That other revolt: Libya

[Eraser]

One thing that surprised me a bit is the coverage of the way Gadaffi's handling all this. To me, he seems like a complete and utter nut job. Maybe his mother dropped him on his head as a baby or something, but things aren't properly aligned in that man's head. However, in all the media, I've only seen one person make a between-the-lines remark about him being a nutter. Nowhere else does anyone seem willing to draw this conclusion. What are they afraid of?

[mjrpes]

However, in all the media, I've only seen one person make a between-the-lines remark about him being a nutter. Nowhere else does anyone seem willing to draw this conclusion. What are they afraid of?

Maybe this?

11:14am Jean-David Levitte, the top diplomatic adviser to French president Nicolas Sarkozy, said today that European nations should consider imposing sanctions on Libya, including travel bans and asset freezes, according to the Reuters news agency. Many nations have been reticent to discuss sanctioning Libya while Gaddafi remains in control of armed forces, fearing for the safety of citizens still in the country, analyst have said.

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/africa/2011/ ... bya-feb-23

[xer0s]

Qadhaffi is a fucking nutter (obviously). Have you seen his personal guards? They're all busty babes, and his personal physician is especially busty.

And what's with all the different ways to spell his name? Which is correct?

[Ryoki]

One thing that surprised me a bit is the coverage of the way Gadaffi's handling all this. To me, he seems like a complete and utter nut job. Maybe his mother dropped him on his head as a baby or something, but things aren't properly aligned in that man's head. However, in all the media, I've only seen one person make a between-the-lines remark about him being a nutter. Nowhere else does anyone seem willing to draw this conclusion. What are they afraid of?

He's been nutty for 40+ years, everyone already knows

[Ryoki]

Have you seen his personal guards?

actually they mostly seem kind of butch and manly :S
Here's Berlusconi inspecting a member of the bunga bunga brigade!

[seremtan]

And what's with all the different ways to spell his name? Which is correct?

wtf? his name's arabic. gaddafi is one of several transliterations into the roman alphabet. there is no 'correct' spelling in the roman alphabet

also, berlusconi's probably thinking "i gotta get me one of those (to look out for me while i'm in prison)"

[Eraser]

Have you seen his personal guards?

actually they mostly seem kind of butch and manly :S
Here's Berlusconi inspecting a member of the bunga bunga brigade!

lol, who's the wheelchair dude?

[Don Carlos]

Looks like the Pope...

[Don Carlos]

Looks like the Pope...

[Captain]

lol no it doesn't.

[Yeahso]

lol no it doesn't.

Agreed. An extremely blurred shot of a very frail old man dressed head-to-toe in white is utterly unlike the Pope-a frail old man who dresses head-to-toe in white.

[seremtan]

only one of them was in hitler youth though

[xer0s]

Check out this photo of some of the protesters. Why do you think they would display a sign with this message? What do you think they're trying to convey?

[xer0s]

lol, Qaddafi thinks Al-Qaida is fueling the protests by putting hallucinogens in the protesters Nescafe. This guy is totally off his rocker...

[Plan B]

Haha, yea, heard that.

Again, this guy has been in charge there for 41 years!
There has obviously been a large group around him doing the actual politiccy stuff, while he was eating figs out of the bellybuttons of his bodyguards.

[seremtan]

lol, Qaddafi thinks Al-Qaida is fueling the protests by putting hallucinogens in the protesters Nescafe. This guy is totally off his rocker...

war on terror AND war on drugs

he knows how to push the west's buttons

[Ryoki]

Well the rebels seem to have lost pretty decisively now, they've lost city after city this week and now only patches of resistance appear to remain.

Can't say i'm surprised, from what i saw and read their idea of warfare was to erect roadblocks and race around in old Toyota terrain vehicles toting guns and shooting ancient AA guns at jets whilst shouting about how god is great, the uneducated morons. The war news is just depressing, apparently the government forces can take a major town with 3 tanks and about 200 infantry which suggests that the rebels are completely fucking clueless on warfare, even moreso than their enemies

Despite the insane amount of guns that litter that part of the world, Arabs still can't fight worth a goddamn it seems... this whole episode is just another despicable performance to add to the long list of military clusterfucks in the region. I'd make an exception for Hezbollah in that statement as they have proven to be capable, but they're a Shiite movement and don't consider themselves Arabs i think.

Bah.

[Eraser]

Erm, I think you're forgetting that the rebels are armed with rocks and AK-47's while the military flies fighter jets, attack choppers and armored vehicles.

What do you expect them to do?

[Ryoki]

I expect them to dig in and resort to ambush tactics, not make themselves a giant target asking to be bombed. I expect a unified command and not many gangs of armed morons each doing their own thing. I expect they'd have a long hard look at how the Hezzies stopped the Israeli attack and learn from that.

But no, lets make a giant roadblock that serves no real purpose, put a bunch of semi heavy guns out in the damn road where they are mostly useless and wait for airstrikes. It's sheer incompetence, this.

[Captain]

If only they had Ryoki's leadership and superior military tactics.

[Plan B]

Also, a no-fly zone above Libya would help.

Alas, although The Arab League has approved this, the US and Yerp are still "discussing" (read: you never know if Kaddafi stays in power...and with all that oil and all, hmmm...)

[Eraser]

I expect them to dig in and resort to ambush tactics, not make themselves a giant target asking to be bombed. I expect a unified command and not many gangs of armed morons each doing their own thing. I expect they'd have a long hard look at how the Hezzies stopped the Israeli attack and learn from that.

But no, lets make a giant roadblock that serves no real purpose, put a bunch of semi heavy guns out in the damn road where they are mostly useless and wait for airstrikes. It's sheer incompetence, this.

I don't think it works like that. If there's no command structure in place from the beginning, it is probably impossible to set up an organized fighting force in such conditions. I'm not surprised they're getting their asses kicked. Fighting a war is not an easy task, especially not if you're completely outgunned from the beginning.

[Eraser]

Also, a no-fly zone above Libya would help.

Alas, although The Arab League has approved this, the US and Yerp are still "discussing" (read: you never know if Kaddafi stays in power...and with all that oil and all, hmmm...)

It's no surprise really. If they were to decide to introduce a no-fly zone, how would that be enforced? If Gaddafi sticks up his middle finger and launches all his zig anyway, what is 'the west' going to do? Shoot them down? In that case, you'd better be ready and prepared to go into full war with Libya.

[Ryoki]

Full war my arse, Libya is a military dwarf with equipment from the eighties. All you'd have to do is kill their radar shit with a few missiles and you're good to go. It's exactly what the western military machines would be good at thanks to the cold war legacy.

It's not a civil war anyway, it's a series of pathetic skirmishes.

[Plan B]

...you'd better be ready and prepared to go into full war with Libya.

Well, yeah, and esp. France, since they acknowledged that new Libyan council as the people's representative.

But yeah, guess it's not economically and politically convenient right now.
After 41 years, a couple more won't matter.