[Keith_McClary]

Libya prepares to move parliament to Benghazi

U.N. evacuates dozens of foreign staff from Libya

Clashes, bombings rock Libyan city of Benghazi leaving 8 dead

[Keith_McClary]

Libya doesn't even make the news (current Google news page):

Fresh fighting near Libya main airport despite truce
Yahoo News-11 hours ago
Libya's main international airport has been closed since Sunday, with rockets causing damage to aircraft and the main terminal building amid ...
Libya warring militias agree on truce at main airport
Middle East Eye-17 hours ago
Assassination, airport shelling deepen Libya's chaos
Reuters UK-Jul 17, 2014
Libya rebels attack Tripoli's main airport
Aljazeera.com-Jul 17, 2014
Fresh fighting near Libya main airport
News24-13 hours ago

'Libya's future cannot be left to one renegade general'
CNN-Jul 16, 2014
(CNN) -- While the Zintan militia leads the battle for control of Tripoli's airport, another set of militia and radicalized Islamist insurgents in the ...
Libya considers call for help after rocket attacks close Tripoli airport
The Guardian-Jul 15, 2014
Libya in shock after Tripoli airport attack
BBC News-Jul 15, 2014
Planes destroyed as rockets hit Libya airport
Aljazeera.com-Jul 14, 2014
Arab League to hold emergency Libya meeting

All Governance in Libya Remains Contested
Truth-Out-12 hours ago
WORONCZUK: So, with parliamentary election results in Libya due to be published on July 20, let's get an update of what's going on.

Libya: UN mission condemns assassination of former parliament ...
UN News Centre-7 hours ago
A resident of Tayuri stands against a bullet-riddled wall of his house, part of which was destroyed during clashes in Libya. Photo: IRIN/Zahra ...

How did this happen? Iraq, Syria, Israel, Gaza and Libya all in flames
CNN-Jul 16, 2014
(CNN) -- Each day, they live in fear. Sometimes it's the fear of rockets dropping from the sky. Sometimes it's violent fundamentalist militants ...
Iraq, Syria, Gaza and Libya in flames

https://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&gl=c ... =0&q=libya

[Keith_McClary]

"At the request of the Department of State, the U.S. military assisted in the relocation of personnel from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya on Saturday, July 26," Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary said in a statement. "All embassy personnel were relocated, including the Marine security guards who were providing security at the embassy and during the movement."

The evacuation took place with surveillance planes providing watch, and warplanes patrolling to provide close-air support in the event of an attack. F-16 fighters, airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets and an Airborne Response Force with MV-22 Ospreys provided security, Kirby said.

The mission was conducted without incident, and the entire operation lasted approximately five hours, he said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-28500730

[Keith_McClary]

Islamists overrun Benghazi army base killing 30
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News
Tuesday, 29 July 2014

Islamist fighters and militants overran a major Libyan army base in the eastern city of Benghazi on Tuesday after a fierce battle involving rockets and warplanes in which at least 30 people were killed, Reuters reported.

Special Forces had to abandon their main camp in southeast Benghazi after coming under sustained attack from Islamist fighters and militias, the news agency quoted military officials and residents as saying.

“We have withdrawn from the army base after heavy shelling,” Fadel Al-Hassi, Saiqa Special Forces official said.

[Withnail]

Nice job NATO. Of course it's particularly the USA we have to thank.

Now we have a dangerous, chaotic Islamist hellhole within a stone's throw of Europe.

[Keith_McClary]

Nice job NATO. Of course it's particularly the USA we have to thank.

Now we have a dangerous, chaotic Islamist hellhole within a stone's throw of Europe.

Don't worry, Libya says its oilfields are safe from the fighting

"I can confirm that all the oilfields are safe and the production is still around 500,000 bpd," Samir Salim Kamal, director of planning at the Libyan Oil Ministry, told Reuters.

[Keith_McClary]

From Bloomberg Businessweek, a devastating critique of the Libya intervention:
How Libya Blew Billions and Its Best Chance at Democracy
By David Samuels August 07, 2014

Long, but a must read, especially for the interventionist cheerleaders.

[Keith_McClary]

Former US "diplomat" writes:

No one, not even the very optimistic Chris Stevens himself, thought the reform of Libya into a democratic state could be accomplished easily. It would take time and new resources. Despite congressional huffing and puffing, this could not have been news as many of the resources needed were detailed in strategic plans drafted over the last five years by Ambassadors serving in the Mediterranean region, like Christopher and myself. The strategic internal planning of the State Department is of course classified and cannot be discussed here

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/douglas-k ... f=politics

Like the strategic plan for Ukraine?

[Keith_McClary]

Libyan Militia Accuses Egypt, UAE of Airstrikes

Two unidentified airstrikes targeting Islamist militia positions in Libya's capital killed 15 fighters and wounded 30 on Saturday. A senior militia leader accused Egypt and the United Arab Emirates of being behind the attacks on their posts.

The mysterious airstrikes Saturday were the second this week to target Islamist militia posts in the capital. They have fueled speculation that foreign powers are covertly intervening in Libya's militia violence because Libya's air force does not possess the guided ordinance apparently used in the strikes and the country's army is reeling from weeks of intense fighting driven by polarized politics.

The violence in Libya is rooted in the empowerment of militias after successive transitional governments since the 2011 ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi depended on them to maintain order in the absence of a strong police force or a unified military.

It also came as part of a backlash by Islamist factions after losing their power in parliament following June elections and in the face of a campaign by a renegade military general against extremist Islamic militias in Benghazi, Libya's second-largest city.

A militia leader said the warplanes targeted the Interior Ministry and several militia positions, setting fire to a warehouse. He said two sons of the head of the military council of Misrata militias, Ibrahim Bin Rajab, were among the wounded. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to speak to journalists.

Another militia member, spokesman Mohammed al-Gharyani, said more than 30 fighters were wounded in the airstrikes but that the militia had not abandoned its positions, including the Interior Ministry, the army headquarters and the military police headquarters.

Al-Gharyani said militia fighters from other areas and towns were joining the Misrata forces and "our response will be severe."

Similar airstrikes carried out Monday also targeted camps and areas occupied by Islamists militias from Misrata and allied groups.

A senior militia leader, Ahmed Hadiya, accused Egypt and the United Arab Emirates of involvement in the attacks, without elaborating.

Hadiya, speaking in the name of an umbrella group of Islamist militias called Dawn of Libya, said the groups reserve the right to retaliate. He also didn't elaborate.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman Badr Abdel-Attie dismissed the accusations. "We don't pay attention to such talk. Our position is clear — we are with the Libyan people and not with this side or that," he said by telephone. "We don't interfere in the internal affairs" of neighbors.

There was no immediate comment from the Emirates.

Egypt had previously denied military involvement in Libya.

Neighboring Algeria, Italy and other countries have also denied involvement. Libya's government has called on the military to investigate.

Meanwhile, Cairo is hosting a meeting Monday for Libya's neighbors to discuss ways to address the chaos in the oil-rich north African nation.

Hadiya said the militia forces are "calling on parliament to convene urgently to take the necessary measures to protect state sovereignty."

It was not clear what the groups expect from the parliament — in the country that has been split between rival militias and political groups, along Islamist and non-Islamist lines as well as geographical areas.

Misrata militia leaders have blamed past attacks on forces allied to renegade Gen. Khalifa Hifter, who has been leading a campaign against Islamic extremists in the country's east and has used helicopters. But there is little evidence that he has the capability to carry out such strikes from hundreds of miles away and with what appear to be guided munitions.

This is the worst bout of violence Libya has witnessed since 2011. A battle for control of Tripoli's international airport and surrounding areas has been raging for weeks, pitting the powerful Zintan militia from the western mountains against the Islamist-allied Misrata militia, named for the coastal city where it waged some of the most intense battles of the uprising.

The fighting has largely destroyed Tripoli's airport and prompted diplomats, foreign nationals and thousands of Libyans to flee.

Dawn of Libya group said on its Facebook page that it has seized control of bases of the Zintan militia, effectively gaining control over the airport.

[BobInget]

http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast ... story.html

Islamist Militias have captured Libya's MAIN airport. Observers are saying this means one of the stronger militias will take revenge on lesser militias (killing). If we did not understand Libya as a 'failed state' before we should now.

In another story not too distant with implications almost as important:
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/islamic-sta ... -1.1973592

Using American weapons IS fighters rolled into Syria's last major airbase in the provence. We wonder if they have trained pilots? If so, US/UK drones will need F 18 protection. Another 300 US troops being sent to Iraq.

A taste of text:
BEIRUT -- Islamic State fighters captured a major military air base in northeastern Syria on Sunday, eliminating the last government-held outpost in a province otherwise dominated by the jihadi group, activists and state media said.

Tabqa airfield -- home to several warplane squadrons, helicopters, tanks, artillery, and ammunition bunkers -- is the third military base in the area to fall to the extremists since last month. Those victories are part of the Islamic State group's aggressive push to consolidate its hold on northern and eastern provinces, while also expanding the boundaries of its self-styled caliphate straddling the Syria-Iraq border.

The jihadis launched their long-anticipated offensive last week to seize the sprawling Tabqa facility, located some 45 kilometres from the extremists' stronghold in the city of Raqqa along the Euphrates River.
Additional at link...

more at link....

[ROCKMAN]

Bob - The good news is that all the targets you describe are rather soft for a US vessel with AWAC support while sitting 300 miles offshore. Bad news for the jihadist...good news for the US MIC that would sell the hundreds of $millions in replacement munitions. Until the militants start employing civilian shields to protect those assets it's a wide open shooting salary for us. Just a question of how much tax payer money the gov't decides to spend. Of course going after them in Syria tends to support Assad. Such is the dynamics in the ME these days.

[jjhman]

I don't think it is clear yet that the Obama administration is willing to go into Syria, even with air strikes. That might be the right strategy. If the rest of the Muslim world gets nervous enough they can start to take care of their own problems. The scary thing is that the IS fighters seem to be the first real soldiers the Muslim world has produced in the last 1,000 years. We have yet to see if the military establishments of SA, Lebanon, Qatr or even Iran can fight their way out of a paper bag.

[BobInget]

President O will decide this week about a Syrian offensive. Himself is consulting with military advisors this hour.

[noobtube]

Lots of murderous hatred in this thread.

But, what else can you expect from Americans?

[Keith_McClary]

Libya seeks foreign help for oilfields as rockets fired at airport

(Reuters) - Libya wants the international community to help protect its oilfields, airports and other state assets as it is too weak to stop armed groups fighting for control, its ambassador in Cairo said on Monday.
...
"There are forms of international intervention (possible) particularly since Libya is unable to protect its institutions, its airports and natural resources, especially the oilfields," Ambassador Mohamed Jibril said on the sidelines of a meeting of Libya's neighbours in Cairo.

What about

The Responsibility to Protect (R2P or RtoP) is an emerging norm that sovereignty is not a right, but that states must protect their populations from mass atrocity crimes—namely genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and ethnic cleansing.
The R2P has three foundation "pillars":[4][5]
A state has a responsibility to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing.
The international community has a responsibility to assist the state to fulfill its primary responsibility.
If the state manifestly fails to protect its citizens from the four above mass atrocities and peaceful measures have failed, the international community has the responsibility to intervene through coercive measures such as economic sanctions. Military intervention is considered the last resort.

Oh, ...wait, that's just about protecting people, not oilfields. He's not concerned about protecting people.

[Keith_McClary]

UAE, Egypt carry out airstrikes in Libya without US' consent, officials say

UAE fighter jets with help from Egypt carried out airstrikes in Libya a week ago amid an ongoing power struggle in the country in the wake of Muammar Qaddafi’s ouster, a senior U.S. official confirms to Fox News.

The Pentagon is not commenting on the matter and AFRICOM said the strikes – which hit targets in the Libyan capital of Tripoli -- were not carried out by U.S. aircraft.

Four senior American officials who spoke to the New York Times said Egypt and the United Arab Emirates -- both allies -- executed the military maneuvers without informing the Obama administration beforehand.

The first wave of airstrikes hit positions in Tripoli controlled by Islamist-friendly militias, including a small weapons depot. The second wave targeted rocket launchers and military vehicles owned by militias, the New York Times reports.

The Islamist forces have been given weapons and support from Qatar, officials told the newspaper.

But the strikes didn’t appear to hold them back. A day after the militants were hit, Tripoli’s airport fell to the Islamists.

The U.A.E. has not commented on the airstrikes but American officials told the New York Times that Egypt provided bases for their planes to conduct the operations.

[Keith_McClary]

http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/inter ... 1960081832

[Keith_McClary]

Libyan Militiamen Take Over Evacuated US Embassy In Tripoli

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — An Islamist-allied militia group "secured" a U.S. Embassy residential compound in Libya's capital, more than a month after American personnel evacuated from the country over ongoing fighting, one of its commanders said Sunday.
An Associated Press journalist walked through the compound Sunday after the Dawn of Libya, an umbrella group for Islamist militias, invited onlookers inside. Some windows at the compound had been broken, but it appeared most of the equipment there remained untouched. The journalist saw treadmills, food, televisions and computers still inside.

A commander for the Dawn of Libya group, Moussa Abu-Zaqia, told the AP that his forces had entered and been in control of the compound since last week, a day after it has seized control of the capital and its strategic airport after weeks of fighting with a rival militia. Abu-Zaqia said the rival militia was in the compound before his troops took it over.

A video posted online showed men playing in a pool at the compound. In a message on Twitter, U.S. Ambassador to Libya Deborah Jones said the video appeared to have been shot in at the embassy's residential annex.

[dissident]

I would say: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED.

Chalk one up for the stellar success of NATO meddlers. The democracy bombers and human rights renditioners.

[Keith_McClary]

Late on Sunday, the government released a statement admitting it had lost its grip on many levers of power.

“We announce that most ministries, institutions and state bodies in the capital Tripoli are out of our control,” it said, adding that armed groups had prevented staff entering some government buildings.

All ministries, the central bank and the state-owned National Oil Corp are located in the capital.

The victory of Misrata forces in Tripoli has not yet affected oil production; but traders say ownership of the oil might be subject to legal challenges if those forces take control of the central bank, where crude revenues are booked.
http://www.euronews.com/newswires/26672 ... -lawmaker/