...The capture, trial, and hanging of Saddam Hussein first showed Arabs that they could be masters of their fate. The so-called Arab Spring is the principal consequence. In one Arab country after another, people have risen in large numbers to prove that they are ready to oust rulers who have been inflicting needless injustices and cruelties on them. Like so many other Arabs, Libyans revolted earlier this year to demand to be heard. To a man of Qaddafi's character, reform is indistinguishable from surrender. He chose repression and rage, he cursed and threatened and set about killing. Western intervention alone has warded off what otherwise would have been the tyrant's vengeance.
Qaddafi was found sheltering in a sewage drain, and then and there met the summary execution reserved for the Benito Mussolinis, Ceausescus, and their like. He deserved it, but the chance has been lost to bring him to court and confront him with his crimes. That might have been exemplary.
In an ideal world, yes, but in an ideal world we wouldn't have Qadaffis and Ceausescus in the first place. The Libyan people could be forgiven for looking to their north to Europe and seeing the dog's breakfast of 'international courts' with their preening self-righteousness and their long-term inability to deliver justice (exhibit A: Slobodan Milosevic), and then deciding, 'no thanks'.
The future of Libya is uncertain, and the Transitional Council now ruling in Tripoli is more than likely to have rocky months ahead. Libyans have to acquire in a hurry some experience in self-government, toleration, and equitable conduct. To put it no higher, at least they and the rest of the world have a moment of respite and relief.
Posted by: Mike ||
10/25/2011 09:15 ||
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the Transitional Council now ruling in Tripoli is more than likely to have rocky months ahead. Libyans
#4
Dictatorships are gone. The future will see much more of the Iran-style theocracy ruling from behind the scenes with disposable figure-heads that can be removed to satisfy the mob.
In the end the results will be mostly the same to those living within or neighboring such societies though.
[Dawn] I wonder what humanity has stooped down to when I see people jubilating and celebrating the death of a man. Fine you don't like Qadaffy, Why no, in fact we didn't! Thanks for asking.
fine he was a tyrant in your opinion, and fine, he might have ruled with an iron hand, but he sir, was a human being. So were all the people he murdered...
It was a 42 year long rule of Qadaffy that not only increased the literacy rate, but the economy and wellbeing of his country. Libya was a peaceful country and its economy one of the strongest in the continent of Africa. And the trains ran on time...
It was also one of the only voices of reason that supported the Statehood of Paleostine. And funded the Paleos, thus contributing to more death and foolishness. The feets of Gaza will never forgive Qadaffi...
The so called revolution of the people of Libya took 6 months compared to less than 20 days of Egypt or Tunisia which happened in a matter of days as well. Why? Because he was a tough nut to crack...
If Qadaffy was really such a despotic murderer, why did half the country support him? It's called 'tribalism', something with which you and your country have a assign acquaintance...
Why did it take months of aerial bombardment by the international police called NATO? Because NATO tied one arm behind its' back...
Because it was not a people's revolution, it was the western fueled and funded Libyans by the West in an attempt to bring into a power a group that is friendly to their agenda. Not that there's anything wrong with that!
While whole cities and towns fought and gave their lives for Colonel Muammar Qadaffy, Usually because they were pushed in front of Muammar's African mercs...
they were subject to international sanctions and a freeze on Libyan assets. The Swiss were especially happy to oblige...
It was not a revolution; it was a perfect example of "divide and rule" on the people of Libya -- so swiftly executed that it has yet to strike Libyans, "what now?" Oh no doubt they're asking 'what now' and 'cheez, just who did we put in charge, anyways', but that's what happens in every revolution.
The Libyans not only took Qadaffy from themselves, they took their own stability and prosperity that was present to date. Dictatorships are always 'stable' and 'prosperous'; people who claim otherwise tend to die, so it's best just to believe the government propaganda, until you can't stand being lied to anymore. Then revolution and dying begin to look good, and the dictator (sometimes) falls...
With inflation that was less than 1 per cent and a GDP growth rate the soared above 10 per cent in 2010, So said the Libyan State Directorate on Statistics...
it is undeniable that the reforms and planning of the Libyan economy was better than many countries of the same size and regime. Like Pakistain, for example.
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2011 00:00 ||
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Remind me, did Dawn complain about all the celebrating of 9/11 in the various Muslim cesspits?
[Dawn] Watching Muammar Qadaffy's last few minutes, It was either that or 'Wheel of Fortune'...
I was reminded of Saddam Hussein's grisly end. While the latter had the dubious benefit of a legal process, his end was at the hands of mocking, vengeful executioners. That was a nice touch, wasn't it...
Both dictators were found hiding in holes: after decades of absolute power and lives of obscene luxury, they could find no dignified exit. Neither looked especially hard for the 'exit' sign, did they...
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, too, is having to suffer incarceration, with his court appearances taking place in a cage. He's being kept alive only because it's useful for the generals. Had Qadaffi survived the last couple of days he too would have ended up in a cage.
Stripped of the trappings of power, they are all exposed as cowardly mediocrities.
Something they all share is the conviction that they cannot be displaced, and have a God-given right to rule forever. Like kings and pharaohs, they prepare their sons to succeed them when their time comes. Brutal in their suppression of all dissent, they cannot imagine that their people might want to get rid of them. And here is where the writer goes off the rails...
Nevertheless, it is difficult to draw any satisfaction from the way Qadaffy was killed. Oh? Lotsa folks in Libya and the West are actually quite pleased about the whole turn of affairs. You have to be a closet Islamicist, or a western progressive, to wring your hands so vigorously over the death of such a nasty man.
Having been captured, he ought to have been brought before a court of law to defend his long and terrible record. No doubt Carla del Ponte could have squeezed a decade of free meals out of the proceedings...
Even though he showed no mercy to his opponents in his lifetime, there ought to be a difference between his criminal outlook and that of a civilised opposition seeking to bring about the rule of law in Libya. The opposition should indeed be civilized. I suggest they start tomorrow...
While I can see why the mob that captured their tormentor was so furious, executing him out of hand has cast a pall over the optimism and hope that were characteristics of the Libyan revolution. Which revolution was that? The one we saw was a dog-eat-dog, brutal affair that could only end with one side standing and the other side dead.
Other Qadaffy supporters will now fear for their lives, and with good reason. Even earlier, stories of vengeance killings were rife.
In Tunisia and Egypt, security forces retained the reins of power after the ruling dictators were toppled. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, especially in Egypt...
But in Libya, the army has been shattered, and soldiers and officers have either switched sides or gone into hiding. Power is fragmented along regional lines, and the National Transitional Council will be hard-pressed to prevent local power brokers and tribal chiefs from asserting themselves to claim a slice of the national pie. Nothing wrong with that. Perhaps the Republic of Tripolitania and the Republic of Cyrenaica could learn to get along. Libya was just an invention of the colonial Italians.
Oil is the other joker in the pack, with western multinationals scrambling for concessions even before all the war dead have been buried. The fact that NATO
was so keen to act is a reflection of a barely suppressed eagerness to exploit Libya's hydrocarbon resources. Europe did indeed have a desire to keep the oil flowing. What of it? Professional thugs should take that into account and work to stay on the good side of those who buy the oil.
Surrounded by sycophants, both Qadaffy and Saddam had lost touch with reality. In the latter's case, he genuinely felt he could invade Kuwait, an oil-rich neighbour, and get away with it. He thought that as a check on Iran, he was indispensable to the West, and therefore immune. He thought poorly...
In Qadaffy's case, the eccentric dictator thought he could support Islamic fascistifrom Ireland to South America, and his country's oil wealth would protect him from reprisals. He ought to have figured out that he was vulnerable when Reagan ordered his palace in Tripoli to be bombed in 1986 to avenge the death of a US serviceman in a Berlin nightclub, allegedly by Libyan agents. That was a one-off. If we had bombed Libya a few dozen times and had leveled a few military bases back then Qadaffi might have gotten the message, but as it was we let him off the mat and he went back to his murderous ways.
But instead of focussing on his own country, he continued on his mad way, culminating in the Lockerbie bombing that caused crippling sanctions on Libya. I thought the Dawn columnists were extolling the economic vibrance of Libya?
He became an outcast, with most Arab countries turning against him for his harsh criticism of their ruling elites. While his attacks might have been justified, nobody wants to hear the truth from one of their own.
When the people of Benghazi rose against him in the beginning of the year, even the timorous Arab League joined the chorus against Qadaffy, I'm glad to see that a Dawn hack and I agree that the Arab League is timorous!
thus paving the way for a unanimous UN Security Council resolution permitting NATO action to 'protect Libyan civilians' from security forces. This resolution was stretched to breaking point and beyond, angering China and Russia. Mostly because the latter two were unhappy about how their client state was being treated. See, that's the problem with the end of the Cold War, there's just no checks and balances in the west, and even the timorous EU can gob-smack a thug who threatens the oil.
Indeed, a similar UN blank cheque is now unlikely in countries like Syria because China and Russia feel they were used and deceived to obtain the Libyan resolution. And, as NATO just demonstrated in Libya, we do not need a blank check...
So what are the lessons for other dictators? Firstly, do not alienate other leaders: you might need their support one day. Even the timorous Arab League might come in han .. nah!
Secondly, always have an exit strategy as there's no telling when you might have to escape the wrath of your own people. However long it takes, people eventually get tired of cowering.
Swiss accounts are no longer safe, so consider stashing your loot in China, or in other countries not too bothered with human rights. Pyongyang is nice, we hear, as long as you have lots and lots of cash...
Thirdly, never believe your own propaganda. Never smoke your own dope...
Even when the official media continues to trumpet your praises, remember that it is run by your own appointees and they are unlikely to permit critical comments to appear, for fear of their lives and jobs. Remember that you're Tony Montoya, just another thug, even if you have a tiger chained out in the front yard of the mansion...
While you oppress your own people, do not use your spooks to target opponents abroad: foreigners are most unhappy by assassinations carried out on their soil. Remember that your power does not extend across the globe, so keep a low profile. There's a lesson for the Mad Mullahs...
We all love our children, but dictators ought to keep theirs from misusing their power to amass fortunes. Remember that for every crooked deal, there are ten rumours that do the rounds. Also, powerful generals and bureaucrats resent being ordered around by young dictatorial pups. So try and keep your sons from strutting on the national and global stage. Unless you just plan to kill them all like in North Korea...
One reason the powerful Egyptian army became alienated from Mubarak was that the generals resented his son being positioned to inherit the presidency when he was not a member of the military elite, unlike his father who had been head of the air force before assuming power after Anwar Sadat's assassination.
Refrain from foreign adventures like invading your neighbour, or supporting distant revolutions. Focus on your own people, and give them enough crumbs to make sure they don't get desperate. Learn from Soddy Arabia where some of the oil wealth is spent on the people to keep them quiet, even during the Arab Spring. Which also isn't working well -- ask al Qaeda.
And please, please, refrain from building vast palaces with gold bathroom taps and filled with third-rate art. People might forget your other sins, but gold pistols? Bad taste should always be punished. Always remember that at some point your people are going to point at you, or your sons, or your followers, and ask the fatal question: "say, you guys are kind of stupid. Who put YOU in charge?"
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2011 00:00 ||
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Kimmie + Regime repor cut 2/3rds of DPRK food rations, so once again SANTA CLAUS = MASSIVE UN, INTERNAT FOOD AID will be needed this season.
#4
The ultimate value expressed is moral equivalence. The implication is that murder on a tyrannical scale should be handled pretty much the same as a traffic offense...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
10/25/2011 10:36 Comments ||
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#5
A dictator cannot expect to be treated in a civilized manner if he acts like a psycho.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
10/25/2011 12:49 Comments ||
Top||
#6
The implication is that murder on a tyrannical scale should be handled pretty much the same as a traffic offense...
Analysis: Ennahda seeks "moderate" Shari'a state, but members have history of violence, current platform raises questions about role of Islam.
Western media routinely describe Tunisia's Ennahda party as "moderately Islamist." The once-banned movement's own past, however, reveals a tendency to violence, and its current platform raises serious questions about the role of Islam in arguably the Arab world's most secular state.
Ennahda, or "Renaissance" has its roots in the Islamist university groups that proliferated in the Mohammedan world's universities following the 1979 Iranian Revolution. The party was officially founded in 1989, two years into the 14-year reign of president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
Two years later Ben Ali banned the party, and over the course of his term tossed in the slammer tens of thousands of its leaders.
Ennahda was legalized in January of this year, following Ben Ali's ouster in a month-long popular revolt. One thousand supporters welcomed back the party's founder and leader, 70-yearold Rachid Ghannouchi, on his return to Tunis from European exile in January.
The Islamist party now appears set to take a majority, or at least a plurality, in the Arab world's first post-revolutionary elections. Ballots were held Sunday and results are expected the following day.
Ennahda's founding ideology was largely shaped by that of Sayyid Qutb, a leading ideologue of the grandfather of all Islamist groups, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood
Ennahda presents itself to outsiders as nonviolent, but the movement's members have been implicated in both incitement and violent actions against Tunisian and foreign targets.
The party supported the 1979 embassy takeover in Iran, and evidence suggests it was responsible for bombing four tourist hotels in the 1980s. In 1991 its operatives attacked the headquarters of Ben Ali's party, killing one person and throwing acid in the faces of several others, and that same year Ghannouchi called for attacks on US interests in the Middle East in response to America's invasion of Iraq in the Gulf War.
Ennahda's founding ideology was largely shaped by that of Sayyid Qutb, a leading ideologue of the grandfather of all Islamist groups, Egypt's Moslem Brüderbund. Ennahda still maintains ties with the Brotherhood, but the Tunisian party prefers to compare itself with another political model: Turkey's ruling AK party, which though religious in its founding and nature, has stopped short of calling for the imposition of Shari'a.
In an interview this month, however, Ghannouchi said he supports a "moderate" form of Shari'a that would combine "democracy, which is a Western product, with Islam, which is our own heritage."
"Shari'a is not something that is alien or strange to our societies... For example, in Britannia we have Islamic finance and Islamic banking, and Islamic family law can be applied for marriage and divorce," he said. "We don't see Shari'a interfering in people's private lives or in their freedom to wear what they want. Personal freedom is very important for us."
An opinion poll conducted in March found Ennahda enjoyed the support of 29 percent of Tunisians, far ahead of its closest rival, the secular Progressive Democratic Party, at 12%.
Tunisia is arguably the most gender- equal country in the Arab world and one of the only Arab states with a large non-religious community. During the era of Ben Ali, and his predecessor, Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia was the first Arab country to allow women to vote, and later banned polygamy, legalized abortion and made marriage condition on female consent.
Since Ben Ali's ouster, however, Tunisian secularists have pointed to a disconcerting trend toward xenophobia and religious extremism.
In February, footage uploaded to YouTube showed hundreds of protesters converged on Tunis' Grand Synagogue after Friday prayers shouting "holy shit! Allahu akbar" and "Khaybar, Khaybar, oh Jews! The army of Muhammad will return!" Khaybar was a Jewish oasis in Arabia conquered by the Mohammedans in the seventh century.
Jews were forced to pay tribute and later expelled. Tunisia's Jewish population -- more than 100,000 in 1948 -- is now less than 2,000.
In July, a draft constitution compiled by the country's interim authorities included a clause banning normalization with Israel. Some constitutional committee members from secularist parties called to remove the clause, but Ennahda -- along with Arab nationalist and extreme left factions -- supported its inclusion.
This month, police used tear gas to disperse thousands protesting an animated film, Persepolis, they deemed blasphemous. The film shows an Iranian girl's coming of age story after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and angered Islamists for its representation of God and its protagonist's supposedly un-Islamic lifestyle.
The house of the owner of the station that broadcast the film was later Molotov cocktailed. It was unclear whether the assailants belonged to Ennahda or even more extreme Salafi Islamist groups.
In an interview this month, however, Ghannouchi said he supports a "moderate" form of Shari'a that would combine "democracy, which is a Western product, with Islam, which is our own heritage."
#5
Now would be the perfect time for the West to lay down the law to Ennahada:
We make no distinction between terrorists and those who harbor them.
"Any potential adversary should know that we will defend ourselves against the possibility of an attack by unconventional arms. And if such a strike does occur, as commander in chief I will respond with overwhelming and devastating force." John F. Kerry
There will be no negotiations re the imposition of your alien rubbish ideology on the West in the guise of Rushdie rules. Any request for such negotiations will be considered an unfriendly act.
If you doubt the West's capability and intent to go medieval on your ass have a look at a certain Duck of Death in your immediate neighborhood.
Pray that the West doesn't alter its position any further!
Of course the Western political class will issue no such warning to islamofascists in Tunisia and elsewhere. And we all will pay a terrible price.
[Dawn] THE Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistain (TTP) is currently in a better position than ever to settle scores with Pakistain and prevent Afghanistan and Pakistain from working out their trust deficit.
After a couple of years in hibernation, the second tier of the TTP command has increased its contact with the media. Confidently, they refer to a new phase of the fight in the form of organised border incursions against security forces.
In a recent telephonic conversation with journalists, in response to the APC proposal to involve the Taliban in dialogue, TTP deputy chief Faqir Mohammad ruled out the possibility, saying: "Pakistain is not a trustworthy country."
Why do the bully boyz not listen to Pakistain anymore and what are the factors in play behind the recent surge in cross-border attacks? The problem began a couple of years ago when intensified military operations left the TTP leadership little room in which to organise inland attacks from their bases in Fata.
Following in the footprints of the Swat ...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat... Taliban, bully boyz from the Bajaur Agency, aka Turban Central were joined by hundreds of others from Wazoo; they grouped together to occupy the new strategic location in the bordering Afghan provinces of Nuristan and Kunar.
Since their relocation, the Taliban have worked hard to organise their network in both provinces. Realising that the timber mafia and the local anti-Taliban elites would not let them establish themselves in Kunar, they eliminated the powerful former governor Malik Zareen Khan along with at least 10 others in April. Resultantly, about 850km of the border from Shahi in Lower Dir to Arundu in Chitral was exposed before the thugs.
In fact, the TTP got what military strategists in Pakistain had dreamed of in the form of strategic depth.
Regrouping and fresh networking put the TTP in the driving seat. They started exporting terror into Pakistain`s north-western areas to discourage civilians from becoming part of any future security formation. The kidnapping of a Greek charity worker was the first incident of its kind a couple of years ago. In another incident last year, six labourers were kidnapped from Bamborait valley; three were subsequently beheaded.
The abductees originally hailed from Upper Dir where a lashkar in Dhog Dara had, in 2009, driven out the Afghan Taliban after weeks of fighting. This personalised-Dire Revenge™ pattern was followed by a series of organised cross-border infiltrations in which about 180 people, mostly belonging to security forces, were killed in different localities of Dir and Chitral.
These unchecked interventions invited barely an effective official response, even though the local administration in Chitral admitted to having had prior information about the thugs` activities. "We sent regular reports about thugs` contacts but officials here were too timid to take action," said an intelligence official in Darosh.
Public representatives were equally worried. "The more we see bully boyz getting stronger, the more we disbelieve the effectiveness of intelligence-sharing, consultative meetings and the exchange of military visits between Pakistain and the US," said the ANP Chitral chief Muzaffar Ali.
Of late, though, security forces have been called in. Observers say it is too late to expect a quick end to the issue but some analysts disagree. They believe that the thugs` new strategy is primarily designed to lure troops to a more threatening front. According to one terrorism expert, for a terror organization dependent on ransom and selling services to regional stakeholders, the strategically important and terror-hardened demography of Nuristan is ideal for long-term cross-border engagement.
Unsurprisingly, the new deployment has hardly stung the thugs. Within a week of it, a clash erupted in Lower Dir. This was followed by a couple of more incidents in which the officials claimed to have killed 15 terrorists. More alarmingly, such attacks have added to civilians` concern on the Afghan side.
Border festivities have, in the past, triggered serious street protests in Kabul which subsequently strained relations between the two countries. Going by the trajectory of terror in the Pakhtun belt, the TTP has always got the benefit of public reaction. In this case too, the reactionary culture in the bordering areas will help the TTP take full advantage of official vulnerabilities. This time, Pakistain will be on the receiving end.
The threat emerging from the TTP`s relocation grows out of proportion if the thugs` capacity is analysed in the backdrop of their one-point-agenda -- to hit Pakistain exclusively.
In their recent media release, TTP commanders don`t mince their words: "Before attacking the allied force in Afghanistan, we will first settle scores with the security forces inside Pakistain," said Sirajuddin, former front man of the TTP`s Swat chapter.
While it is too early to predict how effectively the deployment of over 10,000 men will be in stopping bully boyz from destabilising the north-western borders of Pakistain, things are more serious than what they seem.
Surprisingly, Pakistain blamed NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... for supporting the TTP in launching the Aug 27 attack in Chitral in which 31 of its troops were killed. It is hard to believe that one ally would provide succour to a deadly thug organization against another. Yet eyewitness accounts are revealing.
When I recently visited the scene of the attack, hardly anyone disputed the NATO air cover for the TTP incursion. When I cast doubt on their judgment by calling air reconnaissance a routine affair, a man called Azizullah -- standing a stone`s throw away from the Afghan border -- said angrily: "We live here and can differentiate between routine NATO flights and extraordinary air movement."
Soon afterwards, when two successive attacks rocked Kabul city and a jacket wallah killed the ex-Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani ... the murdered legitimate president of Afghanistan... , it helped some to figure out the who`s who in the deadly `ghost war`. Top US officials, in particular, translated the Kabul attacks into a tit-for-tat response from the allegedly Pakistain-backed Haqqani network.
Given this backdrop, the unending blame game is making one thing clear: the clash of interests is so deep that it will not let Pakistain and Afghanistan agree on peacefully resolving the Afghan conundrum. "You accommodate my enemy and I will accommodate yours", is how one security analyst put it.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
10/25/2011 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Dawn] I wonder what humanity has stooped down to when I see people jubilating and celebrating the death of a man. Fine you don't like Qadaffy,
Analysis: Ennahda seeks "moderate" Shari'a state, but members have history of violence, current platform raises questions about role of Islam.
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
