NOVANEWS
by crescentandcross
David Cameron, Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy upped the stakes in the Libya conflict last night as they vowed to fight on until Colonel Gaddafi is ousted.
In a joint article, the British, American and French leaders warned that it would be an ‘unconscionable betrayal’ were Nato to stop bombing with the dictator still in power.
Gaddafi must ‘go and go for good’ before rebuilding of the country could begin, they said, rejecting calls for an immediate ceasefire.
Zionist: Nicolas Sarkozy
Zionist: David Cameron
Zionist: Barack Obama
Whistle-stop: Gaddafi was driven around the streets of Tripoli yesterday in an open-top car
LEADERS ARE ACCUSED OF GOING BEYOND UN MANDATE
The joint article by the three leaders has led to accusations that they are stepping beyond the UN mandate authorising air strikes to protect civilians.
Although the trio insist that they are not seeking to remove Gaddafi by force and that the bombing will continue only to protect non-combatants, they add that it is ‘impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gaddafi still in power’.
The world’s five major developing economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa yesterday issued a joint declaration condemning the air strikes and calling for reform of the UN Security council.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev accused the West of siding with the rebels, not merely protecting civilians.
He said: ‘Here we have very serious issues to the UN leadership. It seems to me that this is a very dangerous trend. The UN forces should help disengage the parties, and in any case should not assist any of the parties.’
Although the trio insist that they are not seeking to remove Gaddafi by force and that the bombing will continue only to protect non-combatants, they add that it is ‘impossible to imagine a future for Libya with Gaddafi still in power’.
The world’s five major developing economies, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa yesterday issued a joint declaration condemning the air strikes and calling for reform of the UN Security council.
Russian president Dmitry Medvedev accused the West of siding with the rebels, not merely protecting civilians.
He said: ‘Here we have very serious issues to the UN leadership. It seems to me that this is a very dangerous trend. The UN forces should help disengage the parties, and in any case should not assist any of the parties.’
However the highly unusual joint statement did little to paper over behind-the-scenes bickering about how the military mission should advance.
It will also fuel the concerns of critics who say the aims of the conflict are becoming dangerously blurred.
French foreign minister Alain Juppe added to the confusion today when he said that air strikes alone would not topple Gaddafi .
He said: ‘In reality, we have the same objective – this objective is to allow the Libyan people to enjoy democratic freedom.
‘There will not be a military solution to the problem. There can only be a political solution. There is no future in Libya with Gaddafi.’
The commitment to maintain operations until Gaddafi leaves power is effectively open-ended.
Warplanes were again heard over Tripoli last night, accompanied by air raid sirens and loud explosions.
At the same time a figure resembling Gaddafi was seen driving through the streets in a heavily protected motorcade, standing up through the sunroof of a vehicle, punching the air.
As the military operation approaches the end of its first month there is little sign of a breakthrough on the ground, where rebels appear unable to make a decisive move against the government’s forces.
American and EU allies yesterday rejected British demands for more warplanes to take on Gaddafi – as rebels warned that failure to act would lead to a slaughter of innocents.
Rally: Supporters of Colonel Gaddafi shout slogans in the heavily fortified military barracks and compound of Bab Al Azizia in Tripoli
Dug in: A rebel fighter mans an anti-aircraft machine gun atop a pick-up truck as he scans the sky for Nato planes over the front-line along the western entrance of AjdabiyahBritain and France were flatly rebuffed at a Nato conference when they demanded ground attack jets to help curb the tyrant’s troops.
More…
- ‘He played us like a violin’: Anger as Musa Kusa is allowed to flee justice – and keep his cash
- ‘Leave our skies’: Colonel Gaddafi’s daughter defies the West’s calls for her father to step down
- ‘I was born in Hawaii…I don’t have horns’: Obama addresses ‘birther’ issue directly during whirlwind day of Chicago fundraising
- Now it IS regime change: Cameron, Obama and Sarkozy promise to keep bombing Libya until Gaddafi is gone
- ‘He played us like a violin’: Anger as Musa Kusa is allowed to flee justice – and keep his cash
- ‘Leave our skies’: Colonel Gaddafi’s daughter defies the West’s calls for her father to step down
- ‘I was born in Hawaii…I don’t have horns’: Obama addresses ‘birther’ issue directly during whirlwind day of Chicago fundraising
- Now it IS regime change: Cameron, Obama and Sarkozy promise to keep bombing Libya until Gaddafi is gone
A spokesman for the anti-Gaddafi forces besieged in the city of Misrata, the last rebel-held enclave in western Libya, warned of an impending ‘massacre’ unless Nato intervened more decisively.
At least eight people have died there in the latest round of shelling by Libyan soldiers according to a doctor, who said women and children were among the wounded.
Rallying to the flag: Amid a sea of traditional Libyan flags, the Union Jack can be seen at a rebel rally in the centre of Benghazi
But the Americans, Spanish and Italians all refused to step up and support the efforts of the RAF and the French air force. At a summit in Berlin, Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: ‘We need a few more precision fighters and ground attack aircraft.
‘I don’t have specific pledges or promises from this meeting.’
Despite President Obama’s intervention, a senior U.S. official made it clear that his administration had no intention of helping after it stepped back from combat operations last month.
