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Concern about mission creep grows as more bombs fall on Libya
Barely 48 hours into the Libyan war, the American general running the air strikes came under fire about mission creep even while insisting that allied warplanes won’t hunt Moammar Gadhafi or back the rebels seeking to oust him.
“I have no mission to attack that person. And we are not doing so. We are not seeking his whereabouts or anything like that,” said General Carter Ham, U.S. regional commander for all of Africa.
Concerns over mission creep continue to be raised around the world – including in Canada – as a new set of strikes hit Triopoli late Monday. On a day in which Canadian CF-18s flew their first missions over Libya and Defence Minister Peter MacKay said Canada had a “moral duty” to participate, all four opposition parties endorsed Canadian involvement in the mission but pressed for details over how long the mission would last, what it would cost, and how it would Read more…
In Rare Split, Two Leaders in Russia Differ on Libya
MOSCOW — The conflict in Libya caused an unusual rift on Monday between Russia’s two leaders, Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin and his protégé, President Dmitri A. Medvedev, who typically choreograph their statements and refrain from criticizing each other.
Dmitri A. Medvedev said words like “crusade,” used by Vladimir V. Putin, were unacceptable when discussing the Libya airstrikes.
Mr. Putin appeared to displease Mr. Medvedev on Monday by harshly assailing the
airstrikes by coalition forces in Libya. Mr. Putin said the United Nations Security Council resolution that authorized the attacks was “deficient and flawed.” Russia abstained from voting on the resolution last week, deciding not to use a veto to block it.
“In general, it reminds me of a medieval call for a crusade,” Mr. Putin said.
Mr. Putin is widely considered Russia’s paramount Read more…
Libya: missile destroys Gaddafi building
Libyan officials claimed that the strike on his Bab al-Azizia leadership compound amounted to an attempt to assassinate the long serving leader.
A huge plume of smoke rose from the site of an three-storey administrative building just 100 yards from the tent in the compound used by Col Gaddafi for media interviews and high level visits.
There were no reported casualties but the front of the building had collasped.
A crowd of loyalists gathered near the collapsed building to denounce the first attack on the Libyan leader’s personal citadel
Officials said the building was an administrative bloc not connected with the military. Shrapnel was Read more…
Arab League criticizes Western strikes on Libya
AFP
CAIRO – The Arab League on Sunday criticized Western military strikes on Libya, a week after urging the United Nations to slap a no-fly zone on the oil-rich North African state.
“What has happened in Libya differs from the goal of imposing a no-fly zone and what we want is the protection of civilians and not bombing other civilians,” Arab League secretary general Amr Mussa told reporters.
On March 12, the Arab League urged the United Nations to impose a no-fly zone on Libya and said Moammar Gadhafi’s regime had “lost legitimacy” as it sought to snuff out a rebellion designed to oust him from power.
In the West’s biggest intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq, US warships and a British submarine fired more than 120 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya on Saturday, the US military said.
French warplanes also carried out strikes.
The UN Security Council passed Resolution 1973 on Thursday authorising military action to prevent Gadhafi’s forces from attacking civilians.
At least 110 Tomahawk missiles fired at Libya:US
Editor’s Note: Each Tomahawk missile costs $569,000. So $62,590,000 has been spent to kill people without the consent of Congress.
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| Navy Ship launching Tomahawk missile/Wiki Common |
WASHINGTON (AFP) – US and British forces have fired at least 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya against Moamer Kadhafi’s air defense sites, a top US military officer said Saturday.
Vice Admiral William Gortney told reporters that “earlier this afternoon over 110 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from both US and British ships and submarines struck more than 20 integrated air defense systems and other air defense facilities ashore.”
The first missile struck at 1900 GMT following air strikes carried out earlier by French warplanes, said Gortney, director of the US joint staff.
“It’s a first phase of a multi-phase operation,” he said.
One British submarine joined with other US warships in the missile attack, he added.
“Because it is night over there, it will be some time before we have a complete picture of the success of these strikes,” the admiral said
Libya crisis: fighter plane ‘shot down’ as Gaddafi forces attack Benghazi
A Libyan rebel grimaces on the frontline near Sultan, south of Benghazi Photo: AP
News agency reports a fighter plane has been shot down and artillery bombardment of the city.
“The explosions started about 2 a.m. Gaddafi’s forces are advancing, we hear they’re 20 kms (12 miles) from Benghazi,” Faraj Ali, a resident, said.
Gaddafi’s forces advance into Benghazi pre-empted an international meeting hosted by France to discuss military intervention in Libya. The meeting will be attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Arab leaders.
“We saw Gaddafi’s tanks, cars and missile trucks less than five km away,” a rebel figher giving his name as Mohammed told Reuters.
Libya had declared a unilateral ceasefire on Friday after the U.N. Security Council authorised a no-fly zone over Libya.
But the United States accused Gaddafi of defying international demands for an immediate ceasefire, and France’s U.N. envoy predicted military action within hours of the Paris meeting on Read more…
Russia warns of “full-scale military action” following Security Council vote on Libya
AFP Photo / Adek Berry
Following a decision by the UN Security Council to take “all necessary measures” against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Russian politicians and experts are warning of further destabilization in the region.
The UN Security Council voted on Thursday to impose a no-fly zone, which includes the possible use of military force, against pro-Gaddafi forces.
Presently, the Libyan strongman’s military is successfully beating back a large anti-government uprising, and is in the process of consolidating his forces around Benghazi, a city to the north where the “interim Libyan government” is penned in.
Diplomats said the resolution, which was written in the eleventh hour of the Libyan conflict, allows for a wide range of actions, including strikes on air-defense systems and missile attacks from ships.
Indeed, full-blown military activity could commence “within hours,” they said.
Russia and four other council members – China, Germany, Brazil and India – abstained from Read more…
‘The West is to be forgotten. We will not give them our oil’ – Gaddafi
This is just the first step in a long line for the US on not receiving any oil that is pumped from any country in the Middle East resulting in third world status. Lindsey Williams mentioned it on the Alex Jones Show almost a month ago.
http://rt.com/news/libya-oil-gaddafi-arab/
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi dismissed his Western partners in an exclusive interview to RT, saying he will give all the country’s oil contracts to Russia, China and India.
“We do not believe the West any longer, that is why we invite Russian, Chinese and Indian companies to invest in Libya’s oil and construction spheres” Gaddafi told RT in an exclusive interview about how he sees the current situation in Libya and the international reaction to events there.
“He condemned the Western powers, saying Germany was the only country with a chance of doing business with Libyan oil in the future. “We do not trust their firms – they took part in the conspiracy against us.”
The Libyan leader also added that as far as he is concerned, the Arab League has ceased to exist since it stood up against his country.
According to Gaddafi, the recent upheavals in his country were a “minor event” planned by Al Qaeda that will soon end.
Meanwile, Libyan Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled Kaim promised that Libya will honor Read more…
As UN debates Libya, Kadhafi vows to crush rebels
(AFP)
TRIPOLI — Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi said he was determined to crush the month-old uprising against him, while at the UN, proposals for a no-fly zone to ground his warplanes met stiff resistance.
And as Kadhafi’s army announced it would soon move against the rebel bastion of Benghazi, anti-aircraft batteries and heavy artillery opened up in the rebel stronghold.
“If this is a foreign plot, we will crush it; if it is a domestic plot, we will crush it,” said Kadhafi, who has repeatedly blamed Al-Qaeda and Western powers for the revolt against his four decades of rule.
Late Tuesday, Kadhafi’s army said it would soon move on the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) east of Tripoli, Libya’s second city.
A statement addressed to its residents said: “The armed forces are arriving to ensure your security, undo the injustice done to you, protect you, restore calm and bring life back to normal.
“This is a humanitarian operation being undertaken in your interests, and is not aimed at Read more…
Between Sudan and Libya, Critics See U.S. Inconsistency
Why the rush to use force against Qaddafi when Sudan has suffered more?
Actor George Clooney helped conceive a project along with John Prendergast of the Enough Project that helps track violence in Sudan.
He went on to acknowledge that in a world full of Read more…
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