#Qathafi's Army is an Armed Mob

 
""They are trying to run way," Lutfi said of the soldiers, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. "They are pretending to be civilians. They are putting on sportswear."

Ali Misbah, a captured Libyan soldier who had been wounded in the leg, was held under guard in a tent in the parking lot of the Al Hikmeh Hospital, one of the city's smaller medical centers.

Misbah, 25, said morale was low among Gadhafi's troops. "Recently, our spirit has collapsed and the forces that were in front of us escaped and left us alone," he said.

Misbah said he and his fellow soldiers were told that they were fighting against al-Qaida militants, not ordinary Libyans who took up arms against Gadhafi."  Yahoonews.

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Qathafi's "army" is an armed mob.  That is the real story behind what has happened in Misrata.  The rebels are also an armed mob, but that is to be expected in the absence of structure and training in their forces.  McCain and Graham are right in this matter.  It will not take much to take the fight out of Qathafi's partisans and turn what lookslike a stalemate into a rout.

Bombing Qathafi's headquarters compound is a good idea.  It is a powerful symbol of his powerlessness.  It is unlikely that such attacks will succeed in killing him.  Before the strikes in '86 he was filled with a great illusion of the "toothlessness" of the United States, but he has learned his lesson and is in hiding except for unscheduled, sudden appearances.

Getting rid of the Qathafi government looks easier than ever.  pl

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110425/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_libya

 

 

Comments

[walrus]

Having just finished reading "Finest Years - Churchill as Warlord", I'm thoroughly depressed.

Firstly, as Max Hastings points out, supporting, and perhaps arming, rebels proved to be a less than winning strategy during World War Two primarily because said rebels proved to be largely un-biddable after the primary target was dealt with and proceeded to use their new found powers to advance ideas we didn't approve of.

The policy dimension is also an issue, for example Churchill advocated the return of the Greek Monarchy while promoting democracy elsewhere - shades of the current Saudi Arabian and Bahrain problems.

The second reason for my depression relates to it being ANZAC day yesterday - where we celebrate taking part in a disastrous military campaign, as colonial cannon fodder, dreamed up by the aforementioned WSC. A practice we have since repeated multiple times, and will no doubt continue..

[Basilisk]

I concur. The Headquarters compound is a legitimate command and control target. Toothlessness is a conclusion that can be reached only by one who has never seen the detonation of a Mark-84 General Purpose bomb. Their laser-guided and GPS-guided cousins are even more impressive.

[William R. Cumming]

Again in agreement with you PL. And of course hoping we are correct!

[Thomas]

Walrus,

Below is a link dealing with empathy in politics which may interest you.

http://therumpus.net/2011/04/on-the-novels-of-politicians/

If you are correct about Obama, then let us hope he decides to take out his anger and frustration on Col Qathafi. At least one positive would come out of it all.

[Norbert M Salamon]

Colonel:

Getting rid of Colonel Qathafi might be easier, as was the case with Sadam and the Taliban, but the price was the almost collapse of the USA's credit . Another run at a longer term war, and it is debatable if the past colonial powers: USA, UK, Fr and It. would survive the economic repercussions in a world with rising oil demand and falling oil supplies [and falling USD].

Do recall that this year is the first time that Iraq's oil production surpassed that of 2003, and that Kuwait has never recovered pre Sadam invasion levels.

Notable in this issue that both Iran and Venezuela [the latter having the largest recoverable oil reserves accoding to US Geographical Survey] are below optimum exploration and development due to USA foreign policy.

[bth]

If we can get his mercenaries to call it a day...

One wonders what an offer of a few grand cash each and a free trip home to the Sudan or Chad or wherever could produce for us?

The image of MQ in a bunker with a Walther would warm the heart of any Pan Am 103 relative.

[MJ]

Walrus

your depression is misplaced. Churchill merely misread European and post-Empire sentiment entirely. He even misread post-War British electorate sentiment and was thrown from office.

Government is not monolithic, nor is war, nor is humanity. We cant judge Saudis by the Saudi regime; we can only judge the regime by itself. We now enter the second great phase of history post WWII. The Arabs shake off their post-colonial masters and wake from their slumber. The Muslim Brotherhood is merely the middle class face of this movement. A muslim version of the Christian Democratic right if you will. Nothing in itself to be afraid of.

We already have something far worse in charge in Saudi. And in the rest of the current regimes come to think of it.

[omen]

rebels getting organized:

Recently, that chaos has begun to fade as rebels organise themselves. At the front, fighters now carry paper badges in plastic slips that list their name, number, and "brigade". Newer identification cards are smaller, made of plastic, list blood type and feature a barcode.

Weapons carry individual numbers – Bukatwa's rifle had "309" painted on the wooden stock. These are recorded and linked to the fighter's ID number when a brigade supply centre distributes arms.

Rebel commanders have begun confiscating guns from those who don't belong to the military force or who are deemed unreliable. Poor or trigger-happy fighters are sometimes "retired", either sent home or given a menial task, such as sweeping floors.

http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/features/2011/04/201141942947854663.html

[stickler]

Every time I hear people talking about the impending bankruptcy of the USA, I roll my eyes. Here's why:

1) Federal tax reciepts as a percentage of GDP are lower today than they've been since 1950.

2) You think the dollar is weak? You might be right. So you sell your dollars and buy ... what? Euros? Yen? Renminbi? The dollar's days as world reserve currency may be numbered, but they're not over yet.

[euclidcreek]

Mr Stress of Cleveland writes: "The older Von Moltke and other Prussians refered to American Civil War armies as armed mobs chasing each other around the country side"

[Patrick Lang]

euclidcreek

Yeah, well, von Moltke "never met Bobby Lee and his boys." pl

[bth]

I note with some interest this WaPo article about fuel shortages in MQ controlled areas. One wonders how long his sole remaining refinery will operate in these troubled times.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-security-forces-protect-gas-stations-as-lines-lengthen/2011/04/27/AFw8GcyE_print.html

[bth]

Note that desperate struggles continue along western supply lines. I think the refined fuel embargo is working.

[Fred]

I wonder what von Moltke would have done if beset by Forrest or Sheridan not to mention Farragut and Porter?