Rebels may have an idea of Qaddafi's location

TRIPOLI, Libya - Libyan rebels believe they have an idea of where Muammar Qaddafi is.

The rebels are hunting for Qaddafi amid fears that he can continue to stoke violence even after being forced to flee the Libyan capital, Tripoli, last week.

Ali Tarhouni, a minister in the rebel Transitional National Council, had originally told reporters Tuesday that "we have a good idea where he is. We don't have any doubt that we will catch him." However, that earlier statement has since been toned down.

Nothing was elaborated further.

Libyan rebels also pledged Tuesday to launch an assault within days on Qaddafi's hometown, the ousted strongman's last major bastion of support.

The rebels and NATO said that Qaddafi loyalists were negotiating the fate of Sirte, a heavily militarized city some 250 miles east of the capital, Tripoli.

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Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the head of the Transitional National Council, said that negotiations with forces in Sirte would end Saturday after the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, when the rebels would "act decisively and militarily."

We can't wait more than that," he told reporters in the eastern city of Benghazi. "We seek and support any efforts to enter these places peacefully. At the end, it might be decided militarily. I hope it will not be the case."

Col. Roland Lavoie, a NATO spokesman, said it's possible Sirte might surrender without a fight.

"We have seen dialogues in several villages that were freed — I'm not saying with no hostilities, but with minimal hostilities," he said.

Lavoie said NATO would continue its mission as long as civilians in the country are under threat, although the area around the capital, Tripoli, is now "essentially free."

Lavoie appeared to struggle to explain how NATO strikes were protecting civilians at this stage in the conflict. Asked about NATO's assertion that it hit 22 armed vehicles near Sirte on Monday, he was unable to say how the vehicles were threatening civilians, or whether they were in motion or parked.

The rebels also demanded that Algeria return Qaddafi's wife and three of his children for trial after they fled, raising tensions between the neighboring countries.

Safiya Qaddafi, her daughter Aisha and sons Hannibal and Mohammed entered Algeria on Monday, while Qaddafi and several other sons remain at large. In Washington, the Obama administration said it had no indication that Qaddafi himself has left the country.

[Forty-Four]

There was a story about Qaddafi slaughtering people once held captive. However, on the other hand, there was also a story about the Rebels killing blacks.

I'm not sure which is worse..but I still have to root for the Rebels.

[rafaeldrc]

Early in Clinton's first term as president, he spoke with Nelson Mandela and in that conversation Clinton asked Mandela to consider distancing himself from Qaddafi. Mandela's response was perplexing to Clinton, Mandela stating, "Your enemies are not my enemies".

Americans are not aware that propaganda exist in all realms, including here. Most everything we have read about Qaddafi has been negative and even the pictures so proudly displayed of him by our media make him look strange, grotesque and evil. George Bush was amplified to look stupid in photos taken of him by our own press but his actions spoke louder than the juxtaposition of the lens.

What most Americas don't realize is that Qaddafi did a lot of good for Africa in terms of using his nation's resources to benefit not only his family and friends, but he tried to help both Africa and the Arab world, he was a critic of OPEC and Israel pointing to the hypocrisy that still exist today.

What is going on is a grab for the wealth that lies under the desert sands, no different than Iraq. Our justifications the same, in the name of humanity. Strange we do little in regard to Syria where no oil is to be found yet thousands have perished under a pogrom to eradicate descent.

Our next theaters of theft are Venezuela, Peru and Bolivia since the are resistant and have resources worth stealing under the cover of saving humanity. Iran knows they have something worth stealing, as well.

Mandela chose not to side with Clinton because he knew that many of the 27 years he spent in jail were at the behest of Uncle Sam, siding with a racist government for economic reasons rather than principle or the betterment of man. Qaddafi was one of a few world leaders that sounded the trumpet, reminding the world that Mandela was rotting in jail, as did Yasser Arafat. Those that we call villainous are not necessarily villains in all respects, nor those we revere worth the dirt on the soles of our shoes once the truth is known.

No national leader rules without blood in their hands if they are willing to evoke their military and put them into action. Thousands of Afghans and Iraqis have died for no reason spanning two presidents and ten years. Bin Laden would have been found without so much unnecessary bloodshed, as he was and executed.

Qaddafi is better than colonialism. That's all we have to offer, except now it's called something more palatable: Democracy under the control of corporations and external influence.

[imnotimportant]

Americans don't need to do everything. At times, they need to help just a little, and let others do the heavy lifting. Maybe the tea party needs to acknowledge Obama's and the US Air Force's success here in Libya.

[jgg000101]

first of all, you are far too premature to be calling this a "success". The hard part is when gadaffi is gone and there is a void in government. And if you think we only "helped just a little" you are delusional. The rebels couldn't have accomplished squat without NATO, and NATO is NADA without the US.

[jgg000101]

so who are these "rebels"? We're told they're freedom fighters fighting for democracy but then there's reports of al qaeda ties and funding from iran. And then they tell us to go stuff the lockerbie bomber. Who are these guys?

[imnotimportant]

We're told they're freedom fighters fighting to over throw Qaddafi

Since the uprising began there have been reports of al qaeda ties.

Some of the leaders were in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Of course they accept funding from Iran just as they do the US.

Who are these guys? They are the guys who overthrew Qaddafi.

[jgg000101]

so it makes sense to you that we're at war against al qaeda around the world, and iran hates us - continues to build nuclear weapons despite our sanctions - and yet in libya we're supporting rebels with ties to al qaeda who are also being supported by iran?

[sepa2]

May be NATO told them

[WiseAsOwl]

When is the news media going to cover the bombardment of Israel.. NOT NEWSWORTHY, maybe?????????

[you_MAY_be_right]

"The rebels and NATO said that Qaddafi loyalists were negotiating the fate of Sirte, a heavily militarized city some 250 miles east of the capital, Tripoli."



+++++++++++++++++++


I'm thinking a surprise nuke.

[stupa5]

Last report he was heading to Cancun to get a tan & chill out with a pitcher magarittas... before he's blown to smithereens off the face of this planet ...Pan Am lockerby style!

[darkknight_55]

Seems to me it would be fairly easy to spot a frizzy-haired guy surrounded by Amazonian women....