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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 2-May-2011
2-May-11 News -- Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound

Web Log - May, 2011

2-May-11 News -- Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound

Senator Lindsey Graham thanks Nato

Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound

Angry supporters of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi staged revenge attacks on Sunday, burning and looting the U.S., U.K., French, Italian and Qatari embassies in Tripoli on Sunday, according to AP. The UN was forced to evacuate its foreign staff from Tripoli, according to the Independent.

Damaged Gaddafi house, after Nato airstrike

Damaged Gaddafi house, after Nato airstrike

This comes one day after a Nato air strike on Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli. A Libyan government spokesman said that the air strike killed Muammar Gaddafi's youngest son, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, and three of the Libyan leader's grandsons.

Libyan rebels in Benghazi are saying that they're skeptical that Gaddafi's son is really dead, according to AFP. And a Nato spokesman says that the reports of the deaths of Gaddafi's son and grandchildren are unconfirmed, according to Haaretz. "We targeted a military command and control building with a precision strike. It was not targeted against any individual. It was a military target, clearly linked to the Gadhafi's regime's systematic attacks on the civilian population."

Controversy: A violation of international war?

The controversy is arising because it appears that Nato targeted Gaddafi's compound in order to assassinate Gaddafi, which would be a violation of U.S. and international law, and would be beyond the U.N. resolution that mandated the Libyan operation.

A Russian MP, Konstantin Kosachev, is quoted by Reuters as saying that the strike was proof that the coalition was not protecting civilians. "(It is) a clear confirmation of the indiscriminate use of force by the anti-Libyan coalition," he said.

Senator Lindsey Graham thanks Nato

However, a leading Republican senator, Lindsey Graham, defended the action on Fox News Sunday:

"Well, I think this is a good move by NATO to go after the source of the problem. If you want to protect the Libyan people, go after his inner circle. Do two things -- support the rebels, give them better air cover, get American aircraft back in the game to diminish Gadhafi's military, but also put pressure in Tripoli. In my view, wherever Gadhafi goes, he is the legitimate military target. He's the command and control source. He's not the legitimate leader of Libya. And the way to get to this to end is to go after the people around him and his support network.
In my view, he is not a foreign leader. In my view, he's a murderer. He's killing his own people. He's acting outside of international law. He's bombing civilians. He is not the legitimate leader of Libya. ...
I support what Nato did. This is a good use of the mandate. This is the way to end this. Thousands of people are subject to dying the longer this takes. No one in the world is going to regret Gaddafi being replaced, no matter how you do it. So I want to thank Nato for expanding the scope of these operations, and I wish we'd acted earlier, but we're now on the right track, supporting the rebels and going after the inner circle. Everything around him needs to be subject to attack."

This continuing deterioration of the Libyan crisis comes at a time when military leaders of neighboring countries -- Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Algeria -- are on alert, according to AFP. An officer from Mali is quoted as saying, "The situation in Libya is of great concern. There is a risk of destabilising the entire region."

He indicated that the instability is providing opportunities for Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), the group that's assumed responsible for the cafe bombing in Marrakesh, Morocco, a couple of days ago.

"Because of the Libyan crisis, the security situation in the Sahel has deteriorated, so it is necessary to be careful. We are all on alert and we keep each other informed," he said.

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 2-May-11 News -- Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (2-May-2011) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 2-May-2011 2-May-11 News -- Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound

Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound

Controversy: A violation of international war?

Senator Lindsey Graham thanks Nato

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 2-May-2011
2-May-11 News -- Libya war controversy rages after missile strike on Gaddafi compound