Motley Moose – Archive

With surprising speed the Libyan Democratic Movement is sweeping westward towards Tripoli.

As of 0300 GMT Monday, Gaddafi’s home town of Sirte- said to be the big battle before Tripoli – is reported to be in Democratic hands. Democratic forces have therefore crossed 570 km from Benghazi and are now only 159 km from Misrata and 450 km from downtown Tripoli.

As more land and people and military equipment comes under the control of the Democratic movement it remains to be seen who will be standing with Gaddafi in coming days.

OK, fine. Everyone else can lay around and have a few beers and I’ll take care of everything. Don’t get up, just relax and I’ll make sure the lights stay on and the place stays clean and the maniacs don’t kill the kids and dinner is ready on time.

No problem.

Nato takes charge of enforcing Libya no-fly zone (as long as the US takes the heat).

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday that after lengthy negotiations the 28-member alliance reached a deal to enforce the no-fly zone. … Rasmussen said the Nato operation was limited to enforcing the no-fly zone…

Sure, as Gaddafi shells cities you’ll orbit overhead.

Consider this a petulantly  Open Thread.

While I have made quite clear my passionate support for the democratic revolutions throughout the Arab World, and my firm belief that UN Security Council Resolution is vital to protect the people of Libya from a ruthless armed dictator, let me just be clear that I will not support any Neo-Con takeover of the international mission.

There are already signs of this happening in the UK; with the military Chiefs at odds with the Prime Minister on the UN mandate over targeted assassinations and regime change. Add to this the optics of Tomahawk missiles and Pentagon briefings, and we have uncanny and worrisome echoes of the Iraq War, which finally – almost fatally –  hi-jacked UN principles of humanitarian intervention for Neo-colonialist Neo-conservative ends. The abiding message of the multinational force assembled  should be….

To allow the Libyan people their rights of self determination.

It’s a fair point. As the sound of anti-craft fire combined with the distant crumps of explosions disturb the Libyan night, it’s a fair point: are we celebrating death? Are we cheering on exactly the same kind of indiscriminate slaughter which was unleashed in Vietnam and Cambodia, and more recently in Iraq? Democracy, founded on debate and dissent, should never try to silence those questions. It should ask them. Ask them of ourselves, and those in Government, or the Armed Forces, who seek to represent and defend us.

But for once, this isn’t about us. The uprisings in the Maghreb and Mashriq, the revolutions in the Arab World from Morocco to Yemen, Tunisia to Syria, have not been led by us. It’s a spring awakening, as important as 1968 or 1848.

Transcript from The Journeying Progressive’s speech today (downtown Kansas City, MO):

“Good afternoon. It is dark right now in the nation of Libya. For the past month, the world has watched a selfish dictator brutally suppress the protests of a people in crisis. Today, the United States and her allies have said “Enough.”

One of the oldest cliches of political life is that we always end up fight the last war.  When it comes to the rare moment of the UN utilising its chapter VII provision last night and enforcing a No Fly Zone, with additional ultimatums for Gaddafi to withdraw his forces from the several heavily bombarded towns in Libya, it cannot be emphasised too much: this is not a ground invasion or regime change from above

Unlike Iraq, President Obama has insisted the US is providing support to the UN, but not proposing an invasion:

“I also want to be clear about what we not be do – the US is not going to deploy ground troops into Libya. And we are not going to use force beyond a defined goal, specifically: the protection of civilians in Libya.”

Though I understand the reservations about military action in any field, I felt a deep sense of relief when the UN Security Council voted through resolution 1973 last night UK time.

Why? Because in all the mess of the wars of choice in Iraq and Afghanistan, I always feared one of the casualties of those debacles would be the careful constructed Responsibility to Protect principle established after the genocide in Rwanda, and near genocide in Bosnia and Kosovo.

To me this isn’t about the right to wage war, but the responsibility to prevent it

We’ve seen calls for a no-fly zone from several fronts ~ both at home and abroad.  It seems to be the favored form of intervention of British PM Cameron, US Senators McCain, Lieberman, and Kerry as well as any number of twitterers.  We have seen calls for a no-fly zone in Libya, too, to be sure.  On the flip side, Gaddafi has vowed to use whatever military he has to fight a no-fly zone.

Me?  I don’t mind the idea (those three years I spent as a Data Processing Technician in the Navy made me a military expert) as long as the US does not take the lead.  I firmly believe, as SoS Clinton has said recently, the UN and/or NATO and/or the Arab League should take the lead.

What I find intriguing are the thoughts of SecDef Gates who, as you know, is a holdover from the Bush Administration and former CIA deputy director for intelligence during the Reagan years.

Well, one at least. Here’s some of what the whackadoodle had to say yesterday:

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose authority is teetering amid a popular uprising, said in an interview with a French newspaper on Sunday that an Islamic holy war would engulf the Mediterranean if the insurrection in Libya succeeded and that “we will go back to the time of Red Beard, of pirates, of Ottomans imposing ransoms on boats.”

Of course, this isn’t particularly surprising from an omnicidal dictator who fancies himself a Flemingesque mastermind. Red Beard? This from an asshat who takes fashion advice from Capt. Crunch.

As the mainstream media, like other traditional organisations, struggles to place Libya into acceptable, familiar narratives the actual events emerging renew the dramatic, populist story of the courage and determination of people aroused by the taste of freedom.

Overnight Az Zawiyah, in opposition hands and surrounded on all sides, has endured a concerted attack by forces loyal to the Qaddaffis including the ‘elite’ security battalions of the regime:

TRIPOLI, March 4 (Reuters) – Forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Friday fought their way into Zawiyah, a town near the capital that has for days defied his rule, killing a rebel commander and pinning fighters into pockets of resistance.

At least 30 civilians were killed in the clashes, residents said by telephone. An improvised force of rebels was pushed back to the central square in Zawiyah, about 50 km (30 miles) west of the capital Tripoli, a rebel spokesman said.

“We are under siege, we are surrounded from the east, west and south, only the north is open because it opens to the sea,” Ali, a resident, told Reuters by phone. “Electricity has been cut, we are in the dark … Maybe they are planning an attack.”

Maria Golovnina – UPDATE 3-Gaddafi forces fight to seize rebel Zawiyah Reuters 5 Mar 11

It is 3:50AM in Az Zawiyah now and only daylight will reveal the outcome.