US Likely to Keep Combat Role After Libya Shift

Aol News/AP ^ | 25/3/11 | Erica Werner and Robert Burns

[Eleutheria5]

WASHINGTON -- The United States welcomed a partial handover for the Libyan air campaign to NATO on Thursday, but the allies apparently balked at assuming full control and the U.S. military was left in charge of the brunt of combat.

NATO agreed to take over command of the newly established no-fly zone over Libya, protective flights meant to deter Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi from putting warplanes in the air. That leaves the U.S. with responsibility for attacks on Gadhafi's ground forces and other targets, which are the toughest and most controversial portion of the operation.

The U.S had hoped the alliance would reach a consensus Thursday for NATO to take full control of the military operation authorized by the United Nations, including the protection of Libyan civilians and supporting humanitarian aid efforts on the ground. It was not immediately clear when the allies could reach agreement on the matter.

[Allegra]

Those were likley Shiite mosques. Iraq has both. There are four mosques within my hearing - two Shiite and two Sunni. We can tell the difference because they do the night prayer call at different times. The Sunni do it when the sun is setting ("red on the horizon" as one Iraqi explained it) and the Shia do it when the sky is full dark.

Or maybe it's the other way around...

They're slightly off at the other times of day as well. It was definitely two that I heard yesterday. A couple of the locals told me today that things did get wild yesterday, but not as bad as it could have due to the rainy, chilly weather.

The guy told me it was protests against the government, but no violence. (This time.)

[Eleutheria5]

“A couple of the locals told me today that things did get wild yesterday, but not as bad as it could have due to the rainy, chilly weather.

The guy told me it was protests against the government, but no violence. (This time.)”

It’s thanks to Dubya and you guys over there that the idea of peaceable assembly has caught on somewhat in Iraq, but I’m sure the roots aren’t very deep, and there are rats gnawing at them all the time. Keep fighting the good fight, friend.