28 Mart 2011 Pazartesi
Libya: A survivor under siege
Resplendent in state robes and his trademark black tribal cap, he delivered a typically fiery speech from a spot that symbolises his ability to survive amid his nation’s cut-throat tribal politics – atop the ruins of the vast Tripoli compound destroyed by an air strike in 1986, the last American attempt to unseat him.
A quarter of a century after that attack, he clings stubbornly to power. Despite the destruction of his military at the hands of British, French, and American air power, he told the crowd brought to the compound to act as his human shield that he would never surrender. “We are ready for the fight, whether it will be a short or a long one,” he declared.
Such swaggering defiance is the trademark of the cornered tyrant. Yet it also underscores an uncomfortable truth facing an international community desperate to see the end of Colonel Gaddafi’s rule: tyrants are often hard to remove.
With his amazon female bodyguard, elaborate outfits and incoherent diatribes, it is easy to dismiss Col Gaddafi as just another dictator who has let power go to his head. But mere megalomania does not explain his survival since he took power by force in 1969. Those who have met him speak of the razor-sharp focus, manipulative style and instinctive understanding of how to wield power that has carried him through attempted coups and assassinations.
While western military action might have consolidated Col Gaddafi’s remaining political support base, however, it has emboldened others too – not just in the rebel-held east but also in government strongholds. In Tripoli, dissatisfaction with the regime appeared to resurface this week as the effects of air strikes and sanctions were felt. Five weeks after the protests started residents could once again be heard murmuring their opposition to Col Gaddafi, telling foreign journalists that they would attempt to stage fresh protests.
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Bleak history lessons for Libya’s future
This year sees the 25th anniversary of the publication of Thinking in Time: The Uses of History for Decision-Makers, a text on how best to use lessons of the past. It provides a corollary to the aphorism that those who cannot remember history are condemned to repeat it. This is especially relevant in Libya, where history has been enlisted to make the case both for and against military intervention.
Those making the moral case for action, including President Barack Obama, often cite the need to avoid repeating the failure to intervene in Rwanda in 1994. Those arguing for no-fly zones recall northern Iraq, or the former Yugoslavia. But none of these is an exact fit. Unlike Rwanda, Libyan society is not structured along a single or dominant ethnic faultline. And Muammer Gaddafi’s threat to show no mercy to his opponents might have been just that: a threat, within the context of a civil uprising, to intimidate those who opposed him with arms. It was not necessarily a threat to every man, woman and child in Benghazi.
Plotting the way forward in Libya
Libya has been pulled back from the brink. In spite of fears that western countries might have entered the fray too late, their air power has swiftly checked Muammer Gaddafi’s attempt to extinguish the uprising against him.
But while Colonel Gaddafi’s murderous juggernaut has been stopped, he has not been defeated. The opposition is retaking territory, but victory is not guaranteed. There is little sign that its forces have the military and logistical ability to take the fight to Tripoli.
Obama to defend actions in Mideast
The Obama administration has launched a concerted defence of military action against Libya and its broader response to the upheavals in the Middle East ahead of an address to the nation by the president.
Barack Obama’s decision to make a nationally-televised speech on Monday night follows criticism and disquiet about the administration’s failure to offer a coherent framework for US foreign policy.
The criticism has not been uniform, with many national security specialists saying Mr Obama has had to juggle an unprecedented range of challenges in a brief period affecting longtime allies and foes.
Hillary Clinton, secretary of state, and Robert Gates, defence secretary, in joint TV appearances on Sunday, said the Libya action had succeeded in preventing a humanitarian catastrophe. But they resisted offering a time frame for ending US involvement – even as Washington hands over formal control to Nato – and also sought to distinguish Libya from other protest movements.
While deploring the bloodshed in Syria, Mrs Clinton said the situation did not warrant intervention because the level of violence was not the same as in Libya. “There’s a difference between calling out aircraft and indiscriminately strafing and bombing your own cities [like Libya], than
Talking Libya in London
As the Libyan rebels race along the coast towards Tripoli, foreign ministers from 35 nations are gathering in London to discuss what to do next. At least, I think that’s what they are doing. Talking to participants in the London conference, it isn’t entirely clear what the agenda is. Formally, they are establishing a “contact group” of 35 nations that can monitor and discuss the Libyan conflict. Informally, it seems to me there are several other goals.
Libyan rebels sweep westwards
International air raids targeted Muammer Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte for the first time on Sunday night as rebels made a high-speed advance towards the regime stronghold.
A heavy bombardment of Tripoli also began after nightfall, with at least nine loud explosions and anti-aircraft fire heard.
The rapid push westwards by opposition forces, who just over a week ago had been under siege in Benghazi, underlined how air strikes against Colonel Gaddafi’s forces by US, French, Canadian and British jets have changed the dynamics of the conflict.
The rebels, mostly volunteers with little or no training and light weapons, had been overwhelmed by the better equipped and better trained regime forces. But western intervention in the oil-rich nation has meant that Col Gaddafi’s air superiority has vanished, making it highly risky for his troops to move along open desert highways linking east and west.
The opposition advance appeared only possible because of damage inflicted by western air strikes on pro-Gaddafi troop positions in Ajdabiya, seen as the gateway to the east, over the weekend. The rebel forces had spent several days trying to retake the town last week but they were unable to overcome regime troops at the main entrances to Ajdabiya, where they had dug in T-72 tanks and set up artillery positions. But western jets bombed the regime forces’ armour, with at least 22 wrecked tanks littering main junctions in and around Ajdabiya.
The rebels then moved west, retaking the oil town of Brega and Ras Lanuf, meeting little resistance. The advance means the rebels control the main oil refineries and terminals in the east. They reportedly reached the town of Bin Jawad – the most westerly point they controlled briefly this month before being pushed back to Benghazi.
After rediscovering their swagger, the rebels again boasted of moving on to Sirte and Tripoli. “We will not stop. We will break the siege around Misurata then we will reach Bab al-Azizia [Gaddafi’s compound in Tripoli],” said Nouri al-Agori, a rebel fighter.
Nato agreed to take command of all international military operations enforcing the UN resolution in Libya at a meeting of its envoys in Brussels on Sunday night. The decision was taken after Nato’s military committee, comprising the top officers from all 28 delegations, had approved plans unanimously to broaden the mission to include ground attacks, if Col Gaddafi’s forces threaten civilians.
Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Nato’s secretary-general, said: “Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas . . . Nato will implement all aspects of the UN resolution. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Nato approval was a diplomatic victory for the US and UK, after struggling to bring Turkey and France under the Nato umbrella.
The UK has convened a special conference on Libya on Tuesday. Italy’s foreign ministry said it was talking to Germany “about a co-ordination of a position on key principles for the future of Libya”, to be discussed at the conference in London.
www.ft.com
27 Mart 2011 Pazar
Postal Service: 7,500 workers, $20,000 buyouts
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Postal Service is offering a $20,000 buyout to thousands of veteran workers as part of its bid to eliminate 7,500 administrative jobs, the agency announced Thursday.
The struggling agency also announced plans to shutter seven district offices.
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