Rebels Greeted As Liberators, Fighting Ends

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Sons ‘Were’ in Custody, Confirmed by International Criminal Court

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Few as 200 Rebel Fighters Take Tripoli

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Pro-Israeli CNN”s Wolf Blizer Makes Last Ditch Appeal for Gaddafi Support

Casualties seemed have been much less than expected.  We have a report of one journalist being shot in the buttocks while attempting to flee Tripoli on a bicycle. We cannot be sure but this photo of him above holding an AK-47 posing with the make believe civilian defense militia may have angered local rebel supporters…or he may have been hit by a stray round.

Rebels:  “The Americans have given us absolutely nothing, zero, zilch.not a bullet nor has any other NATO member”

By Gordon Duff, Senior Editor

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Monday Afternoon Update: 3:10pm  BBC news team ambushed by Gaddafi forces while following rebels into the city along the coast road live video footage.

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Update: 2:32 pm   Gaddafi son Mohammed BBC audio report. Seems to be a combination of one after his capture…and then the storming of his house from the gunfire inside that house that you can hear.

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Monday Afternoon Update: 08-21-11  From the Guardian, UK.

1.22pm: Here is a lunchtime summary:

• The vast majority of Tripoli is under rebel control after opposition fighters swept into the capital over the weekend.The rebels’ flag is now hanging over Green Square in the city centre. The rebels’ sudden success has variously been put down to Nato’s help, the strength of the forces in the western mountains, and the under-reported anti-Gaddafi feeling in the capital.

• Fierce fighting continues, however, in areas of the Libyan capital, and the battle for Tripoli is not over yet.

• Nato does not know where Muammar Gaddafi is, David Cameron reported.Gaddafi’s former close aide Abdel-Salam Jalloud said he thought the Libyan leader would not surrender or kill himself. The Guardian’s Chris Stephen predicted division among the rebels over whether to hand him to the international criminal court or not. World leaders are calling on Gaddafi to stand down. His son Saif al-Islam has been arrested and another son, Mohammed is reported to be under house arrest. The home of his daughter Aisha was stormed yesterday.

• France aims to host an international meeting as soon as next week to discuss what happens next in Libya.

• Cameron said he believed Nato’s decision to intervene in Libya had been vindicated.

• In Syria, activists are hoping that the fall of Gaddafi will lead to their own president, Bashar al-Assad, standing down.There is vague speculation the international community may now pursue a harder line against the Syrian government, in the wake of seeming success in Libya.

1.07pm: Chris Stephen writes from Misrata to say he can foresee the rebels falling out amongst themselves over whether to hand Muammar Gaddafi to the international criminal court, or give him an “off with his head” type of trial in Libya.

Chris says he feels the key to the rebels’ rapid success over the last few days was Nato. Gaddafi could not replace the kit being blown up every day by Nato raids, but instead of shortening his lines, he kept them in place. The rebels played a subsidiary role, says Chris: their own poorly planned attacks helped with attrition and the other key role was that by forcing Gaddafi to defend the front lines they made Gaddafi concentrate his tanks and guns on the frontlines, giving Nato handy targets.

Chris says the rebel National Transitional Council has a problem with legitimacy. It took power in a revolution, but if it does anything certain tribes or sections of the population do not like, the result will be protests claiming they are dictators. It will be interesting, Chris says, to see in the coming weeks whether the NTC brings forces from outside Tripoli in to control the capital.

Chris also says he has heard that Nato suspects the Gaddafi regime put its communications base in the basement of the Rixos hotel where all the western journalists are staying, knowing Nato would not bomb it.

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Celebrations in Tripoli as Gaddafi regime crumbles:

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 (Pro-Gaddafi Russia Today announces fall of regime amid cries of “NATO slaughter”)

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Mass arrests in Tripoli as Gaddafi’s “police state” bureaucrats and thugs being picked up by the hundreds.

VT”s correspondents with the rebel army entered Tripoli earlier in the day.  Some staff writers and correspondents,  working closely with the Gaddafi regime are yet to be accounted for.  We will make every effort to secure their safe return.

Weeks ago, we reported that the militia’s being written of never existed and that pro-Gaddafi demonstrations were organized by force, even gunpoint.  Today, those demonstrators and that militia that some members of the press were even photographed with promising to “fight to the death” against what they called the “NATO invasion” are wearing egg on their faces or worse.

The streets of Tripoli are jubilant, the people of Tripoli have risen against Gaddafi, the Army has disbanded, thrown away their uniforms and the Transitional Council is calling for peace, moderation and no acts of reprisal against the prisoners rapidly being taken into custody which now included Gaddafi’s two sons, Saif and Mohammed.

In one of the most embarrassing moments for the press in recent years, reporters and bloggers, some in Tripoli and more around the world, continually passed on press releases from Gaddafi’s Ministry of Propaganda as though they were legitimate news stories.  In a breaking story last night, VT received word from rebel leaders that records of payments to “leftist” activists, intenet bloggers and select “reporters” in Tripoli had been secured from defecting Libyan intelligence officials.

Editors Note: Last year with Wikileaks, we were the first to come out with it’s being an intelligence operation involving Israel and the Murdoch media empire with Assange as the ballerina. We were right. We backed an early decapitation strike on Gaddafi and sons to avoid a long drawn out fight with much more killing and destruction. We were right again.

And we challenged the progressive media prostitutes who pandered Tripoli’s version of Baghdad Bob’s press releases. They contributed more than NATO airstrike casualties to the unnecessary suffering of the Libyan people. It is now time for them to wear responsibility for it. We, and Gaddafi’s victims shall see that they do. We suspect that more than a few of these alternate media shills were compensated for this coverage. As always, we got nothing for ours.   Jim W. Dean

Redacted report received from Libya yesterday:

I  am well aware of the situation in Libya — we have a large number of contacts in situ. I can assure you that the report you cited (stories of western aid and support for Gaddafi), and many others like it, are complete rubbish.

 

As you quite rightly say, the rebels are very poorly armed. Most of their weapons are captured from Gaddafi forces. A couple of months ago, the French dropped two loads of weapons on the Western Mountain because places like Nalut were facing extermination. But they were light weapons only — something the rebels already have aplenty.

 

The French drops were done for propaganda only, for French domestic consumption. The Americans have given us absolutely nothing, zero, zilch.

Not a bullet. Nor has any other NATO member — they have supplied binoculars, flack jackets and thats it. The Qataris have supplied two dozen Milan anti-tank rockets and some very useful communications equipment.  That’s about it.

 You must realize that xxxxxxxx, cccccc and others, including former US Representative xxxxx, are receiving money from the Gaddafi regime. We’ve received a number of documents detailing rates for articles published and blogposts posted, with the highest rates being paid for articles that make it into the mainstream media (2,000 USD per article) and the lowest (500 USD per item) for blogposts of more than 700 words Those who accept visits to regime-held areas are paid 15,000 USD per day spent there, plus 3,000 USD per article datelined Tripoli or another Gaddafi-held area.

These documents  were all received xxxxxxxx from super-relaible sources.

 Kind regards – and let’s hope our brothers come out of this alive.

Gordon Duff

Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.

Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.

Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.

• Gordon’s Archives:  2008-2015
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