This is why peaceful revolutions are better than bloody ones. I fully supported the "arab spring" and the protests in Egypt were inspiring but in Libya I always questioned the wisdom of NATO intervention and supporting violent rebels who didn't really seem to have the moral fortitude to lead the country towards peace. I could be completely wrong and in time things might get better for Libya but for now, I'm highly skeptical that things will get better soon.
Well, it's to be expected. We supported a mob as if it were an army. Yeah, it sucks that Gaddafi was slaughtering them. But it's looking like all we did is change who gets slaughtered.
Video footage of the capture of Muammar Gaddafi appears to show the former Libyan dictator being sexually assaulted while he was still alive.
The film shows Gaddafi having either a knife or pipe shoved between his buttocks by a rebel fighter, shortly after he was dragged from the sewer where he was hiding.
A frame-by-frame analysis of the film clearly shows a fighter in grey clothes bending over behind him.
Video footage of the capture of Muammar Gaddafi appears to show the former Libyan dictator being sexually assaulted while he was still alive.
The film shows Gaddafi having either a knife or pipe shoved between his buttocks by a rebel fighter, shortly after he was dragged from the sewer where he was hiding.
A frame-by-frame analysis of the film clearly shows a fighter in grey clothes bending over behind him.
Libya's interim prime minister on Sunday confirmed the presence of chemical weapons in Libya and said foreign inspectors would arrive later this week to deal with the issue.
Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril said Libya has no interest in keeping such weapons.
"We would like to assure you that the new Libya will be a peaceful Libya and that it is in our interest to have no weapons in Libya," he told reporters.
Last week, Ian Martin, the top UN envoy to Libya, told the UN Security Council that undeclared chemical weapons sites have been located in Libya.
At the time, he also expressed concern over command and control of chemical and nuclear material sites.
Jibril, who has announced his resignation ahead of the formation of a new interim government, did not provide any details about the chemical weapons.
"There are international organizations taking care of this issue," he said, adding that representatives of those organizations are due to arrive in Libya later in the week.
A Russian-drafted UN resolution, to be voted on this week, calls on Libyan authorities to destroy stockpiles of chemical weapons in co-ordination with international authorities.
Libya's interim authorities have named Tripoli academic Abdurrahim al-Keib as the new prime minister.
The National Transitional Council (NTC) made the announcement days after declaring the country "liberated" following the death of Colonel Gaddafi.
It also coincides with the official end of the Nato air campaign that helped overthrow the long-time leader.
The NTC wants a national congress to be elected within eight months, and multi-party elections in Libya in 2013.
Mr Keib, an academic specialising in electrical engineering and based in Tripoli, beat eight other candidates to receive 26 of the 51 votes from members of the NTC.
Deposed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi wrote to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in August begging him to halt a NATO-led intervention that was helping a rebel uprising drive him from power
Moammar Gadhafi loyalists have seized control of a Libyan town and raised the ousted regime's green flag, an official and commander said Tuesday.
The retaking of Bani Walid comes as Libya's new leaders have struggled to unify the oil-rich North African nation three months after Gadhafi was captured and killed.
Hundreds of well-equipped and highly trained remnants of Gadhafi's forces raised the green flag over buildings in the western city late Monday after hours of clashes, said Mubarak al-Fatamni, the head of Bani Walid local council.
Al-Fatamni, who fled to the nearby city of Misrata following the attack, said four revolutionary fighters were killed and 25 others were wounded. He said the Libyan Defence Ministry has not sent any forces to the area.
A top commander of a revolutionary brigade in Bani Walid, Ali al-Fatamni, who was present in Benghazi during the attack, says he has lost contact with other fighters in the town.
The bold attacks, which have led authorities to declare states of emergency in several areas, are the latest breakdown in security, three months after Gadhafi's capture and killing.
Moammar Gadhafi loyalists have seized control of a Libyan town and raised the ousted regime's green flag, an official and commander said Tuesday.
The retaking of Bani Walid comes as Libya's new leaders have struggled to unify the oil-rich North African nation three months after Gadhafi was captured and killed.
Hundreds of well-equipped and highly trained remnants of Gadhafi's forces raised the green flag over buildings in the western city late Monday after hours of clashes, said Mubarak al-Fatamni, the head of Bani Walid local council.
Al-Fatamni, who fled to the nearby city of Misrata following the attack, said four revolutionary fighters were killed and 25 others were wounded. He said the Libyan Defence Ministry has not sent any forces to the area.
A top commander of a revolutionary brigade in Bani Walid, Ali al-Fatamni, who was present in Benghazi during the attack, says he has lost contact with other fighters in the town.
The bold attacks, which have led authorities to declare states of emergency in several areas, are the latest breakdown in security, three months after Gadhafi's capture and killing.
Would I be correct in presuming that, now that Gadhafi is dead and his government has fallen and a new government is in office, the Libyan government can request military assistance from other countries without the need for a UN Security Council resolution?
I would expect that the Libyan government would want to sort out the Gadhafi loyalists themselves but supposing that doesn't work out for them, I presume that they are free to go directly to the USA/UK/France etc to request assistance any time they feel like it.
Rival Libyan militia groups have fought a gun battle in the capital, Tripoli, officials say.
The two militia groups fought together to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi last year..."We do not know why they are fighting," interior ministry Naji Awad told Reuters.
The country's interim National Transitional Council (NTC) is struggling to reassert its authority.
Many Libyans prefer strong leadership to democracy despite four decades spent under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, a national survey suggests.
Just 15% of 2,000 people polled by academics from Benghazi and Oxford universities said democracy should be installed in the next year.
More than 40% backed strong leadership from one person or a group.
However, almost a third of those polled said they would like a democratic government in five years' time.
There really isn't much to say to this other than "lol". Shocking that the guys who couldn't manage an armed revolt against Libya also can't manage a government.
It's only been one year since the uprising, I wouldn't expect democracy to happen over night, particularly in an environment that has been dominated by strongman policies for millennia.
Also, I was just over at Wikipedia, and it looks like their page on Libya has been hacked. If you click anywhere on the article it links you to an anti-Israeli page blaming "the Jews" for 9/11. Seriously, WTF.
Letranger
Brooklyn, NY
September 2005
OCT 26, 2011 06:45 AM