Intel5 posted:

Has there been any major group in the Arab world arguing against a no fly zone? I don't see why we need to wait for a UN mandate when everyone in the region is calling for someone to step up and stem the bloodshed.

Koine posted:

Haha, really? Are you in economics class right now? I've never seen a more bizarre comparison than oil futures speculation and the origins of agriculture.

sweeptheleg posted:

Maybe I have been watching too much 24, but isnt the easiest safest way out of this to have some CIA guy snipe Gaddaffi later when he steps out on the red carpet? Theres apparently huge crowds around when he shows up not hard to get away I would think.

Chortles posted:

"Proper" assassination: harder than it looks, and apparently the CIA's reputation for direct action (DA) is a myth... apparently the CIA can't even put together kill teams (from the Army's Delta Force instead of in-house -- although not surprisingly there's supposedly a lot of crossover) right anymore.

Chortles posted:

"Proper" assassination: harder than it looks, and apparently the CIA's reputation for direct action (DA) is a myth... apparently the CIA can't even put together kill teams (from the Army's Delta Force instead of in-house -- although not surprisingly there's supposedly a lot of crossover) right anymore.

quote:

Ivorian women protest over killings
Hundreds march over shootings of women during a protest last week as four people reported killed in Abidjan.
Last Modified: 08 Mar 2011 17:28 GMT

The killing of the seven protesters has triggered mass protests and international condemnation [AFP]
Hundreds of women protested Tuesday in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire's commercial capital, over last week's fatal shooting of seven female demonstrators.

Seven women were killed by security forces as they took part in a demonstration against President Laurent Gbagbo, who has scoffed at calls to step down despite losing the November 28 election that the UN says was won by Alassane Quattara, his main rival.

Soldiers reportedly shot dead four people on Tuesday in an incident separate from the march.

The Associated Press said its photographer saw the bodies of three men and one woman inside a clinic where the victims had been taken for treatment.

The overwhelmed clinic had nowhere to put them, except on the floor where the blood of the dead pooled together, the photographer said.

Earlier, male relatives built a wall of burned-out cars to block the mouth of the freeway leading into Abidjan's suburb of Abobo where the female protesters, dressed in white and wearing red headbands, had gathered.

Mariam Bamba, 32, picked up a tree branch next to one of the blood stains on the pavement where the women were felled by gunfire.

"This leaf is all that they were carrying when they were killed," she said.

quote:

Soldiers backing Ivory Coast's rogue leader Laurent Gbagbo have again opened fire on civilians, killing at least four people hours after hundreds took to the streets to protest against the shooting dead of seven women at a march last week.

The bodies of three men and one woman were seen by an Associated Press photographer inside a clinic where they were taken for treatment. The overwhelmed clinic had nowhere to put them except for the floor.

A women's march in the Treichville neighbourhood of Abidjan had ended when security forces rushed into the area and began shooting. Earlier on Tuesday, hundreds of demonstrators had gathered in the Abobo suburb near the bloodstained pavement where at least the unarmed women were killed last Thursday.

quote:

CAIRO —For someone whose rally was just disbanded by plainclothes policemen and thugs wielding knives, Amal Abdel Karim is remarkably calm. The Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated candidate for parliament, now sitting serenely in the parlor of her makeshift campaign headquarters in the poor Cairo neighborhood of Agouza, tells me she has been through far worse.

On Sunday, Nov. 28, Egyptians will head to the polls to elect a new lower house of parliament. Elections in Egypt are routinely marred by violence and allegations of fraud -- and this People's Assembly contest appears to be no different. The relatively short official campaign period of two weeks has already witnessed detentions, charges of vote-buying, and violent clashes. And Karim has suffered through much of it: The mother of four has had her office ransacked, her posters torn down, and her supporters intimidated and threatened, while she reports being put under surveillance herself and summoned repeatedly to court.

This was supposed to be Egypt's pro-women election. In 2009, President Hosni Mubarak's long-standing National Democratic Party government passed a law creating a new quota system, adding 64 seats to the People's Assembly that can be contested only by women. The new quota, which will stay in place over two five-year election cycles, will ensure that women control at least 12 percent of the assembly. Announcing it, the regime proclaimed the end of a system that saw women holding only nine of the outgoing parliament's 454 seats.

But the quota system -- which government critics dismiss as little more than a vote-amassing scheme -- isn't necessarily a female-friendly institution. Because of engrained sexism and political cynicism in Egypt, it may end up creating a worse situation for female candidates than their earlier situation. "[Quotas] don't get to the root of the problem, [which] is that the culture in the Middle East now is not supportive of active women's participation," says Shadi Hamid, director of research at Brookings Institution's Doha Center. "That's why when there are free and fair elections, people in the Arab world don't vote for women."

quote:

Egyptian Christians continued to protest today after the homes of Coptic Christians were attacked and the Church of St Mina and St George was torched during an attack on a village on the outskirts of Cairo on 5 March.

A mob of 4,000 Muslims attacked the village of Sool, Atfif in Helwan Governate on Friday in reaction to the relationship between a Christian man and a Muslim woman, forbidden under Shari’a law.

The woman’s father was reportedly murdered by a cousin for refusing to sanction the honour killing of his daughter, and the cousin was in turn killed by the woman’s brother. The attack on Sool allegedly followed the cousin’s funeral.

During the attack the mob exploded gas cylinders inside the church of St Mina and St George, pulled down the cross and domes, and torched the building. According to news reports, the fire brigade was prevented from entering the village by the mob, and the army, which has been stationed for the last two days in the village of Bromil, 7 kilometres from Sool, initially refused to attend the scene of the attacks.

Following the violence, a crowd of at least 1,000 Coptic Christians were joined by Muslims on 5 March in a protest outside the headquarters of state television station Egypt TV, which they have vowed to continue until the perpetrators are apprehended.

Despite the initial unwillingness of the army to intervene, Egypt’s new Prime Minister, Essam Sharaf, met with representatives from the Coptic community. There is an ongoing dialogue of engagement, with more meetings planned in future. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling military council, told Reuters news agency that the army would rebuild the church before Easter holidays.

quote:

A few weeks ago, Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak found himself up to his eyeballs in trouble. His regime was crumbling, the Egyptian people were demanding he step down from his dubious position as "President for Life," and every time he turned on his TV, cell phone cameras showed his goons beating up protesters.
As Mubarak stepped down, other nations across the Middle East gave protesting the old college-try. Some places have had good luck. Others not so much? But all eyes turned to Libya and it's ruler Col. Muammar Gaddafi this month, as the Libyans took to the streets demanding change. The difference is, Mubarak is no Gaddafi.
To be more specific, Mubarak carried himself like a politician, relying on his friends in the West to keep foreign trouble out of his yard and using his police force to keep his people quiet. Meanwhile he carved out a nice little piece of the proverbial pie for himself. Gaddafi, on the other hand, maintains his power like a James Bond villain, with flamboyant costumes and an army of female bodyguards to boot.

quote:

[Neighborhoods] The security services helpless. The gang war rages
by DzWikileaks on Monday, March 7, 2011 at 1:40 am
Gang neighborhood benefit from the complicity of the security services. Instead of getting rid of the police makes them allies. "

Khaled, a young forties Oued Koriche, denounced the attitude of the security services who attend without intervening in the battles gang neighborhoods of Beau-Strawberry and Climat de France. "The police often attend without moving to pitched battles between the groups who come from nearby neighborhoods. After the departure of slum dwellers in The Quarry, it's time for Strawberry Youth Beau Climat de France to fight. Authorities to let the thugs who terrorize the population, "this installment young computer specialist who works day in a box Bouzaréah. Residents of neighborhoods of Oued Koriche surprised by the "molting" recently made by some offenders.

"The neighborhood thugs, who used knives, arm themselves with weapons of war. I saw some with rifles. Wadi Koriche has nothing to envy the favelas of Brazil. Eventually, there will be shootings and the only victims are still honest people in the neighborhood, "predicts a resident who has approached the writing without wanting to reveal his identity," for fear of being attacked "if found . A climate of terror imposed on the neighborhood's population that has suffered for years from the horrors of terrorism.
The "curfew" is imposed by groups that engage battle almost every night. "At 21h, there is no soul. The premises are closed. The dwellings of the district are cramped and people are obliged to do caulking. The insults by young people gathered at the bottom of the buildings are our daily lot, "one says indignantly.
Repeated attacks ...

It does not go a day without attending to armed attacks. Last week, a crime occurred at Beau-Strawberry where one resident with a gun, killed two of his neighbors.
Young offenders prey on private property, but also those of the state. A bus acquired by APC for athletes has been destroyed. Cars of a pound were vandalized. "Oued Koriche is abandoned to criminals. Even eradicated slums without pushing the police services and the CPA or the wilaya delegated intervene. The houses were built in green areas, the only places of entertainment of the population, "notes does one at the PCA, unable to handle this situation.
The police have the means to fight against crime that has been established for over a year in the neighborhoods of Oued Koriche. "The police has a brigade, and a BMPJ urban security. The police, claiming not to have means, could ever ask for reinforcements and investing sites. The population dropped to hands and feet tied crazy youth must be reassured. Residents will get justice one day if the police did not intervene. But is not the result desired by certain parties? "Questioning our interlocutors.

quote:

In Riyadh the mood is tense; everyone is on edge wondering what will happen on Friday – the date the Saudi people have chosen for their revolution. The days building up to Friday so far have not been as reassuring as one would like.

On 4 March, there were protests in the eastern region and a smaller protest here in Riyadh. The protests in the eastern region were mainly to call for the release of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amer, who had been detained after giving a sermon calling for a constitutional monarchy.

The protest in Riyadh was started by a young Sunni man, Mohammed al-Wadani, who had uploaded a YouTube video a few days before, explaining why the monarchy has to fall. After the protests, 26 people were detained in the eastern region and al-Wadani was taken in soon after he held up his sign near a major mosque in Riyadh.

It's not just the people who are on edge; apparently the government is also taking this upcoming Friday seriously. Surprisingly, Sheikh Amer was released on Sunday, while usually political detentions take much longer.

All this week, government agencies have been issuing statements banning protests. First it was the interior ministry that promised to take all measures necessary to prevent protests. Then the highest religious establishment, the Council of Senior Clerics, deemed protests and petitions as un-Islamic. The Shura Council, our government-appointed pretend-parliament, also threw its weight behind the interior ministry's ban and the religious decree of prohibition. But you can't blame the clerics or the Shura for making these statements – the status quo is what's keeping them in power and comfortable.

quote:

VIDEO FOOTAGE SHOWS EGYPTIAN PRISON INMATES APPARENTLY TORTURED AND KILLED


The videos of dead prisoners were taken in the Zenhoum morgue in Cairo
© Amnesty International

8 March 2011
Amnesty International has called for an urgent investigation by the Egyptian authorities after receiving video footage from inside a morgue showing the bodies of scores of prisoners, some of whom had apparently been tortured before being killed.

The three videos of dead prisoners from Al-Fayoum Prison were taken in the Zenhoum morgue in Cairo on 8 February 2011 by a man who went to the morgue after the family of another inmate told him that the dead body of his brother was there.

"These are distressing images that show a large number of inmates who appear to have been killed in horrific circumstances," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International's director for the Middle East and North Africa.

"The Egyptian authorities have a responsibility of care for all inmates of their prisons and must immediately investigate how these prisoners met their deaths and bring to justice anyone found responsible for carrying out unlawful killings, torture or other ill-treatment."

Malek Tamer found the name of his brother, Tamer Tawfiq Tamer, an inmate at Al-Fayoum, one of Egypt's large prisons, on a list of 68 male prisoners listed in the morgue’s register.

He said a large number of the bodies, which were all numbered with pieces of paper attached to their fronts, had wounds to areas including the head, mouth and eyes, suggesting they were tortured before their deaths.

Injuries included bullet wounds, burn marks, bruises and missing finger and toenails, Malek Tamer said.

quote:

In "company town" of Tripoli, loyalty to Qaddafi
Posted by Harry Smith

There is a cruel sameness to the people who came to us as we went from neighborhood to neighborhood in Tripoli. Without exception, everyone we encountered toed the company line: "Allah, Qaddafi, Libya." The camera elicited horn honks and shouts from car windows.
"Qaddafi! Qaddafi!" they'd chant.

Tripoli is a company town. And the company is Qaddafi and sons. You are either with the company plan or -- at enormous risk -- you are against it.

Libya continues bombarding rebel positions

It's hard to find a dissenter as you walk down the street. "Qaddafi is our father" is a common refrain. The rumors of the demise of the cult of personality are greatly exaggerated. Qaddafi looms large here -- big enough that masses of people are more than willing to publicly demonstrate their loyalty to the old revolutionary. They have their reasons.

Compared to the rest of Africa, and even other parts of the Middle East, Libyans have it pretty good. Everyone has a home and a car. Want to get married? The colonel has promised 20-year, interest-free loans. Because the violence has spiked inflation, every family has been promised another 500 dinars a month. That's worth a couple of hundred dollars. Qaddafi may seem crazy but he is no fool. Money still talks.

But people in restive neighborhoods have been disappearing off the streets of Tripoli. The fear factor is very high. After Friday prayers at the big mosque near Green Square, we spoke with worshipers who were doing their best to slip away from an angry pro-Qaddafi mob that had formed to make sure there would not be another protest.

"We're scared," one said. "Tell the truth," said another. The looks on their faces told me everything. Lingering too long with a reporter could mean a visit from the authorities. Qaddafi's mob ran up the steps of the mosque. Just as a large group was emerging from the sanctuary chanting "Hooreyah. Hooreyah. Freedom. Freedom," the mob shoved and kicked them back inside. The doors slammed shut. Mission accomplished.

Libya's ragtag revolutionary army

While in Tripoli we had a number of conversations with ranking regime supporters. It was as if they were stuck in a bad movie. The energy and fervor with which they spoke about Qaddafi was out of sync with the times. Think old Soviet Union or old Cuba. On a government junket to inspect the supposed millions of doses of hallucinogens that according to Qaddafi were "smuggled into the country to corrupt Libya's youth" we found they were nothing more than pain pills manufactured in India.

I saw one of our government contacts later and said, "You know this is BS." He said, "Ok, I grant you the pills are an exaggeration. But, the rest of what I'm telling you is true." Got it.

What is impossible to judge is how deep Qaddafi's support in Tripoli truly is.

On the surface, it is impressive. But should a crack form in the veneer one wonders if it would soon become a crater, swallowing up the regime and all who cling to it.

Harry Smith is a CBS News senior correspondent. He also serves as a substitute anchor and correspondent for the "CBS Evening News," "CBS News Face The Nation" and "CBS News Sunday Morning." He has won numerous awards, including several Emmys and an Edward R. Murrow award.

quote:

8 March 2011: “The young are mobilising in Mauritania too, and the unions are at their side, fighting for change”
Encouraged by the revolutions in Tunisia, then Egypt, young Mauritanians have launched their own movement for change, called 25 February. Three national trade union centres (CGTM, CNTM, CLTM*) that have persistently denounced the serious violations of workers’ rights, are encouraging the population to get out onto the streets and are determined to make the government finally face up to its responsibilities. Abdallahi Ould Mohamed, known as Nahah, General Secretary of the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), explains the causes they are fighting for, and the hope for change that is driving the movement in his country, with one key date in their sights, the 11 March demonstration.

quote:

Demonstrations ruin Nick Clegg's weekend

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Britain again in the last week to protest against government and council cuts.

The biggest demonstration took place in Cardiff on Saturday where up to 3,000 trade unionists, students, pensioners and others marched against the Tory and Liberal Democrat conferences taking place in the city.

Class anger ran throughout the march. Support for the revolutions in the Middle East was evident, with many Egyptian flags flying.

Protesters briefly blocked the road outside the Lib Dems conference, with students calling for Nick Clegg to go after lying over tuition fees.

Union leaders including Mark Serwotka of the PCS, Len McCluskey of Unite and Siân Wiblin of the Wales TUC addressed the rally at the end of the march.

All of them called for the biggest mobilisation possible for the TUC’s anti-cuts demonstration in London on 26 March. Serwotka got the best reception when he said, “Strike action is not only inevitable, it is necessary to show the strength of our side.”

Around 300 protesters helped ruin Clegg’s appearance at the Liberal Democrats Scottish conference in Perth on Saturday.

He had to use a backdoor at the city’s concert hall to enter the building and then spoke to a largely empty auditorium.

Protesters, including a number of disabled people, booed any delegates who appeared outside. They shouted “Barnsley” at them after the party’s humiliating result in the by-election there.

Up to 100 people protested at the Labour local government conference in central London on Saturday. The National Shop Stewards Network anti-cuts campaign called the demonstration.

The Cheshire Cat posted:

A real life example of how effective assassination is would be the Israeli retaliation for the killings at the Munich Olympics (the operation the movie Munich is based on). It took them 20 years, and among the list of people killed was someone confirmed to be completely innocent (a waiter that kind of resembled one of the targets). There may have been others, but that's the only 100% confirmed case. The after the whole thing ended there was retaliation against Israeli government officials all over the world, so it's not as if nobody knew who did it.

So assassination isn't really the quick fix the movies make it seem like. It turns out that finding a specific person in a planet of 6 billion people with even more places to hide is kind of difficult.

brathering posted:

oh yes, make the commodity market illiquid, what a great idea

Nonsense posted:

I'm sorry, I don't know much about stock terms and market mumbo, but what would it mean to make this commodity "illiquid"?

Apology posted:

My French is very rusty but the signs say--(center) "On March 8, 2011, Gbagbo arrested and murdered women and their children. Enough is enough! Out! Out! Out!" This is a paraphrase of course. There are a couple of words on the sign that don't make sense to me.

(right) "Simone how can you condone the murdering of mothers..." Some of the words are obscured and some of them don't make sense to me.

Tevryr posted:

Gadhaffy to speak to reporters airing on CNN in "moments"
They've been waiting half an hour. I'm sure he's just busy adjusting his collar and buttons.

Boner Slam posted:

gently caress, this guy here
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=5ad_1298859291


holds a G36.
I am more than slightly enraged. How come we export one of the best service rifles to those who use them against their own people. If one country should not have modern weapons tech, then it is Lybia.

gently caress you Heckler und Koch. gently caress you.

Young Freud posted:

You must have not been here early on when protesters where recovering FN303s off of merc bodies. I believe it was the British or the French who bought them for the Libyans, who then gave them to mercenaries.

Brown Moses posted:

The journalists have been tied up for 7 hours waiting for Gaddafi, while Zawayi burns to the ground.

Soviet Commubot posted:

Apparently it was the Wallonians.

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Europe_steps_up_pressure_on_Libya_999.html

Thomase posted:

Waited for the CNN live, it cut to a trial, i left unsatisfied.

BBC Live Blog posted:

#
2258: Channel 4's Jonathan Rugman tweets: "So Gaddafi disappears via a side door, giving reporters nothing to report. Good night from the gilded cage of Tripoli."

Young Freud posted:

32nd Elite Forces Battalion? Is that the unit under Khamis' command?

Thomase posted:

Waited for the CNN live, it cut to a trial, i left unsatisfied.

Apology posted:

International Women's Day isn't going so well in Egypt either, it seems:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/11/27/egypts_pro_women_election_turns_ugly?page=full

Part of having a free and open democracy includes enfranchising women, Egypt. It isn't really a democracy if men are the only benefactors of the newfound freedom. They fought for you, they died next to you, they fed you and treated your wounds, and now it's time for you to acknowledge them and share power with them.

Apology posted:

You would think that a call for a constitutional monarchy wouldn't be that controversial in today's climate in the Middle East, since it's still a monarchy, but noooo....

Milovan Drecun posted:

This is an old article from before the revolution so it's kind of irrelevant now.

Narmi posted:

Yes, the 32nd Brigade is also known as the Khamis Brigade.

Xandu posted:

http://www.arabist.net/blog/2011/3/8/international-womens-day-in-cairo.html

I doubt it's irrelevant now. Things have changed, but women can hardly be considered equal citizens.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hGuaVwJDfJI7vRgu0XYDJZApqogw?docId=CNG.18fc58cd464ba5d3197d3444a57e8dcf.3b1 posted:

DUBAI — A group of Emirati intellectuals and activists on Wednesday petitioned the president of the Gulf state to introduce direct elections and vest the parliament with legislative powers.
The petition, posted online, cites "rapid regional and international developments that necessitate improving national participation," in calling for the direct election of all members of the Federal National Council (FNC), which serves only as an advisory body.

It also calls for "the amendment of constitutional articles to power the Federal National Council with full legislative and regulatory powers."

The petition, which comes amid sweeping uprisings in several Arab countries demanding regime changes, was signed by 133 UAE nationals, including academics, journalists and rights activists.

Petitioners lamented that the process of efforts to widen political participation over 39 years, since the United Arab Emirates federation was formed, "have not followed the constitution."

They wrote that the constitution stipulates a "process towards a comprehensive democratic parliamentary system."

The UAE, which groups seven emirates including Abu Dhabi and Dubai, had indirect elections in 2006 for the first time, where members of electoral colleges appointed by the emirates' rulers were entitled to vote half the members of 40-strong council.

The remainder were named by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahayan.

The government had described the 2006 polls as the start of a process that would eventually see all Emiratis electing half of the members of an expanded FNC with greater powers.

The UAE is expected to have new elections later this year.

Young Freud posted:

I've got no reason not to believe you, but 397 sets of F2000 rifles, P90s, and Five-Seven pistols doesn't seem to stretch to cover 10,000-man unit. It is a battalion-sized amount of arms. I'll assume that Khamis' most loyal people are probably using them. Everybody else is probably carrying G36s like Boner Slam was talking about.

Boner Slam posted:

holds a G36.
I am more than slightly enraged. How come we export one of the best service rifles to those who use them against their own people. If one country should not have modern weapons tech, then it is Lybia.

gently caress you Heckler und Koch. gently caress you.

quote:

7:08am GMT
There are reports of heavy civilian casualties in Zawiya after forces loyal to Col Gaddafi carried out an intensive bombardment of the rebel-held town on Tuesday. But it is hard to get an accurate picture of events there - BBC teams have been stopped every time they try to make their way to Zawiya.

quote:

7:14am GMT
The BBC's Pascale Harter is in the rebel-held eastern city of Benghazi. She says that people their with relatives in Zawiya have heard that those wounded in fighting there aren't getting to hospitals on outskirts, because they are cut off by troops loyal to Col Gaddafi surrounding the town.

quote:

8:15am GMT
The BBC's John Leyne in Benghazi points out that Col Gaddafi seems to be using a sizeable chunk of his army just to try to take Zawiya. He'll have to do so again across the country if he is to crush this rebellion.

quote:

8:35am
Reuters is reporting that pro-Gaddafi tanks are closing in on the rebel-held main square in Zawiya, quoting a rebel.

quote:

8:49am
Quote from a rebel in Zawiyah speaking to Reuters: "There are many dead people and they can't even bury them. Zawiyah is deserted. There's nobody on the streets. No animals, not even birds in the sky."

quote:

8:53am
Here are some more details on the advance of Gaddafi tanks into Zawiyah, reported by Reuters. Interestingly, a rebel fighter claims the bombardment of the oil port was prompted by the death of one of Gaddafi's cousins in fighting there, earlier this week.

quote:

"We can see the tanks. The tanks are everywhere," he told Reuters by phone from inside the city. The fighter, named Ibrahim, said forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi were in control of the main road and the suburbs of Zawiyah.

Rebel forces still controlled the square and the enemy was about 1,500m away, he said.
Ibrahim said there were army snipers on top of most of the buildings, shooting whoever dared to leave their homes.

He said half the city was destroyed by air attacks. "There are many dead people and they can't even bury them. Zawiyah is deserted. There's nobody on the streets. No animals, not even birds in the sky," he said.

Rebels had killed a high-ranking cousin of Gaddafi in fighting earlier in the week, and "that's why he bombed the city. They wanted to retrieve the body and they did," Ibrahim said.

He said about 60 rebel fighters had gone to attack an army base on Tuesday about 20kms (12 miles) from Zawiyah. "None of them has returned and we don't know if they're dead or alive. We haven't heard from them," he said.

7:40am GMT
CNN's Ben Wedeman tweets: "Tuesday Libyan Air Force jets destroyed a water main in Ras Lanouf. Will complicate opposition effort to hold the town."

quote:

Here is a chunk of that LCI interview with Col Gaddafi, in which he threatens to align himself with Osama Bin Laden: "I cannot fight against my people, that's a lie by colonising countries: France, Britain, the Americans. They have suffered (Osama) Bin Laden's interventions, and now, instead of saying that this is an attack against Bin Laden and instead of supporting Libya, no, they want to re-colonise Libya. But this is a colonialist plot, it's colonialist. If al-Qaeda no longer is a common enemy, then from tomorrow we are going to meet Bin Laden and reach agreement with him. He will become our friend if it is considered that this is not terrorism."

quote:

More quotes from Col Gaddafi from his interview with Turkey's TRT television: "If al-Qaeda manages to seize Libya, then the entire region, up to Israel, will be at the prey of chaos... The international community is now beginning to understand that we have to prevent Osama Bin Laden from taking control of Libya and Africa."

Brown Moses posted:

Gaddafi Interview

quote:

Greek media reports say one of Col Gaddafi's private planes has crossed Greek airspace en route to Egypt. Greek officials have given no information on who was inside.

quote:

No detail on that Libyan plane that's said to have crossed Greek airspace, but Greece has had strong relations with the Gaddafi regime - hence the phone conversation we referred to earlier (1033) between Col Gaddafi and the Greek prime minister.

quote:

The Greek defence ministry says that Gaddafi's plane has crossed Greece en route to Egypt, al-Arabiya reports.

No further details are available at present but if Gaddafi is aboard one wouldn't imagine he would get a warm reception in Egypt, which only recently ousted its own dictator.

quote:

Karl Stagno-Navarra, a journalist in Malta, told al-Jazeera taht three out of five of the Gaddafi family jets are in the air, headed to Vienna, Athens and Cairo respectively.
His sources were air traffic control in Malta and Cyprus.

quote:

More on the Libyan plane crossing over Greece. A Greek air force source told AFP that it was a Libyan Airlines Falcon 900 that normally carries VIPs, though the pilot denied that dignitaries were on board. "The pilot tabled a flight plan from Tripoli to Cairo," the official said, adding: "The plane crossed southwest of the island of Crete around an hour ago. It should be landing in Cairo by now."