AFRICOM Related News clips 25 March 2011

8/7/2019 AFRICOM Related News clips 25 March 2011

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United States Africa CommandPublic Affairs Office25 March 2011

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

US General Ham thrust into Libya command spotlight (AFP)(Libya) Days after becoming head of US Africa Command, General Carter Ham foundhimself unexpectedly directing a military campaign in Libya. But this four-star generalis used to tough challenges.

Libya rebels coordinating with West on air assault (LA Times)(Libya) Leaders of the opposition national council, in Benghazi and in Europe, arehelping allied commanders identify targets for strikes. Allied officials walk a fine line asthe U.N. mandate bars them from actively helping the rebels in their goal to oustMoammar Kadafi.

US Army General: 'Nato should lead Libya operation' (BBC) Online Video(Libya) Head of US Africa Command, General Carter Ham has told a media briefing atthe Sigonella air base in Sicily that he hoped Nato would soon lead operations in Libya.At present, a coalition led by the US, France and the UK is implementing a UNresolution enforcing a no-fly zone in the country.

U.S. General Leading Libya Effort 'Follows Trouble' (NPR) Article and Audio Story(Libya) Gen. Carter Ham, the American officer in charge of the Libyan militaryoperation, heads U.S. Africa Command, a job he started just 10 days before attacksagainst Libya began. But Ham is used to tough assignments.

Obama, Libya, and Congress (Wall Street Journal)(Libya) President Barack Obama is going on a week into military action in Libya. If hedoesn't start explaining how and why, he's going to be fighting a rearguard action in

Congress.

White House battles critics on action in Libya (USA Today)(Libya) The White House pushed back hard Thursday against criticism of PresidentObama's Libya policy, arranging a classified briefing for Congress next week andpromising that Obama soon will address the American people again about the scopeand purpose of U.S. military actions against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.


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NATO to take over Libya no-fly zone (UPI)(Libya) NATO member nations Thursday adopted a plan for the alliance to assumecommand of the no-fly zone over Libya and perhaps assume more authority in a fewdays.

Coalition launches new attacks on Libya, U.S. aims hands off control (Xinhua)(Libya) The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday that new attacks were conductedagainst Libyan air defense and other military targets, while the United States is lookingto transfer control of the mission to the coalition.

Airstrikes continue over Libya as more forces mobilize (Xinhua)(Libya) Multinational forces enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya vowed Thursday tokeep up their airstrikes against Libyan government forces, with more means and morecountries involved.

UN Chief: Libya Not Complying with Cease-fire (VOA)(Libya) U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says there is no evidence to supportLibyan assertions that it is complying with a cease-fire. In a briefing to the U.N. SecurityCouncil Thursday, the U.N. chief said he continues to have serious concerns about theprotection of civilians, abuses of human rights and violations of internationalhumanitarian law.

Allies Are Split on Goal and Exit Strategy of Libya Mission (NYT)(Libya) Having largely succeeded in stopping a rout of Libyas rebels, the inchoate

coalition attacking Col. Muammar el-Qaddafis forces remains divided over theultimate goal and exit strategy of what officials acknowledged Thursday would bea military campaign that could last for weeks.

Many Libyans appear to back Gaddafi (Washington Post)(Libya) To all outward appearances, this is a city deeply enamored of Libyan leaderMoammar Gaddafi. His portrait hangs from lampposts, adorns shopping centers andsprouts from the gleaming new office blocks rising from the seafront. Sayings from hisGreen Book, required reading for all schoolchildren, are posted in governmentbuildings, including public restrooms.

AU invites Libyan combattants to discuss ceasefire (AFP)(Libya) The African Union has invited the two sides in the conflict on Libya to itsheadquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss a ceasefire, AU Commission chief Jean Pingsaid in Paris Thursday.

Libya's rebel leaders struggle to get a grip (LA Times)


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WASHINGTON Days after becoming head of US Africa Command, General CarterHam found himself unexpectedly directing a military campaign in Libya. But this four-star general is used to tough challenges.

And in the disciplined, regulated world of the US military, he is seen by many as a very

unusual kind of general, known for breaking down many barriers.

Ham might have believed he would be in for a quiet life behind a desk at AfricaCommand, the US military's regional center based near Stuttgart, Germany, whichkeeps a watchful eye over 53 African nations.

In theory, it's more of a diplomatic job than a military task.

But 10 days after Ham took over at the helm at AFRICOM on March 9, the commandcenter was plunged into a leading role in the Libya campaign with US air strikes

launched on Saturday alongside British and French allies.

Ham, 59, is an oddity among US generals, having started his Army career as a private.He was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in the early 1970s, and laterwent to college and became a second lieutenant.

He was launched on the path towards becoming an officer, and is now one of theArmy's few four-star generals.

"He's highly respected by soldiers, because of his personality," General Bob Scales told

National Public Radio.

"He's probably one of the most un-general-like generals we have at the four-star level inthe Army today."

Ham is known for being a bit of a regular Joe, the kind of guy one would go to the barwith for a beer.

But he is also one of the highest profile officers to openly acknowledge suffering frompost-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) -- helping many other lower ranks to come toterms with this once-taboo psychological illness.

It was in Iraq in 2004, when Ham was on his first combat command leading troops inthe northern city of Mosul during a volatile, bloody phase of the war against insurgents,that tragedy struck.

Just days before he was to wrap up a year-long tour, a suicide bomber blew himself upin the mess tent, killing more than 20 people.


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Ham arrived on the scene just 20 minutes later to be confronted by scenes of terriblecarnage and suffering.

"The 21st of December, 2004, worst day of my life. Ever," he told CNN later.

When he returned to Fort Lewis, Washington state in 2005, all was not well. Ham saidhe had trouble sleeping, loud noises would startle him.

"I was withdrawn; I wanted to still be there," he said. "I felt like what I was doing wasnot important because I had soldiers who were killed. It's not a matter of letting go; Idon't want to let go."

So he sought out help and counseling for PTSD, and then went public about his battle.

"You need somebody to assure you that it's not abnormal," Ham told USA Today in2008. "It's not abnormal to have difficulty sleeping. It's not abnormal to be jumpy atloud sounds.

"It's not abnormal to find yourself with mood swings at seemingly trivial matters. Morethan anything else, just to be able to say that out loud."

In an army where seeking help for the mental scars of battle is seen as a weakness,Ham's move to talk openly about his feelings was a radical breakthrough.

And it has not hindered the career of this officer. He was put in charge of investigatingthe 2009 Fort Hood shootings, in which he found the Army had failed to monitor thealleged shooter Major Nidal Hassan.

He was also tasked last year with reviewing the impact of gays and lesbians servingopenly in the US military.

AFRICOM was created in 2007 and is headquartered in the German city of Stuttgart,which is also where the US military's European command is based, after somespeculation that AFRICOM could be based in Africa itself.

The military operations in Libya marks AFRICOM's first major mission, which is due tolast until the international coalition can hand over command perhaps to NATO.

And for Ham, it will surely mark a defining moment in his military career that couldsee him rise even further in the ranks.-------------------------


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Libya rebels coordinating with West on air assault (LA Times)By David Zucchino and Paul RichterMarch 24, 2011

Reporting from Benghazi, Libya, and Washington Leaders of the opposition national

council in rebel-controlled eastern Libya say they are making regular, secure contactswith allied military representatives in Europe to help commanders identify targets forthe U.S.-led air assault.

The contacts, conducted through the council's civilian representatives in France andelsewhere in Europe, are made by secure satellite telephone connections, according tospokesmen for the rebel leadership in its eastern base of Benghazi.

"There is communication between the Provisional National Council and U.N. assembledforces, and we work on letting them know what areas need to be bombarded,"

spokesman Ahmed Khalifa said in an interview Wednesday.

The contacts, which began over the weekend, are evidence of cooperation between theLibyan opposition and the international military alliance that is waging air and missilestrikes on Moammar Kadafi's command and control centers as well as other militarytargets.

They also highlight the diplomatic delicacy of the mission and the awkwardness of amilitary operation designed by governments with sometimes conflicting goals. TheObama administration and the Pentagon say the United Nations Security Council

resolution authorizing military action in Libya does not include airstrikes specifically toaid rebel forces.

The White House declined to comment on whether allied commanders had establishedregular contact with the rebels to help identify military targets. A Pentagon spokesman,Marine Col. Dave Lapan, said there was "no formal or informal contact" between therebels and American forces.

But Navy Rear Adm. Gerard Hueber, chief of staff of Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn,said that though there was no official collaboration, information was being passed fromthe coalition to the rebels. "We have told the opposition forces how to maneuver, andwe have also told Moammar Kadafi's forces what they were expected to do inaccordance with the U.N. Security Council resolution," he told reporters.

In addition, current and former American officials say that CIA operatives andequipment were sent into rebel-held areas to monitor the opposition forces' activityeven before the air bombardment began. It's not clear whether those operatives are stillin Libya, and if so, what their current role is.


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Many, if not most, of the coalition governments want to help the rebels grind downKadafi's forces. But since the U.N. authorized only a limited mission intended toprevent Kadafi from killing civilians, officials are unable to acknowledge that theyintend to help the rebels.

Jeffrey White, a longtime Defense Intelligence Agency official, said U.S. officials "aretrying to maintain this fig-leaf cover that we're not assisting their combat forces againstthe Libyans. But we're clearly creating conditions in which they can operate better."

"This is a very fine line," said White, now with the Washington Institute for Near EastPolicy. "If they're passing information for targeting purposes, that's not necessarilyformal coordination, but certainly cooperation for the same end." He added thatgathering information was "clearly the right thing to do."

Leaders of the political opposition also have been using satellite phones "and othersecure means" to help identify civilian areas under assault by Kadafi's forces, saidMustafa Gheriani, another rebel council spokesman.

"We tell them of urgent situations in areas where we need help to protect civilians beingattacked by the regime's forces," Gheriani said. "The lines of communication are open."

President Obama has demanded that Kadafi withdraw troops that are attacking threeLibyan cities where civilians have come under sustained bombardment. OnWednesday, alliance warplanes reportedly attacked government forces besieging

Misurata, 125 miles east of Tripoli, forcing a retreat.

Gheriani said there was no direct military-to-military contact. He said rebel militaryofficials pass on information to the council's political representatives in France, whichhas recognized the council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, and tocouncil officials elsewhere in Europe.

"We have clearly established contacts, both political and military, but it all goes throughour political leadership," Gheriani said.

Two council spokesmen said there was no coordination with alliance militaryrepresentatives on rebel movements on the ground and no attempts by alliance officialsto rein in the undisciplined and essentially leaderless rebel fighters.

Gheriani said the council was still trying to bring its fighters under a unified centralcommand. "It's not an easy task to manage revolutionaries, and we're still trying toorganize them," he said. "These are volunteers willing to die for their cause, and theycan be difficult to control."


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Council spokesmen have said the rebels are receiving light weapons, ammunition,supplies and communications equipment from other nations but have declined to namethe donors.

U.S. officials have acknowledged that they have been weighing whether to provideweapons, ammunition and other equipment to the rebels, a move they say couldquickly make a difference in the war. A European official said that whether the coalitionbegins funneling arms to the rebels "really depends on how far Kadafi goes in hisattacks."

Reports from the region suggest that the Saudis and Egyptians have been providingarms. Though U.S. officials could not confirm that, they say it is plausible.-------------------------US Army General: 'Nato should lead Libya operation' (BBC) Online Video

March 24, 2011Head of US Africa Command, General Carter Ham has told a media briefing at theSigonella air base in Sicily that he hoped Nato would soon lead operations in Libya.At present, a coalition led by the US, France and the UK is implementing a UNresolution enforcing a no-fly zone in the country.-----------------------------U.S. General Leading Libya Effort 'Follows Trouble' (NPR) Article and Audio StoryBy Tom BowmanMarch 23, 2011Gen. Carter Ham, the American officer in charge of the Libyan military operation, heads

U.S. Africa Command, a job he started just 10 days before attacks against Libya began.But Ham is used to tough assignments.

They say everything comes in threes. Here's Ham's trifecta: A couple of years ago, thePentagon turned to him to investigate the shootings at Fort Hood, Texas. Ham's finding:Army officers failed in their oversight of the alleged gunman, Maj. Nidal Hassan.

When that investigation was over, Ham took on challenge No. 2: Assess the impact ofgays and lesbians serving openly in the military. Ham's conclusion: It'll work.

Now, he has Libya.

"I don't think trouble follows him I think he follows trouble," said retired Lt. Gen.John Sattler, who served with Ham in Iraq and later at the Pentagon.

Sattler says he isn't surprised that officials hand Ham these assignments.


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"I think when tough things come up ... the folks who know him put him in there to goahead [and] bring him to some positive conclusion," he said.

A Regular Joe

Ham is a rarity among four-star officers because he started out as a private. He was aparatrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division in the early 1970s before going to collegeand then becoming a second lieutenant.

Ask people about him, and you get the standard answers: regular Joe; the kind of guyyou can have a beer with.

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Bob Scales says it's true.

"He's highly respected by soldiers simply because of his personality," Scales said. "He's

probably one of the most un-general-like generals we have at the four-star level in theArmy today."

Ham got his first combat command in 2004. He spent a year in Northern Iraq. Duringthat tour, just before Christmas, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive inside a messtent, killing 22, including 18 Americans.

Ham arrived on the scene minutes after the blast. A couple of days later, he describedwhat happened.

"What we think is likely, but certainly not certain, is that an individual in an Iraqimilitary uniform, possibly with a vest-worn explosive device, was inside the facility anddetonated, causing this tragedy," Ham said at the time.

'I Don't Want To Let Go'

Ham called it the worst day of his life. A few months later, he returned home from Iraq.But he couldn't forget that day. He couldn't sleep. Loud noises startled him. He hadmood swings. He talked about his experience on CNN a few years later.

"I was withdrawn; I wanted to still be there," he said. "I felt like what I was doing wasnot important because I had soldiers who were killed. It's not a matter of letting go; Idon't want to let go."

This was unusual. Soldiers didn't admit to problems. Ham was among just a few seniorofficers who sought help for post-traumatic stress disorder. By going public, he showedthe way for countless soldiers.


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"They now have the courage to follow his example because he took the time to lay thatexample out there," Sattler said.

These days, Ham oversees the Libyan campaign from his headquarters in Stuttgart,Germany. He has to translate political goals into practical military action. It's

complicated. Ham says U.S. and coalition pilots have to protect civilians but not becomethe air force for Libyan rebels.

"These are situations that brief much better at a headquarters than they do in a cockpitof an aircraft," he said.

The U.S. hopes to hand off responsibility for the Libyan campaign soon. That doesn'tmean Ham's tough jobs will end. He'll keep running Africa Command, which meanseverything from pirates to humanitarian missions and, eventually, the aftereffects of thewar in Libya.

------------------------Obama, Libya, and Congress (Wall Street Journal)By Kimberley A. StrasselMarch 25, 2011President Barack Obama is going on a week into military action in Libya. If he doesn'tstart explaining how and why, he's going to be fighting a rearguard action in Congress.

Commanders in chief are rightly accorded broad power to unilaterally order Americanmilitary force. The smart ones understand they need to garner public and congressionalsupport. Congress's backing is particularly crucial, given that body's own authority to

play havoc with a military undertaking. In today's partisan political environment,presidential wooing is even more important.

Mr. Obama, so recently a U.S. senator, knows better than most how that dynamic canplay ugly (see Obama vs. Bush on Iraq and Afghanistan). It is therefore remarkable thatthis White House has made such a hash of its handling of Congress, vis-a-vis Libya.Consider it one consequence of waging war by international committee. More on thatlater.

The speed and size of the congressional revolt is notable. In less than a week, the PeaceCaucus has predictably got up and running, with Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich whippingup Mr. Obama's professional left. The Who-Do-You-Think-You-Are Caucus isbellowing that the president did not get an official vote from Congress for militaryaction. The Cost Caucusa new potent force in the form of dozens of freshmenRepublican elected to cut budgetsis already complaining about the price of militaryaction in Libya.


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Some of this is predictable griping. The Obama team's bigger mistake has been itsmishandling of everyone elsethe bulk of Republicans, who are at least open tosupporting action, as well the majority of Democrats, who feel obliged to support Mr.Obama whether on principle or for political reasons.

Most of this crowd was already alarmed by two months of haphazard White Housepolicy on Egypt, Yemen and Bahrain. It last week watched the administration movefrom being a skeptic of intervention to a proponent of military strikes in Libyain amatter of hours. The president offered these members no explanation for the flip. Healso failed to partake in the traditional courtesy of consulting congressional leaders, orflattering their egos with a request for their advice on the coming action.

Instead, a few hours before the bombs flew, the White House perfunctorily informedlawmakers of what it had already decided to do. Mr. Obama then decamped to LatinAmerica, leaving the legislative branch in a vacuum. Who is in charge? Who are our

partners? What are we attacking? What is the goal? How long? Can Gadhafi stay? If not,who next? The White House has offered no answers to these questions, though PressSecretary Jay Carney did use a recent briefing to complain that Congress shouldn't becomplaining, since it was Congress that pushed the administration to act. Now there's away to make congressional friends.

For now, many in Congress remain open to supporting this effort. But the perception ofdisarraythe sight of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates suggesting the Libya campaignhas been done "on the fly"is putting enormous political pressure on Republicans to beseen to be exercising oversight. It's asking a lot of House Speaker John Boehner to

provide the president cover for a mission the president seems unwilling to articulate.

Mr. Boehner all but made that point with a tough letter this week, which the WhiteHouse would be wise to use as a guide to the questions that need answering. Thepresident has had something of a pass during this week of congressional recess, but themembers are back on Mondayall the better to form ranks. There is already talk ofhearings, investigations, a big fight over the Pentagon's budget. Republican leaders willhave to work to keep some of this in check, and they are going to need a reason to work.

The president faces just as big a risk from his Democrats. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosistepped up to defend the president this weeksomebody had to. Lest the White Househas forgotten, its party took a "shellacking" last year, and dozens of prominent andvulnerable Democrats are looking out for No. 1. It might not take much to send thembolting from their own presidentwhich will further dissuade Republicans fromsticking.

This is what comes from waging war through the United Nations. The White Housewas determined not to move on Libya unless it could hide behind a U.N. resolution.


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The best that multinational body could muster was a vague and confused resolutionbacking efforts to stop Gadhafi from slaughtering civilians. That resolution, Mr.Obama's rationale for action, is now his constraint. To answer Congress's questionswould require thinking and resolving beyond the U.N. remit. He's unwilling to do so.

The president seems instead to be hoping he can quickly hand this off to some otherleader of the free world, and move on. But a failure in Libya will only bring morecongressional questions. Better to define an actual U.S. strategyone that cansucceedwhile Congress is still willing to listen.---------------------------White House battles critics on action in Libya (USA Today)By Mimi HallMarch 24, 2011WASHINGTON The White House pushed back hard Thursday against criticism ofPresident Obama's Libya policy, arranging a classified briefing for Congress next week

and promising that Obama soon will address the American people again about thescope and purpose of U.S. military actions against Moammar Gadhafi's forces.

On Obama's first full day back at the White House after a five-day trip to LatinAmerica, his aides deflected criticism from House leaders and some potentialpresidential candidates that Obama has failed to adequately explain his rationale forlaunching military strikes to protect Libyan rebels.

AIR WAR: NATO to assume bigger role in LibyaPHOTOS: Rebellion in Libya

In a blistering letter this week, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, complained of a"lack of clarity" about the mission and said Obama has left "fundamental questions"unanswered.

White House press secretary Jay Carney responded Thursday, "The questions that areoutlined by members of Congress have by and large been answered by the presidenthimself" and his senior aides. He added that the questions are "legitimate" and theWhite House will continue to provide answers.

That didn't stop the critics.

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican considering running for president in2012, questioned Obama's leadership in a radio interview Thursday. "What are wedoing in Libya?" Barbour asked on The Gallo Show in Jackson, Miss. "I mean we have tobe careful, in my mind, about getting into nation-building exercises."


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The Republican National Committee posted video on its website of comedians such asJon Stewart and Jay Leno mocking Obama for going on ESPN last week to make hiscollege basketball tournament picks as the Libyan crisis grew.

Carney said some of the commentary outside Congress "has been perhaps driven by

politics."

He did not offer details about Obama's plans for another public address on Libya butsaid it "absolutely is important for the president to speak to the American public toinform them of what he's doing. He's done that on multiple occasions thus far and willcontinue to do that."

The White Hours alson on Thursday:

Circulated an op-ed by Rwandan President Paul Kagame about the 1994 genocide in

his country. "No country knows better than my own the costs of the internationalcommunity failing to intervene to prevent a state killing its own people," he wrote inThe New Times of Rwanda. "In the course of 100 days in 1994, a million Rwandanswere killed by government-backed 'genocidaires' and the world did nothing to stopthem."

Cited a dozen sessions in the lead-up to last week's decision to begin enforcing a no-fly zone in Libya during which Obama and his senior aides consulted with members ofCongress.

Carney noted that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Defense Secretary RobertGates and others have testified before Congress and briefed lawmakers repeatedly sinceFeb. 28.

Agreed to send Clinton, Gates and other senior aides to Capitol Hill on Wednesday togive House members a classified briefing on Libya.

Insisted the cost of the military operation will fall within the Defense budget.

In a letter to Obama on Thursday, Democratic Rep. Bruce Braley of Iowa said,"American taxpayers deserve a full accounting" of the costs of a third military operationin the Middle East.

Carney said that he didn't have a specific number but that "there are contingency funds... for this kind of thing."-----------------------NATO to take over Libya no-fly zone (UPI)By Unattributed Author


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March. 24, 2011 at 8:05 PMTRIPOLI, Libya - NATO member nations Thursday adopted a plan for the alliance toassume command of the no-fly zone over Libya and perhaps assume more authority ina few days.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced the development, sayingfor now "there will still be a coalition operation and a NATO operation." He said adecision could come within days on NATO assuming wider responsibility for theoperations, The New York Times reported.

The announcement came as the advantage in fighting appeared to shift away fromforces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi toward rebels, after allied airstrikes on Libyanground forces, the newspaper said.

At the White House Thursday, press secretary Jay Carney, responding to congressional

criticism that President Barack Obama left Congress out of the loop before deciding toparticipate in the no-fly zone enforcement, said the United States had to act quickly inthe multinational military operation in Libya to save lives.

"American military action, international military action has saved an enormous numberof lives in the past five days, and that is something that Americans should be veryproud of," Carney said during a press briefing, listing a series of dates whenadministration officials briefed congressional members or testified at the Capitol.

As commander in chief, Obama said leadership "requires him to take action when

action will save lives and delaying action will cost lives," Carney said. "And in this case,had we waited for Congress to get back, there is no question I think in anybody's minds that Gadhafi's forces would control Benghazi and there would have been a great dealof people killed in the process."

Benghazi is considered the de facto headquarters for opponents to Gadhafi's rule.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Joint Chiefs of StaffChairman Adm. Mike Mullen and National Intelligence Director James Clapper willbrief congressional members Wednesday, a Republican official told CNN. The briefingwill be classified.

Disapproval from Republican lawmakers has intensified during the last few days, withSpeaker John Boehner of Ohio criticizing Obama in a Wednesday letter to the WhiteHouse for not clearly stating the goals of the mission and offering a "sometimescontradictory" case for the war.


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Carney said Thursday Obama has answered Boehner's questions, "especially the onesabout what the mission is and what it isn't."

"It is a time-limited, scope-limited military action, in concert with our internationalpartners, with the objective of protecting civilian life in Libya from Moammar Gadhafi

and his forces," Carney said.

Speaking of reports about NATO assuming control of the no-fly zone, Carney saidObama has been saying the United States would hand off running the operation "indays, not weeks," Carney said.

"We are at less than a week at the moment and we have been in consultations with ourallies and partners on the issue of making that transition and we're confident that it willhappen relatively soon," Carney said.

The first Libyan warplane to violate the no-fly zone was shot down Thursday overMisurata by French fighter jets, ABC News said.

Asked for a comment, Carney observed, "I would simply say that it proves that it's abad idea to violate the no-fly zone."

In Misurata, rebels told The New York Times they felt rejuvenated by a second night ofU.S. and European airstrikes against pro-Gadhafi forces that have been bombarding thecity. Rebels said armored units and artillery surrounding the city apparently havepulled back after airstrikes cut supply and communication lines.

Government warships that had closed the Misurata port also left, allowing rebels towork with Doctors Without Borders to evacuate 50 wounded people to Malta, the Timessaid.

In Tripoli, Libyan officials acknowledged for the first time Thursday Misurata residentshad been living for days without water, electricity or telecommunications. But theofficials, speaking during a news conference, blamed rebels for blocking thegovernment's ability to enter the town center to make repairs.---------------------Coalition launches new attacks on Libya, U.S. aims hands off control (Xinhua)By Unattributed AuthorMarch 24, 2011WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department said Thursday that new attacks wereconducted against Libyan air defense and other military targets, while the United Statesis looking to transfer control of the mission to the coalition.


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Bill Gortney, director of the U.S. Joint Staff, told a Pentagon briefing that the attackswere conducted by both fighter jets and missiles. He said 14 Tomahawk missiles werelaunched against Libyan air defense sites.

According to Gortney, coalition fighter jets continued to target Libyan air defense

missile sites, communication nodes, command centers and ammunition depots.

While the attacks continue, Gortney voiced hope that the control of the campaign couldbe handed over to the coalition by this weekend, saying "the coalition is growing inboth size and capability every day."

He said coalition planes flew all no-fly zone patrols during the past 24 hours, which areaimed at preventing Libyan planes from taking off, while U.S. planes flew othermissions.

But the handover might be tricky, as the United States has the most planes in themission, despite the absence of U.S. aircraft carriers. Gortney said more than 350 aircraftare now taking part in coalition operations against Libya, slightly over half of themAmerican.

Gortney said after the handover, the U.S. military will continue to provide some uniquecapability to the coalition, including aerial refueling, intelligence surveillance andreconnaissance, as well as interdiction strike packages, which can mean jamming andelectronic warfare. He expects U.S. planes to fly some combat missions after thehandover.

-----------------------------Airstrikes continue over Libya as more forces mobilize (Xinhua)By Unattributed AuthorMarch 24, 2011TRIPOLI - Multinational forces enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya vowed Thursday tokeep up their airstrikes against Libyan government forces, with more means and morecountries involved.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said Thursday the coalition operation wouldcontinue for a "necessary" period, "days or weeks", but "certainly not months", toprevent Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces from attacking rebels.

The targets were purely military, he said.

Juppe said on Wednesday the coalition intervention in Libya wouldn't last long and thecountries involved would have political meetings to steer and coordinate the next phaseof the operation.


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The political steering committee, proposed by France, will convene its first meeting inLondon next Tuesday to review the progress in implementing the UN Security Councilresolution authorizing the military action.

The French military said on Thursday French fighter jets pounded an air base in Libya's

inland overnight Wednesday, while other coalition warplanes attacked tanks and somehelicopters on the ground.

Coalition warships Thursday continued to patrol the coast of Libya to prevent arms andmercenaries from entering Libya after they began the operation on Wednesday.

The British Defense Ministry said Thursday a Royal Navy submarine fired Tomahawkmissiles on Libyan air defense targets late Wednesday and early Thursday as part ofBritain's contribution.

The Danish Air Force's Tactical Air Command said Wednesday its F-16 fighter jets had,for the first time, dropped precision-guided bombs on targets in Libya.

Denmark has deployed six F-16 fighters at the Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily,Italy, as part of the UN-mandated multinational forces to establish a no-fly zone overLibya.

The command said the six F-16s had carried out at least 12 missions since Sunday,including 11 air-to-ground and one air-to-air missions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday called for extensive sanctions againstLibya and defended Germany's abstention on the UN vote approving the militaryaction.

Merkel told the German parliament she hoped the countries involved could reachagreement on a complete oil embargo and extensive trade sanctions against Libya, butadded the effects of the military actions were "still disturbing" and Germany hoped tohave quick and sustainable solutions for reaching U.N. goals.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle Tuesday urged the European Union toapprove a full-scale oil and gas embargo to cut off Gaddafi's money sources.

The fighting between forces loyal to Gaddafi and rebels continued on Thursday near thewestern city of Misurata and the eastern city of Ajdabiya, where they have been at astalemate.


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U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday urged Gaddafi to leave power,saying: "The quickest way for him to end this is to actually serve the Libyan people byleaving."

According to the U.S. Department of Defense, multinational forces have flown at least

336 sorties over Libya and launched at least 108 air strikes since the start of thecampaign on Saturday.

Reports said that no Libyan planes had taken off in recent days and multinational forceshave been targeting Gaddafi's ground forces to further clamp down on him.

On Wednesday night, several targets in the Tajoura district in Tripoli's east wereattacked by three rounds of bombing, and a military engineering institute was hit andcaught fire.

Several cars parked nearby or passing were also struck by the bombing and peopleinside were injured.

Meanwhile, Libyan media reported on Wednesday that "a large number" of civilianshad been killed in eastern Tripoli by Western airstrikes.

The Canadian military has said that Canadian warplanes conducted their first attack inLibya Tuesday night. Canadian F-18 Hornet fighter jets, supported by two C-150 air-to-air refueling aircraft, bombed an ammunition depot in northern Libya.

Before that, Canadian planes had been solely escorting other nations' planes. Canadahas so far deployed a total of six F-18s at a base in Trapani, Italy.

The UN Security Council on March 17 adopted Resolution 1973 to authorize a no-flyzone over Libya and called for "all necessary measures", excluding ground troops, toprotect civilians under threat of attack in the North African country.--------------------------UN Chief: Libya Not Complying with Cease-fire (VOA)Margaret BesheerMarch 24, 2011U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says there is no evidence to support Libyanassertions that it is complying with a cease-fire. In a briefing to the U.N. SecurityCouncil Thursday, the U.N. chief said he continues to have serious concerns about theprotection of civilians, abuses of human rights and violations of internationalhumanitarian law.

Mr. Ban made a brief trip earlier this week to Egypt and Tunisia, where demonstratorsbrought down each of those governments long-time leaders. These two countries,


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neighbors of Libya, have also endured the brunt of an exodus of more than 300,000people fleeing the recent violence in Libya.

The U.N. chief briefed council members on his trip, as well as on the situation in Libya,where he said the authorities have repeatedly claimed they have instituted a cease-fire.

But Mr. Ban said there is no evidence to support that assertion.

"We see no evidence that is the case," said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. "To thecontrary, fierce battles have continued in or around the cities of Ajdabiya, Misratah andZitan, among others. In short, there is no evidence that Libyan authorities have takensteps to carry out their obligations under Resolutions 1970 or 1973."

Resolution 1973 was adopted by the U.N. Security Council one week ago andauthorized the establishment of a No-Fly Zone in a bid to protect civilians under attackby government troops. The United States, Britain and France quickly began air strikes

on Libyas military air defenses and Gadhafis forces. They have since been joined byseveral other countries, including two Arab states, in enforcing the flight ban and otherprovisions in the Security Council resolution.

Mr. Ban also appointed a special Envoy for Libya, Abdel-Elah al-Khatib, a formerJordanian foreign minister. He went to Libya last week and met with both governmentand opposition leaders. Mr. Ban said al-Khatib, as well as representatives of both theGadhafi government and the opposition, would attend an African Union meetingFriday in Addis Ababa with the goal of reaching a cease-fire and finding a politicalsolution to the crisis.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, French Ambassador Grard Araud, whosegovernment spearheaded efforts to implement the No-Fly Zone, said efforts so far toenforce Resolution 1973 have been successful.

"As you know, [resolution] 1973 is aiming at the protection of civilians against acts ofviolence from the Gadhafi regime and so far it has been successful in two ways: first wehave avoided massacre in Benghazi and cut short the offensive of the Gadhafi forces.Secondly, the No-Fly Zone is in place; this morning a French fighter jet has destroyed aplane of the Libyan air force," said Araud.

Ambassador Araud said France has deployed a significant air and naval force as part ofthe effort. But he warned that the Libyan goverment's forces continue to fire oncivilians and hinder humanitarian access across most of the country. He urged Mr.Gadhafi to accept a cease-fire immediately and withdraw his forces from all areas theyhave entered. The French envoy said only then can a political dialogue begin to allowthe Libyan people to decide their own future.-----------------------


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Allies Are Split on Goal and Exit Strategy of Libya Mission (NYT)By STEVEN LEE MYERS and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICKMarch 24, 2011WASHINGTON Having largely succeeded in stopping a rout of Libyas rebels, theinchoate coalition attacking Col. Muammar el-Qaddafis forces remains divided over

the ultimate goal and exit strategy of what officials acknowledged Thursdaywould be a military campaign that could last for weeks.

The United States has all but called for Colonel Qaddafis overthrow from within with American commanders on Thursday openly calling on the Libyan military to stopfollowing orders even as administration officials insist that is not the explicitobjective of the bombing, and that their immediate goal is more narrowly defined.

France has gone further, recognizing the Libyan rebels as the countrys legitimaterepresentatives, but other allies, even those opposed to Colonel Qaddafis erratic and

authoritarian rule, have balked. That has complicated the planning and execution of themilitary campaign and left its objective ill defined for now.

Only on Thursday, the sixth day of air and missile strikes, did the allies reach anagreement to give command of the no-fly operation to NATO after days of publicquarreling that exposed the divisions among the alliances members.

From the start, President Obama has stated that the role of the U.S. military would belimited in time and scope, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursdayevening in announcing the plan.

But even that agreement brokered by Mrs. Clinton and the foreign ministers ofBritain, France and Turkey frayed almost immediately over how far the militarycampaign should go in trying to erode the remaining pillars of Colonel Qaddafis powerby striking his forces on the ground and those devoted to protecting him. It wassalvaged, one diplomat said, only by papering over the differences concerning thecrucial question of who actually controls military strikes on Libyas ground forces.

There were differences in the scope of what NATO would do and what would remainwith the national militaries, a senior administration official said, expressing hope thatthe agreement on NATO command would be a step toward resolving them.

The questions swirling around the operations command mirrored the larger strategicdivisions over how exactly the coalition will bring it to an end or even what the endmight look like, and whether it might even conceivably include a Libya with ColonelQaddafi remaining in some capacity. While few countries have openly sided with theLibyan leader, officials said on Thursday that most of the allies expected that the use ofmilitary force would lead to talks between the government and the rebels.


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I dont think anyone is ruling out some kind of negotiated settlement, the official said.Colonel Qaddafi has responded defiantly, making the likelihood of his negotiateddeparture seem exceedingly remote.

The allied bombardment remains in its early stages. It has already badly eroded Libyascombat power with scores of missile and airstrikes against Libyas air defenses andarmored columns but not yet drastically reversed the military equation on theground.

Mr. Obama, having returned from his trip to Latin America on Wednesday, metprivately at the White House with his senior national security officials, but he made nopublic statements, even as reservations percolated in Congress and elsewhere about theconflict and its end game.

Asked about concerns raised the day before in a letter by the House speaker, John A.Boehner, Mr. Obamas spokesman, Jay Carney, said, I think the presidents been veryclear, and he has been asked and answered this question numerous times.

In fact, Mr. Obama has not made clear what will happen if the international coalitionsucceeds in establishing control of the skies over Libya, but Colonel Qaddafis loyalistsand rebels continue to attack and counterattack each other in a bloody, protractedstalemate.

We should never begin an operation without knowing how we stand down, said

Joseph W. Ralston, a retired general who served as NATO commander and vicechairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. We did a no-fly zone over Iraq for 12 years and itdid nothing to get rid of Saddam. So why do we think it will get rid of Qaddafi?

In Paris, the French foreign minister, Alain Jupp, expressed confidence in the successof the operation so far, even as he urged patience. The destruction of Qaddafismilitary capacity is a matter of days or weeks, certainly not months, he told reporters,adding: You cant achieve our objective in just five days.

But any exit strategy will depend on the climate on the ground, and whether rebelforces can be effective in defending themselves without international support. So far,the rebels in the east have failed to punch through the line of Qaddafi forces at thestrategic city of Ajdabiya, even with foreign forces battering Libyas air and groundforces. In one potentially significant shift in momentum, the rebels were negotiating thesurrender or withdrawal of one unit of Qaddafi troops in Ajdabiya. We are trying tolead them to peace, said a rebel spokesman, Col. Ahmed Omar Bani.


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Muammar el-QaddafiIn the western commercial center of Misrata, though, rebels saythat airstrikes from international forces will enable them to fight off the Qaddafi siegebut not to march to Tripoli, which remains a Qaddafi stronghold. Still, a rebelspokesman who has identified himself by only his first name, Mohammed, predictedthat residents of Tripoli would rise up soon. I know the situation there is really

simmering, he said by telephone. They have seen the dictators murderous ways, andthey feel his days are numbered.

In Tripoli, a few residents critical of the Qaddafi government all speaking covertly,for fear of reprisals said that coalition attacks had emboldened people there, whoplan new protests after midday prayers on Friday.

But others said the intervention might have arrived too late to set off a popularuprising. I do not think Tripolitanians will rise, one Libyan opposition figure with tiesaround Tripoli said, also speaking on condition of anonymity out of fear, citing the

reprisals that the citys neighborhoods had already endured.

From the start, the administration insisted that it was acting to avert the imminentslaughter of civilians in Benghazi and other rebel-held cities, and that the goal of themilitary operations was clearly spelled out in the United Nations Security Councilresolution.

Mr. Obamas administration, however, has clearly tried to avoid the debate over astrategy beyond that by shifting the burden of enforcing the United Nations SecurityCouncil resolution authorizing force on to France, Britain and other allies, including

Arab nations like Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, which on Thursday said that itwould contribute warplanes to the effort. In other words, the American exit strategy isnot necessarily the coalitions exit strategy.

We didnt want to get sucked into an operation with uncertainty at the end, the senioradministration official said. In some ways, how it turns out is not on our shoulders.

Even so, no matter who is in charge American aircraft and warships will continue tosupport the campaigns for weeks or months, conducting surveillance, refueling andsearch and rescue operations that the United States is better able to do. And in the eventthat the allied mission goes badly awry, there would be little doubt that the Americanforces would return to the fight.----------------------Many Libyans appear to back Gaddafi (Washington Post)By Liz SlyMarch 24, 10:12 PMTRIPOLI To all outward appearances, this is a city deeply enamored of Libyan leaderMoammar Gaddafi. His portrait hangs from lampposts, adorns shopping centers and


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sprouts from the gleaming new office blocks rising from the seafront. Sayings from hisGreen Book, required reading for all schoolchildren, are posted in governmentbuildings, including public restrooms.

And his supporters, draped in Gaddafi green and clutching pictures of their beloved

leader, noisily and passionately assert their presence in near round-the-clock displays ofdevotion. Hurtling through the streets in pickups or gathering in Tripolis central GreenSquare, they bellow the rhythmic chant that encapsulates the omnipotence of Gaddafisself-ascribed role: God, Moammar, Libya: Enough!

How deep that support runs in a populace that has been governed by fear for decades isimpossible to tell. But six days into the allied bombardment of Libyan military targets, itis clear that Gaddafi can count on the fierce loyalties of at least a significant segment ofthe population in the vast stretches that lie beyond the enclave of rebel-held territory inthe east.

We dont want anyone except him, gushed Fatima al-Mishai, 20, who joined thecrowds assembled at Gaddafis Bab al-Aziziyah compound to offer their services asvoluntary human shields against the bombs. He gave us freedom and everything weneed.

Indeed, the Libyan government has kept average incomes relatively high, while dolingout generous social benefits, including health care and education. Even Gaddafisopponents, who dare murmur their dissent only out of earshot of regime loyalists,concede that the man who has governed Libya for nearly 42 years does command

genuine support.

Seventy-five percent of the people are against him, said one dissident, who was in thevanguard of the protest movement that was crushed in Tripoli last month and whoagreed to a furtive meeting with journalists in a downtown cafe. But there are somepeople who really do love him. Theyve known no one else all their lives. They thinkhes in their blood.

That a man who boasts he lives in a tent and whom Ronald Reagan once dubbed themad dog of the Middle East still commands devotion four decades into his rule is oneof the enduring mysteries of this idiosyncratic country.

To enter the world of the Gaddafi believers is to enter an Alice in Wonderland realmin which the regimes supporters are the real revolutionaries, not the rebels seeking totopple the government, because Libya is in a state of perpetual revolution.


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The Libyan people cant overthrow their government because they are the government,in accordance with the countrys definition of itself as the Great Socialist PeoplesLibyan Arab Jamahiriya, which loosely translates as state of the masses.

Gaddafi cant be toppled because he holds no formal position; he is the Brother Leader,

a guide and a mentor, a patriarch and an uncle who advises his people but does not rulethem.

Brother Leader Moammar Gaddafi and his colleagues are out of the executivecompletely, explained Col. Milad Hussein, who is in charge of ideological educationfor the Libyan military, in a news briefing. The Libyan people are the ones who do thedeciding and the executing . . . because the revolution is the starting point foreverything.

In reality, said Dirk Vandewalle, a Libya expert and associate professor at Dartmouth

College, Gaddafi is the state, the wellspring from whom all decisions and policiesspring. Gaddafi is backed by a network of police enforcers and so-called RevolutionaryCommittees, effectively local vigilantes who keep a close watch on citizens activities.

The man on the street has no real conviction, but there are nefarious consequences ifyou dont support Gaddafi, Vandewalle said.

Yet some appear to believe fervently in the governments pronouncements. In GreenSquare, small crowds of Gaddafi supporters sustain what is supposed to be apermanent vigil of chanting, dancing and singing in celebration of the so-called

perpetual revolution. They are watched over by matronly female guards dressed incamouflage and armed with shiny new AK-47s.

He made me feel like a free man. If I dont hurt anyone, Im free in my ownenvironment, said Majdi Daba, a 42-year-old dentist who was born the year Gaddafiwrested power from Libyas monarchy. Majdi said he goes to the square every day.Gaddafi gives us advice, thats all, and when he dies, 7 million people will rulethemselves.

The regimes opponents, he said, are interested only in making more money, whilemost Libyan people are satisfied that the government adequately supports their needs.

Its not complicated, he said. This place is different from Egypt. There, a lot ofpeople are poor, a lot of people are hungry, but here there are no poor people, nohungry people.

Libyas role as a sparsely populated, oil-rich state may go some way toward explainingwhy Gaddafi has been able to retain the support he has. Libya is nearly twice as big as


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Egypt, yet contains less than one-tenth as many people. Per capita incomes are morethan double those in Egypt, where a successful revolt last month inspired Libyans totake to the streets.

The government funds generous social welfare programs that include free education

and health care, helping keep at bay the poverty that has fueled discontent elsewhere.

He has done a lot for the country and no one can deny it, said Mustafa Fetouri,director of the MBA program at the Academy of Graduate Studies in Tripoli. Hes builthospitals, schools, roads, lots of things.

Moreover, he said, the powerful tribal structure that forms the backbone of thegovernment has remained behind Gaddafi, despite initial reports in the early days ofthe uprising that powerful tribal leaders had defected. Gaddafi has apparently beenhelped in this regard by making good on a pledge to distribute weapons.

There are two kinds of people: those who believe in the regime itself and just dontcare too much about freedom, and then there is the tribal structure, which is behindhim, he said. The support of the tribes goes beyond Gaddafi to his tribe, and to theirrelationship with his tribe, which predates Gaddafi. Its nothing to do with Gaddafi.-------------------AU invites Libyan combattants to discuss ceasefire (AFP)By Unattributed AuthorMarch 24, 2011PARIS The African Union has invited the two sides in the conflict on Libya to its

headquarters in Addis Ababa to discuss a ceasefire, AU Commission chief Jean Pingsaid in Paris Thursday.

"From tomorrow a meeting is planned in Addis Ababa with those pro-Kadhafi andthose anti-Kadhafi to lay down a ceasefire," he said at a lecture in the French capital,though he did not say whether such a meeting could take place given the bombing ofLibya.

Ping repeated the AU's opposition to the "external military intervention" led by theUnited States, France and Britain.

He detailed "a programme, a timetable, an agenda" to resolve the crisis that provides fora "ceasefire" to "facilitate humanitarian aid" and "protect foreign immigrant workers" inLibya many of whom come from sub-Saharan Africa.

The plan also seeks to "confirm the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people fordemocracy," he said.


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Ping said he was sceptical about the next stages of the military operation. "The airexclusion zone, more or less, the aim has been achieved. It was necessary to ensureBenghazi was not taken," he said.

"That is done. What is the next step? There are disagreements, there are quarrels"

between coalition members.

"When I ask: what is the next stage? Do you have a road map? I see they do not."

Ping deplored the fact that African nations had not been adequately consulted by theWest-led coalition and justified thereby his absence from a Paris summit called byFrench President Nicolas Sarkozy last Saturday, just before the first strikes.

"Why should I come to Paris for lunch and a photo, when I was not consulted," he said--------------------------

Libya's rebel leaders struggle to get a grip (LA Times)By David ZucchinoMarch 24, 2011Benghazi, Libya They work 18-hour days inside two dingy courthouse buildingsstreaked with graffiti that ridicules Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi. When they enter,they wipe their shoes on a portrait of him.

These are the lawyers, businessmen, college professors and political defectors riskingtheir lives to lead the eastern rebellion against Kadafi. Thirty-seven days ago, theydemonstrated at the courthouse for political rights, and in four days of street fighting

overran Kadafi's lejan thouria, the gun-toting Revolutionary Legion that had terrorizedLibya's second-largest city.

Suddenly the rebel leaders had to fight a war and build a new government in a regionstarved of resources by Tripoli. They found themselves riding a revolution they havebeen unable to fully control.

Photos: U.S. and allies strike Libya targets from air and sea

"You're talking about people with no experience in running a government, andovernight we had to build a new country and figure out how to run it," said ZahiMogherbi, a retired political science professor who advises the Provisional NationalCouncil.

Their goal, they say, is to replace Kadafi with a unified nation with Tripoli as its capital.They do not seek an Islamic emirate or Sharia (Islamic law), they say. Instead, theyenvision free elections, a bill of rights, an independent judiciary, a free press and ademocratic government that guarantees free speech.


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But the rebel leadership ruefully acknowledges that it has done a poor job of organizingitself and presenting a coherent message to the world. Like the enthusiastic butinexperienced rebel fighters, the political leaders have suffered from good intentionsundermined by shoddy execution.

Officials who deserted Kadafi, expatriates and longtime foes of the Libyan leader jostlefor power. The area faces shortages of cash and fuel. Its fighting force is disorganizedand suspicious of its leadership.

"The process is still pretty chaotic. The Provisional National Council has dropped theball in many places," said Ali Tarhouni, a University of Washington economicsprofessor who handles economics for a "crisis management committee" formed thisweek to bring order to the chaos in Benghazi.

One of the council's main goals is to convince the world its members are not nihilisticIslamic radicals, as Kadafi claims.

The students, oil engineers, bank clerks and jobless young men fighting Kadafi's tankswith outdated weapons represent a generation that has known only Kadafi's regime.Many young fighters are hooked on Facebook, YouTube, Britney Spears and lowbrowAmerican TV shows like "American Idol" and "Pimp My Ride." Some tell Americanreporters they want to emigrate to the U.S.

Iman Bugaighis, an orthodontics professor and a council spokeswoman, said the

revolution was dominated by moderate Sunni Muslims.

"The last thing we want is to turn our country over to Al Qaeda," she said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, whose members were jailed by Kadafi, also has called for ademocratic form of government.

The leading voices at the Benghazi courthouse are the Gheriani brothers of Michigan:Mustafa and Essam. Both are tall, balding and urbane. Fluent in the American argot andpassionate about the revolution, they are affable but often exaggerate the rebels'progress while discounting Kadafi's military gains.

Mustafa lived in Fenton, Mich., for 30 years with his American wife and two sons, ran asuccessful construction company, and lost a school board race before returning toBenghazi for the rebellion. He has a master's degree in industrial engineering fromWestern Michigan University. Essam earned a master's in psychology from MichiganState.


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Both men say they and other rebel leaders will be targeted for death if Kadafi prevails.

"Kadafi can stand on my grave," Essam said, "but he will never rule me as a livingperson."

The nominal opposition leader is Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Kadafi's former justice ministerwho has a $400,000 bounty on his head after defecting last month. The soft-spoken anduncharismatic Jalil, who maintains a low profile, engaged in an early power strugglewith Abdelhafed Ghoga, a cocky human rights lawyer who announced that he, not Jalil,was in charge. The two men eventually made up and Ghoga became council vicepresident and chief spokesman.

Ali Essawi, Kadafi's ambassador to India before he defected last month, and MahmoudJibril, a planning expert who earned a doctorate from the University of Pittsburgh, aredesignated foreign ministers who meet diplomats in Europe.

The council's military expert is Omar Hariri, a Libyan army officer who helped Kadafimount his 1969 military coup but tried and failed to overthrow Kadafi in 1975. Haririwas jailed for years and under house arrest in Tobruk when the rebellion broke out.

Gen. Abdul Fatah Younis, Kadafi's interior minister and special-forces commanderbefore he defected, is supposed to lead rebel forces. Younis has failed to bring order tothe rebels, many of whom despise him.

"Some people still don't trust him," especially young fighters, Mogherbi said.

Asked whether Younis was the right man to command the so-called people's army,Tarhouni replied, "I'm not sure we have someone better."

The opposition's image has been stained by roundups of blacks from sub-SaharanAfrica accused of being mercenaries. Since Sunday, rebel gunmen have been huntingwhat they claim are "sleeper cells" of former Kadafi operatives hiding in Benghazi.

Some detainees were put on display for a busload of journalists at the same prisonswhere Kadafi's security services once held and tortured dissidents. The irony seemedlost on opposition officials, who vowed to shoot or jail all remaining Kadafi loyalists.

Even Mogherbi, a mild-mannered academic with a doctorate from the University ofMissouri, defended the effort. He said rebels let former regime security officials remainfree, only to watch them rise up and fire on rebels Saturday as Kadafi's tanks rolled intoBenghazi's southern outskirts. The armored column was advancing into the city whenrebel gunmen and French airstrikes forced a retreat.


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"One more hour and Kadafi's guys would have raised their flag at the courthouse, andwe'd have all been tracked down and killed," Mogherbi said.

Mogherbi, who once served with Kadafi's son Saif Islam on a panel writing a new

constitution, said detainees would be tried once a justice system was established. AHuman Rights Watch representative in Benghazi said the council had been cooperativein providing access to detainees.

The council faces a crippling gasoline and fuel shortage, according to Benghaziexecutives of the biggest state-owned oil company. Natural gas that normally fuels thecity's power plant has run dry, and the rebels have substituted diesel from Europe anda Tobruk refinery.

Cash flow is another concern, although Tarhouni said the rebels had money in safes at

the national bank branch in Benghazi. They also have more than $1 billion worth ofLibyan bank notes printed in Britain and sent to Benghazi, he said.

The rebels are receiving weapons and ammunition from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar andother nations, one council representative said. But the war effort has stalled, and thepolitical leadership is still shaky.

"We were not as organized as we first thought, and Kadafi was stronger than werealized," said Tarhouni, who left his U.S. teaching duties mid-semester to join therebellion. "We need to put our house in order."

Even with the protection of a no-fly zone and NATO airstrikes, retired professorMogherbi harbors no illusions.

"We have a very bumpy ride ahead of us," he said.------------------------Ivory Coast rage grows over Laurent Gbagbo's refusal to cede power (LA Times)By Robyn DixonMarch 24, 2011, 5:29 p.m.Abidjan, Ivory Coast Traore Oumou selected her clothing carefully. She chose black,the cursing color, pulling on tight pants and a T-shirt.

It was the day of a women's protest march calling on Laurent Gbagbo to stand down aspresident of Ivory Coast.

The women stood against Gbagbo's soldiers, who fired some threatening shots andlobbed a grenade. It hit a woman in the middle of her forehead but, miraculously, didn'texplode.


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Full of bravado and swagger, a rebel leader allied with Ouattara claims he's ready tolaunch a "surgical attack" to remove Gbagbo.

"It won't be war. It won't take long," the leader, Cisse Sindou, boasts. "We know enoughpeople on the Gbagbo side who are willing to fight with us. We are in contact with a lot

of people Gbagbo thinks are his friends who are not his friends. They're just waiting forthe day.

"I think Ouattara should give us the OK to take Gbagbo out. We're waiting for the call."

The French-designed cathedral the biggest on Earth, loosely based on the Vatican'sSt. Peter's Basilica but a cheeky 60-odd feet taller was built by former President FelixHouphouet-Boigny. Nowadays, it's deserted.

The tour guides are glum for want of business, and it all seems like a fool's dream until

one steps inside the soaring walls of red and blue stained glass, like falling into akaleidoscope. (In one panel, Houphouet-Boigny squats improbably just below Jesus.)

Nearby, at the edge of the old presidential compound (not used by Gbagbo, whoprefers Abidjan), is a huge moat filled with crocodiles; the ancient watchman whacksthe largest one with a long stick to get it to bare its teeth for travelers.

They come when he calls them by name, the legend goes. The cruising crocodilesirresistibly conjure comparisons with the country's political class, though that might beunfair to the reptiles.

The French brought great baguettes and coffee to West Africa, but also exploitation, andthe anger toward the colonials has been cleverly exploited by Gbagbo. After anti-Frenchviolence in 2004, the French population shrank from 50,000 to 15,000. Businesses shutdown, never to reopen, and investment disappeared.

For years, Gbagbo has fanned anti-Western, anti-immigrant sentiment. His charismaticyouth minister, Charles Ble Goude, founded a violent group of militants called theYoung Patriots, many of them unemployed and poorly educated, all of them highlyvolatile.

In a displaced-person's camp teeming with Young Patriots ejected from Abobo, a pro-Ouattara neighborhood of the city, the mood sours within minutes of a whitejournalist's appearance. A small crowd of hostile men gathers, some apparently drunk,screaming questions and veiled threats.

An offer to leave makes them angrier. Tension spirals and the process of extrication isdelicate.


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Last week, shooting broke out around the U.N. peacekeepers' compound in Abidjan asthe army tried to crush a pro-Ouattara demonstration. U.N. officials had a bird's-eyeview of the army firing on unarmed demonstrators.

Dozens of injured were taken to the U.N. clinic and lined up on the floor, drippingpools of blood. Nurses extracted bullets with tweezers from neat finger-sized holes.Four of the injured died.

The same day in another neighborhood, a mortar shell hit a market, killing 25, in an actthe U.N. said could amount to a crime against humanity.

There have been hundreds of other killings, according to Human Rights Watch, most ofthem by pro-Gbagbo forces and militias, but many by anti-Gbagbo militias. OneGbagbo activist, Antoinette Guede, says her brother was beheaded by pro-Ouattara

fighters outside their home.

The reported figure of around 400 dead may understate the extent of the killing.

In Abobo, the pro-Ouattara militias have set up roadblocks every 50 yards in someareas. They wear bandannas, black masks and Che Guevara shirts and slouch aboutwith AK-47 assault rifles slung on their shoulders. They extort money from drivers andbeat up suspected Gbagbo loyalists.

On the edge of Abobo, a young fellow with vacant eyes, a grubby bandanna and a

machete charges at a taxi, but it's half-hearted.

"Did you see that?" the driver exclaims, frightened and indignant.

The roadblocks multiply, carving the city into pieces, controlled by the different sides.In the streets, everyone knows who's in charge. Getting caught at the wrong roadblockby the wrong people at the wrong time can be a death sentence.

After dark, Gbagbo loyalists stop the cab, searching bags, demanding documents. Theyfire questions and accusations. Journalists, they hiss, are often spies working for foreigngovernments.

"Write that Gbagbo is president," they keep saying. The taxi driver looks into themiddle distance, silent and anxious.

When it's over the driver chugs away in his ancient car, muttering angrily.

"This country," he says, "makes you afraid."


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------------------------UN Official: Ivory Coast Death Toll Up to 462 (VOA)By Unattributed AuthorMarch 24, 2011A U.N. official in Ivory Coast says forces loyal to incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo

are "indiscriminately" shelling areas seen as backing Gbagbo's rival, Alassane Ouattara.

Human rights official Guillaume Ngefa told a news conference Thursday that theshelling and other attacks have killed at least 50 people in the last week, including fivechildren, and wounded dozens more.

Ngefa, who was speaking in Abidjan, said the attacks bring the confirmed death tollfrom post-election violence in Ivory Coast up to 462.

Gbagbo government has denied using heavy weapons against civilians, and accuses the

U.N. of siding with Mr. Ouattara in the Ivory Coast political crisis.

Gbagbo has rejected calls from the U.N., African Union, and the west African blocECOWAS to give up power. All three bodies recognize Ouattara as the winner of lastNovember's presidential election.

Fighting between Ouattara and Gbagbo supporters has intensified in recent weeks,sparking fears that Ivory Coast will fall back into civil war.

A brief war in 2002 left Ivory Coast split into a rebel-controlled north and a government

controlled south. The former rebels are now backing Ouattara, and have capturedseveral towns in the country's west.-----------------------France Seeks UN Steps to End Ivory Coast Unrest Amid Attacks on Civilians (Bloomberg)By Bill VarnerMar 24, 2011 3:03 PM ETFrance is seeking increased United Nations pressure on Ivory Coasts incumbent leaderLaurent Gbagbo to give up his fight for the presidency, and stronger military force tohalt his attacks on civilians, diplomats said.

France has called for a Security Council meeting tomorrow on the conflict and iscirculating a draft resolution that would tell UN peacekeepers to use all necessarymeasures, including by seizing heavy weapons, to protect civilians, according todiplomats who spoke on condition of not being identified because the text hasnt beenmade public.


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Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States asked the UN today to givepeacekeepers more power to protect civilians from armed attacks, the group said in astatement handed to reporters in Abuja, Nigeria. The UN has 9,000 soldiers and civilianpolice in Ivory Coast who have a mandate to protect civilians.

The peacekeeping mission reported on March 22 that security forces loyal to Gbagboare making repairs to an attack helicopter and mounting rocket launchers on it.

The mission strongly warns this camp that it will not tolerate any attempt to use theseweapons, the UN said in a statement, without providing further details.

Ivory Coast, the worlds top cocoa producer, has been divided between a government-controlled south and a rebel-held north since a 2002 uprising of army soldiers. Theinsurgents back Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner over Gbagboof the Nov. 28 presidential election. Gbagbo, who has led the West African nation for

the past decade, refuses to cede power, alleging voter fraud in parts of the north.

African Union

The French draft resolution would endorse the African Unions backing for Ouattaraand demand that Gbagbo give up his effort to retain the presidency, according to thediplomats. They said it also would impose a travel ban and asset freeze on Gbagbo, hiswife and top aides, and send results of a pending UN inquiry into human rights abusesto the International Criminal Court.

The UN said today that 462 people have been killed since mid-December in post-election violence. The mission also said large numbers of civilians are leaving Abobo,Williamsville, Yopougon and other parts of the commercial capital Abidjan because offighting and of lack of food and medication.

Presidents and other representatives of Ecowas said the time has come to enforce thedecisions to recognize Ouattara as president and use legitimate force to removeGbagbo from office. Ecowas urged that UN peacekeepers to be empowered to use allnecessary means to protect life and property and facilitate the immediate transfer ofpower to Ouattara. More stringent sanctions should be imposed on Gbagbo and hisassociates, the groups statement said.------------------------------------UN News Service Africa BriefsFull Articles on UN Website

Death toll from post-electoral violence in Cte dIvoire rising, UN reports

24 March The death toll from the post-electoral violence that has gripped CtedIvoire continues to rise, the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the West African


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nation reported today, while warning that systematic attacks on civilians couldconstitute crimes against humanity.

Speedy, decisive international action to protect civilians in Libya is vital Ban

24 March A week after the Security Council authorized all necessary measures to

protect civilians in Libya from Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafis forces, speedy anddecisive action by the world community remains crucial amid serious concerns ofhuman rights abuses, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.

UN officials urge sustained support forSierra Leones post-conflict recovery

24 March Senior United Nations officials today urged continued international supportfor Sierra Leone as it consolidates peace and advance development, and especially as itprepares for next years elections, warning that any faltering now could risk thesignificant progress made so far.

Head of UN rural development agency set to offer help on visit to drought-hit Kenya24 March The head of the United Nations rural development agency is set to arrive inKenya on Saturday to offer assistance to the Horn of Africa nation, where nearly 2.4million poor people in rural areas are struggling to get enough to eat as a result of therecent drought.

Documents

AFRICOM Related News clips 25 March 2011