Just noticed this above...
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Originally Posted by
jmm99
Before that, some US authority existed for summary executions if ordered by a field grade officer (e.g., Tony Waller was found not guilty for Samar; at about the same time, Breaker Morant was shot in South Africa for the same thing).
Not quite the same thing: Morant killed people with white skin, Waller killed people with brown skin. There was once a big difference; some would say there still is.
Insight on Libyan Islamists
Dr. Omar Ashour an astute observer of matters Arabic and with time on the ground has written a short (8 pgs) Brookings paper 'Libyan Islamists Unpacked: Rise, Transformation, and Future':
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The policy briefing is divided into three parts. The first section identifies the main Islamist forces in Libya and briefly overviews their backgrounds. The second part attempts to understand the salient issues facing Libyan Islamists and the effect they have on Islamist political behavior. The final section concludes with policy implications for the international community.
Link:http://www.brookings.edu/research/pa...2-libya-ashour
Why the Islamists Are Not Winning in Libya
At last some insight that explains what has happened:
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Early electoral results indicate that the liberal, secular-leaning National Forces Alliance of Mahmoud Jibril, the former wartime Prime Minister of the rebels’ National Transitional Council (NTC), has swept the majority of the country’s new parliament.
Link:http://world.time.com/2012/07/10/why...#ixzz20UIxPP3N
Libya is clearly not in the same league as Egypt within the Arab World, but after a violent change of governance (NATO & US aided) one hardly expected to see the labels 'liberal, secular-leaning' forming a majority.
What will happen in Libya?
All the nuance you want on the Libyan election and what may follow:http://www.opendemocracy.net/alison-...m-deeper-story
Which ends with:
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Whatever happens on 8 August and beyond, it cannot be assumed that Libya has turned its back completely on Islamism - either now or for the future.
Benghazi and Libya's Jihadist Minority
Not exactly a title US audiences would expect this week, Dr. Omar Ashour, a regional analyst, has provided insight on what happened this week; the full title is 'The nature of Libya’s post-revolution armed Islamist forces is by no means straightforward'.
Link:http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/opinio...-minority_9544
Some key sections:
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Salafi jihadism is not an organization, but an ideological trend based on the core belief that armed tactics of all kinds are the most effective – and, in some versions, the most legitimate – method of bringing about social and political change.....
The tragic death of Stevens and his colleagues has engendered wide public outrage in Libya, adding to the isolation and de-legitimization of the armed groups. Dozens of Libyan activist groups have uploaded videos paying tribute to Stevens, as well as issuing statements against terrorism and Al Qaeda. One of the Muslim Brothers’ Web sites includes such a statement, and Libya’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Sadeq al-Gheriani, also condemned the attack....
Collective punishment and targeting the innocent is forbidden in the Koran in more than 20 verses: “That no burdened person (with sins) shall bear the burden (sins) of another” (The Star Chapter 53:18).
There is a main thread on Libya, so this will be merged there another day.
Islamist militia bases stormed in Benghazi
From the BBC:
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At least four people have been killed in the Libyan city of Benghazi after military police and protesters took over militia bases. The violence followed a day of protests by tens of thousands of citizens demanding an end to the armed groups. The bases include the HQ of the Islamist group Ansar al-Sharia, suspected of involvement in an attack on the US consulate in the city.....Earlier, some 30,000 protesters marched through Benghazi calling for an end to the armed groups and a return to the rule of law.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-19680785 and slightly different, more detail:http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa...259561409.html
Will this be well covered by the US media?
My plan for a secure diplomatic military base for Libya
White House Mulls How to Strike Over Libya Attack
White House Mulls How to Strike Over Libya Attack
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Libyan humanitarian catastrophe ignored by Western media
http://rt.com/news/bani-walid-libya-violence-251/
'Libyan humanitarian catastrophe ignored by Western media'
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RT: There's yet been no international response to the fact that civilians are being killed in Bani Walid, especially from those states that backed the revolution in Libya a year ago. Why is that?
Neil Clark: Let’s think back to February 2011. We couldn’t pick up a newspaper in the UK or the US or put on the BBC or CNN without hearing about what was going on in Libya. The Humanitarian disaster, we were told Colonel Gaddafi’s forces were killing lots of people, there were dangers of a massive massacre in Benghazi, and because of that we went to war…that was the reason for war. And today, the situation is much worse. We’ve got a humanitarian catastrophe taking place. The number of people killed since NATO intervened has gone up by ten to twenty times. We’ve got massacres going on at the moment and there’s complete silence here in the UK and in the US.
This should be informative to all those who want to help the "freedom fighters" in Syria. Civil Wars don't just end, revenge will be extracted for a long time afterwards. It is likely more people are being killed after Qadaffi was killed than during the rebellion.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/dpb/2012/10/199742.htm
Libya: U.S. State Department Daily Press Briefing: Libya
This is a very interesting exchange between a Russian journalist the State Department spokesperson. If it was a debate I would give the Russian the win, but more importantly it appears we suppressing more bad news coming out of Libya. Since the info comes from a .gov site we should be able to cut and paste more than two paragraphs without copy right violation issues.
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QUESTION: The story in Libya and Bani Walid continues to grow in its cruel brutality. And the matter at hand is a systematic slaughter of Bani Walid’s population by what used to be anti-Qadhafi rebels for not towing the party line and not supporting Libya’s new rule and government quickly enough and with quite open heart. Only yesterday, on Wednesday, 600 local residents --
MS. NULAND: Is there a question here, or is this a political statement that you’re making here in the briefing room?
QUESTION: No, no, just a – I wondering, 600 people, local resident, were allegedly killed yesterday --
MS. NULAND: Can you tell me what news organization you’re from?
QUESTION: -- and why this – and local appealing for the international aid and an international call, but why this call? Why these massacre completely ignored by the Western community and the – particularly by the U.S.?
MS. NULAND: Where are you from, please? What news organization?
QUESTION: Vera Volokhonovich, RT.
MS. NULAND: From Russian TV.
QUESTION: Russia. Yeah. Yeah.
MS. NULAND: Well, first of all, we haven’t ignored this at all. We talked about it a number of times here, and we’ve spoken about it very clearly. We have been urging restraint on all sides, respect for human rights and humanitarian law. We’ve been calling on Libyan authorities and rebel groups to provide access for humanitarian organizations who are trying to provide humanitarian assistance. And frankly, we can’t confirm any of these press reporting of what is actually ongoing there, but we are calling on all sides to exercise restraint.
QUESTION: But why Washington blocked – why did Washington block the statement – draft statement proposed by Russia for the United Nations Security Council resolution, which called for a peaceful solution for this conflict?
MS. NULAND: Well, I can’t speak to what may be going on at USUN. I’m not aware of what the Russian statement might have been. I will send you up to our people in New York to discuss that. But our position on this is absolutely clear: We support the efforts of the Libyan Government to get control of militias and to provide security throughout the country, including in Bani Walid, and to do so in a way that is respectful of the human rights of all citizens, and allows humanitarian organizations to get in. So we are watching this situation very closely.
Petraeus’s Quieter Style at CIA Leaves Void on Libya Furor
Petraeus’s Quieter Style at CIA Leaves Void on Libya Furor
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