver” as HMCS Vancouver moves into the combat operations area. NATO warships patrol in plain sight to warn and deter those who would harm civilians ....

CEFCOM Info-Machine, 25 Aug 11