It seems we're "damned if we do", "damned if we don't", Nothing can get done in the world without the U.S. then when we do get involved around the world we get accused of stealing oil and building empire
A rebel fighter escorts his son away from the front line at the western entrance of Ajdabiyah Tuesday. Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi bombarded the western entrance to the rebel-held town in eastern Libya on Tuesday. Yannis Behrakis
A spokesman for Libyan rebels urged the U.S. military Wednesday to reassert a stronger role in the NATO-led air campaign or risk more civilian casualties in the stalemate fighting between Moammar Gadhafi and forces seeking to end his four-decade rule.
The appeal by the spokesman, Mahmoud Shammam, appeared to set the urgent tone for the rebels' meetings with the UN's Secretary General and other top Arab and Western envoys, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, as they gathered in Qatar's capital to discuss ways to end the Libyan crisis.
While peace efforts remain the top objective, there also appears to be a shift toward trying to boost the rebels' firepower to protect their territory from government offensives. One proposal noted by Italy — Libya's former colonial ruler — calls for allies providing defensive weapons.
Italy is also proposing that Libyan assets frozen in countries such as Canada be used to fund the rebels.
A rebel fighter escorts his son away from the front line at the western entrance of Ajdabiyah Tuesday. Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi bombarded the western entrance to the rebel-held town in eastern Libya on Tuesday. Yannis Behrakis Shamman said the anti-Gadhafi forces will not bend on their demands that any peace proposal require Gadhafi and his inner circle to leave the country. The rebel conditions for Gadhafi's ouster effectively killed a ceasefire bid by Africa's main political bloc this week.
Shammam also urged NATO to step up its air campaign to hit pro-Gadhafi forces in efforts to protect civilians and appealed for a greater role by the United States, which turned over operations to the military bloc last month. Shammam's comments echoed calls by Foreign Minister Alain Juppé and others after government forces shelled the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya.
"When the Americans were involved the mission was very active and it was more leaning toward protecting the civilians," said Shammam.
"NATO is very slow responding to these attacks on the civilians. We'd like to see more work toward protecting the civilians," Shammam said before the one-day conference that includes Britain's foreign secretary, senior State Department envoy William J. Burns and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/13/libya-rebels-qatar-help.html?ref=rss
A rebel fighter escorts his son away from the front line at the western entrance of Ajdabiyah Tuesday. Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi bombarded the western entrance to the rebel-held town in eastern Libya on Tuesday. Yannis Behrakis
A spokesman for Libyan rebels urged the U.S. military Wednesday to reassert a stronger role in the NATO-led air campaign or risk more civilian casualties in the stalemate fighting between Moammar Gadhafi and forces seeking to end his four-decade rule.
The appeal by the spokesman, Mahmoud Shammam, appeared to set the urgent tone for the rebels' meetings with the UN's Secretary General and other top Arab and Western envoys, including Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, as they gathered in Qatar's capital to discuss ways to end the Libyan crisis.
While peace efforts remain the top objective, there also appears to be a shift toward trying to boost the rebels' firepower to protect their territory from government offensives. One proposal noted by Italy — Libya's former colonial ruler — calls for allies providing defensive weapons.
Italy is also proposing that Libyan assets frozen in countries such as Canada be used to fund the rebels.
A rebel fighter escorts his son away from the front line at the western entrance of Ajdabiyah Tuesday. Forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi bombarded the western entrance to the rebel-held town in eastern Libya on Tuesday. Yannis Behrakis Shamman said the anti-Gadhafi forces will not bend on their demands that any peace proposal require Gadhafi and his inner circle to leave the country. The rebel conditions for Gadhafi's ouster effectively killed a ceasefire bid by Africa's main political bloc this week.
Shammam also urged NATO to step up its air campaign to hit pro-Gadhafi forces in efforts to protect civilians and appealed for a greater role by the United States, which turned over operations to the military bloc last month. Shammam's comments echoed calls by Foreign Minister Alain Juppé and others after government forces shelled the rebel-held city of Misrata in western Libya.
"When the Americans were involved the mission was very active and it was more leaning toward protecting the civilians," said Shammam.
"NATO is very slow responding to these attacks on the civilians. We'd like to see more work toward protecting the civilians," Shammam said before the one-day conference that includes Britain's foreign secretary, senior State Department envoy William J. Burns and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/13/libya-rebels-qatar-help.html?ref=rss
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