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Could Gaddafi Still Win...?
Reaganite Republican ^ | February 28, 2011 | Reaganite Republican

Posted on 02/28/2011 3:26:01 AM PST by Reaganite Republican

Perhaps the better question is: 
"can rag-tag rebels take Tripoli anytime soon?"


He's lost 3/4 of Libyan territory... army desertions rampant... international community now attempting to employ the stage-hook... so how's the 'mad dog of the Middle East'
still hanging on? 

First, there's a real reason the Libyan Army can't solve this all as cleanly as was done in Egypt: distrusting military officers like himself who possess the desire -and ability- to stage coups,
Col Gaddafi long ago emasculated his own army, rendering them largely unable to topple him.  They possess the oldest weapons, have limited intelligence capabilities, and number a mere 50,000 men. This brings the dawning realization of what Gaddafi meant last week by "this is not Egypt, this is not Tunisia."
 

And while many have been encouraged by pictures of soldiers joining up with the protesters, defections to this point have been along tribal lines- not something entirely unexpected. The fact is that there's simply no unitary, disciplined military force in Libya today with the ablity to quickly push Gaddafi aside...

The Air Force is a bit more impressive and loyal than the ground troops, and outside of a couple well-publicized defections, most of them have shown no compunction whatsoever in buzzing, bombing, strafing civilian protesters on the orders of the Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution (brothers can be cruel... but this is something else).

And Col Gaddafi has clearly been planning for this eventuality for decades... all the pieces are in place: support now comes from fiercely loyal militias and armed "revolutionary committees" who are -as the last line of defense- sworn to Gaddafi and/or his sons personally, as well as co-opted tribes and black African mercenaries. All these parties have a large personal stake in the outcome and are willing to kill almost anyone to protect it. Contrary to popular opinion, this motivation also applies to the foreign fighters... there's surely little good waiting for them back in Chad. 


At the vanguard of pro-Gaddafi forces is 5th son Khamis Gaddafi and his crack special forces unit, one that's already played a large part in putting down unrest in the capitol- and in the most ruthless fashion imaginable. Khamis Gaddafi is cut from a different cloth from his international playboy brothers, was trained at a top Russian military academy, and is the one who hired the black African mercenaries who really don't mind shooting Libyans... unlike the the army regulars. Loyalist forces have already shown they'll waste whoever they need to to keep Gaddafi in power.

Alas, Moammar Gaddafi himself has got little to lose at this point: after unleashing air power and even naval shelling upon protesters, he surely faces war crimes charges at The Hague... provided that he even makes it out of the country alive. It's now down to kill or be killed... a no-brainer for a bloodthirsty megalomaniac like this one. 

Both the old man and his son/spokesman Saif al-Islam have stated publicly that they'll fight to the death, with "rivers of blood", etc.- and I believe them. How much of the country they drag into the abyss -or if Gaddafi manages to turn the tide- is most of what remains in doubt. 

Actually, some experts see Gadaffi already winning. And if not, he'll arm allied tribes if he has to... likely leading to a bloody civil war. Seems logical to expect some sort of Gaddafi military offensive in the coming week, before any aid reaches the rebellious east.

And hey, it's not like he doesn't have any friends left... Farrakhan says they're "still cool".


On the rebel side, things have gone quite well to this point, and they've even been pledged US support over the weekend. What a shame it is for that the kiss-of-death has arrived in the form of an Obama endorsement. I sure hope they're not aware of the implications in that- guy sure knows how to pick a loser....


International Business Times  Michelle Malkin  The Daily Caller   
Kenya News   Weasel Zippers   The Telegraph (UK)   Aljezeera
______________________________________________________


More at Reaganite Republican



TOPICS: Government; History; Military/Veterans; Politics
KEYWORDS: gaddafi; ghaddafi; libya; qaddafi
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To: spetznaz

I think it was probably a good thing that the war in the East happened. Can you imagine the nightmare scenario of Stalin getting time to finish industrialising the USSR and then steamrolling all over Europe?
The USSR had the demographic mass and the native resources to build a war machine far beyond what the Nazis ever even had the potential to build...


41 posted on 02/28/2011 7:39:03 AM PST by sinsofsolarempirefan
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To: Reaganite Republican

Louis Farrakhan says Moammar Gadhafi has always been a friend

By KiM JANSSEN

Staff Reporter/kjanssen@suntimes.com

Last Modified: Feb 28, 2011 07:27AM

Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan says Moammar Gadhafi has always been a friend and he won’t distance himself from the Libyan dictator.

Speaking Sunday at the annual Saviours’ Day convention at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, Farrakhan didn’t discuss specifics about the deadly uprisings in Libya.

But the 77-year-old said no leader has been loved by 100 percent of his people and said that if Gadhafi is persecuted for crimes against humanity, the same should apply to former President George W. Bush for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Farrakhan visited Gadhafi in the 1980s and in 1996 accepted a humanitarian award from him. But during his speech Sunday he warned the wave of revolution spreading across the Middle East is coming to the United States.

Speaking to followers who all but filled the 18,000-seat venue, he said, “What you are looking at in Tunisia, in Egypt, in Yemen, in Jordan, in Libya, in Bahrain will soon, very soon be in all the nations of the world . . . and even sooner take place in America.

“What you see happening there, you’d better prepare because it will be coming to your door, America.”

And Farrakhan added, “I hope that President Obama will remember his instructions to all nations — be careful how you attack and kill innocent people who are protesting. Take your own words into your bosom and be reminded when it comes to your home.”

Followers rewarded him with several raucous standing ovations during the four-hour speech.

“Don’t leave until I close — that might be a year from now,” he joked with listeners at one point.

“Teach on!” his followers urged him.

Farrakhan also said he had spent time at the Church of Scientology’s celebrity center in Los Angeles and had been impressed with the church’s method of “auditing” — a process he said was comparable to therapy.

He said the church’s founder L. Ron Hubbard had a mission to “civilize white people,” adding that Hubbard “is so exceedingly valuable to every white person on this earth.”

Scientology books were available for sale at the Savior’s Day event, but Farrakhan said he was not converting and did not need a new religion.

His speech also covered familiar topics from previous Savior’s Day events, including a focus on the common beliefs of Christians and Muslims who he said “should not be at war with one another,” how the Nation of Islam believes that white people were created from blacks 4,000 years ago on an Aegean island by a black scientist, and on problems affecting the black community, including street gangs.

He also criticized the sexually charged performances of popstar Rihanna, saying they were “filthy” and that people who enjoyed such antics were “swine,” a description he also applied to homosexuals and lesbians. He also criticized immigrant Muslims in the Chicago area for moving to white suburbs and being patronizing toward black Muslims.

During Black History Month, schools should teach from Nation of Islam books that say Jewish people took advantage of blacks, he said. An Anti-Defamation League spokesman said Farrakhan’s comments were “just the usual hate speech and propoganda.”

He warned that non-believers and the sinful would face the wrath of God through high-technology UFOs or “wheels” that he has often described in previous addresses.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/4047358-418/louis-farrakhan-says-moammar-gadhafi-has-always-been-a-friend.html?print=true


42 posted on 02/28/2011 8:02:08 AM PST by KeyLargo
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To: Reaganite Republican

It’s the ‘Devil You Know’ vs the ‘Devil You Don’t Know.’


43 posted on 02/28/2011 8:03:28 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: Vendome

Valid points but it’s just 6M, most of them unarmed...and Tripoli is sealed tight as Gaddafi prepares for offensives outside the capitol

Stay tuned~


44 posted on 02/28/2011 4:32:07 PM PST by Reaganite Republican (I)
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To: Vendome

Valid points but it’s just 6M, most of them unarmed...and Tripoli is sealed tight as Gaddafi prepares for offensives outside the capitol

Stay tuned~


45 posted on 02/28/2011 4:32:22 PM PST by Reaganite Republican (I)
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