http://www.juancole.com/2011/02/qaddafi-invokes-phony-al-qaeda-threat-as-he-massacres-protesters.html Qaddafi invokes Phony Al-Qaeda Threat as he Massacres Protesters<http://www.juancole.com/2011/02/qaddafi-invokes-phony-al-qaeda-threat-as-he-massacres-protesters.html>
Posted on 02/25/2011 by Juan Muammar Qaddafi continued to be little more on Thursday than the mayor of Tripoli, but he bared his fangs with murderous attacks on protesters in the vicinity of the capital.. And, note to Col. Qaddafi: Al-Qaeda is not a mass movement and cannot put people in the streets. Think about it. Al-Qaeda has a handful of mad bombers, who try to blow things up. Big crowds in the streets not an al-Qaeda M.O. Qaddafi tried to blame al-Qaeda for the unrest on Wednesday and Thursday. It is such a blast from the past. The Bush administration also tried to manipulate the public with constant fearmongering about al-Qaeda taking over the world, and fraudulently used the fringe group to justify its Iraq War. Attempts by Qaddafis military and paramilitary forces to retake the major city of Misurata (or Misrata) about 100 km east of Tripoli failed miserably. *Oppositionists defeated Qaddafi loyalists at the citys airport*<http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews/idAFLDE71N17D20110224?sp=true>and in its outskirts, and by late Thursday had declared the countrys third-largest city firmly in the hands of the rebels. The latter set up citizens councils. [image: Libya Cities by Loyalty] Courtesy BBC: Libya Cities by Loyalty (Modified) Qaddafis forces also appear to have lost control of Zuara in the far west near Tunisia *On the other hand, Qaddafi security forces viciously repressed dissidents*<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12570279>in the city of Zawiya (pop. 150,000) , 40 km southwest of Tripoli. It is Libyas fourth-largest city. There are reports of an army attack on protesters who had taken refuge in a mosque, in which machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades were deployed. Some *said 20 persons were shot down, and hundreds wounded.*<http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11056/1127869-82.stm>Eyewitnesses spoke of it as a ghost town. Qaddafi added insult to injury by broadcasting a bizarre message to the people of Zawiya insisting that young people there were only in rebellion because they had been given hallucination pills, and that al-Qaeda was behind the disturbances. There is no sign that Muslim extremism is playing any role at all in Libyas liberation movement, though some cities, such as Dirne in the West, are known for the piety of their residents. Qaddafi loyalists also still control Surt (Sirte) to the east of Misurata, a city of 128,000 or so, near which Qaddafi was born. Residents of liberated Misurata worry about being the object of a pincer movement by Qaddafi forces in Tripoli and Surt. Qaddafis police and army still seem mostly in control of the capital, Tripoli, itself. *Nevertheless, there were calls for masses*<http://www.adnkronos.com/IGN/Aki/English/Security/Libya-Mass-anti-Gaddafi-demonstrations-to-continue_311725613130.html>to come out into the streets after Friday prayers in an attempt to shake the regime. *Aljazeera English has a translation*<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NayIM7w9gwg>of some of Qaddafis bizarre and rambling speech on Thursday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NayIM7w9gwg&feature=player_embedded [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:laamn-unsubscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:laamn-subscr...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:laamn-dig...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:laamn-ow...@egroups.com?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:la...@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/laamn@egroups.com> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: laamn-dig...@yahoogroups.com laamn-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: laamn-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
