Yesterday, the French daily Le Figaro revealed that France has been air-dropping armaments to Libyan rebel forces to the south of Tripoli in the Nafusa mountain region….But a report today in the daily Libération gives reason to wonder if the rebels have the training necessary to use the weapons that they have been given. See [...]
According to an article in the Wednesday edition of the French daily Le Figaro, France is arming rebel forces to the south of Tripoli in the hope of facilitating a rebel assault on the Libyan capital. Never mind that UN Security Council Resolution 1973 includes an embargo on arms shipments to Libya… See my new [...]
In an article in Monday’s edition of the Italian daily Il Corriere della Sera, correspondent Lorenzo Cremonesi reports from what he describes as the former cafeteria of the oil refinery in the Libyan coastal city of Brega: “former” because, according to Cremonesi’s report, it was hit twice over the weekend by NATO missiles. See my [...]
In an interview with the French daily Libération, Amnesty International official Donatella Rovera has cast doubt on widely-publicized charges that Libyan government troops loyal to Muammar al-Gaddafi have engaged in mass rape or even used rape as a “weapon of war.” For a translation of her remarks, see my new post at Big Peace here.
A new report from two French think tanks concludes that jihadists have played a predominant role in the eastern-Libyan rebellion against the rule of Moammar Qaddafi, and that “true democrats” represent only a minority in the rebellion. The report, furthermore, calls into question the justifications given for Western military intervention in Libya, arguing that they [...]
On Tuesday, NATO aircraft pounded Tripoli in what is reported to have been the heaviest bombing of the Libyan capital since the initiation of western airstrikes in March. The onslaught raises numerous questions about America’s role in the Libyan war. See my new post on Big Peace here.
On a visit to Benghazi, Senator John McCain’s called the Libyan rebels his “heroes.” Pajamas Media editor David Steinberg has had the excellent idea of seeking comment from the senator’s office on the extensive video evidence of atrocities committed by his “heroes.” While one is at it, the senator should probably also be reminded that barely a year [...]
The weekend saw the publication of a slew of press reports accusing Libyan government forces of putting civilian lives at risk by using cluster bombs in their efforts to recapture the city of Misrata. But a report from Misrata in the weekend edition of the French newspaper Le Figaro inadvertently casts doubt on these claims. [...]
In an interview with the French-language magazine of African affairs Jeune Afrique, the head of the Commission of the African Union, Jean Ping, has said that an African Union (AU) delegation attempting to mediate between the warring parties in Libya was denied authorization to visit the country by the UN Security Council. For this and [...]
In the absence of any evident national interest justification for bombing Libya, the Obama administration is said to have been motivated by the so-called responsibility to protect — or “R2P” per the wonkish English acronym. But the application of this supposed “responsibility to protect” civilians has taken America into a war on the side of [...]
