Libya Roundup, March 9, 2011

Gaddafi's scorched earth: Libya's skies turn black as desperate dictator blows up oil pipes and turns his tanks on civilians


Colonel Gaddafi's forces today blasted an oil terminal to smithereens as Libya's bloody civil war entered its blackest day.


Rebels retaliated by firing back with rockets as a fireball exploded from one of the oil tanks and the sky above the Es Sider terminal, in the east of the country, filled with hideous smoke.


A witness said one of the smoke plumes was the biggest he had seen in the conflict so far.


The fresh onslaught came as Gaddafi deployed tanks and snipers to 'shoot anything that moves'.



Forces loyal to the Libyan dictator poured into the city of Zawiyah in a desperate bid to oust the hardcore band of protesters and army defectors who have taken control.
 
 Unrest in Libya has cut oil output to about half a million barrels per day from 1.6 million bpd as many foreign and local workers left the oil fields, the country's top oil official said on Wednesday.


Rebels and Gaddafi forces battle in eastern and western Libya  Excerpts:


BENGHAZI, LIBYA - Rebel forces in Libya engaged in intense fighting on two fronts Wednesday, claiming to break through a three-day standoff with government fighters in the town of Bin Jawwad but suffering another day of heavy casualties in the besieged western city of Zawiyah.


In Zawiyah, government forces were heavily shelling the main square, residents said, with airstrikes, tank and mortar fire, machine guns and artillery.


"We need some international aid here," said Mohammed, an opposition spokesman in the city, which was bombed for a sixth consecutive day by forces loyal to Moammar Gaddafi. "At least stop them from having airplanes fly over us."

The Libyan paradox

Most likely he is desperate and over the years he must have been haunted by the fantasy that he really created a country of his own and therefore no one has the right to challenge his ownership of Libya. He must believe what he keeps repeating: that he is neither a president nor a king to resign; he is an uncontested leader of a revolution, who possesses nothing but his gun and he will use it to regain control. He also claimed that he turned power to the people to govern themselves, a form of democracy superior in his view to any other system of government yet devised. If he is truly insane, it is just because he believes this hallucination.

Libyan rebels' mood darkens amid fears revolution has stalled

Nearly three weeks after Libyans surprised themselves by revolting against Muammar Gaddafi's brutal 42-year rule, euphoria at the prospect of swiftly deposing the dictator has given way in the rebel capital, Benghazi, to the grim prospect of a popular uprising evolving into a drawn-out military conflict.

That is stoking fears about the consequences of losing, as Gaddafi's forces use tanks and artillery to crush the revolutionaries' takeover of the city of Zawiyah, near Tripoli, and stall the rebel advance from Benghazi hundreds of miles short of the Libyan capital.

Western powers exploit Libyan crisis to step up intervention plans

Inside Libya, Gaddafi’s former justice minister, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who now heads the opposition National Libyan Council in Benghazi, called for foreign air strikes and a no-fly zone. Citing sources within the council, the New York Times reported that this stance was adopted at a heated council meeting where “others strongly disagreed”. There has been deep opposition to such a call within popular protests against Gaddafi, because of fears of a return to neo-colonial rule—fears that Gaddafi is exploiting to posture as a defender of Libyan sovereignty.

No-Fly Or Nothing At All? What About Door Number 3?

As America and the U.N. take some time deciding on a response to Libya, I am troubled by the two directions/ reactions offered as "solutions" to Libya's accelerating spiral into chaos.  Establishing a No-Fly Zone involves Western troops and, more importantly, Western troops attacking another Arab country.  All that militarism (not to mention explosions) plays into negative perception  of all things American/ Western, all around the region. 

Do nothing at all?  Hell, NO.  Something must be done.  The Libyan people MUST be helped.  Is this, really, the best the government can do?  Could the West help the Libyan People organize, change the direction of the revolution, and accomplish all this from a distance?

Visualize two men facing each other, fighting. Another man dives onto all fours behind one man, and the other man pushes.  The man on all fours gets up and walks away, and is not involved further.  The UN is the man on all fours.  Here's how that would work:

Deliver thousands of units of satellite phones, batteries, and chargers to safe areas (or safer, the closer to Tripoli) controlled by the opposition.  Now, rather than having the Libyans have to set them up and charge them and establish networks, those tasks are already done.  In fact, the Libyans are much less tech savvy than other parts of the region, so not only will the phones be networked with Internet, text, pictures, everything, the IT Support on the whole project would be massive, the likes of which not seen in customer service, not to mention in any military application!  Technological cave men could pick up the phone, dial 0, and accomplish functions(sending mass text/emails, surfing the web, teleconferencing, uploading pictures and documents, and tracking the Gaddafi family/ government by picture and GPS) by telling the agent on the other end!

This undertaking would require some logistics.  A lot of fucking logistics..  Creating groups of components, systems, and applications into a network, and then fostering the most user friendly service environment for optimum organization and efficiency during an armed conflict will be of some expense(No idea.  A Lot., I'm sure), but less expense than any military action would require, and the human cost would be much lower, too. Note:  There might *Might* be a scenario where popular opinion wouldn't be against a U.N.  "targeted missile strike," if it were accurate.  The GPS application helps minimize the risk of missing the target.  If it boiled down to action, a quick, powerful, accurate, one time only response is the preferred response.

Several upsides: 

If this network idea actually worked, it would put an end to the armed part of the revolution.

When Gaddafi's gone, the Libyans can use this network to jump start into technological society.  Techno-literacy would be a great compliment to Libya's rising prominence as a Middle Eastern agricultural powerhouse.

No troops from either Iraq, Afghanistan, or Reserve would have to be used in armed conflict.  The military still might be used for delivery or support, but major operations would be unaffected.

Could be used in future crisis situations that require action, but not necessarily military action..

"Al Queda," whatever that is, wouldn't have a lot of propaganda to work with, as American forces weren't involved.

And coolest of all, the West got in and helped without getting in and "helping" by "destroying."  If this undertaking were performed well and we did help and we didn't stay, the entire region's stance might soften on us, not much, but maybe just enough upon which to start building trust, which has to start somewhere..

To end on a pessimistic note:  This scenario is not likely to happen:  Not at all.  It's probably too unconventional for conventional minds to embrace.

Libya's 'Love Revolution': Muslim Dating Site Seeds Protest

Sweet..  Gaddafi's thugs were zigging, so naturally, the Libyan people zagged..  Excerpts:

To avoid detection by Libyan secret police, who monitor Facebook and Twitter, Mahmoudi, the leader of the Ekhtalef ("Difference") Movement, used what's considered the Match.com of the Middle East to send coded love letters to rally the revolution.
..
So he created a Mawada profile called "Where Is Miriam?" and pretended to be on the hunt for a wife.

The conservative site doesn't allow men to communicate with other men, so other revolutionaries posed as women to contact him, assuming aliases like "Sweet Butterfly," "Opener of the Mountain," "Girl of the Desert" and "Melody of Torture."
..
On the site, the revolutionaries used poetry laced with revolutionary references to gauge support and make initial contact. Then they had detailed follow-up conversations via text message and Yahoo Messenger.

Nice.  So far, when the game changes, The People are the ones changing it;  Not The Oppressors.

Looks Like Gaddafi's Doing Some Last Minute Shopping For His Extended Vacation In Hell..

1000s die in Libya, reports of poison gas

Libya's deputy ambassador to the UN says thousands of people have been killed during protests, as unconfirmed reports have come in claiming the regime has used poison gas on demonstrators.

Ibrahim Dabbashi, who has turned against the Gaddafi regime, said the death toll is expected to rise as Muammar Gaddafi continues his bloody crackdown against the opposition.

"There are already thousands of people who have been killed, we expect more. They are gathering all the bodies and they are taking them to the desert or somewhere. No one knows where are the bodies of the victims," AFP quoted Dabbashi as saying.
And:
Meanwhile, there are reports that forces loyal to Gaddafi's crumbling regime have mounted attacks in towns west of Tripoli.



The regime has already lost control of Misurata and Zuara in the west. Opposition protesters are now in control of major cities in the east, including Benghazi.

According to reports, security forces loyal to Gaddafi have stormed hospitals in Tripoli and murdered protesters who were being treated.


There are also unconfirmed reports that the regime has used poison gas against demonstrators in Misarata (Misurata).

Karma, babies..  Gaddafi's really generating some massive negativity right before his upcoming violent and probably recorded death.  Personally, I'd like to see him captured alive and sent before the I.C.C..  But I just don't see that in the cards for any of them, really..  If the focused hatred of Libya towards Gaddafi and his family and inner circle doesn't manifest in him/them being torn to shreds on camera and the videos posted on You Tube; if he is indeed, captured alive, he/they won't make it to trial.  Gaddafi and his core group know too much, and can't be allowed to talk.  Therefore, they'll be killed.

Not that this is entirely bad.  Maybe the only way Libya can move forward is to bear witness to the lifeless carcasses of the cabal that previously commanded them. Their dead bodies, the evidence needed that their murderous spirits have moved on, and The People don't have to be afraid anymore. 

After this bullshit, I have no idea what it would take for the people of Libya to be able to move on, process the collective wounds still being inflicted, and not live in fear.  It feels strange to write this while Gaddafi is still alive..  But it really doesn't feel like he is.  Maybe I'm wrong, but it feels like he's already gone, and damn, was that video gross.. 

Mid-East Uprising: Libya Edition

"Libya on the brink."

It's clear Qadafi's regime won't go quietly, and it seems like the tide is turning.. Moammar Gadhafi's son warns of civil war in Libya if father's leadership not recognized Excerpts:

After anti-government unrest spread to the Libyan capital and protesters seized military bases and weapons Sunday, Moammar Gadhafi’s son went on state television to proclaim that his father remained in charge with the army’s backing and would “fight until the last man, the last woman, the last bullet.”
Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, in the regime’s first comments on the six days of demonstrations, warned the protesters that they risked igniting a civil war in which Libya’s oil wealth “will be burned.”
The speech followed a fierce crackdown by security forces who fired on thousands of demonstrators and funeral marchers in the eastern city of Benghazi in a bloody cycle of violence that killed 60 people on Sunday alone, according to a doctor in one city hospital. Since the six days of unrest began, more than 200 people have been killed, according to medical officials, human rights groups and exiled dissidents.
..
Although the elder Gadhafi did not appear, his son has often been put forward as the regime’s face of reform.
..
Protesters had seized some military bases, tanks and other weapons, he said, blaming Islamists, the media, thugs, drunks and drug abusers, foreigners — including Egyptians and Tunisians. (It's amazing the feats drug users are capable of, huh?)
He also admitted that the unrest had spread to Tripoli, with people firing in central Green Square before fleeing.
The rebellion by Libyans frustrated with Gadhafi’s more than 40 years of authoritarian rule has spread to more than a half-dozen eastern cities — but also to Tripoli, where secret police were heavily deployed on the streets of the city of 2 million.
And:
In other setbacks for Gadhafi’s regime, a major tribe in Libya was reported to have turned against him and Libya’s representative to the Arab League said he resigned his post to protest the government’s decision to fire on defiant demonstrators in Benghazi, the second-largest city.
Khaled Abu Bakr, a resident of Sabratha, an ancient Roman city to the west, said protesters besieged the local security headquarters, driving out police and setting it on fire. Abu Bakr said residents are in charge, have set up neighborhood committees to secure their city.
The Internet has been largely shut down, residents can no longer make international calls from land lines and journalists cannot work freely, but eyewitness reports trickling out of the country suggested that protesters were fighting back more forcefully against the Middle East’s longest-serving leader.
“We are not afraid. We won’t turn back,” said a teacher who identified herself only as Omneya. ..“If we don’t continue, this vile man would crush us with his tanks and bulldozers. If we don’t, we won’t ever be free,” she said.

The Renaissance of the Arab World?

It's never good when your country's diplomats resign in disgust..

And finally, is global unrest starting to effect China?