Libya considers call for help after rocket attacks close Tripoli airport

[Lite Beer]

Libya considers call for help after rocket attacks close Tripoli airport

Country left 'cut off from the outside world' as United Nations withdraws staff after latest fighting between rival militias

Libya's government is considering calling for international forces to help re-establish security after deadly clashes closed Tripoli airport, severing air links with the outside world.

The country's airport – closed due to the fighting between liberal and Islamist militias – came under renewed attack late on Monday when dozens of rockets were fired, killing a security guard and injuring six others, officials said.

Al-Jilani al-Dahech, a security official at Tripoli airport, said the control tower was hit along with a plane belonging to private Libyan carrier Buraq Airlines.

On Monday, the United Nations said it was evacuating its remaining staff from Libya because of the deteriorating security situation.

Shortly after the attack on the airport the government released a statement saying it was "looking into the possibility of making an appeal for international forces on the ground to re-establish security and help the government impose its authority".

The statement added that the forces would help protect civilians, prevent anarchy and allow the government to build up the army and police.

International air power helped overthrow dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, sparking a power struggle between rival armed groups.

Fighting between militias has intensified since a general election in June and the UN said it was withdrawing its remaining staff.

"UNSMIL [the United Nations Support Mission in Libya] temporarily withdrawing staff from Libya because of security situation," the mission, which already pulled out dozens of staff last week, said.

"After the latest fighting on Sunday and because of the closure of Tripoli international airport, the mission concluded that it would not be possible to continue its work … while at the same time ensuring the security and safety of its staff," it said.

"This is a temporary measure. Staff will return as soon as security conditions permit. The United Nations, which stood by the Libyan people in their revolution in 2011, will not abandon them as they seek to build a democratic state."

Witnesses said a UN convoy left Tripoli on Sunday by road headed for the Tunisian border, 110 miles to the west.

Tripoli international airport has been shut for at least three days after the Zintan militia that controls it came under attack by Islamist fighters on Sunday.

Read More: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/15/libya-tripoli-airport-closed-rocket-attacks

--Guardian News and Media Limited 2014-07-15

[MikeOboe57]

Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention. But what can you expect when two UN SC resolutions for a "no-fly-zone" and an "arms embargo" are expanded to a full blown bombing campaign and a massive arms delivery program. Oh, and let´s not forget the unauthorized man-hunt for the head of government - "We came, we saw, he died, hehehehe..." (Hillary Clinton).

The most pathetic statement is apparently coming from a high ranking UN official or spokesperson: "The United Nations, which stood by the Libyan people in their revolution in 2011, will not abandon them as they seek to build a democratic state." The UNSG had gone into hiding when the "coalition of the willing" started to act as "rebel air force". He - and the UN - reappeared only after Gaddafi had been savagely butchered on camera after being wounded in a NATO airstrike. During the abuse of two UNSC resolutions the stage was occupied by Obama, Clinton, Cameron, Sarkozy and Rasmussen, the UN and its SG Ban Ki-Moon had gone AWOL.

The attempt to create failed state number 4, Syria, in the same manner - a "no-fly zone" and an arms embargo, was thankfully foiled by Russia and China, and the attempts of Turkey to fake or provoke a Syrian attack on its territory to enforce NATO action were unsuccessful.

But not all is lost, the Ukraine is drowning in blood and making decent progress on the slippery path to becoming a failed state, too. And all that because the same camarilla thought it an excellent idea to corner Russia by dragging the Ukraine into the EU/NATO and make the Russian naval base in Sevastopol become untenable.

Idiots driven by an agenda are by far the most dangerous human species.

[SOTIRIOS]

...the bully system is alive and well......

...otherwise known as the 'civilized and developed world'.......

...welcome to life on Earth....

[bassman]

"Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention"

Neither US nor NATO led operation, as an opening statement the above discredits your rambling reply.

[MikeOboe57]

"Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention"

Neither US nor NATO led operation, as an opening statement the above discredits your rambling reply.

Ah, semantics. The last line of defense. I never said it was a US/NATO led operation. Maybe you should try to read some unbiased reports about this war. It would also help to study the two UNSC resolutions that were abused to topple the government of Libya.

It might as well be helpful if you could present some facts that refute my description of the above events, instead of just dumping a one liner ad hominem.

edit: typo

Edited July 16, 2014 by MikeOboe57

[Morch]

Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention. But what can you expect when two UN SC resolutions for a "no-fly-zone" and an "arms embargo" are expanded to a full blown bombing campaign and a massive arms delivery program. Oh, and let´s not forget the unauthorized man-hunt for the head of government - "We came, we saw, he died, hehehehe..." (Hillary Clinton).

The most pathetic statement is apparently coming from a high ranking UN official or spokesperson: "The United Nations, which stood by the Libyan people in their revolution in 2011, will not abandon them as they seek to build a democratic state." The UNSG had gone into hiding when the "coalition of the willing" started to act as "rebel air force". He - and the UN - reappeared only after Gaddafi had been savagely butchered on camera after being wounded in a NATO airstrike. During the abuse of two UNSC resolutions the stage was occupied by Obama, Clinton, Cameron, Sarkozy and Rasmussen, the UN and its SG Ban Ki-Moon had gone AWOL.

The attempt to create failed state number 4, Syria, in the same manner - a "no-fly zone" and an arms embargo, was thankfully foiled by Russia and China, and the attempts of Turkey to fake or provoke a Syrian attack on its territory to enforce NATO action were unsuccessful.

But not all is lost, the Ukraine is drowning in blood and making decent progress on the slippery path to becoming a failed state, too. And all that because the same camarilla thought it an excellent idea to corner Russia by dragging the Ukraine into the EU/NATO and make the Russian naval base in Sevastopol become untenable.

Idiots driven by an agenda are by far the most dangerous human species.

Is Syria not a failed state by now with or without similar level of intervention as was the case with Libya?

[MikeOboe57]

Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention. But what can you expect when two UN SC resolutions for a "no-fly-zone" and an "arms embargo" are expanded to a full blown bombing campaign and a massive arms delivery program. Oh, and let´s not forget the unauthorized man-hunt for the head of government - "We came, we saw, he died, hehehehe..." (Hillary Clinton).

The most pathetic statement is apparently coming from a high ranking UN official or spokesperson: "The United Nations, which stood by the Libyan people in their revolution in 2011, will not abandon them as they seek to build a democratic state." The UNSG had gone into hiding when the "coalition of the willing" started to act as "rebel air force". He - and the UN - reappeared only after Gaddafi had been savagely butchered on camera after being wounded in a NATO airstrike. During the abuse of two UNSC resolutions the stage was occupied by Obama, Clinton, Cameron, Sarkozy and Rasmussen, the UN and its SG Ban Ki-Moon had gone AWOL.

The attempt to create failed state number 4, Syria, in the same manner - a "no-fly zone" and an arms embargo, was thankfully foiled by Russia and China, and the attempts of Turkey to fake or provoke a Syrian attack on its territory to enforce NATO action were unsuccessful.

But not all is lost, the Ukraine is drowning in blood and making decent progress on the slippery path to becoming a failed state, too. And all that because the same camarilla thought it an excellent idea to corner Russia by dragging the Ukraine into the EU/NATO and make the Russian naval base in Sevastopol become untenable.

Idiots driven by an agenda are by far the most dangerous human species.

Is Syria not a failed state by now with or without similar level of intervention as was the case with Libya?

IMHO not yet, although the USA, Qatar and a few other rogue Arab oil emirates are doing their best to fuel this dirty war. Compared to Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan there is still a strong Government and its armed forces are slowly but steadily advancing on all fronts. But it can still take a turn for the worse. Turkey is massively supporting the Islamist fighters with weapons and ammunition as well as offering hospital treatment for the less lucky, Obama only recently asked for another batch of 500 Mio USD to pay for further training and equipping of "moderate" islamists in Jordan, and I guess the camera teams and makeup artists of Al Jazeera are already preparing another tearful human touch story about the crossing of another "red line", ready to be aired to a gullible audience when the next rebel stronghold is mopped up by the Syrian Army.

Libya, to get back on topic, was a massive blunder. Not only did the "Coalition" bluntly and with impudence overstep/violate the mandate given by two albeit sloppily formulated UNSC resolutions 1970 and 1973, (http://www.un.org/docs/sc/unsc_resolutions11.htm), not only did for the first time German Bundeswehr officers clandestinely participate in an out-of-area war against a foreign nation without obtaining the mandatory prior approval by the German Parliament, not only did the short air campaign completely deplete the NATO stocks of precision bombs and missiles - stocks that should have been sufficient to deal with a massive attack of the Warsaw Pact - the so-called "fighters for democracy" were nothing but hardline islamists from Benghazi who had many ideas, however backing a US/NATO installed puppet regime of "has-beens" and "no-names" was not on their list, as the US ambassador - a strong supporter of the war - had to find out.

Three years after the war the country is split up into "personal fiefdoms" of local warlords, with a powerless Government that rules at the mercy of local militias who represent law and order as they see fit. All 30 000 inhabitants of the town of Tawergha have been displaced (expelled from their town) since the end of the war under allegation of sympathy for the former Head of State. Their refugee camps in the desert are periodically raided by armed groups from the Misrata militia. They are not allowed to return up to this day.

Thanks to the massive arms supply by US/NATO and certain Arab nations and the chaos in the aftermath of the bombing campaign the country is awash with weapons from handguns to shoulder-launched sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles - a veritable shopping mall for any terrorist organization. Tribal factions with their affiliated militias struggling for supremacy after decades of Gaddafi rule have now lead to the closure of Misrata airport and with the attack on Tripolis airport the country is virtually inaccessible by air, as the other airports, Tobruk and Bayda, in the east are off limits to foreigners after the rogue General Khalifa Haftar launched his attack on Benghazi militias "to return stability to Libya", a move denounced as "coup" by the Government, all they could do.

It came as no surprise that the country that offered its air bases for the bombing campaign against Libya - Italy - is now suffering the aftermath of this blunder. It has become the preferred destination for "refugees" all over Africa and Asia who seek shelter from poverty and hunger in the comfortable social security systems of Europe. The lawlessness and corruption in post-war Libya has made this country the prime port of embarkation for barely seaworthy wrecks that attempt the daring crossing of the Mediterranean to the nearest shores of "Fortress Europe".

UNSecGen Ban Ki-Moon was rewarded for his absence during the conflict with another term in office, so he could continue what he had begun - make the UN irrelevant.

A final word from the Indian UN Ambassador Singh Puri about the handling of the UNSC resolutions 1970 and 1973 by the US and NATO:

"The only aspect of the resolution of interest to them (international community) was use of all necessary means to bomb the hell out of Libya, Further, in clear violation of the resolution, arms were supplied to civilians without any consideration of its consequences, no-fly zone was selectively implemented only for flights in and out of Tripoli and targeted measures were implemented insofar as they suited the objective of regime change." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect)

[bartender100]

Do you think when all these Muslim militants all over the Middle East that are killing in Allah's name so they get to "Paradise" will keep killing each other once they get there? Must be bloody mayhem up there by now

[Mosha]

"Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention"

Neither US nor NATO led operation, as an opening statement the above discredits your rambling reply.

Ah, semantics. The last line of defense. I never said it was a US/NATO led operation. Maybe you should try to read some unbiased reports about this war. It would also help to study the two UNSC resolutions that were abused to topple the government of Libya.

It might as well be helpful if you could present some facts that refute my description of the above events, instead of just dumping a one liner ad hominem.

edit: typo

The war is not meant to be won......

[Robby nz]

Failed state number 3 after a US/NATO intervention. But what can you expect when two UN SC resolutions for a "no-fly-zone" and an "arms embargo" are expanded to a full blown bombing campaign and a massive arms delivery program. Oh, and let´s not forget the unauthorized man-hunt for the head of government - "We came, we saw, he died, hehehehe..." (Hillary Clinton).

The most pathetic statement is apparently coming from a high ranking UN official or spokesperson: "The United Nations, which stood by the Libyan people in their revolution in 2011, will not abandon them as they seek to build a democratic state." The UNSG had gone into hiding when the "coalition of the willing" started to act as "rebel air force". He - and the UN - reappeared only after Gaddafi had been savagely butchered on camera after being wounded in a NATO airstrike. During the abuse of two UNSC resolutions the stage was occupied by Obama, Clinton, Cameron, Sarkozy and Rasmussen, the UN and its SG Ban Ki-Moon had gone AWOL.

The attempt to create failed state number 4, Syria, in the same manner - a "no-fly zone" and an arms embargo, was thankfully foiled by Russia and China, and the attempts of Turkey to fake or provoke a Syrian attack on its territory to enforce NATO action were unsuccessful.

But not all is lost, the Ukraine is drowning in blood and making decent progress on the slippery path to becoming a failed state, too. And all that because the same camarilla thought it an excellent idea to corner Russia by dragging the Ukraine into the EU/NATO and make the Russian naval base in Sevastopol become untenable.

Idiots driven by an agenda are by far the most dangerous human species.

Is Syria not a failed state by now with or without similar level of intervention as was the case with Libya?

IMHO not yet, although the USA, Qatar and a few other rogue Arab oil emirates are doing their best to fuel this dirty war. Compared to Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan there is still a strong Government and its armed forces are slowly but steadily advancing on all fronts. But it can still take a turn for the worse. Turkey is massively supporting the Islamist fighters with weapons and ammunition as well as offering hospital treatment for the less lucky, Obama only recently asked for another batch of 500 Mio USD to pay for further training and equipping of "moderate" islamists in Jordan, and I guess the camera teams and makeup artists of Al Jazeera are already preparing another tearful human touch story about the crossing of another "red line", ready to be aired to a gullible audience when the next rebel stronghold is mopped up by the Syrian Army.

Libya, to get back on topic, was a massive blunder. Not only did the "Coalition" bluntly and with impudence overstep/violate the mandate given by two albeit sloppily formulated UNSC resolutions 1970 and 1973, (http://www.un.org/docs/sc/unsc_resolutions11.htm), not only did for the first time German Bundeswehr officers clandestinely participate in an out-of-area war against a foreign nation without obtaining the mandatory prior approval by the German Parliament, not only did the short air campaign completely deplete the NATO stocks of precision bombs and missiles - stocks that should have been sufficient to deal with a massive attack of the Warsaw Pact - the so-called "fighters for democracy" were nothing but hardline islamists from Benghazi who had many ideas, however backing a US/NATO installed puppet regime of "has-beens" and "no-names" was not on their list, as the US ambassador - a strong supporter of the war - had to find out.

Three years after the war the country is split up into "personal fiefdoms" of local warlords, with a powerless Government that rules at the mercy of local militias who represent law and order as they see fit. All 30 000 inhabitants of the town of Tawergha have been displaced (expelled from their town) since the end of the war under allegation of sympathy for the former Head of State. Their refugee camps in the desert are periodically raided by armed groups from the Misrata militia. They are not allowed to return up to this day.

Thanks to the massive arms supply by US/NATO and certain Arab nations and the chaos in the aftermath of the bombing campaign the country is awash with weapons from handguns to shoulder-launched sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles - a veritable shopping mall for any terrorist organization. Tribal factions with their affiliated militias struggling for supremacy after decades of Gaddafi rule have now lead to the closure of Misrata airport and with the attack on Tripolis airport the country is virtually inaccessible by air, as the other airports, Tobruk and Bayda, in the east are off limits to foreigners after the rogue General Khalifa Haftar launched his attack on Benghazi militias "to return stability to Libya", a move denounced as "coup" by the Government, all they could do.

It came as no surprise that the country that offered its air bases for the bombing campaign against Libya - Italy - is now suffering the aftermath of this blunder. It has become the preferred destination for "refugees" all over Africa and Asia who seek shelter from poverty and hunger in the comfortable social security systems of Europe. The lawlessness and corruption in post-war Libya has made this country the prime port of embarkation for barely seaworthy wrecks that attempt the daring crossing of the Mediterranean to the nearest shores of "Fortress Europe".

UNSecGen Ban Ki-Moon was rewarded for his absence during the conflict with another term in office, so he could continue what he had begun - make the UN irrelevant.

A final word from the Indian UN Ambassador Singh Puri about the handling of the UNSC resolutions 1970 and 1973 by the US and NATO:

"The only aspect of the resolution of interest to them (international community) was use of all necessary means to bomb the hell out of Libya, Further, in clear violation of the resolution, arms were supplied to civilians without any consideration of its consequences, no-fly zone was selectively implemented only for flights in and out of Tripoli and targeted measures were implemented insofar as they suited the objective of regime change." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect)

In reality, all in defense of the dollar.

The US was all friendly with Gaddafi until he started pushing the idea of trading his oil for gold, and getting support from some other countries, at that point he had to go.

Similar to Saddam who's fate was sealed when he started asking for Euros for his.

And the UK and France were keen to "Help" in Libya, so keen in fact they had tankers were waiting off shore for the rebels to take over the refineries.