Libyan Revolution Tweets, Day 21 (or 23*), Part 7

Colonel Gaddafi's forces detain and beat BBC team

9 March 2011 Last updated at 22:35 GMT

VIDEO

Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's security forces detained and beat up a BBC News team who were trying to reach the strife-torn western city of Zawiya.

The trio were beaten with fists, knees and rifles, hooded and subjected to mock executions by members of Libya's army and secret police.

The three men were held for 21 hours, but have now flown out of Libya following their detention on Monday.

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12695266

Foreign Minister holds press conference
March 9, 2011

Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal held a press conference in Jeddah today, during which he stressed the Kingdom’s absolute rejection of foreign interference in its internal affairs and steadfast opposition to any infringement upon its Islamic principles. The Foreign Minister maintained that the Kingdom’s laws and regulations are based on Sharia (Islamic law) and are meant to ensure the country’s security, stability and integrity.

Referring to the declarations put out by the Council of Senior Ulema and the Grand Mufti prohibiting public protests, Prince Saud said, “These statements stressed the necessity to stand by the interests of society and emphasized that reform and advice can not be made through demonstrations and methods that raise sedition and cause disunity. These statements forbade demonstrations that violate the applicable regulations, which are based on the Holy Qur'an and the teachings of the Prophet. I hope that this stance is clear.”

Asked about the unrest being witnessed in a number of Arab countries, Prince Saud replied, “I think each country has its characteristics and each country is different than the other; thus, we cannot treat their circumstances collectively as if it is a common phenomenon. There are twenty-two Arab states. For four or five of them to face similar events in some aspects should not be out of the ordinary, but the method of treating them should be different.”

Questioned about whether events in the region are being instigated by foreign intervention, Prince Saud said, “The external intervention is obvious . . . whether it is the main cause or not, I think each country has its peculiar conditions in this context.” Regarding reports that there are “foreign fingers” intervening inside Saudi Arabia, Prince Saud declared, “We will cut off any finger that comes into the Kingdom.” He added, “Change comes by the citizens of this country and not through (foreign) theories . . . This nation knows its interests and needs and the way to achieve its goals and will continue to maintain its independence.”

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http://www.saudiembassy.net/latest_news/news03091101.aspx

4 killed in Ivory Coast after women's march
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
Associated Press
2011-03-08 11:10 PM

At least four people have been killed in the Treichville neighborhood of Abidjan hours after women led a march to commemorate the slaying of seven of their sisters during a demonstration last week.

The four bodies _ three men and one woman _ were seen by an Associated Press photographer inside a clinic where they were rushed for treatment. The overwhelmed clinic had nowhere to put them, except on the floor where the blood of the dead pooled together.

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The women's march was already over when security forces burst into the neighborhood and began shooting.

http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_content.php?id=1537168

Why the US must not intervene in Libya
Americans are hardwired to expect their military to fix foreign crises, but we should resist the calls of DC's armchair generals

Stephen Kinzer
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 9 March 2011 23.34 GMT

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The US is fighting two wars in Muslim countries. Since the results have included thousands of dead Americans, a near-bankrupt treasury and a surge in anti-Americanism in the world's most volatile region, launching a third war might seem unwise. Intervening in Libya would require the US to take sides in a highly obscure conflict. Any group the US helps bring to power would be heavily tainted, and Americans would have to defend it in an explosive environment.

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Senator John Kerry has suggested that American warplanes "crater the airports" in Tripoli and other government-held cities – a nice way of saying that the US should bomb Libya: an act of war. Senator John McCain observed that decreeing a no-fly zone over Libya would be a good way to "send a signal to Gaddafi". Perhaps it would be as effective as the signal the US sent Saddam Hussein, who survived in office for 12 years after the Americans imposed two no-fly zones over his country.

The no-fly zone is a seductive option, but only to those who do not reflect on its complexity. It would require a major commitment of air power, and since at least some missile launchers will be located in populated areas, American bombs would almost certainly kill Libyan civilians. And given the balance of power in Libya, where ragtag rebels are outgunned by the regime's better organised troops and mercenaries, even sustained bombardment might not dislodge the tyrant. What would the US do then? Escalate until he is forced to flee, using ground troops if necessary?

Perhaps the appeal of the no-fly option is that it would give testosterone-driven politicians in Washington a way to pretend they are doing something meaningful to defend heroic rebels far away. Yet, the only real way to defeat Gaddafi quickly is by a land invasion, and even today's interventionists are unwilling – yet – to call for such madness. Invasion would resolve a short-term problem, but Libyans would presumably rebel against American occupation, just as Iraqis and Afghans have. The presence of American troops in Libya would be a magnet for every jihadist fighter in the world. An invasion might prevent or head off a civil war, but probably trap American forces into fighting another long-term insurgency.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/mar/09/libya-usforeignpolicy?CMP=twt_gu

Overview
Target: President Barack Obama
Sponsored by: T.M.S

The United States can take quick action to help the people of Libya. An easy and fast way to help stop Gaddafi and his forces is to disable/jam the electronic signals of the regime. This will halt communications within this brutal regime and allow opposition forces to take control and free Libya. This operation will not allow Gaddafi to order his deadly commands across the region, thereby severely handicapping his efforts. This is a simple, no cost, non-invasive, and effective way to help end the massacre. Lets act quickly!

Petition
Muammar Gaddafi and his regime have continued to massacre innocent civilians in Libya. His use of deadly forces against men, women, and children must be stopped immediately. The undersigned are requesting the electronic jamming of signals to interrupt regime communications across the region, along with interruption of Libyan State TV. This is an easy, quick, and no cost operation that will blind the brutal efforts of Gaddafi. We feel that such actions will critically handicap Gaddafi, thereby helping opposition forces free Libya from 42 years of brutality and dictatorship. Please act quickly to help put an end to this massacre.

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/3/jamming-the-electronic-signals-of-the-gaddafi-regime/

Libya: The illusion of force
A no-fly zone will deliver too little, too late. The Libyan rebels' greatest asset is who they are

The Guardian, Thursday 10 March 2011

The front page of the New York Times website demonstrated at one point yesterday the irony of deploying the most mobile and powerful army in the world. And it has nothing to do with theories about the utility of force. In one report, US troops are struggling to persuade Afghan troops and police to fight the Taliban in Ghazni province in Afghanistan. Next to it is a report from Benghazi, Libya, where the local determination to fight Gaddafi is etched in deep lines on every face, but where the means to do so are wholly absent. In the former, US officers talk sceptically about the strategy. They call it the deep disconnect between the tactical (and possibly temporary) victories of US units against the Taliban, and the strategic aim of leaving a functioning Afghan state in place when they leave. In Libya, the only disconnect is between the will to fight and the means to do so effectively. The opposition is overwhelmed by the logistical problems of resupplying the front, maintaining political unity and simply answering the phone. Is this an argument for US soldiers doing in Libya what they are failing to do in Afghanistan?

The pressure in Britain, France and the US for a no-fly zone is building, fed not least by hourly reports of heavy fighting in Zawiyah (almost obliterated, but where fighters are still repelling attacks), around Ras Lanuf and in Bin Jawad. Gaddafi's response yesterday to the possibility of western intervention provides a foretaste of the nationalist power he would gain if bombs started targeting his air defences, the precursor to establishing such a zone: "They want to take your petrol. This is what America, this is what the Frenchman, those colonialists want. The Libyan people will take up arms against them." The moment Britain, France or the US became militarily involved, it would be Gaddafi versus the colonial powers, past and present, of the Middle East. It would cease to be Gaddafi, the family firm, versus his own people.

Members of NATO meeting today in Brussels should be clear about avoiding a disconnect between reality and policy in Libya. This is already inherent in some of the claims that have been made about a no-fly zone. Let us be clear what it would not do, even if it had the authority of a UN security council resolution. It would not be immediate. A no-fly zone could take until mid-April to put in place, by which time the situation on the ground could be very different. It would have less effect against helicopters, which are more lethal weapons in this form of combat, than it would have against jets, and as Ivo Daalder, the US ambassador to NATO acknowledged, overall air activity is not the deciding factor in the firefights between the rebels and regime loyalists and mercenaries. It would not deter columns of trucks and artillery pounding rebel positions. It would, however provide lots of soundbites to politicians wanting to appear as if they are doing something.

No decisions are easy ones and we now have to prepare for the bleakest and bloodiest scenario – a protracted civil war between two militarily unmatched sides. Unlike Tunisia and Egypt, the regime has decided to stand and fight, and has even fewer qualms about mowing down its own people than Ben Ali and Mubarak. The rebels have both to wage a conventional war against superior forces and weaponry, and forge some form of political unity. They could use military intelligence, signal jamming and expertise in forging their fighters into a cohesive force.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/10/libya-uprising-intervention?CMP=twt_gu

LPC Az#Zintan (English): "Battle right now" at checkpoint on road to Zawiyah. Gaddafi forces cut roads. High morale in Zintan. #Libya
5 minutes ago
play

AUDIO in English

http://audioboo.fm/boos/298302-lpc-az-zintan-english-battle-right-now-at-checkpoint-on-road-to-zawiyah-gaddafi-forces-cut-roads-high-morale-in-zintan-libya

12:48am: State television in Libya has shown pictures of government forces celebrating in the centre of the town of Zawiya, after a battle to dislodge rebel fighters. The rebel Voice of Free Libya radio station has said the city is prey to “attacks, death, hunger and continuous shelling by Grad rocket launchers”. It also urged Libyan youths to come to the rescue of Zawiya and “help their brethren” there. “Please, please come and help!”

http://feb17.info/general/live-libya-unrest-fatima-its-all-yours-thanks-sweety/

Ninety-nine percent of the deaths are civilians. They're women. They're children. They're old people.

They don't even have anywhere to go to get away from the fighting.

If that's not a massacre, I really don't know what is.

Qaddafi’s Scorched Earth Policy, at Home and Abroad

Posted on 03/09/2011 by Juan

Muammar Qaddafi is still trying to play the al-Qaeda card, arguing that his murderous regime is what stands between Europe and the emigration to it of thousands of Muslim extremists. He told Turkish television that his regime is a key element of stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, and its fall would bring chaos there, including to Israel.

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Interestingly, Qaddafi’s language seems calculated to appeal to the far right in Europe and Israel, which views all Muslims as potential terrorists. It is an attempt to build a Qaddafi-National Front-Likud-Peter King front against the democracy movement in the Middle East. Qaddafi also sent an envoy Wednesday to the military council that is running Egypt. Since the pro-rebel tribe Awlad Ali dominates Salloum, the Egyptian city on the Libyan border, the rebels presumably are getting some supplies from their Egyptian allies. Qaddafi is probably keen to cut them off. His fear-mongering about al-Qaeda might have some purchase with right wing officers such as Omar Suleiman.

Aljazeera Arabic points out that the rebel forces, far from being “al-Qaeda,” are mostly disgruntled youth from major Libyan tribes such as Zintan. The keywords preferred by statements from such tribes are secular ones– the nation, the people, the army. Muslim fundamentalists speak of the “umma” or the ‘community of believers’ when they talk about the nation, whereas those imbued with civil discourse use terms like the ‘watan’ (originally a translation of the French ‘patrie’ or fatherland), and speak of ‘the people’ (sha’b) rather than ‘the believers.’ It is this civil language that the rebels speak, in all the communiques I’ve seen.

Pro-Qaddafi forces are being accused by residents of Zawiya, an important oil town to the west of Tripoli, of pursuing a scorched earth policy in the city, according to the BBC. Some 50 tanks and 150 armored vehicles are said to be indiscriminately wreaking havoc on the infrastructure.


More:
http://www.juancole.com/

Rebel leader calls for 'immediate action' on no-fly zone

By the CNN Wire Staff
March 10, 2011 -- Updated 0502 GMT (1302 HKT)


Benghazi, Libya (CNN) -- The head of the interim government in eastern Libya pleaded Wednesday for the international community to move quickly to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, declaring that any delay would result in more casualties.

"It has to be immediate action," Mustafa Abdul-Jalil told CNN in an exclusive interview in this eastern opposition stronghold. "The longer the situation carries on, the more blood is shed. That's the message that we want to send to the international community. They have to live up to their responsibility with regards to this."


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Abdul-Jalil's remarks came shortly after Gadhafi's regime announced a reward for Abdul-Jalil's capture, branding him "an agent spy."

In an "urgent" banner on state television, the government said its General Administration for Criminal Investigation was offering 500,000 Libyan dinars ($410,900 U.S.) "for whoever captures and hands over" the "agent spy" Abdul-Jalil, and "another offer of 200,000 Libyan dinars ($164,300 U.S.) for whoever offers information leading to his actual arrest."


http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/03/09/libya.civil.war/

Hoard of Cash Lets Qaddafi Extend Fight Against Rebels

By JAMES RISEN and ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: March 9, 2011


WASHINGTON — The Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi has “tens of billions” in cash secretly hidden away in Tripoli, allowing him to prolong his fight against rebel forces despite an international freeze on many of the Libyan government’s assets, according to American and other intelligence officials.

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The money — in Libyan dinars, United States dollars and possibly other foreign currencies — allows Colonel Qaddafi to pay his troops, African mercenaries and political supporters in the face of a determined uprising, said the intelligence officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

The huge cash reserves have, at least temporarily, diminished the impact of economic sanctions on Colonel Qaddafi and his government. The possibility that he could resist the rebellion in his country for a sustained period could place greater pressure for action on the Obama administration and European leaders, who had hoped that the Libyan leader would be forced from power quickly.

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Kenneth Barden, a lawyer who specializes in Middle East financing and advises financial institutions on ways to guard against money laundering, said there were indications that Colonel Qaddafi had moved billions of dollars in assets just days or weeks before the outbreak of violence in Tripoli, apparently to protect his family wealth from global sanctions.


More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/world/africa/10qaddafi.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss