Strategy! - Libya Edition

[Blaze]

http://www.engadget.com/2005/11/15/how-to-build-a-wifi-biquad-dish-antenna/

http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/index.html

[Blaze]

And after some technical difficulty the electrons are flowing...

[Blaze]

The Gaddafi Regime Suffers A Huge Defection

In a thundering blow to Muammar Gaddafi's standing and the morale of his regime, Libya's Foreign Minister Moussa Kusa defected to London on Wednesday night, in the regime's most high-profile break since the Western bombing campaign began nearly two weeks ago - if not, indeed, the most momentous split in the Libyan government in years.
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Kusa appears to have been the first to flee - but Benotman says he is unlikely to be the last. "I'm aware of dozens of people in Tripoli who are not happy," said Benotman, who was in Tripoli when the revolt erupted in mid-February, and who has close contacts with high-level Libyan officials. "The message being delivered is that they have to make a decision now."
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As one of Gaddafi's closest aides, Kusa presumably would be informed about Gaddafi's current war plans and his state of mind after 11 days of the coalition's aerial bombing, as well as whether he might be open to negotiating a deal regarding exile for Gaddafi and his family.
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As one of Gaddafi's closest aides, Kusa presumably would be informed about Gaddafi's current war plans and his state of mind after 11 days of the coalition's aerial bombing, as well as whether he might be open to negotiating a deal regarding exile for Gaddafi and his family.

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Kusa was a long-standing chief of Libya's intelligence service, before being appointed Foreign Minister in 2009. That means he likely holds critical information which could ultimately lead to international indictments against Gaddafi and his family,

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Britsh Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday that his government would not give Kusa immunity from prosecution.

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Wikileaks cable from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Kusa is described as "mostly cooperative in liaison channels and key to our re-engagement."

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n Tripoli, the government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim denied that Kusa had defected, telling reporters that he was "on a diplomatic mission" to London.

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[Blaze]

Note before my "technical difficulty" there was a clear statement that the revolutionist did not need nor want more help. To quote... "They got it from here on out"

CIA sends teams to Libya; US considers rebel aid

By ADAM GOLDMAN and DONNA CASSATA, Associated Press – 7 mins ago
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Robert Gates says that some country other than the U.S. should do the training and equipping of the Libyan opposition groups.
He tells Congress that other countries have the ability to do that mission, and it is not a unique U.S. capability.
Gates says President Barack Obama has no additional U.S. military moves in mind, calling it a pick-up ballgame at this point.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon

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U.S. officials have acknowledged that the CIA has sent small teams of operatives into Libya and helped rescue a crew member of a U.S. fighter jet that crashed.

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The administration says there has been no decision yet about whether to arm the opposition groups, and acknowledged that the U.S. needs to know more about who the rebels are and what role terrorists may be playing there.

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"History has demonstrated that an entrenched enemy like the Libyan regime can be resilient to airpower," McKeon said.

[Blaze]

Loss of Libyan FM may outweigh battlefield gains

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— a sign that the embattled regime is cracking at the highest levels.

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Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who is blamed for some of Libya's brutality and credited for some of its diplomatic successes, is privy to all the inner workings of Gadhafi's regime.

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Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa, who is blamed for some of Libya's brutality and credited for some of its diplomatic successes, is privy to all the inner workings of Gadhafi's regime.

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a rebel leader in Zintan who used only his first name for fear of reprisals. "The regime is currently breaking apart from the inside, and no one is safe. So anyone around Gadhafi knows they will be held accountable and will be punished by the international community."

Corporation before charges goes a very long way in consideration of charges against an individual.

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The British government said Wednesday that Koussa had arrived in Britain from Tunisia and resigned. Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Koussa "notified us that he was sick and that he was going to Tunisia."

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"We are not waiting for individuals to lead the struggle," Ibrahim told reporters in Tripoli, the capital. "This is the struggle of a whole nation. We are not relying on individuals, no matter how high-ranking they are. And so if everyone feels tired or sick or exhausted, they want to take a rest, it just happens. But I'm not confirming anything."




Despite the setbacks and ongoing airstrikes — now led by NATO — Gadhafi loyalists have been logging successes on the battlefield, retaking much of the territory the rebels had captured since airstrikes began March 19.

The latest fighting centered on Brega, a town important to Libya's oil industry on the coastal road that leads to Tripoli. It has gone back and forth between rebel and loyalist hands, and on Thursday it was a no man's land, with Gadhafi's forces at the western gate and rebels east of the city.

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with each rocket fired. Spotters with binoculars watched where they landed and ordered adjustments.

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Many people also have fled Ajdabiya, a rebel-held city about 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the east, for fear that government forces were on their way.

Good. Those not ready to fight (perhaps yet) or not able are going toward the revolutionist and not Gadafi.

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the rebels' weaknesses: some ran screaming to cars after being frightened by the outgoing fire from their own side.

Gun shy is normal and natural. It is a test of Job for those that must learn the hardened heart it takes to not flinch. Prayers.

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in a story posted on the Council on Foreign Relations' website. "This is the first loss of such a close comrade," he said, adding that he may have be able to identify other potential defectors.

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His departure suggest that Gadhafi's inner circle "now know how this story ends, and do not wish to be with the dictator when that end comes," he said.

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[Nitro Express]

Pick the woman in this pic and win a prize!!!

She looks like Martha Stewart to me.

[Nitro Express]

PANIC!

Buy your gold and year supply of dehydrated food now! Don't wait until the store shelves are bare and it's too late!

[Blaze]

Gates calls for limited role aiding Libyan rebels



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Defense officials slammed the brakes Thursday on any major American role aiding opposition groups and insisted that America should not be the one to arm the opposition force.

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Gates insisted there will be no U.S. military boots on the ground "as long as I am in this job."

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Gates defended the intervention noting that, "We may not know much about the opposition or the rebels, but we know a great deal about Gadhafi."

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Gates and Mullen said Gadhafi's military has been degraded by as much as 25 percent, but Mullen noted that regime forces still outnumber the rebels by about 10-to-1.

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opposition groups are fractured and operating independently city by city, and 1,000 of the rebels are militarily trained.

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Gates said that he believes political and economic pressures will eventually drive Gadhafi from power, but the military operation will help force him to make those choices by degrading his defense capabilities.

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"History has demonstrated that an entrenched enemy like the Libyan regime can be resilient to airpower," McKeon said.

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Intelligence experts said the CIA would have sent officials to make contact with the opposition and assess the strength and needs of the rebel forces in the event

[ELVIS]

She looks like Martha Stewart to me.

Which one ??

[binnie]

There is a risk that this could de-stabilize the whole Middle East. Other nations in the UN - besides the US, Uk and France - need to be much, much more active in intervention. There is a lot of 'tokenism' going on....

[ELVIS]

Like it was stable before ??

[chefcraig]

She looks like Martha Stewart to me.

Doesn't matter. Either way, binnie would hit it.

[Blaze]

Libyan rebels cheered by U.S. support and defection

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Analysts agreed the defection of Koussa, who flew to London on Wednesday, was a blow to Gaddafi, whose forces have gained ground in recent days.
But the top U.S. military officer told Congress Gaddafi was far from beaten. "We have actually fairly seriously degraded his military capabilities," Admiral Mike Mullen said. "That does not mean he's about to break from a military standpoint."

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Gaddafi's troops have used superior arms and tactics to push back

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special forces are on the ground identifying targets for air strikes.

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call is for weapons -- not authorised

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Rebels said Gaddafi loyalists had killed 38 civilians over the past two days alone in Misrata, the only town in western Libya still under rebel control. "Massacres are taking place in Misrata," a rebel spokesman called Sami said by telephone.

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enforce a U.N. arms embargo on all sides: "We are there to protect the Libyan people, not to arm the people," NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in Stockholm.

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for Gaddafi, quick to portray his foes as lackeys of the West.
:BlinkBlinkBlink:

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we will advance no matter what," said Muneim Mustafa, a fighter with an AK-47 rifle slung over his shoulder.

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not being offered immunity but encouraged others around Gaddafi to follow suit. "Gaddafi must be asking himself who will be the next to abandon him," he told a news conference.
That question was answered soon afterwards when former Libyan foreign minister Ali Abdussalam Treki -- appointed by Gaddafi to replace his U.N. ambassador, who defected in February -- refused to take up the job.
Treki condemned the "spilling of blood," in a statement send to Reuters.

Corporation before charges are made goes a very long way in consideration of charges against an individual.

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but note Gaddafi's inner circle consists of family members who may resort to more violence to stay in power.

A government spokesman said Gaddafi and all his sons would stay "until the end." Koussa had been "exhausted," he said, adding: "I don't think his sick leave included London."

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[Blaze]

Egypt panel seeks to recover Mubarak assets abroad

CAIRO (Reuters) – A committee set up by Egypt's military rulers will travel to Europe aiming to recover frozen assets belonging to deposed President Hosni Mubarak and other leading officials, the state news agency said on Thursday.
European Union governments agreed on March 21 to freeze the assets of Mubarak and 18 associates. Switzerland, one of the countries the Egyptian delegation will visit, froze assets that could belong to Mubarak on February 11, the day he stepped down.
Essam el-Gawahri, a senior justice ministry official heading the committee, said it would "make every effort to restore those assets to the country according to the U.N. Convention against Corruption," the state news agency MENA reported.

[Blaze]

Envoy says high-rank Libyans trying to defect

UNITED NATIONS – Most high-level Libyan officials are trying to defect but are under tight security and having difficulty leaving the country, a top Libyan diplomat now supporting the opposition said Thursday.

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We know that most of the high Libyan officials are trying to defect, but most of them are under tight security measures and they cannot leave the country, but we are sure that many of them will benefit from the first chance to be out of the country and to defect," Dabbashi said.

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Asked why senior Libyan officials are defecting — or want to defect — now instead of last month when opposition protests against Gadhafi's 41-year rule began, Dabbashi said it was a reaction to the regime's attacks on civilians.
"The normal human behavior is to disconnect from this regime," he said.

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U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said Wednesday that D'Escoto needs a G-1 visa — the American visa required for diplomatic representation — if he wants to represent Libya.
If he tries to do so on the tourist visa he now holds, she warned, "he will soon have his visa status reviewed."