Following my posts about Iran and Israel in relation to nuclear weapons over the past few weeks, I had a number of offline discussions which is always an incentive to reflect further on issues. One of the more critical exchanges took place on Twitter between Michael Brull - a blogger from Independent Australian Jewish Voices - and myself, which [...]
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LIBYA
Criminalizing diplomacy: fanning the flames of the Iran War option
How many times have we heard in recent weeks either outright threats to attack Iran mainly emanating from Israel or the more muted posture adopted by the United States that leaves ‘all options’ on the table including ‘the military option’? What has Iran done to justify this frantic war-mongering in a strategic region that is sorting out the contradictory effects of [...]
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Was Gaddafi upholding the chemical weapons taboo?
Despite earlier fears, Gaddafi is not believed to have deployed his chemical weapons arsenal at any stage during the conflict – in effect, he observed his 2003 commitment to voluntarily disarm his entire WMD capability in return for improved political and economic relations. This is, in part, because he was said to have dismantled the aerial [...]
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After Libya, what now for the ‘responsibility to protect’?
Seven months after the UN Security Council authorised the use of force in Libya, Muammar Qadhafi is dead. As for the ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) that triggered the military action to protect civilians, how far has it been advanced by the liberation of Libya? R2P is a principle that legitimates coercive measures, as a last [...]
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November 1: the 100th anniversary of the air raid
Today marks the 100th anniversary since the first air raid. Conducted during the Italo-Turkish War of 1911-1912, a young Lieutenant Giulio Gavotti was ordered to fly his plane into battle and drop numerous small one-and-a-half kilogram bombs. Earlier this year the BBC translated Gavotti’s letters and personal effects, compiling a story on Gavotti’s role in the [...]
READ MORELibya after Muammar el-Qaddafi’s execution
The death of the despised despot who ruled Libya for forty-two years naturally produced celebrations throughout the country. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s end was bloody and vindictive, but we should remember that his rants against his own people—and his violent repression of what was initially a peaceful uprising—invited a harsh popular response. Recalling W.H. Auden’s famous line, “Those to whom evil [...]
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Saif al-Islam Gaddafi’s doctorate: global governance is “highly undemocratic”
Reports are that up to 32 of Gaddafi’s family and senior staff have fled to Niger. Among them is Gaddafi’s personal bodyguard Mansur Daou, three loyalist generals, and two of his most wanted sons, Saif al-Islam and Abdullah al-Senussi. Senussi may be extradited to France, since he was sentenced to life in prison in absentia [...]
READ MOREFrom Soviet scraps to backpack drones: the weapons of Libya’s rebels
In the early months, rebel forces fought Colonel Gaddafi’s men using weapons and weapons systems cobbled together using scraps from the Soviet era. As time got on — and thanks to the NATO intervention — rebel weapons became a lot more hi-tech
READ MOREWho sold Gaddafi his guns? Mostly Europe.
Arms sales to Libya in the 5 years proceeding the conflict came mostly came from European nations, including Italy ($432m), Serbia ($67m), and the UK ($57m).
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Gaddafi was dead, but long lived Gaddafi (in Australian media)
Ten minutes before I published this post, I noticed reports in online world news media said Gaddafi was dead, alive or in some strange cases, both, so I decided to take screenshots for safekeeping.
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