The rebels "have no hope, now it's a lost cause for them," assured
Colonel Muammar Qadaffy... dictator of Libya since 1969. From 1972, when he relinquished the title of prime minister, he has been accorded the honorifics
Guide of the First of September Great Revolution of the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriyaor
Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution. With the death of Omar Bongo of Gabon on 8 June 2009, he became the longest serving of all current non-royal national leaders. He is also the longest-serving ruler of Libya since Tripoli became an Ottoman province in 1551. When Chairman Mao was all the rage and millions of people were flashing his Little Red Book, Qadaffy came out with his own Little Green Book, which didn't do as well. Qadaffy's instability has been an inspiration to the Arab world and to Africa, which he would like to rule...
in an interview with Italian daily Il Giornale, rejecting in advance any negotiation with "terrorists."
For jihad boys, there are only "two choices: surrender or flee," he added, promising not to kill those who surrendered.
In Ajdabiya, strategic communication node and final lock at 160 km south of the stronghold of the opposition in Benghazi, government forces have carried out an
"We are civilians. What can we do against heavy weapons, against tanks, Grad rockets and warships?" Lamented Dr. Suleiman Al-Abeid, who came to Al-Baida (north-east ). "Unless NATO intervenes, he will kill us all," he said.
Residents said sporadic fighting continued in Brega, oil site 80 km to the west, but the front line itself was now 6 km west of Ajdabiya.
Monday, planes dropped leaflets over Ajdabiya: "We come to free you from terrorists," they announced, but cautioned that the city would be searched house to house to root out the "rats".
The major powers met in Gay Paree at the G8 could not agree on military action. French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, acknowledged he had "not convinced" his partner.
"Qadaffy mark points," he lamented. He outlined a tightening of sanctions against the Libyan regime, including a possible maritime embargo, but believes that the international community could not prevent the government forces to resume Benghazi.
Barack
B.O.Obama on Monday reiterated his warning to the Libyan leader: "Qadaffy has lost his legitimacy and he must go away," he said.
But his Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Walter Q. Gresham...
refused to promise military aid to the rebels, even in the form of arms shipments, at a meeting Monday in Gay Paree with Mahmoud Jibril, a member of the National Transitional Council (CNT) introduced by the opposition in Benghazi.
Clinton has only raised the possibility of political and economic assistance to the Libyan opposition.
Time is running yet for the jihad boys. The Libyan army announced Sunday it was running "to serve" the whole country. Since February 15, the bloody suppression of the insurgency has killed at least hundreds dead and forced more than 250,000 people to flee the country.