ARGENTINO DENUNCIA EL TERRORISMO IMPERIAL:
HIGH-CLASS TERRORISTS RUNNING US, UK, AND FRANCE
TERRORISTAS de ALTA CLASE GOBIERNAN EU, UK y FRANCIA
ADRIAN SALBUCHI Entrevistado por RT
ESCUCHE ESTE VIDEO . ENTREVISTA AL ARGENTINO SALBUCHI
SATURDAY, 22 OCTOBER 2011
http://www.futurefastforward.com/feature-articles/6198-rt
========================
COMENTARIO DE MATHIAS CHANG SOBRE EL TEMA:
----------------------------
THE BRUTAL MURDER OF GADDAFI AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR ALL WHO STAND IN THE WAY OF THE WAR CRIMINALS
Toe the line or be the next victim of the colonial plunder and rape!
By Matthias Chang. Economista de Malasia y Editor de Future Fastforward
22 de October. 2011.
http://futurefastforward.com/images/stories/featurearticles/The_Murder_of_Gaddafi_And_The_Implications.pdf
Gaddafi died as martyr, murdered by the war criminals of US, France, Britain and NATO lead by President Obama, President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Cameron. Although NATO spearheaded the military campaign against Libya, the strategic planning was prepared by US Africa Command (AFRICOM).
AFRICOM was set up to further the US interest in Africa, more precisely the Global Military-Industrial-Financial Complex’s interests in securing and plundering the resources of Africa. Behind AFRICOM’s curtain are the hidden hands of Zionist Israel.
THE FIRST VICTIM OF THIS AGENDA IS LIBYA.
When the UN Security Council sanctioned the attack on Libya under the guise of imposing a No-Fly zone to protect the alleged killing of civilians by Gaddafi who was fighting an armed rebellion supported and financed by the abovementioned war criminals, Russia and China could have vetoed the resolution and thwart the destruction and plunder of Libya.
But these two permanent members of the Security Council caved in and abstained. China has a major presence in Libya and her intelligence services would have known whether Gaddafi enjoyed wide popular support from his people. The Libyan government was stable and successful in implementing development projects for the benefit of the people. It was the most developed country in the entire African continent and Gaddafi’s efforts were duly recognised by the UN weeks before the barbaric aerial bombardment of Libya.
CHINA INVESTED US$ BILLIONS IN LIBYA.
Yet, without a whimper of resistance at the highest diplomatic level, she evacuated 30,000 Chinese workers from Libya and left in a hurry. China and Russia knew in advance that there would be an undeclared war against Libya. Everything was up for grabs!
Even after the full invasion and wanton destruction of Libya, China and Russia made perfunctory and lame criticisms of NATO’s criminal actions.
Surely, it cannot be said that Russia and China were misled by the war criminals that they had no intentions to destroy Libya and oust Gaddafi and to seize the oil resources. They must have known that war preparations were in place long before the matter came before the UN Security Council. That was their excuse in not vetoing the UN Security Council resolution authorizing NATO’s military action. A load of rubbish.
So why did China and Russia cave in? This is the US$ trillion question. It reminds me of the story of a man who owed a debt of gratitude to two rival gangs. The man was asked by the more notorious gang to assassinate the leader of the other gang but the attempt failed. When confronted by the victim as to the reasons to be the hired killer, the man replied that he owed a greater debt of gratitude to the other gang leader. Libya under Gaddafi welcomed China with open arms, but China turned a blind eye to the destruction of Libya because she owed a greater debt of gratitude to Zionist Israel and the global financial elites for past favours, as well as narrow self-interests. China had too much toilet paper money (US Federal Reserve notes) and the sale of Libyan oil in the intended gold dinar by Gaddafi would literally destroy the US dollar. This cannot be allowed! Period!
The same can be said of Sarkozy and Tony Blair and his copycat Cameron. They all turned their backs on Gaddafi for the same reasons.
It must be said that the leading members of the African Union were courageous enough to make a stand against the invasion and wanton destruction and did not extend “recognition” to NATO’s quisling regime until forced by circumstances to do so. Members of the Arab League and the OIC were cowards and opportunists and they pride themselves as righteous Muslims. But Qatar must be singled out for special condemnation. Can anyone still believe that Al-Jazeera is the voice of the Arab / Muslim communities? Until exposed as the barking dog of NATO, Al-
Jazeera was the major “Arab” propaganda tool to demonize Gaddafi and to misrepresent the actual situation in Libya – an armed rebellion financed by war criminals. Al-Qaeda played a leading role in the armed rebellion.
Iran, Syria and Lebanon should learn from this experience and the mistakes of Gaddafi. They are the next targets of the Zionists / Neo-Conservatives global agenda. If they entertain any thoughts of making compromises with these war criminals, by abandoning their right of self-defence and to be armed with every conceivable weapon, including nuclear weapons, they will end up like Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi. In defending their country, all options should be on the table in like manner as the war criminals have declared in their war agenda against them. They will collapse one by one like dominoes if they strategise otherwise!
To the leaders of countries under immediate threat as well as those on the fringes, your previous strategy of inviting China and Russia to invest on preferential basis and to purchase massive amount of arms to counter-balance the threat of the Zionist Anglo-American Axis will no longer be effective because US$ billions worth of investments and military purchase count for nothing when US$ trillions worth of foreign reserves are at stake. The investing countries will run for cover for short-term preservation and will not be willing to commit their resources for a military conflict unless and until they themselves are under a direct threat. This is a given.
To the leaders of China and Russia – this is your wake up call. Stop strutting like a peacock just because you have abundant dollar reserves. The Federal Reserve Notes are all toilet papers and will not be bargaining chips when the deal placed on the table is - surrender or war.
There is still time yet to mount a Global Counter-Alliance against this fascist triad of Israel / US / UK war criminals.
As for Iran and Turkey, stop aspiring to be regional powers, as you cannot hope to achieve this grand vision so long as Zionist Israel continues to wag the US dog. Be realistic. Without nuclear weapons as a deterrent, and revolutionary social forces on your side, global public opinion cannot be mobilised to first isolate and then annihilate your enemies. Turkey cannot take comfort that as a member of NATO it will be immune to the machinations of the war criminals.
THE COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED.
The new normal and preferred mode of regime change is to use the pretext of Humanitarian Intervention as a cover for outright military intervention.
In the African continent, it will be U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) as the Planner and NATO as the military Bully.
In the next escalation in the Middle East and South Asia wars (i.e. the overspill from Afghanistan to Pakistan), U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) will be the Planner and the combined might of NATO, Israel and Arab Lackeys will provide the military manpower.
In South-East Asia and the Pacific, U.S Pacific Command (USPACOM) will lead and coordinate all military campaigns.
In South America, the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) will plan and lead, with narco states providing the ground troops.
In all of the above war scenarios, mercenaries and special forces will be in the forefront in fomenting sectarian wars and religious armed conflicts.
2012 will usher in The World War of the 21st Century – the perverse solution of the war criminals in their futile attempt to overcome the final phase of the GlobalFinancial Tsunami!
sábado, 22 de octubre de 2011
viernes, 21 de octubre de 2011
US REVOLT IN FULL SWING. HERE WE ARE TO DEFEND OUR PEOPLE! IT WAS THE MESSAGE FROM A MARINE SOLDIER
LA REBELION CRECE. PUEBLO AMERICANO RETIRA SU DINERO DE LA BANCA MAFIOSA
US REVOLT IN FULL SWING!! AMERICANS ARE DIVESTING THEIR MONEY
THE COLD TRUTH: HERE AMERICANS WE DO NOT CELEBRATE IMPERIAL VICTORY ON LIBYA
LA VERDAD ES QUE AQUÍ EN AMERICA NO SE CELEBRA EL TRIUNFO DE OBAMA CONTRA LIBYA.
THE NAKED TRUTH IS THAT WE DO CELEBRATE PEOPLE'S VICTORY AGAINST WALL STREET & CROOK BANKERS
LA VERDAD DESNUDA: AQUÍ CELEBRAMOS EL TRIUNFO DEL PUEBLO CONTRA WALL STREET y SUS BANQUEROS MAFIOSOS.
DIVEST!! IS OUR MORAL IMPERATIVE
SACA TU DINERO DE LA BANCA MAFIOSA!! ES NUESTRO DEBER MORAL.
OBAMA CAN CONTINUE GIVEN THEM PEOPLES' MONEY. WE WILL CONTINUE DIVESTING
OBAMA PUEDE SEGUIR DANDOLES DINERO DEL PUEBLO, NOSOTROS LO SACAREMOS.
HE IS CONDEMNED TO FAIL. OURS WILL BE THE VICTORY!! IT WILL BE AAA+ VICTORY
ESTA CONDENADO AL FRACASO. NUESTRA SERA LA VICTORIA!!. COMO QUE 2 y 2 SON 4
http://nd-hugoadan.blogspot.com/
WATCH & LISTEN THESE VIDEOS in:
MIRA y ESCUCHA ESTOS VIDEOS en:
http://futurefastforward.com/feature-articles/6183
Title titulo:
BIG BANK REVOLT IN FULL SWING, MILLION$ WITHDRAWN
(21/10/11)
LA GRAN REBELION CONTRA LOS BANCOS CRECE. MILLONES SON RETIRADOS http://futurefastforward.com/feature-articles/6183
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Lista de videos:
No more BofA! ( Bank of America= BofA) CHURCH DIVESTS $3M
No mas estafadores como el Banco de America. La iglesia retira sus 3M
We are moving our money!, Closing our accounts
Estamos sacando nuestro dinero. Cerrando nuestras cuentas.
$135 M lost in property tax from foreclosures
Ya van 135 Millones perdidos en impuestos a la renta debido a desalojo de viviendas
City Bank arrest people who is taking his money
City Bank esta arrestando a la gente que esta sacando su dinero
I stand with my community. No more stolen homes!
Lideres comunitarios estan contra los desalojos de vivienda. Es un robo.
Divest! Not more foreclosures Wells Fargo! Not with our Money
Saquemos nuestros ahorros. Frenemos los desalojos del Banco Wells Fargo. No lo haran con nuestro dinero!
One Marine confront 30 police who are arresting people divesting their savings
Un soldado de la Marina defiende al pueblo que hace linea para sacar sus ahorros. Se enfrenta a 30 policias. Esto no es Irak, les grita.
"HERE WE ARE TO DEFEND OUR PEOPLE", was his message.
"AQUI ESTAMOS PARA DEFENDER NUESTRO PUEBLO", fue su mensaje.
---------------------------
US REVOLT IN FULL SWING!! AMERICANS ARE DIVESTING THEIR MONEY
THE COLD TRUTH: HERE AMERICANS WE DO NOT CELEBRATE IMPERIAL VICTORY ON LIBYA
LA VERDAD ES QUE AQUÍ EN AMERICA NO SE CELEBRA EL TRIUNFO DE OBAMA CONTRA LIBYA.
THE NAKED TRUTH IS THAT WE DO CELEBRATE PEOPLE'S VICTORY AGAINST WALL STREET & CROOK BANKERS
LA VERDAD DESNUDA: AQUÍ CELEBRAMOS EL TRIUNFO DEL PUEBLO CONTRA WALL STREET y SUS BANQUEROS MAFIOSOS.
DIVEST!! IS OUR MORAL IMPERATIVE
SACA TU DINERO DE LA BANCA MAFIOSA!! ES NUESTRO DEBER MORAL.
OBAMA CAN CONTINUE GIVEN THEM PEOPLES' MONEY. WE WILL CONTINUE DIVESTING
OBAMA PUEDE SEGUIR DANDOLES DINERO DEL PUEBLO, NOSOTROS LO SACAREMOS.
HE IS CONDEMNED TO FAIL. OURS WILL BE THE VICTORY!! IT WILL BE AAA+ VICTORY
ESTA CONDENADO AL FRACASO. NUESTRA SERA LA VICTORIA!!. COMO QUE 2 y 2 SON 4
http://nd-hugoadan.blogspot.com/
WATCH & LISTEN THESE VIDEOS in:
MIRA y ESCUCHA ESTOS VIDEOS en:
http://futurefastforward.com/feature-articles/6183
Title titulo:
BIG BANK REVOLT IN FULL SWING, MILLION$ WITHDRAWN
(21/10/11)
LA GRAN REBELION CONTRA LOS BANCOS CRECE. MILLONES SON RETIRADOS http://futurefastforward.com/feature-articles/6183
Thursday, 20 October 2011
Lista de videos:
No more BofA! ( Bank of America= BofA) CHURCH DIVESTS $3M
No mas estafadores como el Banco de America. La iglesia retira sus 3M
We are moving our money!, Closing our accounts
Estamos sacando nuestro dinero. Cerrando nuestras cuentas.
$135 M lost in property tax from foreclosures
Ya van 135 Millones perdidos en impuestos a la renta debido a desalojo de viviendas
City Bank arrest people who is taking his money
City Bank esta arrestando a la gente que esta sacando su dinero
I stand with my community. No more stolen homes!
Lideres comunitarios estan contra los desalojos de vivienda. Es un robo.
Divest! Not more foreclosures Wells Fargo! Not with our Money
Saquemos nuestros ahorros. Frenemos los desalojos del Banco Wells Fargo. No lo haran con nuestro dinero!
One Marine confront 30 police who are arresting people divesting their savings
Un soldado de la Marina defiende al pueblo que hace linea para sacar sus ahorros. Se enfrenta a 30 policias. Esto no es Irak, les grita.
"HERE WE ARE TO DEFEND OUR PEOPLE", was his message.
"AQUI ESTAMOS PARA DEFENDER NUESTRO PUEBLO", fue su mensaje.
---------------------------
GADDAFI ASESINADO? NADA QUE CELEBRAR, MUCHO QUE LAMENTAR
GADDAFI ASESINADO? NADA QUE CELEBRAR, MUCHO QUE LAMENTAR
Hugo Adan. Octubre 21, 2011
http://nd-hugoadan.blogspot.com/
De ser cierto, NO tuvieron el coraje de llevarlo a una Corte. La voz de Gaddafi los habría avergonzado. De los protegidos del imperio en la región, Gaddafi fue quien mas hizo por su propio pueblo . Esa verdad jamás podrían negarla. Por eso prrefirieron el terrorismo anónimo de sus mercenarios.
El terrorismo internacional de NATO tendria otra cuenta pendiente con la comunidad internacional, una cuenta que vale más que las pérdidas del colapso económico del modelo neoliberal basado en el pillaje y el genocidio en los países que alimentan NATO. Me refiero a las 30,000 víctimas que causo la cacería y eliminación de la resistencia en Libya, luego de la invasión extranjera. Y son mas de 50,000 los heridos que ha dejado el terrorismo imperial. Hoy no hay corte internacional que los juzgue pues controlan las Naciones Unidas . No habrá en lo inmediato un juicio tipo Nurenberg contra estos crímenes neo-nazis. Pero los tiempos están cambiando rápidamente y pronto se dará vuelta a la tortilla, entonces habría juicio contra esta barbarie imperial.
La prensa corporativa que el imperio controla dirá que cayó un dictador odiado por su pueblo, si fuese cierto no habría habido necesidad de matar tanto gente ni dejar en la muerte lenta a tantos heridos. La verdad es contundente al respecto. Hay reales dictaduras empezando por los Saudis y los sionistas de Israel que vienen aterrorizando sus espacios regionales. Hay muchos dictadores protegidos, sirvientes del imperio como los ex Presidentes de Peru y Colombia y muchos otros países del mundo. Ellos usan el anti-terrorismo imperial para aterrorizar a sus pueblos. Sus métodos criminales los avalo una vez un Presidente americano con la mayor desvergüenza. Son nuestros dictadores se dijo, “nuestros hijos de Puta”. Gaddafi no perteneció a este tipo de dictadores. No fue el tipo de hijos de Puta que ellos protegen. Por eso lo asesinaron.
Pero hay razones mayores por las que habrian asesinado a Gaddafi y a su pueblo. Su régimen fue un mal ejemplo para toda Africa, de cuyos recursos el imperio se esta apropiando de forma ilícita. No podían tolerar que un país en desarrollo haya distribuido a su nación las ganancias dedrivadas de la explotacion de recursos nacionales de Libya (petróleo). No podían tolerar que un país africano negocie de igual a igual con los europeos la venta de ese petroleo (como si lo pueden hacer hoy los del BRIC que si tienen como defenderse al nivel militar). Dio un “mal ejemplo”.
Prefirieron invadir ese país, bombardear a su población civil con Drones y la mas sofisticada tecnología de guerra, y asi poder saquear sus recursos. El mal ejemplo de Gaddafi fue dar la mejor educación, salud, techo y trabajo a su población, lo que no hacen los saudis ni los reyezuelos feudales de la región, fue un mal ejemplo que NO podían tolerar en Africa. Sobre todo si se considera los inmensos recursos que este continente dispone y el avance antimperialista de sus poblaciones. Habia que intimidar a Africa y destruir la energía popular en desarrollo. Decirles que el genocidio imperial si está permitido y que no toleraran mas Gaddafis.
Por ahora el imperio habria triunfado, y es lo que hay que lamentar.
=======================
Hugo Adan. Octubre 21, 2011
http://nd-hugoadan.blogspot.com/
De ser cierto, NO tuvieron el coraje de llevarlo a una Corte. La voz de Gaddafi los habría avergonzado. De los protegidos del imperio en la región, Gaddafi fue quien mas hizo por su propio pueblo . Esa verdad jamás podrían negarla. Por eso prrefirieron el terrorismo anónimo de sus mercenarios.
El terrorismo internacional de NATO tendria otra cuenta pendiente con la comunidad internacional, una cuenta que vale más que las pérdidas del colapso económico del modelo neoliberal basado en el pillaje y el genocidio en los países que alimentan NATO. Me refiero a las 30,000 víctimas que causo la cacería y eliminación de la resistencia en Libya, luego de la invasión extranjera. Y son mas de 50,000 los heridos que ha dejado el terrorismo imperial. Hoy no hay corte internacional que los juzgue pues controlan las Naciones Unidas . No habrá en lo inmediato un juicio tipo Nurenberg contra estos crímenes neo-nazis. Pero los tiempos están cambiando rápidamente y pronto se dará vuelta a la tortilla, entonces habría juicio contra esta barbarie imperial.
La prensa corporativa que el imperio controla dirá que cayó un dictador odiado por su pueblo, si fuese cierto no habría habido necesidad de matar tanto gente ni dejar en la muerte lenta a tantos heridos. La verdad es contundente al respecto. Hay reales dictaduras empezando por los Saudis y los sionistas de Israel que vienen aterrorizando sus espacios regionales. Hay muchos dictadores protegidos, sirvientes del imperio como los ex Presidentes de Peru y Colombia y muchos otros países del mundo. Ellos usan el anti-terrorismo imperial para aterrorizar a sus pueblos. Sus métodos criminales los avalo una vez un Presidente americano con la mayor desvergüenza. Son nuestros dictadores se dijo, “nuestros hijos de Puta”. Gaddafi no perteneció a este tipo de dictadores. No fue el tipo de hijos de Puta que ellos protegen. Por eso lo asesinaron.
Pero hay razones mayores por las que habrian asesinado a Gaddafi y a su pueblo. Su régimen fue un mal ejemplo para toda Africa, de cuyos recursos el imperio se esta apropiando de forma ilícita. No podían tolerar que un país en desarrollo haya distribuido a su nación las ganancias dedrivadas de la explotacion de recursos nacionales de Libya (petróleo). No podían tolerar que un país africano negocie de igual a igual con los europeos la venta de ese petroleo (como si lo pueden hacer hoy los del BRIC que si tienen como defenderse al nivel militar). Dio un “mal ejemplo”.
Prefirieron invadir ese país, bombardear a su población civil con Drones y la mas sofisticada tecnología de guerra, y asi poder saquear sus recursos. El mal ejemplo de Gaddafi fue dar la mejor educación, salud, techo y trabajo a su población, lo que no hacen los saudis ni los reyezuelos feudales de la región, fue un mal ejemplo que NO podían tolerar en Africa. Sobre todo si se considera los inmensos recursos que este continente dispone y el avance antimperialista de sus poblaciones. Habia que intimidar a Africa y destruir la energía popular en desarrollo. Decirles que el genocidio imperial si está permitido y que no toleraran mas Gaddafis.
Por ahora el imperio habria triunfado, y es lo que hay que lamentar.
=======================
CIVILIAN COST OF NATO VICTORY IN LIBYA
CIVILIAN COST OF NATO VICTORY IN LIBYA
Published: 20 October, 2011
http://rt.com/news/libya-nato-civilian-deaths-323/
The death of Gaddafi has finally concluded his eight- month stand-off with NATO. But as the alliance and the new Libyan government celebrate the war’s end, the untold numbers killed in the intervention cast a dark shadow over their victory.
As Libyans poured out onto the streets of Tripoli and Benghazi to celebrate the death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the cost of the war will weigh heavily on their nation for some time to come.
While there are no exact figures on casualties, speaking back in September, the health minister in the new Libyan government estimated that AT LEAST 30,000 PEOPLE HAD BEEN KILLED AND 50,000 WOUNDED DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF WAR.
Apart from those deaths brought about by combat between Gaddafi loyalists and rebel forces, NATO, which had been authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to use any means necessary to protect civilians, has faced heavy criticism for its often deadly airstrikes.
One such instance occurred in Tripoli on June 19 when a NATO missile missed its target, killing at least nine civilians as a result. NATO admitted its culpability in the deaths.
By the end of the month, three separate NATO airstrikes around the country would ultimately claim another 34 civilian lives.
However, the largest single incident came on August 9, when the government reported that 85 people had been killed in a NATO airstrike on Majar, a village some 90 miles east of Tripoli.
Speaking after the attack, the alliance’s commander in Libya, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "I can assure you that there (were not) 85 civilians present, but I cannot assure you that there were none at all."
However, Bouchard’s ambiguity does not appear to be a mistake. Speaking with McClatchy news service, NATO spokesman Col. Roland Lavoie said, “NATO does not have any troops on the ground in Libya and consequently no reliable method to verify the civilian casualty allegations.”
But while NATO can claim to deny everything it can’t confirm, the inability or unwillingness to count civilian deaths cuts both ways.
In a telephone call to Reuters on September 19, Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the deposed Libyan leader, claimed that "in the last 17 days, MORE THAN 2,000 RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF SIRTE WERE KILLED IN NATO AIR STRIKES."
However true his assertion might be, with hospitals, commanders on both sides of the conflict and local officials forming the basis for most of the casualty reports, the world might never get a clear picture of what exactly happened in the eight-month civil war that ended with the killing of Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday.
Perhaps more critically, a nation which had a remarkably high standard of living prior to the conflict now faces a potentially massive humanitarian crisis. Speaking with RT earlier this week, former MI5 agent Annie Machon claimed NATO’S INTERVENTION HAS PLUNGED LIBYA BACK INTO THE STONE AGE.
“They’ve had free education, free health, they could study abroad. When they got married they got a certain amount of money. So they were rather the envy of many other citizens of African countries. Now, of course, since NATO’s humanitarian intervention the infrastructure of their country has been bombed back to the Stone Age. They will not have the same quality of life. Women probably will not have the same degree of emancipation under any new transitional government. The national wealth is probably going to be siphoned off by Western corporations. Perhaps the standard of living in Libya might have been slightly higher than it perhaps is now in America and the UK with the recession,” she said.
As the Libyan people now attempt to rebuild their country, it remains to be seen if NATO forces, which supposedly began military operations to defend civilians at all costs, will be as willing to help prevent any further loss of life now that the Gaddafi regime has finally come to an end.
Published: 20 October, 2011
http://rt.com/news/libya-nato-civilian-deaths-323/
The death of Gaddafi has finally concluded his eight- month stand-off with NATO. But as the alliance and the new Libyan government celebrate the war’s end, the untold numbers killed in the intervention cast a dark shadow over their victory.
As Libyans poured out onto the streets of Tripoli and Benghazi to celebrate the death of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, the cost of the war will weigh heavily on their nation for some time to come.
While there are no exact figures on casualties, speaking back in September, the health minister in the new Libyan government estimated that AT LEAST 30,000 PEOPLE HAD BEEN KILLED AND 50,000 WOUNDED DURING THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF WAR.
Apart from those deaths brought about by combat between Gaddafi loyalists and rebel forces, NATO, which had been authorized by UN Security Council Resolution 1973 to use any means necessary to protect civilians, has faced heavy criticism for its often deadly airstrikes.
One such instance occurred in Tripoli on June 19 when a NATO missile missed its target, killing at least nine civilians as a result. NATO admitted its culpability in the deaths.
By the end of the month, three separate NATO airstrikes around the country would ultimately claim another 34 civilian lives.
However, the largest single incident came on August 9, when the government reported that 85 people had been killed in a NATO airstrike on Majar, a village some 90 miles east of Tripoli.
Speaking after the attack, the alliance’s commander in Libya, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard, told Agence France-Presse (AFP), "I can assure you that there (were not) 85 civilians present, but I cannot assure you that there were none at all."
However, Bouchard’s ambiguity does not appear to be a mistake. Speaking with McClatchy news service, NATO spokesman Col. Roland Lavoie said, “NATO does not have any troops on the ground in Libya and consequently no reliable method to verify the civilian casualty allegations.”
But while NATO can claim to deny everything it can’t confirm, the inability or unwillingness to count civilian deaths cuts both ways.
In a telephone call to Reuters on September 19, Moussa Ibrahim, a spokesman for the deposed Libyan leader, claimed that "in the last 17 days, MORE THAN 2,000 RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF SIRTE WERE KILLED IN NATO AIR STRIKES."
However true his assertion might be, with hospitals, commanders on both sides of the conflict and local officials forming the basis for most of the casualty reports, the world might never get a clear picture of what exactly happened in the eight-month civil war that ended with the killing of Muammar Gaddafi on Thursday.
Perhaps more critically, a nation which had a remarkably high standard of living prior to the conflict now faces a potentially massive humanitarian crisis. Speaking with RT earlier this week, former MI5 agent Annie Machon claimed NATO’S INTERVENTION HAS PLUNGED LIBYA BACK INTO THE STONE AGE.
“They’ve had free education, free health, they could study abroad. When they got married they got a certain amount of money. So they were rather the envy of many other citizens of African countries. Now, of course, since NATO’s humanitarian intervention the infrastructure of their country has been bombed back to the Stone Age. They will not have the same quality of life. Women probably will not have the same degree of emancipation under any new transitional government. The national wealth is probably going to be siphoned off by Western corporations. Perhaps the standard of living in Libya might have been slightly higher than it perhaps is now in America and the UK with the recession,” she said.
As the Libyan people now attempt to rebuild their country, it remains to be seen if NATO forces, which supposedly began military operations to defend civilians at all costs, will be as willing to help prevent any further loss of life now that the Gaddafi regime has finally come to an end.
SAIF GADDAFI’ SON LEADER OF RESSISTANCE CAPTURED
SAIF GADDAFI’ SON LEADER OF RESSISTANCE CAPTURED
According to Russian report: http://rt.com/news/gaddafi-sons-update-381/
KHAMIS THE OTHER SON IS STILL ALIVE.
-----------------------------------------
SAIF AL-ISLAM IS CAPTURED IN ZLITEN - NTC
http://rt.com/news/gaddafi-sons-update-381/
Colonel Gaddafi’s highest-profile son and heir apparent, Saif al-Islam, has been captured in the western Libyan town of Zliten. Earlier, the eldest son Motassim was killed along with his father.
Saif al-Islam, who was reported either killed or captured in the capturing of Sirte, was thought to be at large in the desert, a member of the National Transitional Council earlier told Al Jazeera TV network.
Meanwhile Motassim's dead body was shown on local TV lying on a stretcher with his chest bare. The report did not specify where the picture was taken. Apparently Motassim, who used to be a security advisor for Muammar Gaddafi, was captured along with his father and summarily executed. Earlier unconfirmed reports said he had been taken alive.
Some reports say both bodies are now on display for everyone to see, and that people are free to take pictures of themselves with their slain enemies.
The only child of the late Gaddafi who may still be in Libya is Khamis. The military officer was reported killed in late August, but that was at least the third report of his death over the time of the conflict. His whereabouts are unknown.
Other members of the Gaddafi family are in Algeria and Niger. The NTC wants them to be extradited for trial in Libya, but the two neighboring countries refuse to do so.
According to Russian report: http://rt.com/news/gaddafi-sons-update-381/
KHAMIS THE OTHER SON IS STILL ALIVE.
-----------------------------------------
SAIF AL-ISLAM IS CAPTURED IN ZLITEN - NTC
http://rt.com/news/gaddafi-sons-update-381/
Colonel Gaddafi’s highest-profile son and heir apparent, Saif al-Islam, has been captured in the western Libyan town of Zliten. Earlier, the eldest son Motassim was killed along with his father.
Saif al-Islam, who was reported either killed or captured in the capturing of Sirte, was thought to be at large in the desert, a member of the National Transitional Council earlier told Al Jazeera TV network.
Meanwhile Motassim's dead body was shown on local TV lying on a stretcher with his chest bare. The report did not specify where the picture was taken. Apparently Motassim, who used to be a security advisor for Muammar Gaddafi, was captured along with his father and summarily executed. Earlier unconfirmed reports said he had been taken alive.
Some reports say both bodies are now on display for everyone to see, and that people are free to take pictures of themselves with their slain enemies.
The only child of the late Gaddafi who may still be in Libya is Khamis. The military officer was reported killed in late August, but that was at least the third report of his death over the time of the conflict. His whereabouts are unknown.
Other members of the Gaddafi family are in Algeria and Niger. The NTC wants them to be extradited for trial in Libya, but the two neighboring countries refuse to do so.
XINHUANET REPORT ON THE DEATH OF GADDAFI
XINHUANET REPORT ON THE DEATH OF GADDAFI
GADDAFI'S DEATH MARKS END OF LONG, PAINFUL CHAPTER FOR LIBYANS: OBAMA
English.news.cn 2011-10-21
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-10/21/c_131203349.htm
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the reported death of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Oct. 20, 2011. Obama said on Thursday that the reported death of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, but there's still a long road to democracy for the country. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the reported death of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, but there's still a long road to democracy for the country.
"Today, we can definitively say that the Gaddafi regime has come to end," Obama said in a statement delivered at the White House. He cited the government of Libya as the source, falling short of making independent confirmation of Gaddafi's death.
"The dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted," and the Libyan people "now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny," Obama said.
However, there will be difficult days ahead for the Libyan people, the president cautioned, adding that the North Africa country will "travel a long road to democracy."
Obama's remarks came hours after reports surfaced that Gaddafi died of wounds on Thursday after being shot in gunbattles in his hometown, Sirte.
The news was confirmed by officials of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), including head of its executive committee Mahmoud Jibril, and backed up by pictures of Gaddafi's alleged corpse with eyes half-open, shirt torn apart and a bloodied face, televised by the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV.
The anti-Gaddafi coalition that included the United States, NATO and some Arab countries prevailed in the conflict in the North Africa country, and the NATO mission there would "soon come to an end," Obama said.
NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, will convene for a special session on Friday to discuss its military operation in Libya, a NATO official told Xinhua on Thursday.
U.S. and NATO forces launched a bombing campaign against the Gaddafi regime in Libya in March. While the United States initially took the lead in that campaign, it quickly stepped back to a facilitating role to other NATO allies.
----------------------------------------------
GADDAFI KILLED IN GUN BATTLE AS LIBYA'S RULING NTC CONTROLS SIRTE
English.news.cn 2011-10-21
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-10/21/c_131203349.htm
Profile: Libya's fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi
TRIPOLI, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Libya's fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi died of wounds around Thursday noon after his capture in Sirte, after nearly two months on the run, as fighters of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) claimed control of Gaddafi's hometown.
Mahmoud Jibril, head of the NTC's executive committee, confirmed Thursday at a press conference held in Tripoli that Gaddafi, who has ruled the North African country for 42 years, was killed in his hometown Sirte, some 450 km east of Tripoli.
NTC troops had surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town of Sirte for weeks to break the last stronghold of Gaddafi. However, the NTC forces faced tough resistance of Gaddafi loyalists.
NTC field commander Momhemed Buras Ali Al-Maknee told Xinhua earlier that Gaddafi was found trying to flee by a group of NTC fighters from the western Libyan city of Misrata in Sirte, who was then severely injured.
At an evening press conference in the capital, Jibril said that Gaddafi was pulled out from a drainage hole in Sirte on Thursday morning, and that he was "completely in good health" when he was captured by NTC fighters.
Wearing his underwear and trousers and armed with a gun, Gaddafi, the former ruler of the North African country did not resist the arrest, Jibril told reporters.
Gaddafi was shot by a bullet in his right hand as he was to be sent onto a NTC pickup truck, Jibril said, stressing that he had no other injuries before the truck moved.
But when the vehicle started moving, there occurred "a cross- fire between the revolutionaries and the (Gaddafi) loyalists," when Gaddafi was shot and injured in his head, Jibril said, without confirming on whether the shot was made by the NTC fighters or Gaddafi's troops.
GADDAFI'S DEATH MARKS END OF LONG, PAINFUL CHAPTER FOR LIBYANS: OBAMA
English.news.cn 2011-10-21
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-10/21/c_131203349.htm
U.S. President Barack Obama delivers a statement on the reported death of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, Oct. 20, 2011. Obama said on Thursday that the reported death of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, but there's still a long road to democracy for the country. (Xinhua/Zhang Jun)
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday that the reported death of Libya's ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi marks the end of a long and painful chapter for the people of Libya, but there's still a long road to democracy for the country.
"Today, we can definitively say that the Gaddafi regime has come to end," Obama said in a statement delivered at the White House. He cited the government of Libya as the source, falling short of making independent confirmation of Gaddafi's death.
"The dark shadow of tyranny has been lifted," and the Libyan people "now have the opportunity to determine their own destiny," Obama said.
However, there will be difficult days ahead for the Libyan people, the president cautioned, adding that the North Africa country will "travel a long road to democracy."
Obama's remarks came hours after reports surfaced that Gaddafi died of wounds on Thursday after being shot in gunbattles in his hometown, Sirte.
The news was confirmed by officials of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), including head of its executive committee Mahmoud Jibril, and backed up by pictures of Gaddafi's alleged corpse with eyes half-open, shirt torn apart and a bloodied face, televised by the pan-Arab al-Jazeera TV.
The anti-Gaddafi coalition that included the United States, NATO and some Arab countries prevailed in the conflict in the North Africa country, and the NATO mission there would "soon come to an end," Obama said.
NATO's decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, will convene for a special session on Friday to discuss its military operation in Libya, a NATO official told Xinhua on Thursday.
U.S. and NATO forces launched a bombing campaign against the Gaddafi regime in Libya in March. While the United States initially took the lead in that campaign, it quickly stepped back to a facilitating role to other NATO allies.
----------------------------------------------
GADDAFI KILLED IN GUN BATTLE AS LIBYA'S RULING NTC CONTROLS SIRTE
English.news.cn 2011-10-21
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-10/21/c_131203349.htm
Profile: Libya's fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi
TRIPOLI, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- Libya's fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi died of wounds around Thursday noon after his capture in Sirte, after nearly two months on the run, as fighters of the ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) claimed control of Gaddafi's hometown.
Mahmoud Jibril, head of the NTC's executive committee, confirmed Thursday at a press conference held in Tripoli that Gaddafi, who has ruled the North African country for 42 years, was killed in his hometown Sirte, some 450 km east of Tripoli.
NTC troops had surrounded the Mediterranean coastal town of Sirte for weeks to break the last stronghold of Gaddafi. However, the NTC forces faced tough resistance of Gaddafi loyalists.
NTC field commander Momhemed Buras Ali Al-Maknee told Xinhua earlier that Gaddafi was found trying to flee by a group of NTC fighters from the western Libyan city of Misrata in Sirte, who was then severely injured.
At an evening press conference in the capital, Jibril said that Gaddafi was pulled out from a drainage hole in Sirte on Thursday morning, and that he was "completely in good health" when he was captured by NTC fighters.
Wearing his underwear and trousers and armed with a gun, Gaddafi, the former ruler of the North African country did not resist the arrest, Jibril told reporters.
Gaddafi was shot by a bullet in his right hand as he was to be sent onto a NTC pickup truck, Jibril said, stressing that he had no other injuries before the truck moved.
But when the vehicle started moving, there occurred "a cross- fire between the revolutionaries and the (Gaddafi) loyalists," when Gaddafi was shot and injured in his head, Jibril said, without confirming on whether the shot was made by the NTC fighters or Gaddafi's troops.
GADAFFI IS DEAD. NATO TERRORISTS CAPTURE & EXECUTE HIS VICTIM
GADAFFI IS DEAD. NATO TERRORISTS CAPTURE & EXECUTE HIS VICTIM
INITIAL REPORTS SAID THAT GADAFFI AFTER CAPTURED WAS EXECUTED
http://nd-hugoadan.blogspot.com/
Preliminary reports from Democracy Now & international media said that Gaddafi and 95 apx were executed after the French bombardment of the compound where he was hiding. The resistance is still on and led by one of Gadhafi son. Let’s see 1st the report of Democracy now:
MUAMMAR GADDAFI KILLED IN LIBYA AS INTERIM GOVERNMENT SEIZES LAST REGIME STRONGHOLD
DEMOCRACY NOW Friday 21, 2011
The ousted Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi was reported dead outside his hometown of Sirte, eight months after the first protests erupted against his longtime rule. Gaddafi was reportedly shot dead after his convoy was bombed in a NATO air strike. The news came as the interim Libyan government said it had captured Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown and the last major pocket of resistance held by fighters loyal to his rule. We speak to Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat, who has been following the developments in Libya closely.
JUAN GONZALEZ: As we went to broadcast, the ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly been captured, possibly killed, in his hometown of Sirte, eight months after the first protests erupted against his longtime rule. According to Reuters, forces with Libya’s transitional government seized Gaddafi, who suffered injuries in both legs. Al Jazeera is reporting Gaddafi is dead. Neither of the claims have been independently verified.
AMY GOODMAN: The announcements came shortly after the interim government said it had captured Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown and the last major pocket of resistance held by fighters loyal to his rule. The fall of Sirte follows weeks of fighting that has left much of Sirte in ruins, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
For more, we go to Cairo, where we’re joined by Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat. She has been in Libya several times, is doing a series of reports for us there.
Anjali, what is the latest you’ve heard, and the significance of these reports?
ANJALI KAMAT: Hi, Amy and Juan.
If it is indeed true that Gaddafi has been captured or killed, it’s obviously a huge development in the Libyan struggle against their dictator. But, you know, we have to trust that none of these reports have been independently confirmed. There’s conflicting reports about the source of these reports. It was first reported on Libyan television, which is run by the NTC, quoting someone from the military council in Misurata. Some sources have this quote from NTC official [inaudible]. So I think it’s important to just be [inaudible] what we actually know. In the coming hours, I’m sure we’ll have a better sense of whether Muammar Gaddafi is indeed captured and dead or alive.
But in some ways—and, you know, building off of what I heard from people from my visit last month even to Tripoli—Gaddafi is, in some ways, irrelevant. And in the larger sense, the bigger development of today might be the capture of his birthplace, the town of Sirte, that you just mentioned in the lede. This is important because the capture of Sirte marks the end of the war in Libya and brings up a major transition to the official transitional period. The interim prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, who’s the head of the NTC, he announced earlier this month that he would resign once Sirte was captured. So I think a lot of people on the ground are curious to see if these changes are actually going to be put into effect. It also brings into question what is the role of NATO going to be in the coming period. If the war is officially over, what kind of role will NATO have in the future? There’s splits within the ruling National Transitional Council. I think a lot of these will also come to the forefront, splits between groups of people who don’t want to see former Gaddafi-era officials still in power. Mahmoud Jibril was one of those figures. I think a lot of people are going to be looking to the Transitional Council to see if they are going to actually begin the transitional period that they promised would start once Sirte fell.
AMY GOODMAN: And we are getting reports now from CNN saying that Muammar Gaddafi is dead. But, of course, we’ll continue to monitor this. Juan?
JUAN GONZALEZ: Yes, well, Anjali, the battle for Sirte took a lot longer than anyone had expected, indicating at least that the fighters around Gaddafi were determined to fight to the end. Your sense of how that fight developed? And also, how this Transitional Council, which obviously has all kinds of ideological differences among themselves, how that—what the governance structure will look like in Libya in future months, as the different groups within Libya battle to have influence over the new government?
ANJALI KAMAT: Yes, it did take much longer than people expected. Tripoli fell almost two months ago now, late August, and I think everyone thought that Sirte and Bani Walid would follow in a matter of weeks, if not days. And then it’s been almost two months. I think a small group of soldiers loyal to Gaddafi put up a very strong fight.
The humanitarian situation in Sirte is also a cause for alarm. Many—Sirte was a town of 100,000 people, and in the intervening two months, you know, thousands of people fled the city, civilians fled. But some of them were stuck inside. And there were reports of, you know, no water, no electricity, no communication—a very difficult situation. Images that are coming out of Sirte today are demonstrating the fighting was very—I think one of the fiercest battles of this eight-month uprising took place in Sirte. So there’s certainly, you know, a lot of questions about who was fighting all this time, and why did the NTC think it would be over in a matter of days, what was the miscalculation there, and what happened in these past two months. So it remains to come out.
In terms of the divisions and splits within the NTC, certainly there is—it’s a very diverse body. I think one of the interesting things about the NTC is that it involves a range of different people. There’s some figures who were formerly associated with the reform wing of Gaddafi’s regime, people associated with Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam. Mahmoud Jibril, the interim prime minister, was a close associate of Seif al-Islam. It also involves a lot of former diplomats with the regime, who defected in the early days of the uprising. Many of them were also seen to be reformists, neoliberal, very many of them.
But there’s also sort of an increasingly influential group of figures who are heavily backed by Qatar. Let’s not forget that this is not just a NATO-backed military operation that’s been taking place. Qatar also played a very important role. So figures like Abdelhakim Belhadj, who’s one of the military leaders, is a rising star in the new Libya, and he’s someone who was actually a victim of extraordinary rendition by the Bush administration. He was rendered to Libya in 2004 and kept, detained, in the notorious Abu Salim prison for six years, where he says he was tortured. He’s now demanding an apology from the CIA and the British intelligence, MI6, for the torture he went through. And now he’s one of the leading figures in the new Libya. And him and other figures associated with him, who are Islamists, have come out very strongly calling for former Gaddafi officials within the interim government to step down, figures like Mahmoud Jibril.
So it remains to be seen how this is going to pan out. There’s also secular activist figures who are also involved. So, it’s a mixed bag. And I think, on the ground, there’s certainly a lot of apprehension about how this is going to pan out.
And I think, most importantly, what’s going to happen to all the weapons? The society is incredibly militarized after eight months of fighting. When Gaddafi’s apparatus crumbled in different parts of the country, the first thing to be left abandoned were the warehouses of weapons. Lots of heavy weapons have gone missing. This is something Human Rights Watch has documented. And just last week, the State Department announced that they’re sending several dozen former soldiers to Libya to help the Libyan teams that are trying to control the spread of weapons. So, you know, I think, the coming period, there’s going to be a lot of questions about how this is all going to be brought under control.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Anjali Kamat. She’s in Cairo, has visited Libya a number of times, doing a series of pieces there. All major news agencies are reporting Gaddafi dead or captured. But NTC officials will not confirm this. Just looking at a summary of the latest developments from Reuters, Muammar Gaddafi captured fleeing Sirte, according to unconfirmed reports. The NTC’s information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, refused to confirm the reports, but said "big fish" are on their way to Misurata. Gaddafi is reported to have been critically injured in both legs while being detained. "Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!" he’s reported to have said. Again, Reuters saying they cannot confirm he’s been captured, but all the major news agencies are saying he’s been killed.
A number of high-ranking Gaddafi officials are also reported to have been caught, including his spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, and his cousin, Ahmed Ibrahim. Shammam said, "We hope that we are catching some big names so we can put them in the court and let the people have the last word on their fate."
Mahmoud Jibril, Libya’s interim leader, has hinted he may step down today. In an interview with Time magazine, he also complained about political infighting in the new Libya.
And again, from Reuters, from The Guardian, reports that Muammar Gaddafi is dead. Looking at the Times of India, Abdel Majid Mlegta, a National Transition Council official, told Reuters that Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy, which NATO warplanes attacked. The official said he was also hit in his head. "There was a lot of firing against his group, and he died." That’s the latest we have.
Anjali Kamat, if you could summarize where you think this is all headed now.
ANJALI KAMAT: Well, I think, hopefully, we’ll get some confirmation in the coming hours or days about Gaddafi, what exactly has happened to Gaddafi. He is indeed captured or dead. Let’s not forget that, until recently, all reports indicated that he was potentially in the south of the country near the border with Algeria. So it’s a bit surprising to see that he suddenly popped up in Sirte again. But it’s just a huge development. This is a man who ruled Libya for 42 years, increasingly with a greater amount of terror. People now remember Gaddafi, largely across the country, as a man who ruled them with an iron hand. One of the symbols of his regime is the prison at Abu Salim, where in 1996 over 1,200 people were executed.
A lot of people in Libya that I spoke to actually said they didn’t want him dead. They wanted to—wanted him to be captured alive, and they wanted to see him go on trial inside Libya. The International Criminal Court has a warrant out for Gaddafi, but very few people in Libya were excited about sending him to the ICC. They wanted him to have a public trial in Libya and have a public reckoning with all the crimes that he and his regime had committed over several decades.
At this point, moving on forward, I think the biggest question is what is going to happen to the new Libya. How is this going to change the governing structure of the interim authorities? Who is going to come up? Who’s going to be in charge? What’s going to happen to the former Gaddafi-era officials who had been leading the NTC? And does this mean the rise of new figures within the interim authorities? And what does this mean for a country that’s been brutalized by eight months of war and severe weaponization and militarization?
AMY GOODMAN: And his sons, Anjali?
ANJALI KAMAT: Well, the sons—there’s also conflicting reports about—there’s no reports right now about what’s happened to arguably his most famous son, Saif al-Islam. But Mo’tassim Gaddafi, there have been reports that he was captured a few days ago. And there’s reports of a high-value prisoner who’s in Misurata, which may [inaudible] —
AMY GOODMAN: We’re having a little trouble understanding you.
ANJALI KAMAT: [inaudible]
AMY GOODMAN: Anjali, we’re going to have to leave it there, because you’re breaking up, but thank you very much for your reports. And I highly encourage people to go to our website at democracynow.org to see Anjali Kamat’s last report from Libya. Her next one, we will be broadcasting this next week. Anjali Kamat, Democracy Now! correspondent, speaking to us now from Cairo, Egypt.
Again, the latest news, all major networks are saying that Muammar Gaddafi is dead. Again, this is, though, unconfirmed. NTC officials have yet to finally confirm this. The word is he was fleeing from Sirte, was first shot, and then killed. But again, this is unconfirmed, and we’ll bring you the latest through this broadcast.
This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. President Bush is headed to Canada, and some people want him arrested. We’ll find out why. Stay with us.
INITIAL REPORTS SAID THAT GADAFFI AFTER CAPTURED WAS EXECUTED
http://nd-hugoadan.blogspot.com/
Preliminary reports from Democracy Now & international media said that Gaddafi and 95 apx were executed after the French bombardment of the compound where he was hiding. The resistance is still on and led by one of Gadhafi son. Let’s see 1st the report of Democracy now:
MUAMMAR GADDAFI KILLED IN LIBYA AS INTERIM GOVERNMENT SEIZES LAST REGIME STRONGHOLD
DEMOCRACY NOW Friday 21, 2011
The ousted Libyan leader Col. Muammar Gaddafi was reported dead outside his hometown of Sirte, eight months after the first protests erupted against his longtime rule. Gaddafi was reportedly shot dead after his convoy was bombed in a NATO air strike. The news came as the interim Libyan government said it had captured Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown and the last major pocket of resistance held by fighters loyal to his rule. We speak to Democracy Now! correspondent Anjali Kamat, who has been following the developments in Libya closely.
JUAN GONZALEZ: As we went to broadcast, the ousted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has reportedly been captured, possibly killed, in his hometown of Sirte, eight months after the first protests erupted against his longtime rule. According to Reuters, forces with Libya’s transitional government seized Gaddafi, who suffered injuries in both legs. Al Jazeera is reporting Gaddafi is dead. Neither of the claims have been independently verified.
AMY GOODMAN: The announcements came shortly after the interim government said it had captured Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown and the last major pocket of resistance held by fighters loyal to his rule. The fall of Sirte follows weeks of fighting that has left much of Sirte in ruins, forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
For more, we go to Cairo, where we’re joined by Democracy Now!’s Anjali Kamat. She has been in Libya several times, is doing a series of reports for us there.
Anjali, what is the latest you’ve heard, and the significance of these reports?
ANJALI KAMAT: Hi, Amy and Juan.
If it is indeed true that Gaddafi has been captured or killed, it’s obviously a huge development in the Libyan struggle against their dictator. But, you know, we have to trust that none of these reports have been independently confirmed. There’s conflicting reports about the source of these reports. It was first reported on Libyan television, which is run by the NTC, quoting someone from the military council in Misurata. Some sources have this quote from NTC official [inaudible]. So I think it’s important to just be [inaudible] what we actually know. In the coming hours, I’m sure we’ll have a better sense of whether Muammar Gaddafi is indeed captured and dead or alive.
But in some ways—and, you know, building off of what I heard from people from my visit last month even to Tripoli—Gaddafi is, in some ways, irrelevant. And in the larger sense, the bigger development of today might be the capture of his birthplace, the town of Sirte, that you just mentioned in the lede. This is important because the capture of Sirte marks the end of the war in Libya and brings up a major transition to the official transitional period. The interim prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, who’s the head of the NTC, he announced earlier this month that he would resign once Sirte was captured. So I think a lot of people on the ground are curious to see if these changes are actually going to be put into effect. It also brings into question what is the role of NATO going to be in the coming period. If the war is officially over, what kind of role will NATO have in the future? There’s splits within the ruling National Transitional Council. I think a lot of these will also come to the forefront, splits between groups of people who don’t want to see former Gaddafi-era officials still in power. Mahmoud Jibril was one of those figures. I think a lot of people are going to be looking to the Transitional Council to see if they are going to actually begin the transitional period that they promised would start once Sirte fell.
AMY GOODMAN: And we are getting reports now from CNN saying that Muammar Gaddafi is dead. But, of course, we’ll continue to monitor this. Juan?
JUAN GONZALEZ: Yes, well, Anjali, the battle for Sirte took a lot longer than anyone had expected, indicating at least that the fighters around Gaddafi were determined to fight to the end. Your sense of how that fight developed? And also, how this Transitional Council, which obviously has all kinds of ideological differences among themselves, how that—what the governance structure will look like in Libya in future months, as the different groups within Libya battle to have influence over the new government?
ANJALI KAMAT: Yes, it did take much longer than people expected. Tripoli fell almost two months ago now, late August, and I think everyone thought that Sirte and Bani Walid would follow in a matter of weeks, if not days. And then it’s been almost two months. I think a small group of soldiers loyal to Gaddafi put up a very strong fight.
The humanitarian situation in Sirte is also a cause for alarm. Many—Sirte was a town of 100,000 people, and in the intervening two months, you know, thousands of people fled the city, civilians fled. But some of them were stuck inside. And there were reports of, you know, no water, no electricity, no communication—a very difficult situation. Images that are coming out of Sirte today are demonstrating the fighting was very—I think one of the fiercest battles of this eight-month uprising took place in Sirte. So there’s certainly, you know, a lot of questions about who was fighting all this time, and why did the NTC think it would be over in a matter of days, what was the miscalculation there, and what happened in these past two months. So it remains to come out.
In terms of the divisions and splits within the NTC, certainly there is—it’s a very diverse body. I think one of the interesting things about the NTC is that it involves a range of different people. There’s some figures who were formerly associated with the reform wing of Gaddafi’s regime, people associated with Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam. Mahmoud Jibril, the interim prime minister, was a close associate of Seif al-Islam. It also involves a lot of former diplomats with the regime, who defected in the early days of the uprising. Many of them were also seen to be reformists, neoliberal, very many of them.
But there’s also sort of an increasingly influential group of figures who are heavily backed by Qatar. Let’s not forget that this is not just a NATO-backed military operation that’s been taking place. Qatar also played a very important role. So figures like Abdelhakim Belhadj, who’s one of the military leaders, is a rising star in the new Libya, and he’s someone who was actually a victim of extraordinary rendition by the Bush administration. He was rendered to Libya in 2004 and kept, detained, in the notorious Abu Salim prison for six years, where he says he was tortured. He’s now demanding an apology from the CIA and the British intelligence, MI6, for the torture he went through. And now he’s one of the leading figures in the new Libya. And him and other figures associated with him, who are Islamists, have come out very strongly calling for former Gaddafi officials within the interim government to step down, figures like Mahmoud Jibril.
So it remains to be seen how this is going to pan out. There’s also secular activist figures who are also involved. So, it’s a mixed bag. And I think, on the ground, there’s certainly a lot of apprehension about how this is going to pan out.
And I think, most importantly, what’s going to happen to all the weapons? The society is incredibly militarized after eight months of fighting. When Gaddafi’s apparatus crumbled in different parts of the country, the first thing to be left abandoned were the warehouses of weapons. Lots of heavy weapons have gone missing. This is something Human Rights Watch has documented. And just last week, the State Department announced that they’re sending several dozen former soldiers to Libya to help the Libyan teams that are trying to control the spread of weapons. So, you know, I think, the coming period, there’s going to be a lot of questions about how this is all going to be brought under control.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Anjali Kamat. She’s in Cairo, has visited Libya a number of times, doing a series of pieces there. All major news agencies are reporting Gaddafi dead or captured. But NTC officials will not confirm this. Just looking at a summary of the latest developments from Reuters, Muammar Gaddafi captured fleeing Sirte, according to unconfirmed reports. The NTC’s information minister, Mahmoud Shammam, refused to confirm the reports, but said "big fish" are on their way to Misurata. Gaddafi is reported to have been critically injured in both legs while being detained. "Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!" he’s reported to have said. Again, Reuters saying they cannot confirm he’s been captured, but all the major news agencies are saying he’s been killed.
A number of high-ranking Gaddafi officials are also reported to have been caught, including his spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, and his cousin, Ahmed Ibrahim. Shammam said, "We hope that we are catching some big names so we can put them in the court and let the people have the last word on their fate."
Mahmoud Jibril, Libya’s interim leader, has hinted he may step down today. In an interview with Time magazine, he also complained about political infighting in the new Libya.
And again, from Reuters, from The Guardian, reports that Muammar Gaddafi is dead. Looking at the Times of India, Abdel Majid Mlegta, a National Transition Council official, told Reuters that Gaddafi was captured and wounded in both legs at dawn on Thursday as he tried to flee in a convoy, which NATO warplanes attacked. The official said he was also hit in his head. "There was a lot of firing against his group, and he died." That’s the latest we have.
Anjali Kamat, if you could summarize where you think this is all headed now.
ANJALI KAMAT: Well, I think, hopefully, we’ll get some confirmation in the coming hours or days about Gaddafi, what exactly has happened to Gaddafi. He is indeed captured or dead. Let’s not forget that, until recently, all reports indicated that he was potentially in the south of the country near the border with Algeria. So it’s a bit surprising to see that he suddenly popped up in Sirte again. But it’s just a huge development. This is a man who ruled Libya for 42 years, increasingly with a greater amount of terror. People now remember Gaddafi, largely across the country, as a man who ruled them with an iron hand. One of the symbols of his regime is the prison at Abu Salim, where in 1996 over 1,200 people were executed.
A lot of people in Libya that I spoke to actually said they didn’t want him dead. They wanted to—wanted him to be captured alive, and they wanted to see him go on trial inside Libya. The International Criminal Court has a warrant out for Gaddafi, but very few people in Libya were excited about sending him to the ICC. They wanted him to have a public trial in Libya and have a public reckoning with all the crimes that he and his regime had committed over several decades.
At this point, moving on forward, I think the biggest question is what is going to happen to the new Libya. How is this going to change the governing structure of the interim authorities? Who is going to come up? Who’s going to be in charge? What’s going to happen to the former Gaddafi-era officials who had been leading the NTC? And does this mean the rise of new figures within the interim authorities? And what does this mean for a country that’s been brutalized by eight months of war and severe weaponization and militarization?
AMY GOODMAN: And his sons, Anjali?
ANJALI KAMAT: Well, the sons—there’s also conflicting reports about—there’s no reports right now about what’s happened to arguably his most famous son, Saif al-Islam. But Mo’tassim Gaddafi, there have been reports that he was captured a few days ago. And there’s reports of a high-value prisoner who’s in Misurata, which may [inaudible] —
AMY GOODMAN: We’re having a little trouble understanding you.
ANJALI KAMAT: [inaudible]
AMY GOODMAN: Anjali, we’re going to have to leave it there, because you’re breaking up, but thank you very much for your reports. And I highly encourage people to go to our website at democracynow.org to see Anjali Kamat’s last report from Libya. Her next one, we will be broadcasting this next week. Anjali Kamat, Democracy Now! correspondent, speaking to us now from Cairo, Egypt.
Again, the latest news, all major networks are saying that Muammar Gaddafi is dead. Again, this is, though, unconfirmed. NTC officials have yet to finally confirm this. The word is he was fleeing from Sirte, was first shot, and then killed. But again, this is unconfirmed, and we’ll bring you the latest through this broadcast.
This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. President Bush is headed to Canada, and some people want him arrested. We’ll find out why. Stay with us.
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