Read about Mustafa Abdul Jalil. (Wikipedia)
Libyan rebels appear to have successfully secured the country. What problems remain? Do you think that the missing former leader could be a problem to a new government? Why?
Watch a CNN newscast: Rebels give Gadhafi loyalists ultimatum: Surrender or be liberated 29 August 2011 BBC: "Gaddafi still threat for Libya and world" Col Muammar Gaddafi still poses a danger for Libya and the world, the head of the Libyan rebels has said. National Transitional Council (NTC) head Mustafa Abdul Jalil said Nato and other allies must continue supporting rebels against the "tyrant". The rebels have taken the small town of Nofilia on their way to the Gaddafi stronghold - and hometown - of Sirte. Col Gaddafi's whereabouts remain unknown since rebels swept into Tripoli last week, capturing his compound. They already control most of Libya, after months of clashes since the first protests began. Speaking at a meeting of defence chiefs in Qatar, the NTC's head, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, said Col Gaddafi's forces could still wage brutal counter-attacks even as rebel forces pushed into the last pockets of resistance by pro-Gaddafi troops. "Gaddafi's defiance of the coalition forces still poses a danger, not only for Libya, but for the world. That is why we are calling for the coalition to continue its support," Mr Jalil said at the meeting in Doha. Rebels say they are in talks with Sirte's tribal elders to avoid bloodshed, but so far they have been unsuccessful. It may be that tribal leaders have fresh in their minds the warning Col Gaddafi broadcast last week, to the effects that rebels are converging on the town to loot and rape the women, reports the BBC's Paul Wood who is with the rebels headed towards Sirte. It is only a matter of time before the rebels reach the outskirts of Sirte. It is very heavily-defended. The suggestion is that one of Col Gaddafi's sons is commanding the militia there. If the rebels try to enter the town by force there is likely to be a blood bath, according to one commander here. They are sincerely hoping peace talks with the elders in Sirte do bear some fruit. The feeling is that with the end of Ramadan in a few days, we could see a build-up of speed towards Sirte. Then, once they are at the gates, it is a question of whether those peace talks have worked and the elders will decide to put down their arms peacefully and surrender the town. Or perhaps, as one rebel officer said, the tribal leadership wanted to surrender, but were being stopped from doing so by the thousands of soldiers thought to be in the town, our correspondent says. So with Nato jets flying missions in support, the rebels expect shortly to fight what may well be the last big battle of this war and of their revolution, he adds. Nato has said it remains committed to the operation. The Nato mandate continues until the end of September when it would have to reviewed by a meeting of all its members. A ship carrying hundreds of prisoners, released from Libyan jails, has arrived in Benghazi from Tripoli. In scenes of almost delirious joy, they were greeted and hugged by wives, husbands, brothers, sisters and friends, says the BBC's Jon Leyne who watched as the ship arrived in the rebel city. Some had been captured by Col Gaddafi's forces during the last six months; others had been held for years. They spoke of torture, beatings and starvation rations. The BBC's Wyre Davies says most of the fighting in Tripoli has now stopped Rebel leaders have spoken of their concerns for tens of thousands of others - taken prisoner in the past few months - who are still missing. The rebels say they fear their bodies could be unearthed in mass graves, or that the prisoners have been abandoned in secret, underground military bunkers. Key prison records and other documents are at risk of being lost as sites remain unsecure and documents destroyed or taken away in Libya, Amnesty International has warned, urging the NTC to preserve such documents. These records could be critical for any forthcoming trials for crimes committed under the rule of Col Muammar Gaddafi, or to shed light on the fate of the many prisoners who have "disappeared" in Libyan prisons in the last few decades, Amnesty said. My daughter lives in New York City. She and her husband have left the city and traveled West to safety in Pennsylvania. We hope that is West enough.
Read about the hurricane. US Braced for Hurricane Irene Scientists say Irene 'getting stronger' after mission to eye of the storm Who might lead Libya after Gaddafi?
By Paul WoodBBC News After the initial jubilation in Benghazi, there is a more anxious mood now. People recognise that the battle is not yet won and that there is more hard fighting ahead in Tripoli. And there is the risk of chaos if a new government does not take charge quickly. The expectation is that a new administration would be based on the National Transitional Council, or NTC, formed by the rebels in Benghazi in the early days of the revolution. That still leaves open the question of who would be Libya's new leader after nearly 42 years of Col Gaddafi's rule. The frontrunner is the NTC's chairman, Mustafa Abdul Jalil. A former justice minister, he is popular in the east and has a reputation for integrity. "He was the only one who would stand up to Gaddafi, who would tell him 'No'," said one Benghazi resident. But Mr Abdul Jalil has threatened to resign several times and it is not clear how much he really wants the job. Uneasy coalitionMahmoud Jibril, the head of the NTC's cabinet, the Executive Board, could step in. He has the reputation of being a capable technocrat and is said to make many of the day-to-day decisions involved in running the NTC. Mahmoud Jibril is responsible for many of the daily decisions about the running of the NTCHis colleague, Ali Tarhouni, also has a very high profile, having returned from exile abroad to take charge of the vital issue of finance for the rebels. Another name sometimes mentioned is Shokri Ghanem, a former prime minister who helped liberalise the economy, though he is outside Libya now and did not become part of the NTC. If, or when, Col Gaddafi is finally pushed aside, the difficulties could really begin for a new government. Widespread looting, revenge attacks against Col Gaddafi's loyalists or internecine fighting are all potential threats to order and stability as the new regime attempts to come into being. The NTC itself is a loose collection of different factions - Islamist and secular, former members of the regime and longstanding exiles - some with little more in common than their desire to get rid of Col Gaddafi. The rebel movement is also an uneasy coalition between the east and west of the country. No-one has forgotten the assassination in July of the rebel's military chief, Gen Abdul Fattah Younis, apparently killed by some of the men under his command. It could have been those loyal to Col Gaddafi, or Islamists or Libyans bent on revenge as Gen Younis had been Col Gaddafi's interior minister. Revenge There are deep and potentially dangerous divisions in the revolutionary movement as it stands on the brink of power. The rebels fighting in Tripoli now are a mosaic of different militias as much as a single army. The immediate challenge facing the political leadership in Benghazi is to prevent revenge killings targeting those loyal to Col Gaddafi. That would risk losing the support of the Nato countries which brought victory within the rebels grasp. It would also undermine the legitimacy of any new government. Mr Abdul Jalil said he would resign if commanders did not respect the rule of law - an extraordinary admission that parts of the military may be outside political control. No single charismatic, political personality has emerged yet on the rebel side, the kind of figure who could force dissident elements of the rebel forces into line and heal the divisions in the country. But, after more than four decade of Col Gaddafi's rule, Libyans may feel that another strongman is exactly what they do not want. Why is it important to read the news everyday?
In a democratic society, keeping track of current events is important for all citizens. Each citizen has the right and obligation to know what its government is doing and why. Thomas Jefferson said, “. . . whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that, whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them right.” He went so far to say, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.” Knowing history and being able to see connections of events makes news more understandable. Seeing repeating patterns in wars and revolutions of the 20th century, can give clues to the causes of the 2011 Arab Revolution. Knowing the history of Israel and its relationship with its Mideast neighbors since 1950, can give some explanation as to why President Obama is having trouble with the peace talks in the Mideast. |