It is no longer a crisis, more like a never ending story :deadhorsebig:
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It is no longer a crisis, more like a never ending story :deadhorsebig:
YouTube - ‪Roberts: USA vs China in the Middle East‬‏
Worth a watch for anyone concerned about the future of the world for their kids sake if nothing else.
Asia Times Online :: THE ROVING EYE : Have lobby, will travel
"We interrupt the global fascination with the non-stop psycho drama of the DSK (Dominique Strauss-Kahn) case - Was he "a perv?" Was she "a hooker"? Was there a conspiracy? - to inform how a post-modern "kinetic military action" is won; in the public relations arena, where else.
This implies that the DSK powerful white male/poor African woman combat in a Manhattan hotel suite does indeed match the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) war on Libya; no matter what happened or happens, the party with the best "com" - or able to recruit the best PR team - wins. This also proves that the much-incensed Libyan "rebels" - that dodgy bunch of opportunist defectors, Central Intelligence Agency assets, jihad-related Salafi clerics and greedy tribal leaders - is not as pure and innocent as the massive Western propaganda barrage would like world public opinion to believe.
And this also explains why the "rebels" have once again rejected a sensible peace plan proposed by the African Union (AU) late last week - immediate ceasefire, deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi staying out of transition negotiations - as a "non-starter". They'd rather spin another "massive" offensive towards Tripoli, with weapons - illegally - supplied by neo-Napoleonic Nicolas Sarkozy's France and the inevitable NATO air strikes.
Bets can be made that this "offensive" - essentially groups of spirited fighters with AK-47s in pick-up trucks against Gaddafi's Soviet Grad missiles with a range of nearly 40 kilometers - will hardly move the de facto border in the Gulf of Sirte between Tripolitania - controlled by the Gaddafi regime - and Cyrenaica.
We want the money
The "rebel" government - which is now named, after numerous permutations, the Interim Transitional National Council of Libya - has hired Patton Boggs, one of Washington's leading (and one of the most profitable) PR firms, to "advise and assist" them in, well, winning the war - or at least providing the illusion they are winning the war (shades of NATO's PR campaign in Afghanistan).
Patton Boggs is already furiously lobbying for the "rebels" to be globally accepted as the "legitimate government of the sovereign nation of Libya". The agreement was signed between Patton Boggs and former Libyan ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali, the "rebel" top dog in the US. Senior partner Thomas Hale Boggs Jr will be in charge of the account.
Italy, Britain, France, Qatar and now Turkey have already recognized the Interim Transitional National Council; the Barack Obama administration has already allowed them to open a Washington office. But inevitably this is most of all about money; what the council wants are the billions of dollars in frozen funds from the Gaddafi regime held in the US.
Patton Boggs, by some reports, bags a maximum of US$50,000 a month - charged by the hour. The "rebels" will only pay when they have funds - virtually dry at the moment. For nearly three months they've already had another top Washington PR firm, The Harbour Group, spinning their case on a pro-bono basis - especially on that crucial "unfreeze the funds" front.
It's relevant to note that one of the Patton Boggs lobbyists already involved with the "rebels" is Vincent Frillici, a former director of operations at NATO for the alliance's 50th Anniversary Host Committee. That's sweet; a NATO-connected lobbyist selling Libya's alleged popular/indigenous uprising. So thanks to a Washington lobbyist paradise, the US government will eventually recognize one belligerent side of a northern African civil war, represented by a shady "council" - and enable them to grab billions of dollars to, as the spin goes, "help the Libyan people".
Screw that American boat
A quick look at the facts on the ground would rather suggest a neo-colonial agenda of bribing mercenaries to topple the regime - as unsavory as it may be - of an energy-wealthy country that wouldn't play ball with the International Monetary Fund, and wanted to form a union of African countries that would not sell their natural resources for anything but gold.
Meanwhile, the same rebel-happy US government refuses to admit that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal. As the irrepressible former Central Intelligence Agency analyst Ray McGovern - on board the Audacity of Hope boat trying to sail to Gaza - has written on Commondreams.org, "Before leaving the United States, I was cautioned by a source with access to very senior staffers at the National Security Council that not only does the White House plan to do absolutely nothing to protect our boat from Israeli attack or illegal boarding, but that White House officials 'would be happy if something happened to us'."
So the White House, as McGovern was told, is "perfectly willing to have the cold corpses of [American] activists shown on American TV" - while showering lavish praise on a dodgy "council" eager to feast on Libya's wealth.
Tibetans, Uyghurs, Burmese, Uzbeks, Chechens and countless others may be eagerly reading the writing on the wall. Wanna start a revolution? Do it in English - not your local language. Trouble with the concept? Invoke "R2P" ("responsibility to protect") and Western powers will be knocking at your door in no time, UN resolution in hand and Robocop NATO ready to roll. Can't afford to buy guns? Do it the Libyan "rebel" way - hire a powerful Washington lobbyist to sell you as legitimate and thus enabled to plunder your central government's resources.
None of this applies, of course, if your patch of land is not drenched in oil. "
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columni...libya-1.834381
The voices of those who prophesy doom in Libya are becoming ever louder. The fracas, they say, should never have concerned the West, which has no great interest in the place. The Americans want less and less to do with it. US President Barack Obama, scolded by many in Congress for getting involved in the first place, is hiding in Nato's back seat.
Generals in Britain and France, who are shouldering much of Nato's campaign burden, are complaining about the stress and strain on their forces in trying to bring down Muammar Gaddafi.
There is no timetable and no exit plan, say the pessimists. The rebels are a shoddy lot who are likely, if they get into power, to be no nicer than what went before. Moreover, it is all about tribes, not democracy, and Gaddafi plainly has a lot of them on his side.
To cap it all, Nato, in its frustration at failing to remove the regime in a trice, is killing civilians — the very crime it was meant, under UN Security Council Resolution 1973, to prevent. In short, it is a dreadful mess, with no obvious way out.
Stalemate
Some of what they say is right. The Americans are indeed losing the will to fight. But the picture they present of what's going on in Libya is distorted. There is no stalemate: the campaign is heading steadily in the right direction.
Gaddafi's territorial writ is shrinking. His oil is running out. Defections from his camp are mounting. His days in power, perhaps also on this earth, are numbered.
The leading rebels, though inevitably a mixed bunch, make incomparably more sense than the unhinged colonel. They do not represent only the east.
Like-minded people in Tripoli are keen to join hands with them. Tribal factors count but do not cancel out a general thirst for freedom as well as unity. And Nato has rightly taken care to avoid civilian targets, though some tragic mistakes have inevitably been made.
The big hope is that the regime in Tripoli will fizzle from within rather than be swept away by an advancing rebel army.
Mindful of American mistakes in Iraq, the rebels have sensibly stated that civil servants and members of the army and police, bar those who are stained with blood, will be welcome to serve under a new order. They have called for a free press, freedom of association, a plurality of parties and open elections.
If Gaddafi were unconditionally to accept the need for all of this, it might be worth negotiating with him. But no such possibility seems conceivable at present. Last week, the International Criminal Court at The Hague issued a warrant for his arrest.
It will be for the Libyans to plot their own future. But in the immediate post-Gaddafi phase, outside help will be vital.
Peacekeeping effort
The United Nations is pondering the rapid creation of a ceasefire-monitoring team, with Turks, Jordanians and perhaps some of the beefier Africans to the fore; a bigger force of peacekeepers may be necessary later but would take time to create. A new order will most urgently need robust policing rather than armed force.
The West does indeed have a stake in the outcome in this fight: if Gaddafi can be replaced by a decent regime, the forces of modernity and reform across the Arab world will get a huge fillip, which in turn will benefit the West in a host of economic and political ways. And if he stays put, the tyrants will take succour.
So the West must hold its nerve, increase the military pressure, buttress the rebels, and accept that the campaign may last several more months.
It could end a lot sooner. Whenever it does, the world must be ready for the next phase.
bad news yet againQuote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
Is this NATO, the "unarmed civilians" or the Libyan Government forces who have been killed/are doing the killing?Quote:
Originally Posted by billy the kidbad news yet againQuote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
"..and babies are being taken out of incubators and thrown onto the floor!!"Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
In any war, truth is the first casualty. In Libya, it was hit by a Sidewinder missile fired from 100 km downrange.
[url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/07/07/uk-libya-idUKTRE75O1ER20110707[/url]
"(Reuters) - Rebel fighters seized a village south of the Libyan capital and another group advanced towards Tripoli from the east on Wednesday in the biggest push in weeks towards Muammar Gaddafi's main stronghold.
Rebels firing their rifles into the air in celebration poured into the village of Al-Qawalish, 100 km (60 miles) southwest of Tripoli, after a six-hour battle with pro-Gaddafi forces who had been holding the town.
Rushing through an abandoned checkpoint where government troops had left tents and half-eaten bread in their rush to get away, the rebels ripped down pro-Gaddafi flags.
Farther north, rebels pushed westward from the city of Misrata to within 13 km of the centre of the town of Zlitan, where large numbers of pro-Gaddafi forces are based.
But they came under artillery fire. Doctors at the al-Hekma hospital in Misrata said 14 fighters had been killed on Wednesday and about 50 were injured. The advances came amid reports that Gaddafi -- under pressure from a five-month uprising against his rule, sanctions and a NATO bombing campaign -- was seeking a deal under which he would step down.
His government has denied any such negotiations are underway, and NATO's chief said he had no confirmation that Gaddafi was looking for a deal to relinquish power.
A Libyan official told Reuters on Wednesday there were signs a solution to the conflict could be found by the start of August, though he did not say what that solution might involve.
In the rebel-held cities of Benghazi and Misrata, thousands demonstrated against Gadaffi, waving European and rebel flags and calling for the end of his four-decade rule.
The rebel advances followed weeks of largely static fighting. Heavily armed Gaddafi forces still lie between the rebels and Tripoli, and previous rebel advances have either bogged down or quickly turned into retreats.
But with Al-Qawalish now in rebel hands, they can advance northeast to the larger town of Garyan, which controls the main highway leading into Tripoli. Libyan state television reported on Wednesday that NATO hit targets in Garyan as well fuel tanks in the town of Brega, 200 km (130 miles) west of Benghazi.
The previous big advance in the region was last month, when rebels pushed 20 km (12 miles) north from their base in the Western Mountains to the town of Bir al-Ghanam.
MISRATA PUSH
At the frontline on the outskirts of Zlitan, a unit of fighters had built a sand-bank behind which they could shelter while firing at government troops. There were still sounds of intermittent shelling as night fell.
Unit commander Tarek Mardi, a 36-year-old former banker, said pro-Gaddafi forces had tried to push his fighters back but they had held their ground.
"Why isn't NATO doing its job, where are the Apaches?" he asked, referring to the attack helicopters the alliance had deployed to Libya. "We are protecting our people, our country. We want to save our land from Gaddafi. He is a criminal."
More than 100,000 rebel supporters spilt into the streets of Benghazi waving European and rebel flags and chanting slogans against the Libyan leader.
Gaddafi, who has ruled oil producer Libya for 41 years, says the rebels are armed criminals and al Qaeda militants. He has described the NATO campaign as an act of colonial aggression aimed at stealing Libya's oil."
This appears to strengthen the case that NATO bombs and kills Libyan government forces when attacking "civilian occupied areas" but when the illegal terrorists do similar NATO does not attack.
The "unarmed civilians" are now "a unit of fighters" and "firing at government troops" along with relying on "NATO doing its job, where are the Apaches?" he asked, referring to the attack helicopters the alliance had deployed to Libya"
NATO confirms that it is targeting the oil terminals to stop the citizens of Libya accessing fuel for their daily lives.
Causing humanitarian distress to Libyan citizens, against the UNSC resolution.
The NATO spokesman stated it was a difficult decision. Presumable taken by a politician, to cover NATO's arse. One more charge, on the sheet, for the crusader coalition leaders.
I thought in war/conflict you want to squander the enemies resources?Quote:
Originally Posted by OhOh
I must have missed the declaration of war passed by the UK parliament. The US President has stated that the US is not at war with the Libyan Government.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carrabow
The UNSC resolution call for the stopping of the conflict and protecting the lives of the Libyan citizens not killing, starving a large percentage of the Libyan population.
NATO is allowing the supply of fuel, food and weapons to the illegal terrorists based in Benghazi but bombing the Libyan Government troops, or are they running of air for their tanks, missiles and armed pickups?
NATO is aiding one side in a civil war, against the UNSC resolution.
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1.7 million people, or around 95% of the population of Tripoli, one third of the entire population of Libya, have turned out in perhaps the largest demonstration ever in world history last Friday, to demand an end to the NATO bombings of Libya. Photo: Mohanned Magam
One Third of Libya Turns Out to Support Qaddafi in World Largest March Ever
"The entire premise of NATO bombing Libya, in fulfilment of George Orwell's 1984 "War Is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength" slogan, has been that Colonel Qaddafi is attacking the Libyan population.
First this was shown to be a lie when the Russian military, for the first time publicly displayed video footage from its military spy satellites which showed that no Libyan air force flights took place, nor any massacres, during the months that NATO had claimed as a reason for it launching the now more than 3 month long non-stop bombing of Libya.
The world thought that this would show NATO and the media of those countries, USA, France, Britain, Italy and much of Europe, that there was no massacres or killings by Qaddafi at all, so NATO can call off its "war is peace" bombing campaign and go home. But clearly NATO knew this all along, after all, they too have spy satellites.
It has now taken an entire one third of the population of Libya, exasperated by the lack of truthful media coverage of the events in their country where the only murders that have taken place have been by the NATO-supported rebels which took over Benghazi, to take to the streets to prove the lie that they are being attacked by Qaddafi"
maybe they could post it all on Facebook, NATO might notice :p
yep, it's clear NATO objectives are very political
maybe the Russians and USSR were right along in the cold war when they were accusing the Americans of using NATO as this armed organization for political purpose, not protection as officially claimed
Yes it's all bullshit I'm sure. This is about regime change. It's also an unforgettable message to any left-leaning enemy of America. They will stab you right in the back and not even blink. Reconcilitation dealsnotwithstanding (as had been agreed a few years earlier). When the opportunity (engineered) arose, the deal meant nothing.
Chavez and the others will have 'noticed' - an understatement of course. Is Gaddafi a cnut? Of course. Does that change the point? Nope.
This was always about securing a reasonably large mid-Med oil producer with a new pro-west government. China is rising and taking over Africa. Funny many people still don't understand what this is all about. Like the "Arab Spring" is some kind of naturally occuring uprising.
Libya Live Blog | Al Jazeera Blogs
Libya Live Blog
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A Libyan rebels fighter armed pick-up drives by a destroyed Libyan Army tank in Ajdabiya [AFP]
Gaddafi supporters attend Friday prayers at the green square in Tripoli July 8. [image | reuters]
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Libyan rebels renewed their push against leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Friday, coming under heavy fire just days after making hefty advances toward Tripoli on two fronts.
Libyan rebel forces parade through the western town of Zintan, celebrating advances against Gaddafi troops.
The successful advances over the last two weeks have allowed normal life to resume in towns no longer in shelling distance of Gaddafi's troops. [RTV]
Libyan rebels said they were preparing on Saturday to push forward in their drive on Tripoli from the south and west in a bid to isolate Muammar Gaddafi in the ever-closer capital.
After heavy fighting, rebel fighters captured the desert hamlet of Gualish on Wednesday, taking them closer to the strategic garrison town Gharyan and the last major objective standing between them and Tripoli to the north.
For now, they have set their sights on Asablah, 17 km north of Gualish on the road to Gharyan.
The latest numbers
- Since NATO took over command of air strikes on March 31, its aircraft have conducted 14,421 sorties, including 5,437 strike sorties.
- NATO members taking part in air strikes in Libya are France, Britain, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Italy and the United States.
- Seventeen ships under NATO command are patrolling the central Mediterranean Sea to enforce a UN arms embargo. On Friday, seven vessels were hailed to determine destination and cargo. One was boarded but not diverted.
- A total of 1,686 vessels have been hailed, 158 boarded and nine diverted since the start of the arms embargo.
- Traders said on Friday oil companies in the Mediterranean are seeking at least 70,000 tonnes of jet fuel for delivery to Greece, Tunisia and Turkey, highlighting a rise in regional demand for the product and a standstill of exports from Libya.
- Turkey has frozen $1bn worth of Libyan central bank reserves deposited in Turkish banks, Turkey's Star newspaper reported on Friday, citing Turkish foreign and economy ministry officials.
Four boats with about 1,000 migrants fleeing the conflict in Libya arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa overnight, leading the Italian premier to cancel his visit, the ANSA news agency reported on Saturday.
Among the 1,041 new arrivals were 122 women, many of them pregnant, and 33 children, it said.
The boats were escorted to shore by the Italian coast guard and customs officials.
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who had been expected to visit the island on Saturday, called off his trip "so as not to hinder relief operations".
The number of those fleeing to Italian soil has increased since NATO air raids on Libya began in mid-March and the weather improved.
According to the Catholic organisation of Sant'Egidio, at least 1,820 migrants from North Africa, most originally from south of the Sahara, have drowned this year in the Mediterranean in their bid to reach Europe.
Migrants from Libya who landed on the island of Lampedusa, Italy, this morning. The boats are found to be carrying migrants including 122 women, many of which are in an advanced state of pregnancy, and 33 children. [EPA]
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Abdul Maymen was an 18-year old student before he joined the rebels to fight alongside his uncle and his neighbours.
Watch Sue Turton's report from the frontline, east of Zlitan, where rebels face heavy losses as they advance.
Gaddafi threatens to take fighting to Europe in retaliation for NATO's bombing campaign in Libya.Hundreds of Libyans will martyr in Europe. I told you it is eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth. But we will give them a chance to come to their senses.Two strong explosions rocked the Libyan capital Tripoli overnight, an AFP news agency journalist said.
Rebel fighters fire on forces loyal to Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi during fighting on the outskirts of Zlitan, near Misurata's western frontline July 8, 2011. [image | reuters]
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What sort of frisk down is being performed on the "pregnant" women?Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
What % of the immigrants do you think are included in the "Hundreds of Libyans [who] will martyr in Europe"? Do you think the Libyan Government already has "boots on the ground" - in mainland Europe and it's offshore islands - UK and Ireland? Is it more cost efficient to send "boots on the ground" via the "refugee" boats or an aircraft carrier task force.
Will the Libyan martyrs wreck more havoc than the NATO cruise missiles and bombs? Will their targets be anything related to "command and control" i.e. members of the forces and their families, politicians and their families, members of the UK Royal family, security forces or "unarmed civilians"?
Will they strike before or after the ceasefire or when the "regime change" occurs?
Another US psy-op to wind up the Europeans into mussie-hatred and keep em onside. Though to be honest they don't need to help that one along very much.
With marksman skills shown above, this gonna take a long time :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
A product Sarko's French military training in action. No worries, more ammo on the way courtesy of French tax payers. Have a nice day.Quote:
Originally Posted by Carrabow
probably some American CIA special ops shooting,Quote:
Originally Posted by CarrabowWith marksman skills shown above, this gonna take a long time :confused:Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
C'mon BF; you already have proclaimed that the merikans make quite the mess everywhere we go, AND WE ARE REALLY GOOD AT IT!Quote:
Originally Posted by Butterflyprobably some American CIA special ops shooting,Quote:
Originally Posted by Carrabow
Libya would take us a week, hands down :)
Libya: Nato 'will stop as soon as Gaddafi loyalists and rebels begin direct negotiations' - Telegraph
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"Gerard Longuet also said that Nato would stop their bombardment as soon as the Libyans speak to each to other. His comments appeared to be a significant shift on France's position the Libyan uprising, although Paris said its objective was still that Col Muammar Gaddafi must eventually give up power.
France has spearheaded the Nato-led air campaign in Libya with Britain under a United Nations mandate to protect civilians, and was the first to launch air strikes against troops loyal to Gaddafi in March. After more than three months of bombing, international leaders are stuck over how to end the war, where rebels hold large parts of eastern Libya and have loosened a siege of the city of Misurata, but are unable to make decisive inroads towards the capital Tripoli despite Nato strikes on Gaddafi's forces. Gaddafi has resisted calls to give up power in the face of a rebel offensive aimed at ending his 41-year rule.
"We have ... have asked them to speak to each other," Mr Longuet, whose government has until now been among the most aggressive on Libya, said on French television. "The position of the TNC (rebel Transitional National Council) is very far from other positions. Now, there will be a need to sit around a table," he said."
The rebels have repeatedly demanded that the Libyan leader step down before any negotiations can begin for a political transition, something his entourage has repeatedly dismissed. Mr Longuet added: "We (Nato) will stop the bombardment as soon as Libyans speak to each other and the military from both sides go back to their barracks. "They can now speak to each other because we are showing them that there is no solution with force."
Discussions between both sides have been going on behind the scenes for weeks, but Gaddafi's future has been a major stumbling block. The rebels have so far refused to hold talks as long as Gaddafi is still in power, a stance which before now none of NATO'S major powers has publicly challenged. Mr Longuet also appeared to leave the door open for Gaddafi to remain in Libya. When asked whether it was possible to hold talks if Gaddafi had not stepped down he said: "He will be in another room in his palace, with another title."
Alain Juppe, the French foreign minister, said no talks could really begin until there was a credible ceasefire under UN control. In response to Mr Longuet's comments, the US State Department reiterated that Gaddafi must go. The Foreign Office supports this stance.
Saif Gaddafi, the colonel’s most prominent son, claimed that his father’s administration was in talks with the French government, rather than the rebels.
In an interview with El Khabar, an Algerian newspaper, he said: “Our envoy to (Nicolas) Sarkozy said that the French president was very clear and told him 'We [the French Government] created the (rebel) council, and without our support, and money, and our weapons, the council would have never existed’.”
Meanwhile it was claimed that RAF planes destroyed a Libyan farm that had been used as a base for Col Gaddafi's rocket launchers."
The French have changed their track here at last. The US and it's poodle still demand "regime change". The French have acknowledged that the "unarmed civilians" are in fact a "military force"
If this is their true position shouldn't NATO should be bombing the terrorist armed forces when they attack "civilian populated areas".
The additional illegal demand that both the armed forces "return to their barracks" means little as both sides could claim that they are at "their barracks" where they currently stand. All the Libyan Government bases no longer exist due to NATO's bombing, the terrorist forces could I suppose with draw to Benghazi as the "barracks" their may still be available.
Later reports from other sources have the French denying all the above except that they are "passing messages" between the two camps. Do we not have a UN Middle East Envoy who should be doing this or has the envoy been disbarred due to his prior involvement?
Why don't they just fucking take him out and it'll all be over.
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A grad rocket is launched by Libyan rebels towards forces loyal to Moamer Kadhafi during fighting in Gualish, 50 kms (30 miles) southwest of Tripoli, on July 13, 2011. AFP PHOTO/COLIN SUMMERS (Photo credit should read COLIN SUMMERS/AFP/Getty Images)
West prepares to hand rebels Gaddafi's billions - Africa, World - The Independent
"More than 30 countries yesterday recognised Libya's rebel movement as the legitimate government as they tried to end the war and unseat a defiant Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
The statement by nations meeting in Istanbul for the fourth time since Nato attacks against Gaddafi's regime began in March could allow the US to free up more than $30bn of Gaddafi's assets held by American banks for the opposition fighters. France has agreed to unfreeze $250m in assets for the opposition, while Italy pledged to unfreeze an additional $100m. Kuwait and Qatar reportedly have given about $100m to the opposition.
The meeting laid out a blueprint for a transition of power in which Gaddafi would be given the option to call a ceasefire and relinquish power. "Increasingly the people of Libya are looking past Gaddafi. They know, as we all know, that it is no longer a question of whether Gaddafi will leave power, but when," said Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State.
Predictably, Colonel Gaddafi immediately lashed out at the statement. "Trample on those recognitions, trample on them under your feet ... They are worthless," he said in an audio speech carried on Libyan television. While the tough talk was typical of the dictator, there have been reports that that Gaddafi has sent out emissaries seeking a negotiated end to the conflict, which could include him stepping down.
Whether the rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) can grasp the opportunity offered by yesterday's developments offered remained to be seen. The war against Gaddafi, which the European-led command had hoped would be over in a few weeks, has extended into months. Each time the opposition forces appear to close in on Tripoli from their strongholds in the east or the west, a heavy military defeat has seen them beating a hasty retreat. Yesterday, regime forces reportedly repelled an attack by Nato and rebel forces on the key eastern oil town of Brega.
The US and its allies, however, hope that the official recognition and a cash injection may spur the rebels on. Western military trainers are already on the ground in Libya, helping the poorly-qualified and ill-equipped opposition fighters form their military strategy.
"The United States views the Gaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya," said Ms Clinton. "And so I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognize the TNC as the legitimate governing authority for Libya, and we will deal with it on that basis."
British Foreign Secretary William Hague also took part in the meeting and representatives from the Arab League. Russia and China, whose leaders have criticised Nato operations and launched their own negotiations with Gaddafi and the rebels, were absent.
"The Russian approach to the issue remains unchanged: we are not joining the group and are not participating in its activity," said Alexander Lukashevich said, a Russian government spokesperson.
The TNC leadership, however, were jubilant, calling for more money to aid them in their push towards Tripoli. The UN Secretary-General's special envoy to Libya, Abdul Elah al-Khatib, now has the task of presenting terms for Gaddafi to leave power, but talk of a peaceful end to the conflict came with a pledge from Mr Hague that Gaddafi should not expect a let up in Nato operations. "The military pressure will continue to intensify," he said."
28 NATO plus two other countries decide that they will steal a sovereign countries wealth and hand to some terrorists.
That means 227 other sovereign nations do not agree.
After massacring Libyan civilains the illegal war continues with the stealing and lying crusader coalition plundering the Libian civilian populations wealth.