Libya - Latest Updates Part II ( Archived) (937)

AJ12345: anytime its my job to make you look smart

leigh2154: Hillary Clinton on Libya:

"The US and the American people support the aspirations and rights of the Libyan people."

The UN Security Council made it clear there would be accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes....
Punitive actions include imposing a comprehensive arms embargo, asset freeze on Quddafi and his family, and a travel ban on the Quddafi regime.....
Clinton said the UNSC resolution also opens the door for humanitarian relief...
She pledged support to those pursuing the path to reform....

Today, she meets with a number of her counterparts from other countries...She said, "American is a late entrant, Obama's decision to join is a good one because we have been able to influence a number of actions that otherwise would have been on the outside looking in."

zeus911: One of the Hercules aircraft salvage missions yesterday including a Maltese Anthony Formosa, who recounted his ordeal to the local media.

Mr Formosa visibly still shaken by events told PBS how the security personnel guarding their oil rig camp abandoned them in order to join their hometowns in the revolt. At this point all remaining personnel grouped together and decided to head to a nearby airfield in a caravan of vehicles. However they hopped between three remote desert landing strips south of Benghazi without success. At two points the group was threatened by bands of armed ‘desert thieves’ where in one incident they got away by giving them a number of vehicles, upon which the thieves reportedly started firing in the air in celebration.

Failing to find any operating airports, the group of around 40 sought shelter in a nearby village for five tension-filled days where however the anti-Gaddafi villagers welcomed them and gave them food and shelter.

Apparently having been tipped on the pickup, the group finally made their way to a nearby airstrip which was under the control of anti-government protesters where the RAF Hercules picked them up to safety.

Mr Formosa said that at that point no one knew where they were being taken and initially the flight was both dangerous and vulnerable as the plane hugged the land to evade radar. To his delight, he later learnt that the plane was heading to his own island home.

emmaline: did clinton elaborate in what capacity?

emmaline: Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, February 27, 2011; 9:53 PM
GENEVA - The United States has begun to reach out to some of the Libyan opposition groups encircling embattled dictator Moammar Gaddafi, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday as she prepared to lead a new diplomatic offensive to force the Libyan leader to quit.

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A day after the U.N. Security Council approved economic and military sanctions against the Libyan government, Clinton also stepped up calls for Gaddafi's ouster and for a legal reckoning for Libyan officials accused of killing hundreds of protesters in the past two weeks.

"I want to underscore this unanimous message from the Security Council to those who are around Gaddafi: You will be held accountable for the actions that are being taken and have been taken against your own people," Clinton said as she departed Washington for a meeting of the U.N. Human Rights Council. Clinton is expected to meet with key European and Middle Eastern diplomats on Monday to discuss ways to increase pressure on Gaddafi while taking steps to deal with a worsening refugee and humanitarian crisis.

As rebel factions closed in on the Libyan capital, Clinton disclosed that the administration is now in communication with some of the opposition groups amid efforts to help minimize bloodshed and ensure an orderly transition. A former Libyan justice minister claimed last week to have established a provisional government in rebel-held Benghazi, but Clinton did not specifically endorse any of the numerous factions that have taken up arms against Gaddafi.
"We've been reaching out to many different Libyans who are attempting to organize in the east," Clinton told reporters. "It's way too soon to tell how this is going to play out, but we're going to be ready and prepared to offer any kind of assistance that anyone wishes to have from the United States."

Clinton is using the Geneva trip to rally international support for a campaign of steadily increasing economic and diplomatic pressure against Libya. State Department officials are expecting Europe Union countries to approve new sanctions against the Gadaffi government on Monday.

"Our goal is to multilateralize," a senior Obama administration official said on Sunday as Clinton headed for Europe. "It is no secret that the European Union has done more commerce with Gaddafi and has more-established relationships."

In Washington, some members of Congress have called for even tougher measures against Gaddafi. Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), speaking on CNN's "State of the Union" in a pre-taped interview from Cairo, called for a no-fly zone over Libya.

"Now is the time for action, not just statements," Lieberman said.

Lieberman said the White House response was too slow, though he acknowledged that the administration had been cautious due to safety concerns for Americans still in Libya.

McCain also appeared on NBC's "Meet the Press," where he urged the administration to recognize the provisional government in eastern Libya.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) , speaking on C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, said a no-fly zone is "something that needs to be looked at. . . I wouldn't recommend the United States do this in any unilateral fashion, but to the extent that the international community, and NATO especially, believe it is necessary, that is something that certainly should be on the plate and considered."

leigh2154: For nearly two decades, leaders of Al Qaeda have denounced theArab world....Now the people have risen.....

Opposition movements shun the two central tenants of the Qaeda credo: Murderous violence and religious fanaticism....

So for Al Qaeda and American Policies, a crossroad?...Will the terrorist network shrivel and die or find a way to exploit the chaos of revolution?......

The revolution remains a "work in progress" but the uprisings show the "new generation" has no interest in Al Qaeda.....

If Al Qaeda faces an uncertain moment, so does the Obama administration, American policy must adjust for the long term......

US must "rethink" how it engages with the ME.....