MO Midden-Oosten
Bespreek hier de actuele situatie omtrent het Midden-Oosten.
Rumsfeld kan wel praten, maar er waren helemaal geen goede banden tussen Gaddafi en de VS, nooit geweest ook.quote:Op zondag 27 maart 2011 22:21 schreef Aloulou het volgende:
[..]
Ja, netjes gedraaid. Het zal best wat betreft chemische wapens maar de stap naar nucleaire wapens heeft hij laten varen. Je denkt toch niet dat de Amerikanen hem anders weer in goed vaarwater hadden toegelaten, of dit uberhaupt aan het "toeval" overlieten (of op basis van vermoedens).
Wat dat betreft zagen ze ook nog een bevestiging in zijn draai van 180% dat ze op een goede manier hem hadden gedwongen tot inzicht te komen. Vandaar dat Rumsfeld zo overtuigd is van zijn goede zaak haha
Ja, het is een goede boodschap naar de rest van de wereld: doe geen zaken met het Westen, want in een moment van zwakte zullen ze als aasgieren op je afvliegen. Noord-Korea zal die kernwapens wel houden nu, zoals ze al hebben gezegd, Iran is misschien wat minder bereid een deal te maken.quote:
[..]
Ja, netjes gedraaid. Het zal best wat betreft chemische wapens maar de stap naar nucleaire wapens heeft hij laten varen. Je denkt toch niet dat de Amerikanen hem anders weer in goed vaarwater hadden toegelaten, of dit uberhaupt aan het "toeval" overlieten (of op basis van vermoedens).
Wat dat betreft zagen ze ook nog een bevestiging in zijn draai van 180% dat ze op een goede manier hem hadden gedwongen tot inzicht te komen. Vandaar dat Rumsfeld zo overtuigd is van zijn goede zaak haha
Volgens mij zei hij geen jaartal, haalde hij alleen Hussein aan als voorbeeld wat er kon gebeuren wanneer een dictator een in zijn ogen, 'War of the Century wint'. En dat daarom van groot belang is dat G niet een dergelijke war wint en blijft zitten.quote:
Het was toch de tweede Golfoorlog in Irak die Gaddafi deed beslissen om te kappen mt kernwapens. Dus 2003, niet jarn 80 zoals Rumsfel zegt.
~Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.~
Oei! Willen ze je oorlogje afpakken?quote:
[..]
Debielen zijn het, parasieten. IPV iets positiefs bij te dragen aan de wereld loopt men allee maar te janken en boe te roepen.
Rumsfeld moet je weglachen. De logica van hem is... ver te zoeken. Khaddafi moet weg want Hoessein had eigenlijk ook weg gemoeten? HUH?! Laat die gare oorlogsmisdadiger lekker raaskallen.quote:
[..]
Volgens mij zei hij geen jaartal, haalde hij alleen Hussein aan als voorbeeld wat er kon gebeuren wanneer een dictator een in zijn ogen, 'War of the Century wint'. En dat daarom van groot belang is dat G niet een dergelijke war wint en blijft zitten.
Dan bedoelde ie Bush Jr. Men heeft het ook nooit over de reden van Lockerbie. Niet dat Gaddafi rationeel is, maar Lockerbie had een reden.quote:
[..]
Volgens mij zei hij geen jaartal, haalde hij alleen Hussein aan als voorbeeld wat er kon gebeuren wanneer een dictator een in zijn ogen, 'War of the Century wint'. En dat daarom van groot belang is dat G niet een dergelijke war wint en blijft zitten.
Don't shoot the messenger.quote:
[..]
Rumsfeld moet je weglachen. De logica van hem is... ver te zoeken. Khaddafi moet weg want Hoessein had eigenlijk ook weg gemoeten? HUH?! Laat die gare oorlogsmisdadiger lekker raaskallen.
~Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.~
Die man is seniel, en zeer kwaadaardig. Redeneert ook alles naar de US and A.quote:
[..]
Rumsfeld moet je weglachen. De logica van hem is... ver te zoeken. Khaddafi moet weg want Hoessein had eigenlijk ook weg gemoeten? HUH?! Laat die gare oorlogsmisdadiger lekker raaskallen.
Nuclear Madness in Tripoli
Jeremy Bernstein
Muammar Qaddafi; drawing by John Springs
If any further proof is needed of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafis mental instability it is provided by WikiLeaks dispatches from US diplomats in Tripoli in November and December of 2009. At issue was some nearly loose nuclear material, a Russian plane, and a lone security guarda footnote in the WikiLeaks scandal that many may have missed. But first, a little background.
Almost from the moment he assumed power in 1969, Qaddafi was interested in acquiring nuclear weapons. He tried to buy them from China; and when that failed he tried to build them himself. In the 1990s he bought an entire turnkey nuclear weapons program from the Pakistani proliferator A.Q. Khan, including centrifuges and designs for a nuclear weapon. It is believed he gave up the entire program in 2003 in a grand bargain with the United States that eventually restored Libyas diplomatic status and allowed US companies to do business with the oil-rich country.
But there remained and still remains a nuclear research program centered in Tajura, about ten miles east of Tripoli. The centerpiece of the program is a relatively small research reactor built in 1979 by the Russians, who also supplied the fuel. After it came on line, it apparently employed hundreds of technicians, including some who had studied in the United States. I have looked at the list of research publications that have been released by scientists connected with the Tajoura facility and the papers seem quite standard to me.
However there is a special feature of this reactor that needs comment: it is fueled by highly enriched uraniumapparently an 80 percent enrichment of uranium 235. This level of enrichment or greater was fairly common for small research reactors and dates back to the Atoms For Peace program inaugurated by President Eisenhower. The uranium was military surplus. Some of it is unaccounted for and is a proliferation threat. At 80 percent enrichment it would be adequate for use in at least a crude nuclear device. In the Libyan case, the amount of enriched uranium used in the reactor is less than what would be necessary for a weapon. But having this much possible bomb fuel in a country like Libya is not desirable. The Russians seem to have understood this and established a program to remove the spent fuel from Tajoura and fly it back to Russiaor at least that was what was supposed to happen.
In September of 2009 Qaddafi came to New York for the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN. He wanted to pitch a large tent in Central Park, which he was going to occupy, and he wanted to visit Ground Zero. He was denied both and his anger smoldered until November when he figured he had a way to take his revenge. According to nuclear agreements between Libya, Russia, and the US, seven five-ton casks of spent uranium from Libyas research reactor were scheduled to be shipped to Russia for safekeeping, and the Russians sent a special plane to Tripoli to retrieve them.
But Qaddafi refused to let the casks leave, and they remained in Tajoura under the watch of a single armed guard. This became known to the American embassy, and the US Ambassador in Tripoli, Gene A. Cretz, began cabling Washington with increasing desperation. Following a four-day standoff, one cable recounted on November 25,
the Russian plane scheduled to remove Libyas last remaining HEU spent fuel stores departed Libya without its cargo. Despite bilateral agreements with the US and Russiaand intensive outreach efforts by the US and Russian AmbassadorsLibyan officials unexpectedly refused to allow the HEU to leave the country. DOE experts are deeply concerned by the safety and security risks posed by the Libyans decision.
Officials in the United States believed there was very little time to deal with the situation. As the cable continued:
According to the DOE experts, we have one month to resolve the situation before the safety and security concerns become a crisis. If the enriched uranium is not removed from the casks in three months, its rising temperature could cause the casks to crack and release radioactive nuclear material.
The fact that the people who would be irradiated would be Libyans did not seem to faze Qaddafi, who, as we now know, also thinks nothing of strafing his own citizens with aircraft fire.
In any case, the Americanswho had meanwhile been giving Qaddafi high marks for his political genius and staying powerdecided to keep the matter of the casks secret. Another communiqué from a US diplomat read: Given the highly transportable nature of the HEU and the shoddy security at Tajoura, any mention of this in the press could cause serious security concerns. It added: The Libyan government has chosen a very dangerous issue on which to express its apparent pique about perceived problems in the bilateral relationshipa delicate phrasing. The matter was resolved when Secretary Clinton sent Qaddafi a personal message assuring him of the United States regard for him and his country. The Russian plane left Tripoli on December 21, 2009, with the uranium. For the moment, the Tajoura reactor remains in the part of the country still controlled by forces loyal to Qaddafi, who has vowed to fight to the last drop of blood to remain in power. Its current status is unknown.
Jeremy Bernstein
Muammar Qaddafi; drawing by John Springs
If any further proof is needed of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafis mental instability it is provided by WikiLeaks dispatches from US diplomats in Tripoli in November and December of 2009. At issue was some nearly loose nuclear material, a Russian plane, and a lone security guarda footnote in the WikiLeaks scandal that many may have missed. But first, a little background.
Almost from the moment he assumed power in 1969, Qaddafi was interested in acquiring nuclear weapons. He tried to buy them from China; and when that failed he tried to build them himself. In the 1990s he bought an entire turnkey nuclear weapons program from the Pakistani proliferator A.Q. Khan, including centrifuges and designs for a nuclear weapon. It is believed he gave up the entire program in 2003 in a grand bargain with the United States that eventually restored Libyas diplomatic status and allowed US companies to do business with the oil-rich country.
But there remained and still remains a nuclear research program centered in Tajura, about ten miles east of Tripoli. The centerpiece of the program is a relatively small research reactor built in 1979 by the Russians, who also supplied the fuel. After it came on line, it apparently employed hundreds of technicians, including some who had studied in the United States. I have looked at the list of research publications that have been released by scientists connected with the Tajoura facility and the papers seem quite standard to me.
However there is a special feature of this reactor that needs comment: it is fueled by highly enriched uraniumapparently an 80 percent enrichment of uranium 235. This level of enrichment or greater was fairly common for small research reactors and dates back to the Atoms For Peace program inaugurated by President Eisenhower. The uranium was military surplus. Some of it is unaccounted for and is a proliferation threat. At 80 percent enrichment it would be adequate for use in at least a crude nuclear device. In the Libyan case, the amount of enriched uranium used in the reactor is less than what would be necessary for a weapon. But having this much possible bomb fuel in a country like Libya is not desirable. The Russians seem to have understood this and established a program to remove the spent fuel from Tajoura and fly it back to Russiaor at least that was what was supposed to happen.
In September of 2009 Qaddafi came to New York for the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN. He wanted to pitch a large tent in Central Park, which he was going to occupy, and he wanted to visit Ground Zero. He was denied both and his anger smoldered until November when he figured he had a way to take his revenge. According to nuclear agreements between Libya, Russia, and the US, seven five-ton casks of spent uranium from Libyas research reactor were scheduled to be shipped to Russia for safekeeping, and the Russians sent a special plane to Tripoli to retrieve them.
But Qaddafi refused to let the casks leave, and they remained in Tajoura under the watch of a single armed guard. This became known to the American embassy, and the US Ambassador in Tripoli, Gene A. Cretz, began cabling Washington with increasing desperation. Following a four-day standoff, one cable recounted on November 25,
the Russian plane scheduled to remove Libyas last remaining HEU spent fuel stores departed Libya without its cargo. Despite bilateral agreements with the US and Russiaand intensive outreach efforts by the US and Russian AmbassadorsLibyan officials unexpectedly refused to allow the HEU to leave the country. DOE experts are deeply concerned by the safety and security risks posed by the Libyans decision.
Officials in the United States believed there was very little time to deal with the situation. As the cable continued:
According to the DOE experts, we have one month to resolve the situation before the safety and security concerns become a crisis. If the enriched uranium is not removed from the casks in three months, its rising temperature could cause the casks to crack and release radioactive nuclear material.
The fact that the people who would be irradiated would be Libyans did not seem to faze Qaddafi, who, as we now know, also thinks nothing of strafing his own citizens with aircraft fire.
In any case, the Americanswho had meanwhile been giving Qaddafi high marks for his political genius and staying powerdecided to keep the matter of the casks secret. Another communiqué from a US diplomat read: Given the highly transportable nature of the HEU and the shoddy security at Tajoura, any mention of this in the press could cause serious security concerns. It added: The Libyan government has chosen a very dangerous issue on which to express its apparent pique about perceived problems in the bilateral relationshipa delicate phrasing. The matter was resolved when Secretary Clinton sent Qaddafi a personal message assuring him of the United States regard for him and his country. The Russian plane left Tripoli on December 21, 2009, with the uranium. For the moment, the Tajoura reactor remains in the part of the country still controlled by forces loyal to Qaddafi, who has vowed to fight to the last drop of blood to remain in power. Its current status is unknown.
Transcriptie van het Arabische interview met de nicht van de persoon die gisteren aangaf tegen journalisten dat deze verkracht is door een aantal mannen die werkzaam zijn voor Kaddafi, terug te zien op de NOS.quote:Translation:
Presenter: Dear viewers, we end todays show with an exclusive interview done by Al-Aans correspondent Jinan Musa with Mariam Al Omar, Eman El-Obeidis cousin, the woman who was raped by pro Gaddafi forces.
Mariam: Eman is her daughter. She has 7 daughters. Eman is a law graduate from Zawiya. And Amal is an English literature graduate, who works in Tripoli in the Administration of Supervison. Eman goes to her sister (Amal) in Tripoli and stays with her since she (Amal) has kids. They are a conservative family, and always together. So the other day while she was passing through a checkpoint in Tripoli, they held her and raped her.
Jinan: When did she go to Tripoli?
Mariam: She always goes to Tripoli. They have checkpoints inside of Tripoli and thats where she was held and raped. She visits her sister alot. Amal is married with children. Her husband is Salah Al Deenali, who they (government) might say was killed. According to what Eman is saying they killed him and kidnapped her nephew as well. This is the first time we heard of it and are very shocked and have not slept since last night. And we dont know how to get our justice. But Allah will get our justice (for us). What is important now is for the world to know that she (Eman) is a good girl. She is a law graduate. How can she be a law graduate and be mentally ill as well? But there is a great chance that they will beat her (torture her) until she does become mentally unstable. this is something they are used to doing.
Jinan: Is of has Eman been married? Does she have any kids?
Mariam: No, no, no Eman is still unmarried (was still a virgin)
Jihan: Is Eman insane?
Mariam: No Eman is not insane. Eman is a law graduate. Do law schools let insane people graduate? Eman is very sane. Would her sister (Amal) let her live with her when she has 2 boys?
Jinan: Did you hear any news since after they took her away?
Mariam: After they took her away, her family held a funeral since they are assuming she is dead by now. The funeral is not only for her but for her sisters husband. Her sisters son is kidnapped as well. In the clip we saw, she said they killed Salah and they kidnapped Hamad.
Jinan: Who are Salah and Hamad?
Mariam: Salah is her sisters husband, Amals husband. And Hamad is her son.
Jinan: Where is Amal now?
Mariam: We dont know, but their is a great possibility that they will put her on Libyan TV so she can say that my sister Eman is mentally ill. And as usual she will be held at gun point.
Jinan: Has her family in Tobruk or your family tried to call the police/security forces to demand her release?
Mariam: What police/security forces?!! Impossible, impossible! Can anyone try to get her out?! Forget the subject. Only if it is the will of Allah.
Jinan: Why hasnt her sister (Amal) in Tripoli come here after this all happened?
Mariam: Amal works in Tripoli and she couldnt leave after they closed the roads and airport. Tripoli is just a big prison. We call the families that have satellite phones and they tell us that they cant form groups more than 2 or 3 people. Our lives are centered on water, bread and petrol. Other than that there is no movement in Tripoli.
Jinan: If Gaddafi and his sons were watching this, would you like to send them any message?
Mariam: No, Gaddafi is two faced. He always says one thing and then lies to the people (by doing the opposite), and its very normal for him. He got used to lying to the people.
Jinan: Do you want to send a message to his supporters?
Mariam: No, they are all the same believe me. Do you think that one is better than the other? They are all the same. But they have to know that God is great and will take away the oppressor. And that Muammer is over, there is no escaping the fact that he is.
Jinan: What do you think will happen with Eman, Amal and her son?
Mariam: No, no, no, we forgot about them. They will come out of this mentally unstable or dead. The end is over. The end is that Eman, God thank her, came out with her story and the all his (Gaddafi) faces have been revealed as to what he can do. To the point that it reaches women, this is the last face (of Gaddafi) that has been uncovered.
Jinan: At other times when she (Eman) has been to Tripoli, she she ever said anything about any one bothering her in the streets?
Mariam: No, no, no. She would always go out with her sister. But the checkpoints in the road are something new.
Mariam: *answers her mobile* Fadel, hello? Fadel? Can you hear me?
Fadel: Hello?
Mariam: Yes Fadel. Salam
Fadel: Salam. How are you?
Mariam: How are things at your end?
Fadel: Honestly, no news after what happened yesterday (Eman being taken away)
Mariam: Is it true about Salah? Is he really dead?
*Inaudible*
Mariam: Salah? Amals husband is he really dead?
Fadel: Im not sure. It has not been confirmed yet. We only heard it over the phone but its not confirmed. They said the husband is dead and the son is lost (kidnapped)
Mariam: husband is dead and the son is lost (kidnapped)?
Fadel: Exactly
Jinan: Who is Fadel?
Mariam: Fadel is her (Eman) uncle.
Jinan: He is in Tobruk now?
Mariam: *murmurs her agreement* Mariam was born in 1982, she is not that old.
Jinan: Were you surprised?
Mariam: I was very surprised. I was surprised and not surprised. Surprised that I saw my cousin on TV. And i wasnt surprised cause this is what Muammer does. Its not strange to him (to order rape). Tomorrow you (journalists) will fill pages, books, magazines, walls and TVs, and maybe you (journalists will be able to talk for a full year about his (Gaddafis) cruelty. This is Muammer Gaddafi and he will never change. This is nothing new (to Libyans).
Jinan: They also said that Eman was drunk? That she has drank alcohol.
Mariam: They should pick one: either she is mentally ill or drunk? How did she arrive at the hotel (if she was drunk)? A crazy man is speaking and Im listening. How did she arrive to the hotel?
Jinan: Is she a strong woman?
Mariam: She has a strong personality. Usually when you say so and so has such a degree, then you can know a person. She is a law graduate and knows exactly what she was saying word for word and what she was doing.
Note:
Mariam is her cousin from her mothers side.
Fadel is Emans mothers brother.
The Libyan government declared Eman to be mentally unstable and that she fantasized about being raped and that she was drunk as well, which is why she made such allegations.
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl
is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.
is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.
Hij heeft zn handelsmerk gemaakt van debiel zijn. Hij was niet 42 jaar lang een idioot, maar de laatste jaren ging ie wel steeds meer als een dwaas tekeer. Maar dat doet ie gewoon naast zn rationele beslissingen.quote:
Ik denk dat Khaddafi een uiterst rationeel persoon is, anders blijf je niet 42 jaar aan de macht.
Kom toevallig zojuist onderstaand tegen, kunnen jullie het interview zelf horen/lezen. Video op de site.
Rumsfeld: If Gadhafi Stays, U.S. Reputation Damaged, American Enemies Emboldened
Former Defense Secretary Says Confusion Reigns in Obama Libya Action
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said today that if Gadhafi remains in power in Libya, it will damage the prestige of the United States. He compared the possible scenario of Gadhafi staying in power in Tripoli to the U.S. and coalition forces not removing Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War, though he refused to take a firm stand on whether U.S. military action in Libya was the correct move for the Obama administration.
In an exclusive interview on "This Week" with ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, Rumsfeld said, "the fact is we are involved" in Libya. "And the prestige of the United States is involved."
"Think back to the Gulf War in the early 1990s," said Rumsfeld, who served as George W. Bush's defense secretary from 2001-2006. "Saddam Hussein, when it was over, said he had fought the mother of all battles and President George Herbert Walker Bush was gone, Margaret Thatcher was gone, and he was still in office. And the implication of that was that he had defeated the United States," he said.
"We are involved," Rumsfeld said from Pensacola, Florida. "Let there be no question: we're now involved in Libya. And if Gadhafi stays on, he will feel he has fought the mother of all battles against the United States and it will be damaging to us just as our demeanor in Somalia was damaging, the situation in Lebanon was damaging and that will embolden others of his ilk," he told Tapper.
He also explained that the question of Gadhafi's longevity as leader of Libya had rippling effects. "If you put yourself in the shoes of the rebels," he said, "they wonder whether or not the coalition has an interest in Gadhafi leaving. There's a great deal of ambiguity about that."
"Gadhafi's forces wonder whether Gadhafi will be leaving and that same ambiguity affects their decision-making," he said. "Until that's clarified, it seems to me, we'll have a much more difficult time. I think the goal has to be that Gadhafi leaves.
Meer tekst via de titel link.
Rumsfeld: If Gadhafi Stays, U.S. Reputation Damaged, American Enemies Emboldened
Former Defense Secretary Says Confusion Reigns in Obama Libya Action
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said today that if Gadhafi remains in power in Libya, it will damage the prestige of the United States. He compared the possible scenario of Gadhafi staying in power in Tripoli to the U.S. and coalition forces not removing Saddam Hussein during the 1991 Gulf War, though he refused to take a firm stand on whether U.S. military action in Libya was the correct move for the Obama administration.
In an exclusive interview on "This Week" with ABC News' Senior White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, Rumsfeld said, "the fact is we are involved" in Libya. "And the prestige of the United States is involved."
"Think back to the Gulf War in the early 1990s," said Rumsfeld, who served as George W. Bush's defense secretary from 2001-2006. "Saddam Hussein, when it was over, said he had fought the mother of all battles and President George Herbert Walker Bush was gone, Margaret Thatcher was gone, and he was still in office. And the implication of that was that he had defeated the United States," he said.
"We are involved," Rumsfeld said from Pensacola, Florida. "Let there be no question: we're now involved in Libya. And if Gadhafi stays on, he will feel he has fought the mother of all battles against the United States and it will be damaging to us just as our demeanor in Somalia was damaging, the situation in Lebanon was damaging and that will embolden others of his ilk," he told Tapper.
He also explained that the question of Gadhafi's longevity as leader of Libya had rippling effects. "If you put yourself in the shoes of the rebels," he said, "they wonder whether or not the coalition has an interest in Gadhafi leaving. There's a great deal of ambiguity about that."
"Gadhafi's forces wonder whether Gadhafi will be leaving and that same ambiguity affects their decision-making," he said. "Until that's clarified, it seems to me, we'll have a much more difficult time. I think the goal has to be that Gadhafi leaves.
Meer tekst via de titel link.
~Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.~
Libyan rebels advance on Muammar Gaddafi's home town
A Libya rebel fighter sits in his vehicle as rebel forces move towards Muammar Gaddafi's home town
Libyan rebels are advancing on Muammar Gaddafi's home town, Sirte, after retaking all the ground lost in earlier fighting as government forces broke and fled under western air strikes.
Revolutionary forces rapidly moved more than 150 miles west along Libya's coastal road, seizing several towns without resistance, as the first witness accounts emerged of the devastating effect on Gaddafi's army and militia of the aerial bombardment that broke their resistance at Ajdabiya on Saturday.
A doctor treating wounded government soldiers described hundreds of deaths, terrible injuries and collapsing morale.
Today, rebels retook the important oil towns of Brega, Ras Lanuf and Ben Jawad, and continued on the open desert road toward Sirte, about 95 miles away.
But they are likely to face a challenge in seizing the town, which holds political significance as Gaddafi's birthplace and is seen as important to his defence of Tripoli, the capital, which is now less than 300 miles from the rebels' front line.
However, control of the oil terminals at Brega and Ras Lanuf is in itself a major gain for the rebels because it could bring in significant amounts of revenue from exports for their administration if production resumes after the uprising and conflict shut much of it down.
Rebels moved unchallenged along a road littered with evidence of the air campaign and the speed of their enemies' retreat. The blackened carcasses of destroyed tanks, armoured vehicles and military trucks were pushed to the side of the tarmac.
In their hurried retreat from Ras Lanuf, government forces abandoned piles of ammunition. They included grey wooden boxes containing rockets but stamped as holding "parts of bulldozer" manufactured in North Korea.
Meer tekst via de titel link.
A Libya rebel fighter sits in his vehicle as rebel forces move towards Muammar Gaddafi's home town
A Libya rebel fighter sits in his vehicle as rebel forces move towards Muammar Gaddafi's home town Libyan rebels are advancing on Muammar Gaddafi's home town, Sirte, after retaking all the ground lost in earlier fighting as government forces broke and fled under western air strikes.
Revolutionary forces rapidly moved more than 150 miles west along Libya's coastal road, seizing several towns without resistance, as the first witness accounts emerged of the devastating effect on Gaddafi's army and militia of the aerial bombardment that broke their resistance at Ajdabiya on Saturday.
A doctor treating wounded government soldiers described hundreds of deaths, terrible injuries and collapsing morale.
Today, rebels retook the important oil towns of Brega, Ras Lanuf and Ben Jawad, and continued on the open desert road toward Sirte, about 95 miles away.
But they are likely to face a challenge in seizing the town, which holds political significance as Gaddafi's birthplace and is seen as important to his defence of Tripoli, the capital, which is now less than 300 miles from the rebels' front line.
However, control of the oil terminals at Brega and Ras Lanuf is in itself a major gain for the rebels because it could bring in significant amounts of revenue from exports for their administration if production resumes after the uprising and conflict shut much of it down.
Rebels moved unchallenged along a road littered with evidence of the air campaign and the speed of their enemies' retreat. The blackened carcasses of destroyed tanks, armoured vehicles and military trucks were pushed to the side of the tarmac.
In their hurried retreat from Ras Lanuf, government forces abandoned piles of ammunition. They included grey wooden boxes containing rockets but stamped as holding "parts of bulldozer" manufactured in North Korea.
Meer tekst via de titel link.
~Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.~
Kadhafi lies pushed us to fight, captured soldiers say
AFP - Their bodies are broken -- as broken as their loyalty now to their one-time leader Moamer Kadhafi, whom they say lied to push them into battle against rebellious compatriots in eastern Libya.
AFP - Their bodies are broken -- as broken as their loyalty now to their one-time leader Moamer Kadhafi, whom they say lied to push them into battle against rebellious compatriots in eastern Libya.
quote:Three of them are soldiers in Kadhafi's army, wounded and taken prisoner in different locations a week ago by rebels.
They were lying in beds in a guarded room in a hospital in Benghazi, sleeping, praying and reflecting on how they ended up being cared for by a compassionate enemy that in no way resembled Al-Qaeda, Israel's Mossad or the foreign terrorists Kadhafi's officers had said awaited them.
And they were keen to talk to the media.
Azoumi Ali Mohammed, 25, said he was a reservist taken on March 20 after coalition warplanes bombed his convoy of more than 400 Libyan troops and African mercenaries on a desert road leading from the eastern city of Ajdabiya.
"The planes hit us as soon as we headed out. I saw two people die in front of me. After that I don't know what happened," he said. He showed his bandaged right leg where he was wounded by shrapnel.
Their orders had been to secure the area, and to "fight mercenaries and Al-Qaeda," he said.
"I was shocked" to discover the enemy was in fact fellow Libyans, he said, explaining that all their mobile phones had been confiscated in Tripoli to prevent them having outside communications.
Mohammed said that now he had seen the rebellion, and been cared for by its doctors, "I know I want to fight against Kadhafi's forces."
Mustafa Mohammed Ali, a 40-year-old career soldier, survived being shot six times in a rebel ambush as he was driving out of Ajdabiya on March 18. He told AFP he wanted to tell his story and let his family know he was alive.
Three comrades with him, in a four-wheel-drive vehicle flying the green flag of the Kadhafi regime, were killed.
They had been told agents of Israel's Mossad intelligence service had fomented unrest by hiring Tunisian, Egyptian and Syrian fighters on hallucinogenic drugs.
"I was loyal (to Kadhafi). Now I'm not, after finding out the truth about the fighting," he said.
"In Benghazi I found young people making a revolution to escape from the darkness they were living in," he said.
Like Mohammed, Ali said the rebels had told him he would be released to return home after Kadhafi was toppled.
Ali said his loyalty, too, had switched sides. "Why not? Kadhafi is just one person. But the country is important."
Even more badly wounded was Wanis Ibrahim Hassan, a 30-year-old who had been in the crew of a tank that had made its way into the rebel stronghold of Benghazi on March 19 with orders to take the airport.
He had jumped out of the tank as rebels targeted it with a rocket-propelled grenade launcher.
The blast took out a metal railing behind him, driving smoking hot metal pieces deep into his back, breaking his right arm in several places, wounding his head and ripping into his legs.
He gave an inconsistent story, saying initially he had wanted to escape en route to Benghazi because he "did not want to fire on innocent people in front of me."
But then he said he had been convinced he was mobilised to fight terrorists.
Mohammed, the young reservist, said that Hassan "is wounded in the head -- he tells a different story every time."
Although one armed guard and another rebel were present, the atmosphere was relaxed and free of signs of coercion. The prisoners laughed and joked freely with the rebels.
Staff at the hospital were happy to bring journalists to see the men, although they were clear about their responsibilities.
"I am taking care of them because they are human beings, and because I'm a Muslim," said a doctor examining X-rays of one of the patients.
~Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.~
Waar heb je het nou over? Die banden waren zeker niet goed nee. Ze zijn verbeterd en dat gaat langzaam. Khadafi draaide, men was wantrouwend. En aan het eind ontmoette Obama hem als president van Amerika nadat Sarkozy, Merkel, Blair en de hele rit hem ook al met open armen had ontvangen.quote:
[..]
Rumsfeld kan wel praten, maar er waren helemaal geen goede banden tussen Gaddafi en de VS, nooit geweest ook.
Als je politiek snapt weet je wat dit betekent, ook voor Amerika. En ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig...... tot deze revolutie. En Khadafi heeft gelijk (hoe lijp hij ook is) dat hij zich heeel erg verraden voelt omdat zijn vrienden tot 3 maanden geleden hem nu aanvallen (Sarkozy, Obama etc)
Oorlog is de verderzetting van de politiek maar met andere middelen - Clausewitz
Vind jij dat het vermoorden van vreedzame demostranten (dat waren ze in het begin) een moment van zwaktequote:
[..]
Ja, het is een goede boodschap naar de rest van de wereld: doe geen zaken met het Westen, want in een moment van zwakte zullen ze als aasgieren op je afvliegen. Noord-Korea zal die kernwapens wel houden nu, zoals ze al hebben gezegd, Iran is misschien wat minder bereid een deal te maken.
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Je hoort mij niet als persoonlijke mening Rumsfeld beleid verdedigen.quote:
[..]
Ja, het is een goede boodschap naar de rest van de wereld: doe geen zaken met het Westen, want in een moment van zwakte zullen ze als aasgieren op je afvliegen. Noord-Korea zal die kernwapens wel houden nu, zoals ze al hebben gezegd, Iran is misschien wat minder bereid een deal te maken.
Maar wat Noord-Korea betreft kan iemand weer tegenwerpen dat die mongol daar sowieso niet zijn wapens op zou geven en totaal niet betrouwbaar is (en is gebleken) om erover te onderhandelen.
En dan zal een Rumsfeld ook nog aangeven als neo-con dat dus een harde hand altijd helpt als stok achter de deur om vervolgens een klein deurtje open te houden voor onderhandelingen als zo'n leider bereid is echt het nucleaire programma stop te zetten. Dit gebeurde met Khadafi en dan zal hij zeggen dat het daar ook lukte, bewezen dus!
Zelfde met Iran nu die ze allerlei duim schroeven verder aandraaien zodat het straks niet meer kan ademen. Enige wat ontbreekt is nog een bombardementje of ermee dreigen maar wat dat betreft hebben de Amerikanen wel geleerd (van Afghanistan en Irak). Misschien toch niet een positieve kant zoals ze ook nu totaal geen zin hadden om in Libie in te grijpen en niet snel genoeg weten hoe ze die vlag aan de VN door moeten geven.
Oorlog is de verderzetting van de politiek maar met andere middelen - Clausewitz
Nou nee hij is een ongeleide projectiel, dat vind de EU, de VS en de Arabische Liga.quote:
Ik denk dat Khaddafi een uiterst rationeel persoon is, anders blijf je niet 42 jaar aan de macht.
Ik denk wel dat hij uiterst slim is, anders overleefd hij geen 42 jaar in een stammen cultuur.
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http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-1_Lancerquote:
@FMCNL:
B-1B bombers airborne BONE 34/35/37 Ellsworth AFB [KRCA] overhead Atlantic 45N 30W next contact Shanwick on 5598.0 or 8906.0 #OOD
Dat zijn ook wel stoere vliegtuigjes, maar kunnen ze precisie bombardementen uitvoeren? Dacht dat het een soort moderne B-52 was.
quote:Met zijn swing wing ontwerp en turbofan motoren heeft de Lancer niet alleen een groot bereik maar kan hij zeer hoge snelheden op boomtophoogte bereiken. Ook heeft het toestel door een lage radar cross section en een groot aantal elektronische tegenmaatregelen, geïntegreerd in het AN/ALQ 161A ECM pakket een zeer grote overlevingskans.
Daar kunnen vast slimme bommen in.quote:Bommen 6 x extern 27000 kg, 3 x intern 34000 kg
Raketten 24x JASSM, 12 x JSOW
Free Assange! Hack the Planet
[b]Op dinsdag 6 januari 2009 19:59 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:[/b]
De gevolgen van de argumenten van de anti-rook maffia
[b]Op dinsdag 6 januari 2009 19:59 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:[/b]
De gevolgen van de argumenten van de anti-rook maffia
Vrede sluiten is onzin, als je 20 jaar nodig hebt voor de eerste ontmoeting. Dat vertrouwen langzaam gaat snap ik. Amerika is nooit in oorlog geweest met Libië maar de banden zijn ook nooit goed geweest. Als deze revolutie niet er was geweest, dan was het zeker geen koek en ei tussen Libië en de VS. Met name Italië, Frankrijk en de UK waren dikke vriendjes met Libiëquote:
[..]
Waar heb je het nou over? Die banden waren zeker niet goed nee. Ze zijn verbeterd en dat gaat langzaam. Khadafi draaide, men was wantrouwend. En aan het eind ontmoette Obama hem als president van Amerika nadat Sarkozy, Merkel, Blair en de hele rit hem ook al met open armen had ontvangen.
Als je politiek snapt weet je wat dit betekent, ook voor Amerika. En ze leefden nog lang en gelukkig...... tot deze revolutie. En Khadafi heeft gelijk (hoe lijp hij ook is) dat hij zich heeel erg verraden voelt omdat zijn vrienden tot 3 maanden geleden hem nu aanvallen (Sarkozy, Obama etc)
Caller from Tripoli on Alj Arabic!!! Gaddafi forces will open fire on anyone in the streets of #tripoli
NicRobertsonCNN:
EmanAlObeidi: CNN's Reza Sayah spoke w her cousin who says she is 30 yrs old, engaged, works at travel agency in Tripoli. She is frm Tobruk
Reza Sayah says #EmanAlObeidi's cousin called on UN & international human rights groups to investigate.
Cousin of #EmanAlObeidi told Reza Sayah that Eman's sister has been detained in Tripoli, but not sure when
Live presser underway on CNN with Libyan officials. Speaking now about
EmanAlObeidi: CNN's Reza Sayah spoke w her cousin who says she is 30 yrs old, engaged, works at travel agency in Tripoli. She is frm Tobruk
Reza Sayah says #EmanAlObeidi's cousin called on UN & international human rights groups to investigate.
Cousin of #EmanAlObeidi told Reza Sayah that Eman's sister has been detained in Tripoli, but not sure when
Live presser underway on CNN with Libyan officials. Speaking now about
~Cheer up, the worst is yet to come.~
