to move up and down
Photos of the day, April 6, 2011
Rebel fighters sit in a tent smoking hashish near a tank along the road between Ajdabiyah and Brega, Libya, April 6, 2011. (Youssef Boudlal/Reuters)
Graphic Timeline: The war in Libya
In the struggle over the future of Libya, momentum has shifted multiple times, with rebels and government forces each waxing and waning in succession.
Gaddafi to stay ‘until the end’: spokesman
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will stay in the country “until the end” to lead it to victory against its enemies, a government spokesman said on Thursday. Speaking after former Foreign Secretary Moussa Koussa defected and flew to Britain on Wednesday, the spokesman said Western air strikes against Libya had only united its top leadership against “a clear enemy”.
Christopher Hitchens: If Saddam still ruled, there would be no Arab Spring
The most heartening single image of the past month was the sight of Hoshyar Zebari arriving in Paris to call for strong action against the depraved regime of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi
‘He must go’: World leaders call for Gaddafi exit
Muammar Gaddafi’s better armed and organized troops reversed the westward charge of rebels and world powers meeting in London piled pressure on the Libyan leader to end his 41-year rule.
British Prime Minister David Cameron, opening the London conference, accused Libyan troops of “murderous attacks”, while U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said military strikes would press on until Gaddafi loyalists ceased violence.
“All of us must continue to increase the pressure on and deepen the isolation of the Gaddafi regime through other means as well,” Ms. Clinton said after the London talks finished.
Photo: A Libyan rebel shots an anti-aircraft machine gun in Ajdabiya on March 29, 2011 as forces loyal to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi pushed rebels back in east Libya, pinning them down in Nofilia, 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Sirte. (MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)
Peter Worthington: ICC gives tyrants a reason to fight it out
It used to be, in the bad old days of the 20th Century, that when the time came for tin-pot dictators to be replaced, they fled to some accommodating country to live out their days in anonymous exile. No longer. With the advent of the International Criminal Court (ICC), and the UN’s lust to put individuals on trial for war crimes, a tyrant or deposed dictator these days might as well fight back and try to preserve his position rather than risk prison if (when) he’s convicted of war crimes.
France backs Libyan rebel council
France said on Thursday it would recognize the Libyan National Council, a rebel body fighting to oust Muammar Gaddafi, as the legitimate representative of Libya’s people. “France recognizes the National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people. There will be an exchange of ambassadors between Paris and Benghazi.”
Photo: A rebel fighter looks at a burning vehicle during a battle along the road between Ras Lanuf and Bin Jiwad March 10, 2011. Libyan tanks fired on rebel positions around the oil port of Ras Lanuf and warplanes hit another oil hub further east on Thursday as Muammar Gaddafi carried counter-attacks deeper into the insurgent heartland. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
Libya rebels reject Gaddafi exit talks
Rebels fighting to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi have rejected an offer from the Libyan leader to negotiate his exit even as they battled to hang on to early gains in the insurrection.
National Post editorial board: NATO should prepare for war in Libya
Peter Goodspeed: West faces decision point as Gaddafi fights back
Rebels vow to topple Gaddafi
Libyan rebels vowing “victory or death” advanced towards a major oil terminal on Friday, calling for foreign air strikes to set up a “no-fly” zone after three days of attacks by Muammar Gaddafi’s warplanes.
Photo: A rebel fighter fires a cannon during a battle near Ras Lanuf, March 4, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
National Post editorial board: Tread softly on the shores of Tripoli
The troubling images of violence emerging from Libya are prompting some Canadians to demand decisive Western action aimed at ending Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s reign. Unfortunately, short of full-blown invasion — for which no Western nation has any appetite — there is not much that can be done to tip the balance in Libya’s internal conflict.
The West should tread carefully in Libya. While it is tempting to imagine the country’s conflict as a simple struggle between good and evil that can be brought to a speedy and decisive conclusion, the reality is more complicated than that. Aggressive intervention might easily end up doing more harm than good.
Photo: Rebels hold a young man at gunpoint, who they accuse of being a loyalist to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, between the towns of Brega and Ras Lanuf, March 3, 2011. (Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)
Gaddafi launches land, air offensive
The veteran ruler twinned the attack with a fiery propaganda broadside against the rebels, playing on both nationalist opinion and Western jitters by saying much blood would be shed in “another Vietnam” if foreign powers intervened in the crisis.
