US launches first anti-IS air raids in Libya’s Sirte

[birding]

TRIPOLI: US warplanes on Monday carried out air strikes on positions of the IS group in the Libyan city of Sirte for the first time, the country’s unity government head announced. “The first American air strikes on precise positions of the Daesh (IS) organisation were carried out today, causing heavy losses… in Sirte,” prime minister Fayez al-Sarraj said in a televised speech.

In Washington, the Pentagon said the raids were launched in response to a request from the unity government. “At the request of the Libyan Government of National Accord, the United States military conducted precision air strikes against ISIL targets in Sirte, Libya, to support GNA-affiliated forces seeking to defeat ISIL in its primary stronghold in Libya,” Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said, using another name for IS.

The US strikes in Sirte “will continue”, Cook added without elaborating. President Barack Obama authorised the bombings following recommendations from top Pentagon officials, and the strikes are “consistent with our approach to combating ISIL by working with capable and motivated local forces”, Cook added.

“The US stands with the international community in supporting the GNA as it strives to restore stability and security to Libya,” he said.


The Tripoli-based GNA launched an operation in May to retake the IS bastion of Sirte, the hometown of slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi which the militants have controlled since June 2015. Sarraj stressed that the US strikes were carried out in coordination with the military command centre of pro-GNA forces, and that no foreign troops would be deployed in Libya. “This has allowed our forces on the ground to take control of strategic positions,” he said. — AFPttp://omanobserver.om/us-launches-first-anti-is-air-raids-in-libyas-sirte/

US launches first anti-IS air raids in Libya?s Sirte | Oman Observer


So they are bombing Libya again after destroying the "stability and security" that they now say they want to restore.

It would seem that one of the two Governments that claim to rule Libya has asked the US to bomb someone they say is IS, but is it or is it the other Government they are fighting against ?

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Regrets of a Revolution? Libya After Qaddafi | Benghazi in Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS

[harrybarracuda]

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Don't be so fucking stupid shaggy.

He was using military weapons against his own people FFS.

No-one intervened until he crossed that line.

[birding]

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Don't be so fucking stupid shaggy.

He was using military weapons against his own people FFS.

No-one intervened until he crossed that line.

Oh dear Harry you do believe all the BS justification for his murder :

Declassified Emails Reveal NATO Killed Gaddafi to Stop Libyan Creation of Gold-Backed Currency

Washington, D.C. – In spite of French-led U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 creating a no-fly zone over Libya with the express intent of protecting civilians, one of the over 3,000 new Hillary Clinton emails released by the State Department on New Year’s Eve, contain damning evidence of Western nations using NATO as a tool to topple Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. The NATO overthrow was not for the protection of the people, but instead it was to thwart Gaddafi’s attempt to create a gold-backed African currency to compete with the Western central banking monopoly.

The emails indicate the French-led NATO military initiative in Libya was also driven by a desire to gain access to a greater share of Libyan oil production, and to undermine a long term plan by Gaddafi to supplant France as the dominant power in the Francophone Africa region.

The April 2011 email, sent to the Secretary of State Hillary by unofficial adviser and longtime Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal with the subject line “France’s client and Qaddafi’s gold,” reveals predatory Western intentions.

Read more at Declassified Emails Reveal NATO Killed Gaddafi to Stop Libyan Creation of Gold-Backed Currency

Would you like to know some truth (look up the word you dont seem to understand what it means) about Gaddafi and pre murder Lybia. :

Libya’s “Water Wars” and Gaddafi`s Great Man-Made River Project


It was Muammar Gaddafi`s dream to provide fresh water for all Libyans and to make Libya self-sufficient in food production.
Libyans called it the eighth wonder of the world. Western media called it a pet project and the pipe dream of a mad dog. The “mad dog” himself in 1991 prophetically said about the largest civil engineering venture in the world:

After this achievement, American threats against Libya will double. The United States will make excuses, but the real reason is to stop this achievement, to keep the people of Libya oppressed.

Gaddafi’s dream

It was Muammar Gaddafi’s dream to provide fresh water for all Libyans and to make Libya self-sufficient in food production. In 1953, the search for new oilfields in the deserts of southern Libya led to the discovery not just of significant oil reserves, but also of vast quantities of fresh water trapped in the underlying strata. The four ancient water aquifers that were discovered, each had estimated capacities ranging between 4,800 and 20,000 cubic kilometers. Most of this water was collected between 38,000 and 14,000 years ago, though some pockets are believed to be only 7,000 years old.

And he was well on the way to achieving his dream until the coalition of the killing got going and do you know what they did Harry :

Many foreign nationals worked in Libya on the Great Man-Made River Project for decades. But after the start of NATO’s so-called humanitarian bombing of the North-African country in March 2011, most foreign workers have returned home.

In July 2011, NATO not only bombed the Great Man-Made River water supply pipeline near Brega, but also destroyed the factory that produces the pipes to repair it, claiming in justification that it was used as “a military storage facility” and that “rockets were launched from there”. Six of the facility’s security guards were killed in the NATO attack, and the water supply for the 70% of the population who depend on the piped supply for personal use and for irrigation has been compromised with this damage to Libya’s vital infrastructure.

Hows that for humanitarian Harry they bombed out the water supply and the means to repair it.

Read the whole link Harry and learn.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/libyas-...roject/5334868

[HermantheGerman]

I always find it hilarious to read how the killing of "one single man" can send a country into the stone ages.

[Maanaam]

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Don't be so fucking stupid shaggy.

He was using military weapons against his own people FFS.

No-one intervened until he crossed that line.

Oh dear Harry you do believe all the BS justification for his murder :

Declassified Emails Reveal NATO Killed Gaddafi to Stop Libyan Creation of Gold-Backed Currency

Washington, D.C. – In spite of French-led U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 creating a no-fly zone over Libya with the express intent of protecting civilians, one of the over 3,000 new Hillary Clinton emails released by the State Department on New Year’s Eve, contain damning evidence of Western nations using NATO as a tool to topple Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. The NATO overthrow was not for the protection of the people, but instead it was to thwart Gaddafi’s attempt to create a gold-backed African currency to compete with the Western central banking monopoly.

The emails indicate the French-led NATO military initiative in Libya was also driven by a desire to gain access to a greater share of Libyan oil production, and to undermine a long term plan by Gaddafi to supplant France as the dominant power in the Francophone Africa region.

The April 2011 email, sent to the Secretary of State Hillary by unofficial adviser and longtime Clinton confidante Sidney Blumenthal with the subject line “France’s client and Qaddafi’s gold,” reveals predatory Western intentions.

Read more at Declassified Emails Reveal NATO Killed Gaddafi to Stop Libyan Creation of Gold-Backed Currency

Would you like to know some truth (look up the word you dont seem to understand what it means) about Gaddafi and pre murder Lybia. :

Libya’s “Water Wars” and Gaddafi`s Great Man-Made River Project


It was Muammar Gaddafi`s dream to provide fresh water for all Libyans and to make Libya self-sufficient in food production.
Libyans called it the eighth wonder of the world. Western media called it a pet project and the pipe dream of a mad dog. The “mad dog” himself in 1991 prophetically said about the largest civil engineering venture in the world:

After this achievement, American threats against Libya will double. The United States will make excuses, but the real reason is to stop this achievement, to keep the people of Libya oppressed.

Gaddafi’s dream

It was Muammar Gaddafi’s dream to provide fresh water for all Libyans and to make Libya self-sufficient in food production. In 1953, the search for new oilfields in the deserts of southern Libya led to the discovery not just of significant oil reserves, but also of vast quantities of fresh water trapped in the underlying strata. The four ancient water aquifers that were discovered, each had estimated capacities ranging between 4,800 and 20,000 cubic kilometers. Most of this water was collected between 38,000 and 14,000 years ago, though some pockets are believed to be only 7,000 years old.

And he was well on the way to achieving his dream until the coalition of the killing got going and do you know what they did Harry :

Many foreign nationals worked in Libya on the Great Man-Made River Project for decades. But after the start of NATO’s so-called humanitarian bombing of the North-African country in March 2011, most foreign workers have returned home.

In July 2011, NATO not only bombed the Great Man-Made River water supply pipeline near Brega, but also destroyed the factory that produces the pipes to repair it, claiming in justification that it was used as “a military storage facility” and that “rockets were launched from there”. Six of the facility’s security guards were killed in the NATO attack, and the water supply for the 70% of the population who depend on the piped supply for personal use and for irrigation has been compromised with this damage to Libya’s vital infrastructure.

Hows that for humanitarian Harry they bombed out the water supply and the means to repair it.

Read the whole link Harry and learn.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/libyas-...roject/5334868

Your stance and information are very interesting. I confess to knowing only what the media report (and then only my limited scope of reading). I do agree that the citizens were better off before the US intervened in Libya and Iraq....and Iran for that matter, going back further. Conversely, the citizens of Syria have suffered from the US's disinclination to act (and once again, Israel's opinion on matters mattered).

[harrybarracuda]

I do agree that the citizens were better off before the US intervened in Libya

Then you weren't paying attention.

[birding]

I always find it hilarious to read how the killing of "one single man" can send a country into the stone ages.

it wasnt the killing of a single man Herman it was the calculated destruction of a country and its infrastructure out of pure greed with no consideration of the people of that country.

There are now several groups that control different parts of Libya. It should be noted that the group that has asked the US to bomb someone they say is IS is not in fact the elected Govt but an Islamist coalition which rejected the result of the 2014 election that call themselves "The Muslim Brotherhood".

This means that the US is now helping an Islamist group by bombing someone they say is another Islamist group.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan...2%80%93present)

The second Libyan Civil War[63][64] is an ongoing conflict among rival groups seeking control of the territory of Libya. The conflict is mostly between the government of the Council of Deputies that waselected democratically in 2014, also known as the "Tobruk government" and internationally recognized as the "Libyan Government"; and the rival Islamist government of the General National Congress (GNC), also called the "National Salvation Government", based in the capital Tripoli. The Tobruk government, strongest in eastern Libya, has the loyalty of the Libyan Army under the command of General Khalifa Haftar and has been supported by air strikes by Egypt and the UAE.[65]The Islamist government of the GNC, strongest in western Libya, rejected the results of the 2014 election, and is led by the Muslim Brotherhood, backed by the wider Islamist coalition known as "Libya Dawn" and other militias,[66][67] and aided by Qatar, Sudan, and Turkey.[65][68]

In addition to these, there are also smaller rival groups: the Islamist Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries, led by Ansar al-Sharia (Libya), which has had the support of the GNC;[69] the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant's (ISIL's) Libyan provinces;[70] as well as Tuareg militias of Ghat, controlling desert areas in the southwest; and local forces in Misrata District, controlling the towns ofBani Walid and Tawergha. The belligerents are coalitions of armed groups that sometimes change sides.[65]

[birding]

I do agree that the citizens were better off before the US intervened in Libya

Then you weren't paying attention.

You havent read any of the links have you Harry and you havent looked up the word truth. You just want to believe in the propaganda.

You know what the people of Libya are saying now ?

In Muammar Qaddafi’s Libya, people used to say, “We had one enemy.” Today, “people don’t know who their enemy is.”

Regrets of a Revolution? Libya After Qaddafi | Benghazi in Crisis | FRONTLINE | PBS

So what was it like under Gaddafi Harry well he may have been a dictator who came down hard on any dissent but he did look after the country and the people, for instance :
LIBYA UNDER GADDAFI

Much has been said about Muammar Gaddafi, whether lies or truth we may never know but there are certain facts and changes that happened in Libya under his rule and its very essential that we must know about them. As it is the best way to judge anybody is to see what he did when he was in power:

• • Before he threw the previous monarchy, of King Idris, leading a bloodless coup, the literacy rate in Libya was 25% which under him went upto 87%. As on today 25% of Libyan’s have a university degree and 15% have advanced degrees.

• • Education and medical treatments were free in Libya. If Libyans were not able to find the education or medical facilities they need in Libya, the government funded them to go abroad and also provided $2,300/month accommodation.

• • Electricity was provided free to all its citizen.

• • Housing was considered a human right in Libya and Gaddafi vowed that his parents would not get a house until every Libyan had his own home.

• • Banks in Libya were state owned and loan was given to its citizens at 0% interest rate by law.

• • Libya had no external debt and its reserves amounted to $150 billion which is now frozen globally.

• • Gaddafi carried out the world’s largest irrigation project, known as the ‘Great Man-made River’ project, to make water readily available throughout the desert country. It costed around $27billion.

• • A portion of Libyan oil sale was credited directly to the bank account of all Libyan citizens.

• • If a Libyan was unable to get employment after graduation the state gave him/her a salary until an employment was found.

• • Should any Libyan wanted to take up farming career, they used to receive farming land, a farming house, equipment, seeds and livestock to kick-start their farms, all for free.

• • All newly-weds In Libya received around $50,000 by the government to buy their own apartment, so to help start a family.

• • A mother who gave birth to a child received $5,000.

• • 40 loaves of bread in Libya costed $0.15.

• • If a person bought (there is no word ‘buys’) a new car in Libya, government subsidised 50% of the price.

• • The profit on oil belonged to the people and not to Rothschild’s BP and Rockefeller’s Standard Oil.

• • Richest in Africa with the highest living standard and at one time – GDP per capita $11,314 higher than Japan, Libya was known as the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’.

• • Woman in Libya had equal rights, not only in mere theory, but also in practice. However, under the Shariah-Law-based ‘Transitional National Council’ this has changed quickly now.

• • Libyans had a direct participatory democracy based on People’s Conference that put other so called ‘democracies’ to shame.

• • Being an Islamic country Libya was the only one in North Africa and the whole world where fundamentalist and radicals were not accepted at all.

• • Gaddafi planned to introduce a single African currency made from gold, which would have eradicated the US$ and Euro as trade currencies for Africa, in consequence freeing them from the bullies like Rothschild.

https://libyanfreepress.wordpress.com/2015/10/24/libya-under-gaddafi-and-whats-left-of-libya-today/

[harrybarracuda]

[QUOTE=birding;3321783So what was it like under Gaddafi Harry well he may have been a dictator who came down hard on any dissent but he did look after the country and the people[/QUOTE]

Oh for fuck's sake you imbecile.

He was shelling, starving, bombing and shooting his own people.

Is that not enough for you?

[HermantheGerman]

I always find it hilarious to read how the killing of "one single man" can send a country into the stone ages.

it wasnt the killing of a single man Herman it was the calculated destruction of a country and its infrastructure out of pure greed with no consideration of the people of that country.

Ohh boy, here we go again. Yes, of course the infrastructure took a beating but shouldn't be a big problem to fix it with all that oil and money found underneath Gaddafies pillow.
We are talking about only 6,2 million people, again ONLY 6,2 million people.
But the biggest curse with these countries is what....?
Can you guess ....?

Corruption-Authoritarianism and a curse called OIL.
The other thing we have to discuss in the DogHouse

[jabir]

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Don't be so fucking stupid shaggy.

He was using military weapons against his own people FFS.

No-one intervened until he crossed that line.

He was using military weapons against our friends, Islamist rebels, only some of which may have been his people. Then when those same friendly Islamist rebels were cornered they embedded themselves among women and children and started weeping about the coming bloodshed, so that when Gaddafi flexed his muscles and said he was going to take them out our other untrustworthy friends, the media, reported that he was going to wipe out an entire city of women and children and we wetted ourselves and our great leaders stepped in to save the day by putting our Islamist friends in rule over the country which includes, yes, those same innocent women and children we care so much about. Now our friends are running for cover because we have finally realised they are not really our friends at all, and guess what they'll also surround themselves with women and children so we can't take them out, but our new friends can.

Everything is connected, so those griping about millions of refugees please note that these are courtesy of Europe and America.

[Humbert]

^Interesting piece of propaganda. He was chruning stuff like this out like crazy during the conflict. Of course the Russians lost arms deals worth billions when he was killed so they have a lot to gain from this kind of turd polishing.
Gaddafi was not a hero to everyone. He was one of the world's leading financial sponsors of terrorism and almost certainly was behind the bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland which killed 270 people. His death was no great loss.

[thaimeme]

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Don't be so fucking stupid shaggy.

He was using military weapons against his own people FFS.

No-one intervened until he crossed that line.

Indeed...
Yet, who makes up these rules regarding the shadowy lines crossed, Harry?
And for who's interest?

Frankly, it's not the business of any Western [coalition] power whatsoever.
But the twisted legitimacy of an imperial quest from the West continues as it has for some two hundred years.....and today, any imagined boogeyman will do to
justify the perpetual means.

Birding's brief, yet succinct, quoted paragraph above is spot on -
Don't be a sappy apologist towards your beloved Anglo-American way. It's quite shameful and embarrassing for yourself.

You, and others, need to wake the fuck up as to the origins and causes concerning the problems of the world. And it ain't instigated by them.....

[birding]

[quote=harrybarracuda;3321793]

Oh for fuck's sake you imbecile.

He was shelling, starving, bombing and shooting his own people.

Is that not enough for you?

Lies to justify killing are never enough for me Harry i do research to find out the truth.

I havent noticed you posting any links to prove your statements only the usual insults and swearing which are a sure sign of someone who knows they are wrong but wont admit it.

You wont even believe Hillary's emails so there is really no hope for you.

[harrybarracuda]

Read about the mess that country is in today thanks to the coalition of the killing, and for why ? Because Gaddafi was proposing that African oil be paid for in gold and that would have sidelined the US Dollar and of course the greed for oil didnt help.

Don't be so fucking stupid shaggy.

He was using military weapons against his own people FFS.

No-one intervened until he crossed that line.

Indeed...
Yet, who makes up these rules regarding the shadowy lines crossed, Harry?
And for who's interest?

Frankly, it's not the business of any Western [coalition] power whatsoever.
But the twisted legitimacy of an imperial quest from the West continues as it has for some two hundred years.....and today, any imagined boogeyman will do to
justify the perpetual means.

Birding's brief, yet succinct, quoted paragraph above is spot on -
Don't be a sappy apologist towards your beloved Anglo-American way. It's quite shameful and embarrassing for yourself.

You, and others, need to wake the fuck up as to the origins and causes concerning the problems of the world. And it ain't instigated by them.....

Fuck off jeff.

[harrybarracuda]

[QUOTE=birding;3321944]

Oh for fuck's sake you imbecile.

He was shelling, starving, bombing and shooting his own people.

Is that not enough for you?

Lies to justify killing are never enough for me Harry i do research to find out the truth.

I havent noticed you posting any links to prove your statements only the usual insults and swearing which are a sure sign of someone who knows they are wrong but wont admit it.

You wont even believe Hillary's emails so there is really no hope for you.

Not only has it been amply discussed on this board but it also easily found with a simple google search of "Gadaffi" or "Qadafi" and "War crimes" you imbecile.

All this nonsense about paying for oil in gold and shit is simply the invention of delusional conspiracy fuckwits, who know that they have an ample supply of gullible idiots like yourself, panting like thirsty puppies, to lap it all up.

[jabir]

deleted

[birding]

[quote=harrybarracuda;3321957]

Oh for fuck's sake you imbecile.

He was shelling, starving, bombing and shooting his own people.

Is that not enough for you?

Lies to justify killing are never enough for me Harry i do research to find out the truth.

I havent noticed you posting any links to prove your statements only the usual insults and swearing which are a sure sign of someone who knows they are wrong but wont admit it.

You wont even believe Hillary's emails so there is really no hope for you.

Not only has it been amply discussed on this board but it also easily found with a simple google search of "Gadaffi" or "Qadafi" and "War crimes" you imbecile.

All this nonsense about paying for oil in gold and shit is simply the invention of delusional conspiracy fuckwits, who know that they have an ample supply of gullible idiots like yourself, panting like thirsty puppies, to lap it all up.

Oh dear Harry you have got it bad.

There is ample proof that what I write is true ( you still havent looked up that word) even the leaked Hillary emails say so but you still prefer to believe the propaganda put out as justification for the killing.

i wont bother posting the pages of links that prove what I write because I know you wont read them.

Tell you what Harry I will post a photo of Tripoli before the coalition of the killing started bombing when Libya had a thriving tourist industry and challenge you to post another as it is today :

[harrybarracuda]

No-one is disputing that the breakdown of Libya into tribal strongholds has led to instability.

Qadafi's execution left a power vacuum which is slowly being filled.

You probably didn't notice that they are about to increase oil exports, possibly up to 900k bpd, because you're too busy reading shitty conspiracy websites instead of ones that actually report news.

Taking out the shitheads in Sirte is a good step towards that.

[birding]

No-one is disputing that the breakdown of Libya into tribal strongholds has led to instability.

Qadafi's execution left a power vacuum which is slowly being filled.

You probably didn't notice that they are about to increase oil exports, possibly up to 900k bpd, because you're too busy reading shitty conspiracy websites instead of ones that actually report news.

Taking out the shitheads in Sirte is a good step towards that.

Yes Harry they are increasing oil exports but which faction is doing it and where is the money going ?

This is a year old but if anything things have got worse since then :

In March 2014, I went to interview Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Eastern rebels had just underlined how little power Zeidan really had by seizing the country's biggest oil port and loading oil onto a tanker to sell overseas.

Zeidan said that he had stopped the ship leaving, but his body language told a different story. When we stopped filming, he told us the situation was not entirely under control. After the tanker escaped again, parliament fired him. Within hours he was boarding a plane to Malta.

The chaos has deepened further. Recently, officials from the Tobruk parliament stopped me attending the prime minister's inauguration because they did not want to admit that lawmakers' attendance has shrunken to less than half of the seats. The Tripoli assembly bans reporters for the same reason.

In the capital, one of the main shopping avenues is now lined by shuttered restaurants that used to be filled with foreign investors, diplomats and even oil workers. Luxury shops lie empty and foreign companies have abandoned their offices. With my assignment over, I've now left Libya. Millions of Libyans don't have that option.© Thomson Reuters 2015

A Front-Row Seat as Libya's Hopes Faded

Do you know for sure who is being bombed in Sirte, not including the normal population, we are told it is IS but we also know there are factions fighting each other for control. We also know that the group the US is now supporting with bombs is not the (supposedly) elected government but an Islamist group, can they be believed ?

Incidentally this is the place they are now bombing again, this photo was taken after the NATO humanitarian bombing :

[wasabi]

What about Benghazi , has that thread died a death.

[HermantheGerman]

Tell you what Harry I will post a photo of Tripoli before the coalition of the killing started bombing when Libya had a thriving tourist industry and challenge you to post another as it is today :

[HermantheGerman]

Incidentally this is the place they are now bombing again, this photo was taken after the NATO humanitarian bombing :

WRONG ! This photo was taken after 8 months of intense revolutionary fighting.
Don't need to be a military expert to see that.

[harrybarracuda]

Incidentally this is the place they are now bombing again, this photo was taken after the NATO humanitarian bombing :

WRONG ! This photo was taken after 8 months of intense revolutionary fighting.
Don't need to be a military expert to see that.

Yes, you're a fucking liar shaggy.

That photo was published in 2014.

Stop with the bullshit.

http://www.wrongkindofgreen.org/2014...-libya-africa/

[Neo]

you're too busy reading shitty conspiracy websites instead of ones that actually report news

Links?