Monday, February 21, 2011

Libyan regime teetering

Multiple news sources report that the 40 year dictatorship of Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi is fighting for its survival tonight. Large parts of the country and at least some elements of the armed forces are in open revolt. There are unconfirmed reports that some members of the air force may have flown their planes and defected in Malta. Also today the Libyan diplomatic delegation at the UN broke with the regime. The Libyan ambassador to the UN called Qaddafi a war criminal and called on the international community to intervene to end what appears to be an effort to violently suppress the revolt. There are widespread bu as yet unconfirmed reports of massacres by troops loyal to the dictatorship. Few persons who are knowledgeable about Libya expect that Qaddafi will go quietly like the dictators of Egypt and Tunisia. Many believe he will have to be killed to end his grip on power.

A full scale civil war is not beyond the realm of possibility.

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