US pulls military from Libya as fighting approaches Tripoli

Not the Maid of the Mist

Tripoli, Libya -- The United States has for the time being, withdrawn some of our military forces from Libya due to "security conditions on the ground," a top military official said. As it now stands, a Libyan commander's forces are advancing toward Tripoli, the capital, and are clashing with rival militias.

A small number of American troops has been in Libya in recent years. Their mission it to help local forces combat Islamic State and al-Qaida militants, as well as protecting diplomatic facilities.

"The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable," Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, the head of US Africa Command, said.

"Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing US strategy."

Gen. Waldhauser didn't provide details on the number of US troops that have been withdrawn or how many remain in the country, but if we wait long enough, the someone in government or media will leak it.

India has also evacuated a small contingent of peacekeepers and now it's quite likely that the remaining food in Libya for the military will be bland and tasteless.

The Indian foreign minister, Sushma Swaraj, said the country's 15 Central Reserve Police Force peacekeepers were evacuated Saturday from Tripoli because the "situation in Libya has suddenly worsened" and fighting has moved into the capital city.

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter, launched a surprise offensive against the capital last week, a move that could potentially drag the country back into civil war. Libya has been gripped by unrest since the 2011 uprising that overthrew and killed long-time dictator and dramatic fop, Moammar Gadhafi.

In recent years, the country has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various armed groups. "It's a mess," an anonymous source told Brain Flushings.

Fayez Sarraj, head of government in Tripoli, accused Hifter of "betraying" him.

"We have extended our hands towards peace, but after the aggression that has taken place on the part of forces belonging to Hifter and his declaration of war against our cities and our capital ... he will find nothing but strength and firmness," al-Sarraj said Saturday in televised comments, followed by a commercial for My Pillow.

Sarraj and Hifter held talks in Abu Dhabi in late February, their first confirmed meeting since November 2018, when they agreed that national elections were necessary, according to the UN, but alas, it doesn't look good for democracy after all.

Hifter is seeking to capture the capital and seize military control of the whole country before UN-sponsored talks due to start next week that were designed to set a time frame for possible elections in the oil-rich country.

"Elections are overrated," Hifter said.

The airport was destroyed in a previous round of fighting in 2014. Hifter said his forces had launched airstrikes targeting rival militias on the outskirts of Tripoli.

The rival militias [aka "The Good Guys"], which are affiliated with a UN-backed government in Tripoli, said they had also carried out airstrikes, slowing Hifter's advance.

Armed groups behind the UN-backed government of national accord, or GNA, have announced an effort to defend Tripoli, vowing to recapture all areas seized by Hifter's forces.


Col. Mohamed Gnounou, a spokesman for GNA forces, said in televised comments Sunday that the counteroffensive, dubbed "Volcano of Anger," was aimed at "purging all Libyan cities of aggressor and illegitimate forces." 

Hifter, for his part, calls his offensive "Lava of Revenge."

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Libya's Head--Shot Dead in the Head

Sort of like a death photo

Gaddafi is dead, a bullet to his head and photos of him are all over the news. I wonder why it is okay for the American press to show the gruesome photos of Gaddafi, but not Osama bin Laden. It makes me think that Obama took all the credit for bin Laden, but was worried the Islamists would have sought revenge for killing the scumbag, so he had to show respect for the "sensitivities" of the Islamic nation of insensitive terrorists. 

Gaddafi (CNN spells it as 'Gadhafi', but they also spell Obama as 'God' so choose the spelling you think is most accurate ) is another story. Obama was slow to do anything to help the rebels in their fight against the Libyan leader at the outset, and the credit should go to France and England for their swift reaction to the Libyan rebellion while Obama was playinng golf and Michele was flying to her African vacation.  As I write this, it is about 1:30 PM and Obama is scheduled to speak in the Rose Garden (Obama calls it his "Weed Garden") about Gaddafi in a half hour. I anticipate that he will manipulate reality and take credit--he isn't afraid of Libya, he's afraid of Islamists. 

Osama bin Hurtin'

As you probably know, in 1988, Gaddafi ordered the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 that killed Americans, 35 of them Syracuse University students, and many others over Lockerbie, Scotland. He was a very bad man. This dictator had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, a disorder most easily diagnosed by clinicians when they feel animosity for their client and wonder why.  His disorder does not excuse him for what he had done and it is a good thing that he is dead. But Obama had nothing to do with it and his administration has allowed the death photos, even a video, to be aired today, but nothing at all on Osama. Perhaps it's because there is only a one letter difference to their names.


So my next paragraph will deal with the Obama speech. We are now only 5 minutes away from his brave new world words.

Done. The speech lasted about 6 minutes and did not mention France or England's role in their initial support, but gave credit to Americans. Obama called on Libyans to "secure their dangerous weapons," which has to do with those thousands of SAMs that were stolen, and he called for fair and free elections, and to treat their prisoners with compassion. He said that we did all this without having to put American boots on the ground, which I guess excuses him for not going to congress to request permission to do this. But had Obama made an earlier move, many more lives would have probably been saved.

You're next, GOP

Somehow I expect the Democrats make this a mighty victory for Obama, but that would be stretching the truth--a specialty of the liberals who don't need facts to make factual statements.

Wait!!! I just got word on Fox News that it was a US drone that hit the convoy and made Gaddafi flee into the sewer pipe where he was captured and later 'capped'. So Obama did it after all--I am so freaking surprised. I don't care if Obama is a socialist-Marxist corporatist or whatever. I don't care if he wants to be king of America for life. I am just so proud that my brave president had the audacity of hope to believe that we, as Americans, can defeat the forces of evil and endure.  Just kidding.

Jay Carney spoke at a press conference. His hair was neat and he wore a pastel purple tie, and a clean white shirt. He sounded tired and said nothing new or interesting--"Libya is in a far better place now," and yadda yadda yadda.

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