moammar-qaddafi

Is Qaddafi Ready to Make a Deal?

Max Read · 06/25/11 01:55PM

Libyan rebels are telling the AFP that they "expect to get an offer very soon" from dictator Moammar Qaddafi. According to Abdel Hafiz Ghoga of the rebel government, they've heard ("though contacts with France and South Africa") that Qaddafi is ready to "present a proposal"; even if the rumors are true (and it's in the best interests of Ghoga and the National Transitional Council to convince NATO that hostilities will end soon), the NTC has said it cannot accept a deal that would keep Qaddafi in power. But according to Rep. Mike Turner, NATO didn't even want that on the table: The congressman told Foreign Policy that Admiral Samuel Locklear had admitted to him that NATO forces were trying to kill Qaddafi, which, if true, would be a violation of the stated objectives of the NATO mission.

Armed 'Western Troops' Filmed in Libya as Generals Defect

Max Read · 05/30/11 07:07PM

Six armed Western men, possibly British special forces, were caught on tape by Al Jazeera, seemingly corroborating rumors that SAS soldiers are on the ground in Libya acting as spotters for NATO air strikes. The presence of Western troops is... well, the Guardian calls it a "sensitive" subject, because the UN resolution authorizing air strikes explicitly forbids a "foreign occupation force of any form." As far as the British government is concerned, they don't exist: "We don't have any forces out there," the Ministry of Defense says.

Hundreds of Rapes by Pro-Qaddafi Forces Reported

Max Read · 05/29/11 01:39PM

Some 259 women reported being raped by forces fighting on behalf of dictator Moammar Qaddafi during the ongoing civil war in Libya, according to a questionnaire distributed to refugees by child psychologist Seham Sergewa. The question was added to the survey after Sergewa was contacted by three separate victims — mothers of children she was treating — who told similar stories of assault by militia fighting to keep Qaddafi in power: