On March 10th I wrote the following on this blog: Russian TV has shown a statement of Foreign Minister Lavrov who declared that Russia opposes any type of military intervention in the Libyan conflict. The Eltsin years are over and I don’t think that Russia will back down from this. So no UNSC resolution authorizing any US/NATO military intervention will be passed. Sadly, it turns out that I was wrong,
Good news! I now have it from two separate and well-informed sources: Hezbollah did not participate in any decision concerning the official position of Lebanon on the issue of the no-fly zone. Furthermore, I was told only a statement published on the website http://www.english.moqawama.org/ can be seen as an official Hezbollah statement. This makes me wonder whose instructions the Lebanese representative at the UNSC was following when he decided to
From the reports I hear on al-Jazeera it appears that Lebanon is supporting the idea of a UN-imposed and, obviously and inevitably, US/NATO enforced no-fly zone over Libya. And by “Lebanon” what is meant is the Hezbollah supported, if not lead, Lebanese government. As I already wrote, a no-fly zone over Libya is a terrible idea which, if implemented, will create an open-ended Imperial military intervention which nobody will control
FYI – an interesting interview of Libyan Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa by RT TV: (many thanks to F. for this pointer!) Link to original article
Following NATO’s meeting today it appears that the organization is lukewarm about the idea of a military intervention in Libya, including a no-fly zone. The fact that the very same folks who illegally attacked Yugoslavia are now seriously speaking about the “need for legal sanction” is really rather disgusting, but it’s good news anyway. So what’s next? Well, a situation a la Afghanistan following the Soviet withdrawal is one possibility.
Russian TV has shown a statement of Foreign Minister Lavrov who declared that Russia opposes any type of military intervention in the Libyan conflict. The Eltsin years are over and I don’t think that Russia will back down from this. So no UNSC resolution authorizing any US/NATO military intervention will be passed. Besides, I suppose that China would also oppose it. As for the US Empire, I am not sure
According to Reuters, an 8 men SAS team has been taken prisoner by pro-Gaddafi forces near Bengazi (thanks to Palestinian for this info! The Saker). So the SAS is already on the ground. (The parallels with Bosnia become stronger and stronger with each passing day…)
I looked around. The best I could find is some footage of some explosion off a road in the middle of the desert “near” the city of Breda. While the smoke is rising you can hear the sound of a jet engine. Ok. Let’s assume that this is indeed a bomb/missile strike by the Libyan Air Force. I would say that since a) there are no civilian areas to be
It sure looks like the Empire is trying to make the most from an otherwise unpredictable situation. In Egypt, the Empire is now allowing for a travel ban on Mubarak while in Libya the US-NATO forces seem to be gearing up for the imposition of a no-fly zone. I just head a British lawyer on al-Jazeera explaining that a no-fly zone can be imposed by the UNSC in case of
One mouth after the Egyptian revolution began, the Egyptians are STILL at it. I just was a report from al-Jazeera and Tahrir square is jam-packed, totally full, with a huge crowd demanding not puppet change, but regime change. These people are just amazing! I don’t think I have ever seen such a massive and spontaneous people movement in my life. And the people Yemen and Bahrain are still keeping up
— Note: I am in no way endorsing any of what Khaled Al Ga’aeem, under-secretary of Libya’s foreign ministry, says. Nor do I believe that he is sincere, or that his description of what is taking place in Libya is true. However, I do think that it is important to hear an articulate and intelligent defense of the regime’s position, if only because the leader – Gaddafi himself – is
It is kind of disgusting to see how Libyan apparachiks from the Libyan diplomatic corps in the USA going on al-Jazeera and calling for a UN imposed no-fly zone over their country because of the alleged ‘genocide’ taking place there. I have exactly zero love for that crazy buffoon Gadaffi, but his diplomats are even more spineless and hypocritical than him. Still, the worst liars and hypocrites are – who
There are plenty of reports about Gaddafi using his (notoriously incompetent) Air Force to bomb buildings controlled by the opposition. There are also rumors that he has left the country, possibly to Venezuela (which Venezuela is denying).
The BBC reports: At least 104 people have been killed in Libya since anti-government protests erupted on Wednesday, the campaign group Human Rights Watch says. It said the figure included at least 20 people who died when troops reportedly used heavy weapons in the second city, Benghazi, on Saturday. The group said its estimates were conservative. Good thing crazy old Gaddafi abandoned the camp of ‘terrorism’ and is now acting
Russia to up Mediterranean presence? Press TV reports: The Libyan president will discuss opening a Russian naval base in Libya during his three-day visit to Moscow, according to a newspaper. “During these talks the colonel [Muammar Gaddafi] intends to raise the issue of opening a base for Russia’s navy in the Libyan port of Benghazi,” the business daily Kommersant quoted an unnamed source involved in preparing Gaddafi’s visit. “In line
