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Africa North | |||||||
Libyan rebels blame West for lack of cash | |||||||
2011-06-19 | |||||||
BENGHAZI, Libya – Rebels waging a drawn-out war to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have run out of money, their oil chief said on Saturday, and he accused the West of failing to keep its promises of urgent financial aid.
Western powers have pledged to expand aid by tapping into Libyan assets frozen abroad. But Tarhouni, also the insurgents' finance minister, said they had not followed through. "All of these people we talk to, all of these countries, at all these conferences, with their great grand speeches -- we appreciate (them) ... but in terms of finances they are a complete failure. Our people are dying," he said. The economy in eastern Libya, where much of the oil that once made Libya a major OPEC exporter came from, is in a shambles. Rebel leaders struggle to pay for military operations and salaries in a society where, thanks to the legacy of Gaddafi's centralized rule, most people rely on state wages.
Tarhouni has estimated the rebels were spending up to 100 million Libyan dinars ($86 million) per day. "I don't expect us to produce oil any time soon. The refineries have no crude oil, so they are not working," he said.
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Posted by:Steve White |
#6 Come on congress de-fund this illegal half-assed war. |
Posted by: regular joe 2011-06-19 17:04 |
#5 In the beginning there was the Plan... ...... ...... ...... And that is how sh*t happens. |
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2011-06-19 14:20 |
#4 from Cracked.com: Calorie burn rates for various stationary activities: 80 - reading (Dostoevsky) 70 - reading (Dean Koontz) 70 - watching TV 60 - baseline, comatose, asleep 55 - posting comments on the Internet |
Posted by: Frank G 2011-06-19 12:24 |
#3 You sit on an Oceaan of oil, and can't find the tap? Try this comparison: Each Rantburg reader has a brain. Getting them to make an educated comment is another thing. |
Posted by: Pappy 2011-06-19 11:47 |
#2 How about pointing the begging bowl towards the Arab League? Aren't The Lions Of Islam supposed to help their fellow Islamists? I'm sure it says so in the Quran, somewhere. |
Posted by: tipper 2011-06-19 00:37 |
#1 You're joking, right? You sit on an Oceaan of oil, and can't find the tap? |
Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-06-19 00:18 |