The Gadhafi family in focus | The Envoy. What's next in Libya key to US politics, economy. WASHINGTON (AP) — The dramatic advance of Libyan rebels over the forces of longtime strongman Moammar Gadhafi offers vindication, at least for now, for President Barack Obama's decision to refrain from using U.S. troops on Libyan soil and to let NATO take the lead. But the chaotic scene on the streets of Tripoli on Tuesday illustrated the uncertain path to stability and the hazards that still face the White House. How Libya moves away from the current turmoil will present the next challenge for Obama and could determine how the public views not only his foreign policy, but in some measure the U.S. economy as well. Underscoring the volatility, Gadhafi's whereabouts remained a mystery, fighting between rebels and Gadhafi loyalists continued, and oil prices remained in flux.
Still, the news for Obama could not have been much better. Obama was careful to emphasize that uncertainty remained and that Gadhafi's regime could still pose a threat. View gallery So could Obama. Texas Gov. War crimes prosecutor seeks Gaddafi warrant - Europe. The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor has asked a three-judge panel to issue arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, his second-eldest son, Saif al-Islam, and his intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi. Luis Moreno-Ocampo described the evidence against the three men as "very strong" in a press conference on Monday and said he believed Libyans eventually would turn them over to the court. The filing against Gaddafi comes just three months into the uprising against his 41-year rule, which evolved from peaceful protests in major cities to an armed rebellion based out of the east.
Gaddafi's regime has brutally attempted to suppress the opposition movement by shelling rebellious cities, and imprisoning and torturing those who speak out. Ocampo presented a 74-page dossier of evidence to the court in the Hague, the Netherlands, on Monday. "The evidence shows Muammar Gaddafi personally ordered attacks on unarmed civilians," Ocampo said at the press conference. Libya: Politics of humanitarian intervention. Iraq and Afghanistan teach us that humanitarian intervention does not end with the removal of the danger it purports to target. It only begins with it. Having removed the target, the intervention grows and turns into the real problem. This is why to limit the discussion of the Libyan intervention to its stated rationale – saving civilian lives – is barely scratching the political surface.
The short life of the Libyan intervention suggests that we distinguish between justification and execution in writing its biography. Justification was a process internal to the United Nations Security Council, but execution is not. In addition to authorising a "no-fly zone" and tightening sanctions against "the Gaddafi regime and its supporters", Resolution 1973 called for "all necessary measures to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country, including Benghazi.
" UN conflicts The UN process is notable for two reasons. Money trail War furthers many interests. Libya's opposition. Rape used 'as a weapon' in Libya - Africa. Video shows Libyan rebels being beaten - Africa. Libyan woman who alleged rape still missing - Africa. Libyan woman tells of abuse - Africa. A distraught Libyan woman has told journalists in Tripoli how she was raped by government troops, before being bundled away by officials. Iman al-Obeidi sought out foreign reporters in the capital's Rixos hotel on Saturday morning, weeping and claiming that troops had detained her at a checkpoint, tied her up, abused her and then led her away to be gang-raped.
As al-Obeidi spoke she was tackled by hotel staff and government minders dragged her out of the hotel. Her story could not be independently verified, but the incident is being reported as an indication of the crackdown on dissenters ordered by Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader. At a hastily arranged press conference following the incident, Moussa Ibrahim, a government spokesman, said investigators had told him that the woman was drunk and possibly mentally challenged. Before she was dragged out of the hotel, al-Obeidi was able to tell journalists that she was detained by a number of troops at a Tripoli checkpoint on Wednesday.
NATO to take over Libya operations - Europe. NATO is to assume full command of operations in Libya from the US-led force that has been conducting air attacks against the forces of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya's leader. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO's secretary general, announced the agreement on Sunday following a meeting in Brussels. "We have directed NATO's top operational commander to begin executing this operation with immediate effect," he said in a statement. "Our goal is to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under threat from the Gaddafi regime. "NATO will implement all aspects of the UN resolution. Paul Brennan, Al Jazeera's correspondent, reporting from Brussels said: "NATO was already involved in enforcing the no-fly zone and the arms embargo.
"Now they are going to take overall command which means they will [also] take responsibility for protecting Libyan civilians on the ground. Week of debate The operations will be led by Canadian General Charles Bouchard, NATO said. Gaddafi's stand risks stalemate in the east - Africa. Troops loyal to longtime Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi have capitalised on an apparent slowdown in the frequency of coalition air strikes in the east and have pushed back opposition rebels, taking the strategic oil town of Ras Lanuf. Regime forces shelled rebel fighters with mortars and possibly Grad rockets on Wednesday, forcing them to retreat from Bin Jawad through Ras Lanuf, more than 200 kilometres east of Sirte, Gaddafi's well-defended hometown. The reversal for Libya's nascent opposition came after their forces had made a speedy, two-day advance from Ajdabiya under the protection of international air cover.
The rebels had advanced 20 kilometres beyond Bin Jawad on Monday, reaching the village of Nawfaliya before meeting stiff resistance. After shelling on Tuesday, they fell back to Ras Lanuf, a major coastal oil facility, and then appeared to lose the town entirely on Wednesday. Rebels rely on air cover Arming the rebels "I'm not ruling it out," Obama said. UN authorises no-fly zone over Libya - Africa. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has backed a resolution authorising a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" - code for military action - to protect civilians.
Ten of the council's 15 members voted in favour of the resolution on Thursday, while Russia, China, Germany, India and Brazil abstained. France said on Friday morning that military action in Libya would come "rapidily ... within a few hours", but did not specify the targets or in what form the action would come. David Cameron, the UK prime minister, said Tornado, Typhoon, surveillance and re-fuelling aircraft would be deployed for the operation in Libya. "Preparations to deploy these aircraft have already started and in the coming hours they will move to airbases from where they can start to take the necessary action," he told parliament on Friday.
Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has threatened to "turn into hell the lives" of anyone who attacks his country. 'We will be crazy too' Battle zones.