Libyan Revolution Day 64 - Democratic Underground

joshcryer

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Thu Apr-21-11 08:24 PM
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Libyan Revolution Day 64

Links to sites with updates: http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-april-22">AJE Live Blog April 22 (today) http://blogs.aljazeera.net/twitter-dashboard">AJE Twitter Dashboard http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/libya">The Guardian http://uk.reuters.com/places/libya">Reuters http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/">Telegraph http://feb17.info/">feb17.info http://www.livestream.com/libya17feb?utm_source=lsplayer&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=footerlinks">Libya Alhurra (live video webcast from Benghazi) http://www.libyafeb17.com/">libyafeb17.com

Twitter links: http://twitter.com/#!/aymanm">Ayman Mohyeldin, with AJE http://twitter.com/#!/bencnn">Ben Wedeman, with CNN http://twitter.com/#!/tripolitanian">tripolitanian, a Libyan from Tripoli http://twitter.com/#!/BaghdadBrian">Brian Conley, reporter in Libya http://twitter.com/#!/freelibyanyouth">FreeLibyanYouth, Libyan advocate http://twitter.com/#!/LibyaFeb17_com">LibyaFeb17.com twitter account http://twitter.com/#!/ChangeInLibya">ChangeInLibya, Libyan advocate

Useful links: http://audioboo.fm/feb17voices">feb17voices http://www.google.com/search?q=time+in+libya">Current time in Libya http://www.islamicfinder.org/cityPrayerNew.php?country=libya">Prayer times in Libya

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x932019">Day 63 here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixwx_B38678">Marching On in Libya, for the revolutionaries!

Rebel fighters launch rockets against forces loyal to Gaddafi at Ajdabiya

Photograph: Amr Abdallah / Reuters

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110422/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_libya">Libyan rebels report gains in Misrata fighting
TRIPOLI, Libya – Rebels battled Moammar Gadhafi's troops Thursday for control of central Misrata, driving dozens of snipers from tall buildings in hours of urban warfare and gaining a tactical advantage in the only major city held by the opposition in western Libya, witnesses said.

The Libyan government, meanwhile, ramped up its rhetoric against NATO, warning that "it will be hell" for the alliance if it sends in ground troops, even though Britain's prime minister said the Western nations were not moving toward such a deployment.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said President Barack Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drones in Libya. The drones allow for low-level precision attacks and are uniquely suited for urban areas such as Misrata, where NATO airpower has been unable to protect civilians when Gadhafi's forces are operating inside the city.

Also Thursday, rebels captured a Libyan border crossing into Tunisia, forcing government soldiers to flee over the frontier and possibly opening a new channel for opposition forces in Gadhafi's bastion in western part of the country.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/21/libyan-abdul-ati-al-obeidi-gaddafi">Libyan foreign minister's free elections promise is a sham
Obeidi has declared that discussions would include the issue of "whether the Leader should stay and in what role, and whether he should retire". This must have come as a shock to Gaddafi himself, who maintains that he has no position of authority from which to step down.

These false promises are purely for foreign consumption and cannot be given any credence. They are intended to buy time and place domestic political pressure on the Americans, British, French, Italians and other governments to soften their stance on the Gaddafi family, who they've all said must leave power in accordance with the demands of the Libyan people.

...

Gaddafi's spokesmen have repeatedly announced fake ceasefires to the international press assembled at the Rixos hotel in Tripoli while his forces bombard cities such as Misrata with artillery and rocket fire. This has become routine.

A glance at the regime's television broadcasts, aimed at the Libyan people, however, shows a completely different face. In these, the revolutionaries remain "dogs, traitors and terrorists" who have "sold their country" and will soon be crushed.

Must read article about Gaddafi's "offer" to set up elections. Why would he give elections to "rats and terrorists"?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/21/libyan-rebels-heavy-price-misrata">Libyan rebels pay a heavy price for resisting Gaddafi in Misrata
The war in Misrata is now two months old. The graveyards are filling up and the hospitals are overflowing. In their attempt to end the uprising, Gaddafi's forces have killed at least 1,000 people. Around 90% are civilians who have died because of indiscriminate shelling or shooting, doctors here say.

Fighting has been so heavy that parts of the city centre are now almost completely destroyed. Buildings, homes and mosques are pockmarked with bullet holes. Walls have been completely blown away, or are blackened by fire. Entire suburbs near the front lines are empty of families, who have crammed into other parts of the city, closer to the sea. Communications have been completely cut. Burnt-out cars and tanks litter the streets, alongside effigies of the dictator who has ruled Libya for 42 years.

The resistance from the rebels – from all the people in Misrata – seems remarkable given their limited armoury and experience. That they have managed to keep Gaddafi's forces to one side of the city seems a miracle, or at least a masterclass in guerrilla warfare. But this is a siege, and while the rebels can defend their lines, they do not have the means to fight their way out, or to send their families to safety. And despite significant losses, Gaddafi remains determined to fight his way in.

The cost is huge. Besides the dead, more than 3,000 people in this city have been injured since the conflict began. Many have been hit by shrapnel from indiscriminate shelling by Gaddafi's forces. Others have been picked off by snipers, including Mohamed Hassan, 10, who was hit in the head when he opened his front door last Saturday. He now lies in Misrata's hospital, screaming for his father and uncle or jabbering incomprehensibly. His mother, Zeinab, touches his forehead. Her tears have run dry. She tries to speak but then shakes her head and looks down.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/21/libya-rebels-tunisia-border-west">Libya rebels seize Tunisia border post in far west
Rebel forces fighting government troops in the far west of Libya have seized control of the border crossing with Tunisia in an insurgency that has been largely overshadowed by the siege of Misrata and battles in the east.

At least 13 Libyan army officers, including two commanders, fled across the border into Tunisia, according to the country's official news agency, TAP.

"Rebels are now manning Dehiba crossing," rebel commander Shaban Abu Sitta told the Associated Press. He claimed his fighters had destroyed 30 army pickup trucks.

...

"We fled because we cannot face heavy weapons. They have arrested a lot of people. The situation is very bad. There are tanks inside Yifran. They are killing everywhere."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/apr/21/journalists-misrata-tim-hetherington">Journalists to remain in Misrata despite Tim Hetherington's death
Journalists from the BBC, Channel 4 News and other news organisations are to remain in Libya's rebel-held city of Misrata, despite an assault by pro-Gaddafi forces that led to deaths of photojournalists Tim Hetherington and Chris Hondros on Wednesday.

The Mediterranean port city has seen some of the fiercest fighting since the Arab spring uprising began in December, with rebel fighters holding out against troops loyal to Muammar Gaddafi for seven weeks.

Hetherington and Hondros died and two other photographers were wounded when they came under fire while covering the fighting on Wednesday, among at least 15 civilians killed and more than 100 injured in Misrata in the last 24 hours.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/21/us-obama-predator-drones-libya">Libya: Obama sanctions use of US Predator drones
Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, says Barack Obama has approved the use of armed Predator drone aircraft in Libya.

Gates told a Pentagon news conference that the Predator is an example of US military capabilities that the president was willing to contribute to the military campaign in Libya, while other countries enforce a no-fly zone.

I hate these fucking things. Making war a video game = no responsiblity to protect. I hope the drones have a supremely high RoE, even higher than the RoE NATO has created for jets.

"One month ago (Western countries) were sooo nice, so nice like pussycats," Saif says in a contemptuous sing-song tone."Now they want to be really aggressive like tigers. (But) soon they will come back, and cut oil deals, contracts. We know this game." - http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2058389,00.html">Saif Gaddafi

(Yeah, Saif, as if you weren't "cutting oil deals, contracts" with western states. Who are the 'tigers' now? Bombing your own people.)

http://jenkinsear.com/2011/03/19/a-legal-war-the-united-nations-participation-act-and-libya/">A Legal War: The United Nations Participation Act and Libya
The above link is to an overview of why Obama's implementation of the NFZ and R2P is perfectly legal under the law. I will not post it entirely here, however, all objections come down to the misinformed position that Obama, by using forces in Libya, was invoking Article 43 of the United Nations. This is wrong. Obama invoked Article 42, which does not require congressional approval to implement. Proof of this is that Article 43 has http://www.un.org/en/sc/repertoire/actions.shtml#rel5">never been used.

It goes like this: The US law (Title 22, Chap. 7, Subchap. XIV § 287d) grants the President the right to invoke UN Article 42 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/uscode22/usc_sec_22_00000287---d000-.html">without authorization, the War Powers Act (Title 50, Chap. 33 § 1541) grants the President permission to act without authorization under http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/50/1541–1548.html">"specific statutory authorization" which, by definition, is what 287d does. § 1543 of the War Powers Act requires the President to report to Congress, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/obama_explains_libya_mission_to_congress/2011/03/03/ABU9377_blog.html">which he did. One can argue all day and night about the legality of the War Powers Act, doesn't change the fact that under the law as it is written, the President acted within the law.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-10-0">March 10 7:28pm Saif al Islam Gaddafi says "the time has come for full-scale military action" against Libyan rebels. He goes on to say that Libyan forces loyal to his family "will never surrender, even if western powers intervene".

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/2011/03/2011328194855872276.html">Libyan Karzai? Chalabi? Forget it
Fortunately, the Council wasn't made-in-the-USA or manufactured by another foreign power. Rather it came into existence, a month ago, at Libyans' own initiative, soon after the winds of revolutionary change blew Libya's way, and after its people rose to the occasion with pride and courage.

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/03/31/getting_libyas_rebels_wrong">Getting Libya's Rebels Wrong
Don't buy Qaddafi's line: The rebels aren't al Qaeda.

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2011/04/04/110404taco_talk_anderson#ixzz1HvS7iW22">Who Are the Rebels?
During weeks of reporting in Benghazi and along the chaotic, shifting front line, I’ve spent a great deal of time with these volunteers. The hard core of the fighters has been the shabab—the young people whose protests in mid-February sparked the uprising. They range from street toughs to university students (many in computer science, engineering, or medicine), and have been joined by unemployed hipsters and middle-aged mechanics, merchants, and storekeepers. There is a contingent of workers for foreign companies: oil and maritime engineers, construction supervisors, translators. There are former soldiers, their gunstocks painted red, green, and black—the suddenly ubiquitous colors of the pre-Qaddafi Libyan flag.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/29/vision-democratic-libya-interim-national-council">A vision of a democratic Libya
The interim national council, formed by opposition groups in Libya, has said it will hold free and fair elections and draft a national constitution. Here is its eight-point plan in full.

Mohammed Nabbous, killed by Gaddafi's forces while trying to report on the massacre in Benghazi

"I'm not afraid to die, I'm afraid to lose the battle" -Mohammed Nabbous, a month ago when all this began

I'm struggling to come up with something to say about this man. I was not aware of the Libyan uprising until I saw Mo's first report, begging for help, posted here on DU. I was stricken. Here was a man giving everything he had to explain a situation that clearly terrified him, I would not call him a coward in that moment, but you could see the fear in his eyes, and desperation in his voice. For 30 days Nabbous would spend many hours covering the uprising in Benghazi. For many nights I would go to sleep with the webcast of Benghazi live on my computer screen, looking to it occasionally to be sure it was still 'there.' Mo treated the chat room as if we were his friends, and in some way, we were. I never signed up to LiveStream to thank him for all his work and it seems somewhat shallow to do so now, given that I was a lurker for so long. Ever since I took over posting these threads "Libya Alhurra" has been linked as a source of information. It wasn't until last night, when I posted, and twitter posted on Mo's adventures out into Benghazi to try to determine the truth of the situation, that Mo's webchannel became a hit, over 2000 people were watching him stream live. This was curious to him because he'd done many reports like this in the past but he appeared somewhat bemused that the view count exploded as it did. Last night Mo became a star. This is a man who first started out with a webcast replete with fear and desperation finally overcoming that aspect of himself and losing that fear, to become someone who was a fighter for the resistance just as much as those who held the guns. Reporting on the front lines of Benghazi became his final act, and for that he should never, ever be forgotten. I'm so sorry Mo that I never got to know you better.

Mo's first report, which many of you may remember, begging for help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38EXALI60hg

Mo's last report, a fallen hero trying to spread the word to the world: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ecu_iWLn-rg

Mo leaves behind a wife who is with child, she had http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/23/a_bright_voice_from_libyas_darkness">this to say about the No Fly Zone and R2P UN resolution:

We started this in a pure way, but he turned it bloody. Thousands of our men, women, and children have died. We just wanted our freedom, that's all we wanted, we didn't want power. Before, we could not do a single thing if it was not the way he wanted it. All we wanted was freedom. All we wanted was to be free. We have paid with our blood, with our families, with our men, and we're not going to give up. We are still going to do that no matter what it takes, but we need help. We want to do this ourselves, but we don't have the weapons, the technology, the things we need. I don't want anyone to say that Libya got liberated by anybody else. If NATO didn't start moving when they did, I assure you, I assure you, half of Benghazi if not more would have been killed. If they stop helping us, we are going to be all killed because he has no mercy anymore.