unrest in libya

unozero said:
he's employing "Rhodesian" mercs I heard.
Click to expand...

Which isn't news really, because Gaddafi has been using African mercenaries for almost thirty years now.

Also, Rhodesia stopped existing in 1979.
 
I think that's why he used quotation marks.
 
Shakermaker said:
Also, Rhodesia stopped existing in 1979.
Click to expand...

blood_diamond02.jpg


not for me it didn't!!
 
According to Swedish media, the defected justice minister in Libya says that Kadiffi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing. That ought to out some more pressure on America to go against him diplomatically.
 
Mean while the aircraft in Gatwick Airport that has suffered a technical fault is getting an "upgrade"
 
Gaddafi has been employing Mercenaries from Chad and Niger mainly. And there have been reports of flights coming in dropping in more.

The Libyan soldiers may have difficulty killing their own, but the mercs won't.
 
this world has gone to shit overnight and I've been in a slumber missing it all. I hate being sick during major world changes

ww3 still doesn't seem to want to get started yet however so I am happy
 
On Swedish news they said that Eastern European mercenaries has also been spotted. And yeah, they aren't loyal to anyone except whoever pays them, so they will have no qualms about killing Libyan civilians, unlike regular army soldiers. It's gonna get worse before it gets better.
 
The Monkey said:
According to Swedish media, the defected justice minister in Libya says that Kadiffi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing. That ought to out some more pressure on America to go against him diplomatically.
Click to expand...

now I really hope he ends up getting his head cut off in his own Palace.
 
Bad times. Whatever happens it is going to be bloody. Very bloody.

Its not that they're mercenaries, its that they're forginers that is the issue - they have no connection with the rest of Lybian society, which is exactly why they're being used. Same as the Ancien Régime's Swiss Guard or the Vangarian Guard of the Eastern Roman Empire. They won't have any qualms about killing civilians, but they won't stick around if the money dries up or if its clear that Gaddafi will fall, can't spend money when you're dead and they won't be able to get out afterward as they don't speak the local language and look rather different to the local population, so they will have a hard time slipping away.

The Lockerbie news is interesting also. Its funny to see how quickly the government here is going back on its previously friendly stance to the Colonel.

Apparently UK Special Forces are on standby to extract British oil workers stuck in the Libyan desert. Workers that wouldn't be there if the previous government here hadn't decided that Libyan oil runs thicker than British and American blood.
 
Because of the fragmented power structure in Libya there is a pretty good chance for a proper civil war. I'd also guess the mercs are a bit more loyal than normal, given Gadaffis dealing with shady groups throughout Africa they might be more politically motivated than monetarily, I don't think they will go with him to death though.
 
Mr. Djees said:
Because of the fragmented power structure in Libya there is a pretty good chance for a proper civil war. I'd also guess the mercs are a bit more loyal than normal, given Gadaffis dealing with shady groups throughout Africa they might be more politically motivated than monetarily, I don't think they will go with him to death though.
Click to expand...

Lot of African expatriates live there, so yeah the African mercs will be loyal to an extent.
 
It amazes me how quick this middle-eastern revolution has spread.

What countries have we got so far in, what, a month?

Egypt
Lybia
Sudan (splitting into two countries)

And now Bahrain (annoyed about the Grand Prix being cancelled as a result, personally)

All will and have lead to violence in varying form. Egypt seems like the only peaceful revolution so far. Sudan has experienced no violence yet, but once the south basically tells Bashir to go ***k himself when he demands a share of the oil resource he can now no-longer get at some point in the near future, he will send all his troops over the new border, and Bashir can rack up yet another account of international war crimes. He probably has them penciled on his toilet wall by now.

We're gasping and roaring at these actions, but really they are no different to, say, Margaret Thatcher and George Bush. People saying enough is enough, and believing that changing those in power will solve their problems.

Much like the UK and the debt. Rising taxes, rising prices, salaries not budging, unemployment...blah blah blah. Changing the country's leader changes nothing. Changing those in charge of the debt-repayment doesnt make the debt go away, so it's futile.

Unfortunately, these people in Africa and the Middle East have had been held hostage by their governments for such a long time, they have become, what I would say (probably naively of course), blinded by hatred and feelings of opression. They will cheer and feel a victory has been made by their rioting and demonstrations, but once the government becomes restructured as per their demands, give it a month or two, and the realisation that not much has actually changed will sink in.
 
Sudan isn't really part of the same process - the civil war there has been raging for decades, the referendum has been planned for some time. The South has its own, rather significant, military forces. If it didn't they wouldn't be getting anything. Additionally, unlike the other changes it is motivated broadly along ethno-religious lines with the Muslim-Arab north fighting Christian-Black south, where as the other changes seem to be largely inclusive of the entire population.
 
7 Modern Dictators Way Crazier Than You Thought Possible

A few crazy facts about Muammar Gaddafi, go down to #4 on the list. Also look at the others, it's a great read.

While on a friendship visit to Italy in 2010, he gave a lecture exclusively to women (who were all paid to attend) in which he said that all of Europe should convert to Islam and that the European Union should pay him "at least 5 billion euros a year" to put a stop to illegal immigration from Libya.
Click to expand...

He even bought a stake in Juventus F.C., a top Italian football club, just to be a dick. He also petitioned the U.N. to dissolve Switzerland and split the land among Germany, France and Italy, which is probably an indication that he is about to ban the Swiss from his country.
Click to expand...

36955.jpg
 
The Monkey said:
What crazy shit is Putin up to?
Click to expand...

Off the top of my head I remember him inviting some foreign dignitary, that he knew was afraid of dogs, and yep you guessed it he had a dog next to him when that foreign dignitary arrived. I don't remember who it was though.

One a less serious note, just the fact that he looks like a bad guy straight out of a bond movie should be enough to earn him a spot on that list LOL.
 
Remus said:
Off the top of my head I remember him inviting some foreign dignitary, that he knew was afraid of dogs, and yep you guessed it he had a dog next to him when that foreign dignitary arrived. I don't remember who it was though.

One a less serious note, just the fact that he looks like a bad guy straight out of a bond movie should be enough to earn him a spot on that list LOL.
Click to expand...

It might have been Angela Merkel. I am not sure.
 
This is the situation as I see it: The final battles are gonna be massacres. Gaddafi has nowhere to run; no country in the world will accept him. He will fight to the death. His supporting troops are well armed. The opposition has the support of the vast majority of the population, but it is (unlike in Egypt), spread out over vast areas in a 1200 km coastline. Even the opposing forces that are armed will need to make their way to the capital, probably on foot. In Cairo the protesters could gather hundreds of thousands of supporters just from the nearest blocks.

Now, there has been suggestions that the West should step in and help the opposition, but that will have big and complex implications to the post-revolution Libya.

In the end, Gaddafi will be removed, but I'm getting more and more certain that the death toll will reach five- or even six-digit numbers before we get there. :(
 
The West should stay out of this. Intervention doesn't seem a very good idea to me, but if troops go in, they should be Arab or at least Muslim.
 
Some of those people make Kim Jong Il look like a ****ing sane man. Eccentric, but sane.
 
Obama is now saying that Gadaffi (or however you spell the guy's name) should step down, but they are ultimately empty words. The guy wouldn't step down if he knew his entire country would be destroyed in the process, which is most likely going to happen. There's nothing we can do at this point, except wait for some sort of successful assassination attempt.
 
This is very strange. The protesters are no longer unarmed, and they easily outnumber the loyalists. This does not bode well for Gadaffi.


I suppose it'll boil down to the grand struggle of each sides' will to fight. If Gadaffi can be brutal enough, he just might suceed in breaking the protesters' collective will. And that's probably what he'll aim at in the end, after he realizes no amount of concessions will make them go away.
 
Shem said:
There's nothing we can do at this point, except wait for some sort of successful assassination attempt.
Click to expand...

I'm surprised someone in the military hasn't already assassinated him.
 
Hopefully they do. You know, normally I'm not about people dying like that, but so many innocent people have died by his orders and with potentially many more. He's one of those people who truly does deserve to be killed so that the lives of others may be spared. He's an evil dude.
 
Escaep said:
I'm surprised someone in the military hasn't already assassinated him.
Click to expand...

Gaddafi came to power in a military Coup. He has deliberately kept the military weak and set against each other in order to ensure that this doesn't happen. He might be a badly dressed nutcase, but he's not stupid. Even if the Lybian military turns against him, they are poorly trained and equipped compared with his forgien mercenaries and militias, who are either very well paid or heavily indoctrineated.

My money says we'll see a proper civil war in Libya rather than a quick overthrow in the style of Egypt or Tunisia. Libya is a big place with lots of empty spaces - loyalist guerrillas could keep fighting for years, even if Tripoli falls. Hell, even if Gaddafi does get whats coming to him theres no guarentee that there won't be a civil war anyway - unlike egypt the military is not particularly large, well trained, equipped or respected so couldn't hold the country together very well post-revolution. Its very possible that there'll be a peacekeeping mission before the end of the year.
 
I think I'll put some money on that as well. I don't trust the Libyan tribes to come together after all this is over and there just doesn't seem to be anyone capable of uniting and steering Libya in the right direction once Gaddafi is gone. Hopefully they can do it on their own, but foreign intervention might be necessary.
 
Why would splitting up Libya necessarily be a bad thing? Libya was invented by a bunch of Europeans less than 100 years ago, it's little more than some lines on a map and some words on documents. It's not a nation in the true sense of the word. And the self-identification among the people is along tribal, rather than national, lines in most cases. If splitting up the country in two or more parts achieves greater peace, I'd say go for it.
 
The Monkey said:
Why would splitting up Libya necessarily be a bad thing? Libya was invented by a bunch of Europeans less than 100 years ago, it's little more than some lines on a map and some words on documents. It's not a nation in the true sense of the word. And the self-identification among the people is along tribal, rather than national, lines in most cases. If splitting up the country in two or more parts achieves greater peace, I'd say go for it.
Click to expand...

Though with that comes the possibility of violent border disputes among the new nations. Korea was divided over 60 years ago, yet both the North and the South claim ownership of certain areas.
 
I don't think every tribal leader is interested in their own seat at the UN, and the protestors seem to have no problem calling themselves libyans and using the old libyan flag, but I'm sure every tribe has their own idea of who should be steering the ship and that might be a problem.
 
Tony said:
Though with that comes the possibility of violent border disputes among the new nations. Korea was divided over 60 years ago, yet both the North and the South claim ownership of certain areas.
Click to expand...

Actually, we claim (rightfully so) ownership of the entire peninsula, as they do.

I don't like the idea of splitting up nations, because it is truly one of the greatest sorrows to befall a people. Of course, I understand that national unity isn't what it is in Libya, but still.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

katsung47
Ron Paul Defends Russia After Malaysian Plane Crash
Replies
0
Views
3K
katsung47
katsung47
<RJMC>
security council resolution aproves no fly zone on libia
Replies
39
Views
1K
MJ12
M
Acurt1982
The Success and Failure of Silence: Gordon Freeman in 'Half Life' and 'Half Life 2'
Replies
1
Views
2K
Chowder
Chowder
unozero
I'm more Jewish then you!!!11!!1!!1
Replies
19
Views
1K
Maestro
Maestro
Krynn72
Crazy man Mcafee sets out to create untraceable internet usage.
Replies
3
Views
2K
DevonWC
DevonWC
Back
Top