The Common Sense Conservative

The place for common sense conservative talk. Conservative way of thinking should not be looked upon by the masses and especially by the mainstream media as some evil. In fact most people still believe they are conservative in nature but do not align themselves with the far right agenda that has crept into our political systems. Nor do they feel they fall under the far left agenda, so a new way of thinking is emerging, called Common Sense Conservatism!

Showing posts with label Gaddafi. Show all posts

Thursday, 25 August 2011

Gadhafi Done In Yet?

Libyan rebels ready knockout punch for Gadhafi

BY MISSY RYAN AND ULF LAESSING, REUTERS AUGUST 25, 2011 7:48 AM

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A Libyan rebel fighter helps his comrade who was injured by a sniper's bullet while fighting for the final push to flush out Maammar Gadhafi's forces in the Abu Slim area in Tripoli August 25, 2011.

Photograph by: Zohra Bensemra, Reuters

TRIPOLI - Hardened fighters streamed Thursday into Tripoli as Libya's rebels sought to deliver a knockout punch to Moammar Gadhafi's diehards and, backed by NATO, to flush out the elusive strongman.

Rebel commanders said they were also readying fresh attempts to advance against Gadhafi's forces defending his hometown Sirte, 360 kilometres east of Tripoli and to break a siege of Zuwarah, a town to the west.

They were being supported in their hunt for the wily Gadhafi by NATO, which according to Britain's Defence Minister Liam Fox is contributing intelligence and reconnaissance equipment.

An AFP reporter, meanwhile, discovered that French and British operatives are working with Libyan rebels as they press towards Sirte, amid reports British special forces SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago.

Leading the army of reinforcements into Tripoli were seasoned combatants from the city of Misrata, whose fellow fighters spearheaded the weekend assault that saw the Libyan capital swiftly overrun and Gadhafi's Bab al-Aziziya compound captured by Tuesday.

Rebel commanders said that while they control most of Tripoli, hot spots remain where sniper fire, rocket explosions and heavy weaponry make life dangerous.

The rebels are also hellbent on finding Gadhafi, so they can proclaim final victory in an uprising that began six months ago and was all but crushed by Gadhafi's forces before NATO warplanes gave crucial air support to the rebels.

Rebel leaders say they want to put Gadhafi on trial in Libya even though he also faces charges of crimes against humanity along with his son Seif al-Islam and spymaster Abdullah al-Senussi at the International Criminal Court.

The rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) on Wednesday offered a $1.7 million reward for the capture of the elusive strongman, dead or alive.

"The NTC supports the initiative of businessmen who are offering two million dinars for the capture of Moamer Gadhafi, dead or alive," NTC chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil said in the rebel capital Benghazi.

Jalil also offered amnesty to "members of (Gadhafi's) close circle who kill him or capture him."

The 69-year-old Gadhafi has not been seen in public for weeks and despite losing control of the oil-rich North African country he ruled with an iron first for 42 years is still managing to broadcast messages urging Libyans to drive out the "rats" — as he disparagingly calls the rebels.

He also claimed on Wednesday to have walked incognito on the streets of Tripoli without being recognized.

In the oil refinery town of Zuwaytina, the new eastern front about 150 kilometres southwest of the opposition's capital Benghazi, an AFP reporter saw French and British operatives working with Libyan rebels .

They are equipped with telecommunications equipment and housed in two shipping containers, within walking distance of the headquarters of Fawzi Bukatif, commander of the eastern front.

Britain's Defence Minister Liam Fox told Sky news on Thursday that NATO is providing "intelligence and reconnaissance assets to the NTC to help them track down Colonel Gadhafi and other remnants of the regime."

Fox however declined to comment on reports that Britain's SAS special forces were working with the Libyan rebels to track down Gadhafi.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper, quoting defence sources, said SAS members were sent to Libya several weeks ago and played a key role in co-ordinating the battle for Tripoli, which fell into rebel hands on Sunday.

In Tripoli's souk Al-Jumaa, the arrival of at least 60 Misrata rebels on Wednesday sparked joy among residents.

"We are very happy. Misrata's soldiers can win anything," said Taha Abu Zeid. "They could even win Afghanistan."

They were joined by rebels from as far west as the Nafusa mountains and as far east as Benghazi, as field commanders vowed to bring the capital under full rebel control.

Fighting is concentrated along the perimeters of Bab al-Aziziya and the neighbouring Abu Slim district, where Gadhafi reportedly released, armed and paid former prisoners to fight for his regime, although the streets were quiet Thursday after heavy fighting in the area the previous day.

Rebel commanders said Gadhafi forces were pounding insurgents holding the centre of Zuwarah, west of Tripoli, adding that they needed reinforcements to help them break the siege.

Rebels advancing towards Sirte were also blocked Wednesday in the town of Bin Jawad as loyalists kept up stiff resistance.

"Gadhafi's forces are still fighting, we are surprised. We thought they would surrender with the fall of Tripoli," rebel commander Fawzi Bukatif said.

Four Italian journalists kidnapped in Libya on Wednesday by forces loyal to Moamer Gadhafi, have been freed, the foreign ministry said in Rome.

The four were liberated around 9:30 a.m. GMT on Thursday, according to a ministry spokesman, who said the journalists "are now in a hotel with other Italian journalists" and "are well."

The NTC's number two leader, Mahmud Jibril, meanwhile called for "urgent" financial help at a press conference with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Milan on Thursday.

"This is an urgent call upon our friends," Jibril said , adding the "biggest disabling element" for the NTC "would be the failure to deliver services and salaries" in the post-Gadhafi period.

The NTC had in Doha on Wednesday sought five billion dollars in emergency aid from frozen assets at a meeting with foreign representatives from the Libya contact group.

The sum was twice that announced on Tuesday by Jibril.

But at the United Nations South Africa refused to lift a block on the United States unfreezing $1.5 billion of Libyan assets to buy humanitarian aid, setting up a diplomatic showdown at the Security Council.

South Africa insisted the council wait for the African Union to decide whether to recognize the NTC at a summit Thursday before approving the move.

Thursday, 14 July 2011

Just What is Gadhafi's Exit Strategy?

I have said this from the beginning, Gadhafi has always been mentally unstable and I think he will go out with a bang, unless our troops are able to bomb him dead before he pulls the trigger on something big. I can see blowing up refineries and other instalations but taking his own people/supporters would put him on a whole new level of crazy!

Canadian general plays down reports of Gadhafi suicide plan

CAMPBELL CLARK

OTTAWA— Globe and Mail Update

Published Thursday, Jul. 14, 2011 9:57AM EDT

Last updated Thursday, Jul. 14, 2011 10:50AM EDT

37 comments

With Russia warning that Moammar Gadhafi has a suicide plan to blow up Tripoli, NATO’s commander in Libya says he has heard no inkling of such a scorched-earth strategy.

Mikhail Margelov, the Russian envoy to Africa, said senior regime figures told him that if rebels seize the Libyan capital, the Gadhafi regime will “cover it with missiles and blow it up.” The Russian envoy indicated he believes it.

But Lieutenant-General Charles Bouchard, the Canadian in charge of NATO’s mission in Libya, said that while he knows that Col. Gadhafi issues orders to his retreating forces to blow up things like oil refineries, he’s heard nothing of a Tripoli suicide plan.

“I do not know of any plan of the magnitude that you’ve discussed,” he told reporters in a conference call from his headquarters in Italy.

“I can report that the Gadhafi regime has given direction to its forces to destroy certain facilities as they withdraw back, such as fuel refineries and other aspects. This is a leader that will not hesitate to kill his population to achieve his personal goal.”

Defence Minister Peter MacKay, visiting Canadian and NATO operations in Italy, where Lt.-Gen. Bouchard is based, said he was not aware of reports of such a suicide plan.

Lt.-Gen. Bouchard, who described Libya's east as near-normal but said Tripoli remains under the control of repressive security forces, suggested that Colonel Gadhafi might not have the power to issue such an order anymore.

“Let’s be clear. Just because Gadhafi has given a direction, that does not mean that that direction is being undertaken by his troops,” the Canadian officer said.

“We are seeing a fair bit of his troops, of his generals surrendering, of his troops abandoning their posts, and therefore one has to put all of these aspects into consideration when looking at the situation on the ground.”

It’s also not clear if the question will ever be tested. Most analysts believe that rebels do not have the capability to take Tripoli in an offensive, and NATO countries have said they won’t send ground forces. Hopes of ousting Col. Gadhafi still rest chiefly on his surrender, a coup from within his ranks or an uprising in Tripoli.

The question of whether NATO will continue the operation indefinitely, with squabbles over burden-sharing and the length of the bombing campaign, remains hotly debated – and Mr. Mackay warned that the mission is “a test for NATO.”

“It’s a conflict that is going to require a very persistent, determined, unified approach,” the Defence Minister said.

Monday, 4 July 2011

A Great Read On John Baird

Baird signals new direction for foreign policy

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, left, receives a gift from the National Transitional Council chairman Mustafa Abdul-Jalil upon his arrival in Benghazi, Libya, Monday, June 27, 2011. (AP / Hassan Ammar)

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The Canadian Press

Date: Sunday Jul. 3, 2011 5:13 PM ET

John Baird stepped off a stomach-churning, ear-splitting military flight from Libya, straightened his suit and walked briskly across the sun-blazed Sicilian tarmac.

He went directly to address the Canadian troops on a break from their part in the NATO-led bombing campaign, taking their questions without censor, and replying with considered opinions.

"We've got to be patient. We are making progress," the newly-named foreign affairs minister told about 100 camouflage-clad men and women last week, shouting to be heard over the CF-18s soaring overhead.

The frank exchange was more than a simple duty filled by a federal minister travelling through a military base. It tied together Canada's foreign policy and military policy -- a link that has been left untended for far too long, critics say.

"I think it's important for Canada that we more and more match what our military effort is, with the work that we need to do politically and diplomatically," said Liberal Leader Bob Rae, who has a long history of observing Middle Eastern politics.

"Frankly, I think they're beginning to feel their way," he said.

The quick yet physically gruelling trip to Libya was Baird's first diplomatic foray beyond the summit circuit, and a signal that Canada's new foreign minister plans to shake things up.

His main message: Canada's engagement in Libya is not just about bombing the Moammar Gadhafi forces in the hopes that something better will replace his harsh dictatorship of more than four decades.

Rather, it's also about using diplomatic channels to promote human rights and democracy, support women, and discourage the use of rape as a weapon.

And by showing up in person -- despite the bombing campaign -- to deliver that message to rebel leaders at their cramped headquarters in Benghazi, Baird is already putting his personal stamp on a foreign policy that will undoubtedly be more engaged than under previous Harper ministers, his critics agree.

"My sense, because I know John a bit, is that he'll want to be doing something that is seen as unique and ... substantive," said NDP foreign affairs critic Paul Dewar, who represents the Ottawa riding adjacent to Baird's.

Baird is just 42 -- younger than Gadhafi's dictatorship, he noted -- but he is a political veteran with Conservative experience that stretches back to the days of Ontario premier Mike Harris and prime minister Brian Mulroney, when he was a political staffer.

He is credited by his Conservative peers for successfully pulling off the spending of billions of stimulus dollars, approving thousands of projects quickly and in a way that was politically expedient.

In public, he has handily developed a persona as a pit bull, never passing up an opportunity to shred any opponent of the Harper administration. In private, he has won the respect of his political foes with his energy and willingness to meet them as equals.

But no one knew which John Baird would be at the forefront when he was named Canada's foreign affairs minister after the May federal election.

The three-day trip through Rome to Libya and back through Sicily provided a glimpse into the answer. Not only was it a bombast-free expedition, it was also clearly humbling for the minister, one of the few people the prime minister trusts and turns to for counsel.

"I was just struck by their courage, their determination. They put themselves and their families at risk in this battle for freedom, and it was quite impressive," Baird said in an interview after meeting with the rebels' National Transitional Council.

"I asked, 'did anyone know anyone who had died,' and just about every person around the table had lost a cousin, a brother, a next-door neighbour, a friend. I was really struck by that."

But the trip to Libya, while bold, was just a half-day event that won't change much of anything unless Baird follows up with concrete measures, his critics say.

Canada was late to send representation to Benghazi, following after several other countries involved in the NATO bombing campaign. Plus, Canada's reputation in the region is mixed -- known as a staunch pro-Israel supporter with only reluctant respect for the Arab Spring wave of democracy.

The rebels' council wants more than just NATO firepower, Baird recognizes. It wants money, and more international respect.

So Ottawa needs to decide whether to send a more permanent representative to set up shop officially in Benghazi, Baird said. And it needs to find ways to free up frozen Libyan assets so that the NTC can at least borrow against the funds to get the Libyan economy moving.

From a Canadian foreign policy point of view, Baird also needs to follow up with concrete actions showing that Ottawa is indeed intent on matching its military moves with diplomacy and foreign policy, say Rae and Dewar.

Rae wants to see the Conservatives put the same human-rights emphasis in Afghanistan and Pakistan, saying that if Baird is serious about bolstering Canada's foreign voice, he'll make Libya-style trips to those countries soon.

And Dewar wants to see Canada continue to speak up about democracy in the Middle East, starting with a key meeting of allies in Turkey this month.

"If there's no follow up to that, then the three-day trip will have been just a glad-hand," Dewar said.

While Baird may hope to pilot a foreign policy that is at the same time post-partisan and puts Canada on a stronger footing in international circles, he still has a long way to go, they say.

"I'm hoping that we'll begin to see a quiet change over there," Rae said of Canada's policy on the Middle East.

"Mr. Baird doesn't have a standby mode on his gear shift. It's important to have someone who is moving and thinking all the time .... So I think this will be a great opportunity for him and for the country."