Qadaffy on Friday urged his supporters to get back the weapons that La Belle France supplied to rebels in the Nafusa mountains who are battling his regime."March on the jebel (Nafusa) and seize the weapons that the French have supplied. If later you want to pardon them (the rebels), that's up to you," the embattled Qadaffy said in a message played over loudspeakers in central Tripoli.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said on Friday that this week's arms drop was meant only to defend peaceful civilians from Qadaffy's forces and thus fell in line with existing U.N. resolutions on the conflict.
"Civilians had been attacked by Qadaffy's forces and were in an extremely vulnerable situation and that is why medicine, food and also weapons of self-defense were parachuted," Juppe said, speaking on La Belle France Inter radio.
"It is not a violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions" under which La Belle France and other allies launched air strikes and imposed embargoes to protect civilians from Qadaffy, he added.
On a visit to Moscow, Juppe said La Belle France had informed its partners in NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the style of the American pants...
as well the U.N. Security Council about its decision to supply arms directly to the rebels in Libya.
"We informed our partners in NATO and the Security Council about these deliveries," Juppe told news hounds after talks with Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
"We believe that within the frameworks of Resolutions 1970 and 1973 -- and 1970 as a whole -- it is clear that all means are legitimate for protecting peaceful civilians," Juppe said.
The first resolution bans all arms deliveries to Libya -- a move Russia backed -- and the second authorizes nations "to take all necessary measures" to help protect civilians against Qadaffy's forces.
Meanwhile,
...back at the hoedown, Bob finally got to dance with Sally...
Qadaffy vowed anew that his forces will crush NATO, warning the military coalition: "Pull back, you have no chance of defeating this brave (Libyan) people."
"The Libyans will defeat the Crusader NATO forces," Qadaffy said in a speech to mark 100 days of NATO operations.
"Stop your operations otherwise the world will poke fun at you," he said, adding that NATO strikes were "useless."
"I advise you to stop your campaign and not to be led by a handful of traitors in Benghazi," he said in reference to the eastern coastal stronghold of the Libyan rebels.
He also directly addressed Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
...current Italian prime minister, known for his plain (for a European politician) speaking and his liking for hookers a third his age or less...
, "poor" French President Nicolas Sarkozy
...23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. Sarkozy is married to singer-songwriter Carla Bruni, who has a really nice birthday suit...
and British Prime Minister
David Cameron... has stated that he is
certainly a big Thatcher fan, but I don't know whether that makes me a Thatcherite,which means he's not. Since he is
not deeply ideologicalhe lacks core principles and is easily led. He has been described as
certainly not a Pitt, Elder or Younger,but he does wear a nice suit so maybe he's Beau Brummel ...
, asking them to "listen to the Libyan people who want peace."
Qadaffy, who was speaking from a secret location, invited NATO to "talk to the Libyan people."
"The people are masters of their own destiny. Discuss with them a solution to the crisis and I will help you," he said, again addressing leaders of NATO member states.
He also urged loyalists "to march on Misrata and liberate the city inch by inch, without resorting to arms."
The besieged rebel-held Misrata is Libya's third-largest city and the rebels' most significant enclave in western Libya.
"Finish the battle quickly," Qadaffy said.