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Gadhafi Likely to Win: US Intelligence Chief

He says rebels' long-term prospects look bleak

(Newser) - Rebel fighters in Libya are unlikely to beat the forces loyal to ruler Moammar Gadhafi, says the US director of national intelligence. James Clapper pointed out to a Senate panel that the rebels are untrained, poorly organized, and have arms seized from only a few caches, while they face career...

Libya No-Fly Zone a No-Brainer

 No-Fly Zone a 
 No-Brainer 
 in Libya 

NICHOLAS KRISTOF
Mar 10, 2011 12:43 PM CST

No-Fly Zone a No-Brainer in Libya

'This is a pretty easy problem,' Air Force general opines

(Newser) - The US seems to be wringing its hands over whether to impose a no-fly zone over Libya—but Gen. Merrill McPeak has no idea why. “This is a pretty easy problem, for crying out loud,” the former Air Force chief of staff tells New York Times columnist Nicholas...

ElBaradei: I'm Running for President

But the constitution needs to change, Nobel laureate says

(Newser) - It's official: Mohamed ElBaradei will run for president of Egypt, he told a private television channel yesterday. "When the door of presidential nominations opens, I intend to nominate myself," the Nobel laureate said. But he also called on the military to scrap or rewrite the "superficial" constitutional...

France First to Recognize Libyan Rebels

...as NATO meets to discuss no-fly zone

(Newser) - France today became the first country to recognize the Libyan National Council as the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, following a meeting between Nicolas Sarkozy and two representatives from the upstart government, the New York Times reports. France says it will soon engage ambassadors with the rebel group,...

Secret Scads of Cash Bankroll Gadhafi's Fight

Libyan leader likely has access to 'tens of billions'

(Newser) - The US alone has frozen nearly $32 billion of Libya’s assets, so how can Moammar Gadhafi afford to keep fighting? Easy: piles of cash amounting to “tens of billions,” officials tell the New York Times . Gadhafi has been hoarding cash in Tripoli, keeping it out of the...

Morocco King Promises Reform

Monarch moves to defuse unrest

(Newser) - King Mohammed VI says Morocco will revise its constitution for the first time in 15 years, aiming to strengthen democracy in the face of a reform push across the Arab world. In a rare TV and radio speech to the nation, the monarch said a new commission will suggest constitutional...

BBC Team Detained, Beaten by Gadhafi Forces

Journalists subjected to mock executions

(Newser) - A team of BBC journalists has been flown out of Libya after being detained, beaten, and subjected to mock executions by Libyan security forces. The three were taken to a military barracks near Tripoli after being stopped at a checkpoint near Zawiyah, scene of fierce fighting between rebels and pro-Gadhafi...

Doctors Suspect Nerve Gas Used on Yemen Protesters

Three tell Global Post that symptoms are too severe for tear gas

(Newser) - Doctors and protesters in Yemen think the government is using banned nerve gas, not regular tear gas, to quell protests, reports Global Post . Three doctors treating patients say the symptoms are suspiciously severe. “The material in this gas makes people convulse for hours," said one field doctor after...

Gadhafi Son's U-Turn Shocks the World

Seif al-Islam had been seen as a reformer

(Newser) - Until a few weeks ago, the West thought well of Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, a London-educated Davos man who’d spent years advocating greater democracy and freedom in Libya. So when he promised protesters “ rivers of blood ” in the street, it was just a wee bit unexpected. “Seif...

Libya Will 'Take Up Arms' Against No-Fly Zone: Gadhafi

Even so, it appears to be a serious possibility as top leaders discuss

(Newser) - As the possibility of a no-fly zone over Libya looms larger, Moammar Gadhafi has become increasingly defiant. He recently told Turkey’s public television station that Libyans will “take up arms” against any countries that support such a measure, the Telegraph reports. More on the no-fly zone front:
  • President
...

As Gadhafi Forces Gain, Libya Stalemate Looms

Country could be looking at an east-west divide

(Newser) - After dramatic successes over the past weeks, Libya's rebel movement appears to have hit a wall of overwhelming power from loyalists of Moammar Gadhafi. Pro-regime forces halted their drive on Tripoli with a heavy barrage of rockets in the east and threatened today to recapture the closest rebel-held city to...

Gadhafi Ups Airstrikes as Rookie Mistakes Trip Rebels

Their forces are untrained, and barely organized

(Newser) - Moammar Gadhafi’s forces launched at least three new airstrikes against Libyan rebels today near the oil port of Ras Lanouf, and one witness says the Gadhafi loyalists also recaptured Zawiyah, the city closest to Gadhafi’s stronghold in Tripoli, the AP reports. Meanwhile, in the rebel-held east, a spokesperson...

Gadhafi Kills Soldiers Who Won't Shoot Us: Rebels

Unverified video allegedly shows executions

(Newser) - A video sent to al-Jazeera by Libyan rebels allegedly shows army officers who refused to fire on the rebels in the mountainous region west of Tripoli—and were executed because of it. A survivor of the killings claims that after refusing, the soldiers’ legs were tied together and they were...

Libya Rebels to UN: Give Us No-Fly Zone

Gadhafi holds undeniable advantage in the air

(Newser) - Moammar Gadhafi's jets rained down airstrikes on rebels again today, underscoring the Libyan leader's unmitigated dominance of the skies. Egged on by Libyan rebels who insist that threat needs to be curtailed in order to level the playing field, the AP reports that Britain and France today began work on...

Egyptian Protesters Leak Govt. Secrets on Facebook

After storming State Security, WikiLeaks-like page set up

(Newser) - Hundreds of Egyptians stormed the State Security headquarters this weekend, and now they’re posting the damning documents they found WikiLeaks-style on a Facebook page, Fast Company reports. Amn Dawla Leaks , or State Security Leaks, already has more than 13,000 fans. Egyptians have posted files there, and to other...

America's Young Should Be Mad, Too
 America's Young 
 Should Be Mad, Too 
Fareed Zakaria
Mar 7, 2011 1:18 PM CST

America's Young Should Be Mad, Too

Our leaders aren't focused on investing in the future

(Newser) - Fareed Zakaria sees a lesson for America in the youth-driven revolts sweeping the Middle East. No, America’s democracy is nothing like a Middle Eastern dictatorship. “But if the troubles of Arab youth make us shine a light on the state of America’s youth, the picture that emerges...

Angry Protesters Storm Egypt's State Security

They ignore warning shots from military

(Newser) - Hundreds of Egyptian activists yesterday stormed the headquarters of the notorious State Security, long associated with human rights abuses against political prisoners, expressing frustration that the military has been slow to shut it down. The dismantling of the intelligence force was one of the protesters’ key demands, but it has...

Thomas Friedman: Stop Wasting $100 Billion a Year on Afghanistan, Pakistan Regimes
 Stop Wasting $110B 
 a Year on These Turkeys 
THOMAS FRIEDMAN
Mar 6, 2011 8:43 AM CST

Stop Wasting $110B a Year on These Turkeys

As Arabs spread democracy, we prop up Afghan, Pakistan regimes

(Newser) - Democracy is on the march across the Arab world, so "What are we doing spending $110 billion this year supporting corrupt and unpopular regimes in Afghanistan and Pakistan that are almost identical to the governments we’re applauding the Arab people for overthrowing?" asks Thomas Friedman in the New ...

A 'Massacre' as Gadhafi Forces Re-Take Town
 A 'Massacre' as 
 Gadhafi Forces 
 Re-Take Town 
BRUTALITY THE NEW NORM
Mar 5, 2011 6:53 AM CST

A 'Massacre' as Gadhafi Forces Re-Take Town

Violence against armed, unarmed becoming commonplace

(Newser) - An elite pro-Gadhafi militia used brutal force to re-take swaths of rebel-held Zawiyah yesterday, in what rebels tell the New York Times was a "massacre." “I am watching neighbors dying unarmed in front of their homes,” one said via phone. At least 35 rebels were among...

Iraq Protests Draw Thousands

Security extraordinarily tight

(Newser) - Thousands of people took to the streets across Iraq today, despite a distinctly intensified security effort. About 2,000 gathered in Baghdad’s Tahrir Square for example, even though the route there was blocked with razorwire and dozens of checkpoints, the LA Times reports. Protesters waved images of Baghdad’...

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