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Libya: rebel defences 'failing' as Gaddafi forces move towards Benghazi
Guardian (UK) ^ | 2011-04-10

Posted on 04/10/2011 9:33:27 AM PDT by DTA

Muammar Gaddafi's forces continued to fight their way toward Benghazi, the heart of Libya's revolution, as five African leaders arrived in Tripoli in an effort to broker a ceasefire and political settlement. Rebel defences around Ajdabiya appeared to be failing as Gaddafi's soldiers broke in to the heart of the strategic town, 90 miles from Benghazi, and engaged in running street battles after again outmanoeuvring the revolutionaries. Although western powers continued their air strikes, they did not appear to deter Gaddafi's forces.

(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aq; benghazi; gaddafi; libya; noflyzone; obamaswar
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1 posted on 04/10/2011 9:33:30 AM PDT by DTA
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To: DTA
From the article:

"Rebels said government forces shot down a Russian-made helicopter sent to the fight by revolutionaries only two days before. Nato forced a rebel MIG jet to land because of the UN-imposed no-fly zone."

It was NATO's duty, they supposedly maintain NO Fly Zone over Libya.

Oops, it does not apply to NATO's AQ allies. "Civilians" who fly gunships.

2 posted on 04/10/2011 9:35:36 AM PDT by DTA (CENTCOM vs. AFRICOM)
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To: DTA

So Khadaffi is killing Al Qaeda. This is like watching a fistfight between Joy Behar and Michael Moore... Don’t know who to root for...


3 posted on 04/10/2011 9:36:51 AM PDT by Silverfiddle (Stand With The Heroes, Fight The Zeroes!)
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To: DTA; mickie; flaglady47
How can "air strikes" deter building-to-building street battles?

Where's Mack Sennett when we need him?

Leni

4 posted on 04/10/2011 9:36:54 AM PDT by MinuteGal (Obama....you'll have to pry all my incandescent lightbulbs from my cold, dead fingers!)
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To: DTA
Although western powers continued their air strikes, they did not appear to deter Gaddafi's forces.

This is why we are going to be involved there for the next decade or more.

5 posted on 04/10/2011 9:37:04 AM PDT by library user (Just because you're homeless doesn't mean you're lazy.)
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To: DTA

6 posted on 04/10/2011 9:37:38 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: DTA

Once they have formed front on the outskirts of Benghazi, I look for the Libyan Govt. Forces to launch a night amphibious assault from their rear.


7 posted on 04/10/2011 9:40:08 AM PDT by Old Retired Army Guy
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To: MinuteGal

Apparently the US is going to lose her second war. Thanks, Kenyan.


8 posted on 04/10/2011 9:43:39 AM PDT by gitmo (Hatred of those who think differently is the left's unifying principle.-Ralph Peters NY Post)
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To: DTA
It's my belief that Obama always wanted Gaddafi to remain in power.

A real president would have taken out this cold blooded killer of Americans and a real president would have also tracked down any Al Qaeda on the rebel side.

Instead Gaddafi will remain and AQ will slink back into the shadows waiting for their chance to strike America.

9 posted on 04/10/2011 9:43:58 AM PDT by FreeReign
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To: DTA

Well I guess you can’t bomb American virtues on everybody and expect it to always work out for the best...


10 posted on 04/10/2011 9:47:01 AM PDT by Tempest (I put money ahead of people)
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To: DTA

Gee! Who could have forseen this??? Sadly, it is probably the better of the possible outcomes. The general public never remembers that the Russian Revolution started out as a democracy movement; in the feeble minds of the rest of the ruling class at the time.

FUBO & FAD


11 posted on 04/10/2011 9:50:53 AM PDT by RJS1950 (The democrats are the "enemies foreign and domestic" cited in the federal oath)
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To: DTA

After Khaddafi wins this civil war, the problem will be he’ll make the West pay for not supporting him. So expect a Libyan backed terror attack (which means it’ll be successful and kill hundreds if not thousands) and we’ll have to go in anyway to knock him out of power.


12 posted on 04/10/2011 9:54:28 AM PDT by Bogey78O (Don't call them jihadis. Call them irhabis. Tick them off, don't entertain their delusion.)
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To: DTA

What page of the fraudulent un document does it call for air strikes against humans, daffy must have developed human powered flight.


13 posted on 04/10/2011 9:58:29 AM PDT by org.whodat
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To: DTA
It was NATO's duty, they supposedly maintain NO Fly Zone over Libya.

Exactly! And if they did just that and not demand regime change, there would be no way they could be seen as suffering defeat.

But from day one this was no enforcement of a No Fly Zone.

14 posted on 04/10/2011 10:00:39 AM PDT by tsowellfan
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To: DTA
Photobucket
15 posted on 04/10/2011 10:00:47 AM PDT by EGPWS (Trust in God, question everyone else)
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To: DTA
I'm shocked.

And of course when they fail it's “NOT” Obama’s fault and the awesome American media will be an abettor in this tragedy which amounted to nothing more than a halfhearted political maneuver.

During Egypt's uprising Obama was given a political beating and he had to pull the old “political diversion” trick out of his repertoire of tricks, that's why the anti-bullying campaign started and coincidentally ended as fast as it did as well. When Libya began polls showed that American wanted action, so did focus groups. Obama wasn't going to show a lack of action, but he also doesn't want to take a bloody nose like Bush did when he was punching his opponent in the face on that issue. So Obama frames the Libyan intervention in a way most politically advantageous for him, from the air, in the beginning and hand off all responsibility to the supra national organization NATO. If any ground forces do get committed (which is surely required if Qaddafi is outset and you want any control of the outcome) the mess that ensues isn't his. But at the same time Obama “shows action” and “leadership” in this crisis. Well, not really, but it appears as such.

Libya is to little to late. In order to be Pontius Pilate he had to get the Arab League, NATO and UN on board. Intervention came so late that the rebels were largely crushed and Qaddafi's forces had been reorganized and shored up. The momentum of the rebellion was lost. Furthermore, a refusal to commit ground forces means even if the rebellion were to win, the outcome is highly uncertain because the geeks, college students, women and youth that often support these sort of rebellions in these places aren't usually the violent, organized and well financed ones that seize power afterwords, i.e. Iran (The original rebellion there had college students, women etc in it and what we ended up with was the Ayatollah), Egypt (more and more looking like the Muslim Brotherhood will vastly gain in power and influence)......

Besides to little to late, here's anther adage to describe this scenario, “Damned if you do, damned if you don't.” The framing of this mission (i.e. what our objective is and what we're willing to do in order to get there) was defined such that the most likely outcome will be Qaddafi regaining power (failure) and if the rebellion were to win, another strong-arm or worse yet more radical Islamic oriented regime rising to power (failure).

Great doing Obama! Go back to Chicago, talk about race and inner city issues.

16 posted on 04/10/2011 10:01:47 AM PDT by Red6
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To: org.whodat
What page of the fraudulent un document does it call for air strikes against humans, daffy must have developed human powered flight.

It's an insult to us and the rest of the American people. And it comes from a President who was so concerned about following the UN resolutions and anything short of that was a "war crime".

17 posted on 04/10/2011 10:03:24 AM PDT by tsowellfan
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To: Bogey78O

Wrong if daffy does anything it will be after he and all the third world countries get their hands on nuclear weapons they have all learned you cannot be safe without them. All obummer has done here is start. The world toward more nuclear standoff.


18 posted on 04/10/2011 10:03:27 AM PDT by org.whodat
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To: Bogey78O

Don’t be absurd. Why would he use terror in this environment?

His most effective weapon will be one that is applied in a zero risk manner. He will retake control, inform ENI, Total, and BP that their services are no longer required, invite in Oil India and PetroChina to come restart oil production, BUT . . . at a rate of precisely 375,000 barrels per day.

That will be more than enough at $300 / barrel to fund his country comfortably. As food riots arrive in NYC and Los Angeles, he can make speeches about how Allah punishes evil.


19 posted on 04/10/2011 10:03:40 AM PDT by Owen
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To: Bogey78O
Talk about a load of steaming manure w/ Zeewoe. All Obozo had to do is stay out of it...the US only receives 3% of Libya's oil shipments.

Zeewoe could have made that up by an EO by resuming drilling in the Gulf and other fed lands like ANWAR based on economic threat....but my bad, that would actually help the US economy by dropping the price of oil, not to mention, opening Yucca Mountain and expediting new nuke permits.

20 posted on 04/10/2011 10:04:24 AM PDT by RSmithOpt (Liberalism: Highway to Hell)
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