 |  | | Osamaism Was Already Dead |  HAD Osama bin Laden been
killed during the presidency of
George W Bush, he might have
become an iconic martyr for
anti-Western movements
throughout the Muslim world. Those
days are gone. Jihadist websites mourn
their slain mentor, but few in the Arab
street care for a man who brought nothing
to the region but havoc and desolation,
provoked the United States into
waging war and, above all, reinforced
the very rulers whom radical Islamists
most wished to topple.
Arab despots initially saw their life
expectancies extended after 9/11: better
Ben Ali, the... |
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| |  | | UNWISDOM
OF ELITES | | THE past three years have
been a disaster for most
Western economies. The
United States has mass
long-term unemployment
for the first time since the 1930s.
Meanwhile, Europe´s single currency
is coming apart at the seams.
How did it all go so wrong?
Well, what I´ve been hearing with
growing frequency from members
of the policy elite - self-appointed
wise men, officials, and pundits in
good standing - is the claim that
it´s mostly the public´s fault. The
idea is that we got into this mess
because voters wanted something
for nothing, and weak-minded
politicians catered to the electorate´s
foolishness.
So this seems... |
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NATO bombs Tripoli, rebels claim success
AP TRIPOLI NATO warplanes struck Tripoli early on Tuesday in the heaviest bombing of the Libyan capital in weeks, while rebels reported battlefront successes in the east and west.
In the besieged port city of Misrata, the rebel’s only urban stronghold in the west, a doctor said rebel forces had pushed outward to Dafniya, a town on western outskirts.
The doctor, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, said fighting was taking place both in Dafniya and near the airport south of Misrata.
Were the rebels able to punch through past Dafniya, it would increase the prospects of a further advance through the coastal town of Zlitan and toward Tripoli itself.
The rebels posted video clips calling on Gadhafi’s forces in the area to surrender and saying they had advanced about 15 miles (25 kilometers) outward from central Misrata.
“We are after you Qadhafi,” one of the fighters in the video said.
In eastern Libya, rebels reported ongoing fighting between the towns of Ajdabiya and Brega.
A rebel commander, Zakaria al Mismari, told reporters that Qadhafi’s forces had advanced on their positions with about a dozen vehicles on Monday, but were beaten back.
The rebel army has been bogged down for weeks near Ajdabiya, unable to move on to Brega, which has an oil terminal and Libya’s secondlargest hydrocarbon complex.
Planes were heard from Ajdabiya later on Monday, after the rebels said they had retreated because they were told NATO was launching airstrikes against Qadhafi forces there.
Rebel appeals for heavier arms from abroad have not met any response, although NATO is carrying out airstrikes on regime forces as many countries demand that Qadhafi, Libya’s autocratic ruler for 42 years, relinquish power.
In the latest strike, NATO planes hit at least four sites in Tripoli, setting off explosions that thundered through the city overnight.
One strike hit a building that locals said was used by a military intelligence agency.
Another targeted a government building that officials said was sometimes used by parliament members.
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