The Civil War in Libya

Semi-Lobster said:

It's done, several of Gaddafi's sons have been captured, and Gaddafi seems to have fled. It looks like Gaddafi's 'support' in Tripoli melted away in a matter of hours a lot faster than I thought it would

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yea, seems even Russia Today is report that at least one son is captured and the flag of independence is flying in the city.

Libyan Rebels have entered Tripoli and fighting in the center of the city.

NATO bombed Tripoli none stop and landed the AQ rebels during the night. Rebels snipered and CNN threatened Independent Journalist. Gaddafi's son was shot 2 minutes in during Al-Jazeera interview. What kind of humanitarian war is this ?

[video=youtube;MezHfCxyEzs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MezHfCxyEzs&feature=player_embedded[/video]

First, he isn't a journalist, he's an analyst (slightly different). But more importantly it's clear that he has a political agenda.

Political analyst Mahdi Nazemroaya says that the gunfire in the Libyan capital is sporadic and disorganized, and that its main purpose is to break down the morale of the population.

“The main point of the attacks in Tripoli is to break down the morale here and cause panic,” he said. “The media here at the hotel where I am staying has been part of this disinformation campaign. They just want to feed the panic here and want the regime to collapse. They are fueling and feeding this psychological war against this country.”

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Basically he's trying to say that everything is lies and that Gaddafi's forces haven't suffered the huge defeats they have. But what else do you expect from people that Russia Today is interviewing?

Mr T said:

First, he isn't a journalist, he's an analyst (slightly different). But more importantly it's clear that he has a political agenda.

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Basically he's trying to say that everything is lies and that Gaddafi's forces haven't suffered the huge defeats they have. But what else do you expect from people that Russia Today is interviewing?

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I happen to agree with you, but one of the concerns that the guy mentioned about the potential slaughter of the Gadhfi loyalist. NATO went in to stop Gadhfi loyalist from wiping out the rebels hopefully NATO remembers to protect the defeated loyalist that have laid down their arms. Sadly like in many civil wars victors and losers take the opportunity to conduct revenge killings or purges of the opposing sides supporters.

I'm surprised it took this long, probably because the rebels were disorganized. Since Gaddafi was cut off internationally and didn't have any trump cards like bio/chem/nuclear weapons, once the British and French started fighting in the air on the rebels behalf and supplied them with weapons on the ground it was only a matter of time before Gaddafi's side lost.

ABC78 said:

I happen to agree with you, but one of the concerns that the guy mentioned about the potential slaughter of the Gadhfi loyalist.

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Well, yeah - it's always a concern that the losing side is going to face reprisals. But at least the head of the National Transitionary Council has called for Free Libyan forces to exercise restraint in Tripoli. Gaddafi was frothing at the mouth a matter of months ago when he was about to roll into Bengzhai, essentially threatening to kill anyone he suspected of even being sympathetic to the revolutionaries.

But there are some things going for Libya. The revolution sprung up in different parts of the country, not just the east, so there is a fair bit of support for it nationally. And there aren't the simple Sunni/Shia divisions that there were in Iraq in 2003. But if people don't want to get killed, the easiest thing they can do is throw down their weapons, strip off their uniforms and slink off home. I have a feeling that the majority of vulnerable people are the Gaddafi loyalists that think there's a point in still trying to fight. If they try to surrender only after shooting off hundreds of rounds and killing people, their chances might not be so great.

As for ordinary civilians, hopefully few will be harmed. But if there are killings, I strongly doubt they would be anywhere near as bad as what would have happened in Cyrenacia if Gaddafi had been victorious.

NATO went in to stop Gadhfi loyalist from wiping out the rebels hopefully NATO remembers to protect the defeated loyalist that have laid down their arms.

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There's nothing NATO can do to stop internal violence in Libya. It's down to the Libyan people themselves.

What a happy ending Libya problems have all ended.

Heres my rant.

Libya should not have betrayed Pakistan, by turning over AQ Khan inregards to nukes. Pakistan military leaders despite their flaws known since 1989 certain nations of the West, cannot be wholly trusted. Thats why they continued to keep in contact with the Haqqani network and only moved against militant groups threatened their nation.

Iran will also take note.

China sacrifised Libya at the UN, in pursuit of Dengs foreign policy ideals of playing the weaker nation. US wants a new Cold War with China, but China knows its best to try to outgrow US finanicially.

So the rebels finally get their acts together and put the NATO firepower into proper use.

Baibar of Jalat said:

What a happy ending Libya problems have all ended.

Heres my rant.

Libya should not have betrayed Pakistan, by turning over AQ Khan inregards to nukes. Pakistan military leaders despite their flaws known since 1989 certain nations of the West, cannot be wholly trusted. Thats why they continued to keep in contact with the Haqqani network and only moved against militant groups threatened their nation.

Iran will also take note.

China sacrifised Libya at the UN, in pursuit of Dengs foreign policy ideals of playing the weaker nation. US wants a new Cold War with China, but China knows its best to try to outgrow US finanicially.

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No buddy, that's only chapter 1 and until they caught Qaddafi - dead or alive matters not now - it's still not close.

Wlhat's more worrisome will unfold in chapter 2 - the rebels still a loose bunch, it's still to be seen if they could hold it all together after the fall of Qaddafi, conduct proper election, set up a proper gov't body, proper trials for the members of Qaddafi regime...the list can go on.

And I inclined to agree Iran, Syria and N.Korea will hold their WMD ever more tighter, give the West to think twice before resorting another military intervension on them.

Lastly, China ditched Qaddafi back then had something to do with Qaddafi's foreign policy towards China.

Hmmm...maybe not all is as it seems.

Qaudaffi's son has now shown up in the part of Tripoli still conrolled by forces loyal to Quadaffi...the one that the rebels, news media, etc. all said had been captured. He was interviewed today on the news.

Fighting seems to have intensified today.

Quadaffi himself is still at large. Better wait and see how it rolls out. Allowing the rebels in very close quarters to Quadaffi forces...if they didn't really "melt away" and abandon their positions, will make it much harder for NATO to support the rebels. Those are big "ifs"...but if that is what happened, there would be a very ugly, bloody fight for Tripoli still in the future.

IMHO, we still do not know enough about the true makeup and power structure of the rebel forces. I hope and pray they are better than Quadaffi and will allow open elections and liberties for their people. I hope we do not trade one tyrant for another, either for the people there, or for the international community.

Time will tell...but I am not sure it is completely over yet.