WORLD at WAR, OFFICIAL 2013 THREAD (Doom always only a moment away)

Turkey claims right to respond

Turkey reserves the right to take "every kind of measure" after car bomb attacks which killed more than 40 people in the southern town of Reyhanli near the border with Syria on Saturday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said.

[link to blogs.aljazeera.com]

You are right about the money. The Magariefs are quite well-to-do. The rumor is that Saudi money is the source of the wealth. It's a real sore spot with Libyans.

Mohammed Magarief is a CIA asset not a CIA agent. I'm not sure how much he knew about CIA assessments of threats in Benghazi.

I know that the day after the attack he spent 14 hours straight in meetings with "Americans" and that he was shaken after the meetings.

I know that when the take back Benghazi protestors starting taking on the Islamists (6 Islamists were killed w/i days of Benghazi attack) it was Magarief who asked them to stop and that "Americans" has something to do with the request.

Bilal was one of the leaders of the Take Back Benghazi protests - just mention Mo Magarief to him & prepare for the rant. Some promises were made to the Libyan friends of Chris Stevens after the attack. Those promises weren't kept. That's all I know.

Both Asma & Bilal are on twitter of you are interested. Asma's been keeping a low profile; but Bilal is very vocal. BTW - They both tweet in English & Arabic (so easy to follow)

You Hillary lovers in here ought to enjoy reading this

Thread: Politics: BROKEN!!! Watergate-era Judiciary chief of staff: Hillary Clinton fired for lies, unethical behavior

So, what you're saying is that money, prestige and who was more "useful" in the long term decided who lived and who died? They were ALL being used. IF this was all a ruse to trade Stevens in a prisoner swap,(not to mention the weapons) don't you think the gov of Libya would have at least had an inkling of it? Like you said, they AREN'T as stupid as some would think.

I respect your opinion Darby but, like the old saying goes: Put lipstick on a pig, it's still a pig. And this one stunk all the way around.

Those men were Americans. We don't set em up as targets and we don't leave them behind. The fact that they were subjected to both just goes to show that true Americans weren't calling the shots.

That's not what I'm saying...

I just brought up the fact that there are thousands of Libyan Americans who have recently returned to Libya. The Magariefs are just one family. An important family (He'll be President until June) but just one family. I simply wanted to raise the issue that a very weak Pro-American gov't had just been installed in Libya and that thousands of Libyan Americans were in-country on 9/11.

That would have affected my decision-making. Not saying Obama did the right thing BUT given the large number of Americans in lIbya that night - I personally wouldn't have bombed the sh*t out of Benghazi.

I presume that there were a number of things he could have done short of taking out a city... But the glass parking lot option was not an option (at least it wouldn't have been option for me)

Libyan American....now there's a real oxy moron.

Palestinian-Syrian group says forming units to fight for the Golan

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) said it was preparing for new operations after nearly 40 years of quiet on the Israel-Syria border.

[link to www.haaretz.com]

Both us and Xi have contracts in the area and we had several off duty guys that were within less than 30 minutes of the event. State knew that and with 2 phone calls could have had probably 100 guys from both our companies on scene. Our average guy has 12 years special ops experience, many with officer grade experience. Fighter aircraft could have been scrambled to disperse the aggressors (ever had a fighter go supersonic over your head, it's downright fuckin' unnerving) until we or military boots could get on scene. If there was a concern for families of certain VIP's it could have been provided in short order. There were better options.

Marines on alert if U.S. personnel evacuate Libya

Washington (CNN) -- Several dozen combat-ready U.S. Marines stationed in southern Spain have been put on alert to potentially move into Libya and assist in the evacuation of American personnel if the unrest grows there in the coming days, a senior military official confirms to CNN.

[link to www.cnn.com]

Things there are at the point where our security people have security people to move them about. In speaking with some of the guys working there they say the tension is so thick you can cut it with a knife. No one trusts anyone anymore except within their own families. Still not sure which way this is all going to go. Darby may have a better idea as to when it is all going to break loose.

It's already over...

The GNC was forced to pass the political isolation law at gunpoint. It will force all of the pro-American politicians out of power. The only ones who will be able to hold office are the Islamists. We knew that the only reason the law passed was that Islamists militias had surrounded the parliament building and key ministries.

Today we learned this -

@Bilalhb: Breaking: GNC member of NSF Alaa Megriaf live on radio stated that he and other GNC members voted for isolation law under threat

Each GNC member, as they walked into parliament, was passed a note which said - you vote against this - you die.

It was a coup w/ a vote...

The only question - will the Islamists take over Libya? or will Libya spilt into two or three countries & they'll only take over some of the parts?

That's my Libyan frustration. Presume we had to take out Gaddafi. Presume we couldn't (for some unexplained reason) protect our embassy staff because we had to support the fledgling pro-American gov't. Presume we stood by during the siege of Bani Walid for same reason (100s maybe thousands of Libyans died).

Now we are just letting Islamist thugs take over the country w/o a shot fired??? Doesn't that make all the "we couldn'ts" from the last year seem like BS?

As for current security situation -

Southern Libya is awful. Benghazi & Tobruk are relatively safe.

I know ex-pats who are still in Tripoli. My friend Huntassir is going to Tripoli next week. His family seems to think its safe.

So - it's not Somalia (yet) BUT I don't have much hope for the country anymore... I don't see how democratic forces can recover (unless they break the country apart)

OT - Why is Libyan American an oxymoron? I grew up in the DC area. I knew Czech-Americans, Chilean Americans, Cuban Americans, Iranian Americans, Lebanese Americans, Lithuanian Americans (all Americans)

If you are born in this country - you are American. If you become a naturalized US citizen - you are American. LIbyans who came to the United States in 1969 or in the 1970s had children - now adults - born & raised in America. Educated in America. Many are patriotic & homesick - but they feel they have a duty help the land of their ancestors.

They are Libyan Americans. I think they are admirable (in some cases)

Libyans families are clans & they can be really big. So - saying Libyans only trust members of their own family may mean they only trust 5k to 20k people. I don't trust that many people in this country - just saying.

But Gerry is right - the country is completely screwed. So is Egypt. Tunisia may still have hope (then again maybe not)

It is an oxy moron. Are they American or are they Libyan? Do their hearts stand with the country of their birth or the country of their ancestors?

That's exactly why we have situations like Libya.

Loyalty has to be 'all in' or it just doesn't work. You'll either be for one and against the other or vice versa. Especially when it involves cultures that couldn't be farther apart if they tried. Try to mix them and it usually ends in the death of one of them.

Don't believe me, just take a look at what happened to Native Americans to see how that worked out.

Israel prepares for the worst as tensions over Syria grow

(Israeli strikes in Syria) is a risky strategy for Israel - desperate to stop Hezbollah getting advanced weaponry but increasing tensions in an already volatile region.

Nearly seven years ago, during Israel's two month-long summer conflict with Hezbollah, I spent several weeks in northern Israel covering the war.

Whereas the larger cities and conurbations to the south were not directly affected by the fighting, here in the north shells and missiles fell on a daily basis. Nahariya, Acre and Haifa were all targeted by Hezbollah's rockets...

It is obvious as well, that not just the municipality of Haifa but the Israeli government and the higher echelons of the army are getting ready for the possibility if not the probability of another conflict in the north...

It is no secret why there is increased chatter in political, military and civic circles about the prospect another conflict now. Two attacks last week in and around the Syrian capital, Damascus, are widely believed to have been the results of Israeli airstrikes.

[link to www.bbc.co.uk]

Sent you a DM

How do you know so many foreigners Darby? Are you related somehow? Just wondering your background. It helps to know where someone's point of view comes from. tyia.

Interesting, Hamas security forces effectively stopping jihadists from launching rockets into Israel

Hamas and Salafi jihadists at odds over rocket fire from Gaza into Israel

Read more: [link to www.longwarjournal.org]

I'm an American of German/English/Dutch ancestry. My family's been here forever. I am a birthright Quaker. No blood ties to anywhere outside US.

Professionally, I'm an attorney/CPA. My first job was as an IT Consultant. Then, I went to law school on a scholarship & practiced law for several years. Then, I was a stay-at-home Mom. Now, I supervise compliance auditors. No professional ties to US foreign policy or any foreign governments.

My marriage was falling apart as the Arab Spring happened. I began following events in Libya. I made it onto Twitter just as the Gaddafi regime fell. I'm a Mom. Libyans are very respectful towards mothers. Somehow, I ended up making a several Libyan friends along w/ a few Egyptians & Tunisians.

Books/studying/learning have always been my refuge. I guess North Africa became my safe place when the world around me didn't seem very safe.

I'm on twitter as @MDarbyReid. My back-up account is @Mena_DD. Recently, I've gotten back on LinkedIn. I will be updating my professional profile shortly. It's on my To-Do list...

Back to Libya - THIS IS HUGE

The Libyan government was forced to pass a political isolation law at gunpoint. The political isolation law will force pro-American Libyans out of the government.

A tape has surfaced of a meeting plotting to get the political isolation law passed.

Who was behind the plot?

Saami al Saadi - founder of LIFG. Escaped from Afghanistan during US invasion. Captured by US/UK in Hong Kong. Subject to rendition.

His co-conspirator - Wassim Bin Hameed - the guy in charge of Libyan Shield forces protecting the US compound in Benghazi. Chris Steven's last cable, written on the day he was killed, was about Wassim Bin Hameed.

HOLY SH*T

Here's my thread -
Thread: UPDATE - Libya Taken Over by Benghazi Attackers - Political Isolation is "Legal Coup" - Plotters Caught on Tape

Don't get me wrong Gerry, I know you have duties, responsabilities. I know you probably have signed a paper, concerning "secrets".

But everybody else did, too. And everybody else is in the same situation.

Lets get rid of "hearings", "investigations", anything like that.

In a world of "secrets", "signed papers" and "personal "liability"", hearings and investigations are for the TV show.

Lets just tell a story, something attracting consumers, to sell advertising and make some money.

The story ? Doesn't matter, the truth ? doesn't matter, the truth is known in some high level organisations, we do not need to know it. We are just people.

Depending how the story is, people "vote".

Ya know, the truth, is rare, the story counts. The best for the country is, that the truth never come out. NEVER. EVERYWHERE and NEVER.

Welcome being part of the machine.

We have to think at our country first, and then at the people. ---> Thats the truth.