الاثنين، 28 فبراير 2011
خنفر الجزيرة يزعم ابوته وملكيته لثورات الياسمين
Wadah Khanfar, Al-Jazeera
DOHA, QATAR — On Feb. 11, the day Hosni Mubarak stepped down as president of Egypt, Al-Jazeera faced a welcome dilemma: Scenes of elation were playing out not just in Cairo but throughout the region, and even with our vast network of journalists, we found it difficult to be everywhere at once. From North Africa to the Arabian Peninsula, Arabs were celebrating the reclamation of their self-confidence, dignity and hope.
The popular revolutions now sweeping the region are long overdue. Yet in some ways, they could not have come before now. These are uprisings whose sons and daughters are well educated and idealistic enough to envision a better future, yet realistic enough to work for it without falling into despair. These revolutions are led by the Internet generation, for whom equality of voice and influence is the norm. Their leaders' influence is the product of their own effort, determination and skill, unconstrained by rigid ideologies and extremism.
It is now clear to all that the modern, post-colonial Arab state has failed miserably, even in what it believed it was best at: maintaining security and stability. Over the decades, Arab interior ministers and police chiefs devoted enormous resources and expertise to monitoring and spying on their own people. Yet now, the security machineries in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have disintegrated in short order, while the rest of the authoritarian and repressive regimes in the region can see the writing on the wall.
These revolutions have exposed not just the failure of traditional politicians but also the moral, political and economic bankruptcy of the old Arab elites. Those elites not only attempted to control their own people but also sought to shape and taint the views of news media in the region and across the world.
Indeed, it should surprise no one that so many Western analysts, researchers, journalists and government experts failed to recognize the obvious signs of Arab youth movements that would soon erupt into revolutions capable of bringing down some of the most pro-Western regimes in the Middle East. That failure has exposed a profound lack of understanding in the West of Arab reality.
U.S. and European allies, supporters and business partners of the Arab regimes persistently preferred to deal with leaders who were entirely unrepresentative of the new generation. They were detached from the emerging reality and had no way to engage with the social forces that now matter. It is the growing periphery of the Arab world — the masses at its margins, not its feeble and decaying center — that is shaping the future of the region.
These unfolding transformations have been less of a surprise for us at Al-Jazeera. Since our launch nearly 15 years ago, we have chosen to keep close to the Arab street, gauging its pulse and reflecting its aspirations. It was clear to us that a revolution was in the making, and it was happening far from the gaze of a tame and superficial establishment media that allied itself with the powerful center — on the assumption that the center is always safer and more important.
Many media outlets in the region failed to recognize what was happening among the Arab grass roots. Keen to conduct interviews with high-level officials and ever willing to cover repetitious news conferences, they remained oblivious to what was happening on the ground.
At Al-Jazeera, we have spared no effort to search for the real actors, wherever they happen to be: whether in the cities, in the countryside, in camps, in prisons or in the blogosphere. We have been guided by a firm belief that the future of the Arab world will be shaped by people from outside the aging elites and debilitated political structures featured so disproportionately by most other news outlets.
The real actors did not appear on most television screens or magazine covers, whether in the Arab world or in Western media. Cameras were not attracted to them; columnists rarely mentioned them. Yet that did not deter them.
Al-Jazeera swam against that dominant current. We gave all the players the avenues they needed to communicate, providing diverse viewpoints on the issues. During the recent uprisings, we were inundated with videos, pictures and writings from the new generation. We opened our screens to them; it is their voices that viewers found so compelling in our coverage.
We refused to compromise on our editorial policy, which gives priority to the grievances and aspirations of ordinary people. Neither threats of punishment nor promises of rewards from information ministers, intelligence agencies or royal courts persuaded us to ignore or betray the oppressed and persecuted who demand nothing but freedom, dignity and democracy.
As I tweeted during the Egyptian uprising and as our reporters were being detained in Cairo: "When opinions crowd and confusion prevails, set your sight on the route taken by the masses, for that is where the future lies."
Khanfar is director general of the Al-Jazeera network. This column "paid propaganda" first appeared in The Washington Post
الصادق النيهوم: اسرائيل الجريمة الذكية
في ملفات المحاكم الفرنسية حكاية مواطن عادي ارتكب ذات مرة جريمة قتل. زار عشيق امرأته في بيته وكسر رأسه بخمس رصاصات. ترك مسدسه بجانب القتيل. ترك أيضا قبعته وبطاقته الشخصية… ذهب بعد ذلك الى البيت وأخبر امرأته انه قتل عشيقها وطلب منها أن تبلغ عنه الشرطة. بعد نصف ساعة كان المواطن يدلي بأقواله لوكيل النيابة.
لم يعترف له بجريمة القتل. لم يهتم بالأدلة القاطعة ضده بل جلس في مقعده هادئا ولفت نظر وكيل النيابة الى أن المرء لا يقتل أحداً ثم يترك مسدسه وقبعته وبطاقته الشخصية في مكان الحادث، وأن القاتل لا يدبر جريمته في الخفاء ثم يترك عنوانه للشرطة، وأي مواطن في العالم يستطيع أن يكون القاتل ما عداه هو شخصيا… بعد ذلك استراح في مقعده ولفت نظر وكيل النيابة الى أن امرأته لم تكن على وفاق تام معه أو مع عشيقها، وانه من المعقول أن يتصور المرء أن تلك السيدة ارتكبت جريمة القتل وتركت أشياء زوجها في مكان الحادث.
بعد ثلاثة شهور أثبتت المحكمة جريمة القتل على الزوجة البريئة.
لم يصدق أحد أن زوجها يقتل غريمه ثم يترك له بطاقته الشخصية. لم يصدق أحد أن القاتل الحقيقي يخلّف وراءه جميع هذه الأدلة القاطعة… كان من الواضح بالنسبة للقضاة أن الأمر كله دسيسة مفضوحة ضد الزوج الطيب القلب، وكان من الواضح بالذات أن الدسيسة مفضوحة جداً. بعد عشرين عاما اعترف الزوج بلعبته البسيطة التي ضحك بها على ذقن العدالة وانتقم بها من غريمه وترك المحكمة تنتقم له من امرأته وخرج من المذبحة دون أن يصاب بخدش.
لماذا أحدثك عن القتلة واللصوص؟
لأني أريد أن أحدثك عن إسرائيل..
العالم كله يسمع أن إسرائيل تطالب بالمفاوضات معنا. العالم كله يعتقد أن ذلك يعني ببساطة أن إسرائيل ترغب في «التفاهم» معنا.. ونحن بدورنا نرفض المفاوضات رفضا باتا، والعالم يعتقد أن ذلك يعني ببساطة أننا نرفض «التفاهم». المحكمة تضعنا في قفص الاتهام مقدماً باعتبارنا دعاة حرب. المحكمة تبرئ إسرائيل مقدماً باعتبارها داعية سلام. لا أحد يريد أن يصدق أن طلب المفاوضات ليس دائما دعوة للتفاهم. لا أحد يريد أن يتذكر أن القاتل قد يترك بطاقته الشخصية متعمداً بجانب ضحيته لكي يجعل أمر اتهامه ـ ببساطة ـ أمراً غير معقول.
العقل الغربي الذائع الصيت، أعني حتى العقل الغربي بالذات الذي اشتهر بالحداقة والفهلوة لا يعرف أصلا أن إسرائيل لا تلجأ الى المطالبة بالمفاوضات لأنها «تريد» أن تتفاهم معنا بل لأنها تعرف ـ مقدماً ـ أنها لم تترك لنا فرصة للتفاهم. بكلمة بسيطة اخرى، العالم مخدوع بالبطاقة الشخصية التي تركتها إسرائيل عند رأس ضحيتها والمتهم البريء يرسله القاضي لحبل المشنقة. وأسوأ ما في الأمر أن هذه اللعبة غير العادلة تتم «بالذات» باسم الإنسانية.
فباسم الإنسانية يطالبنا العالم بأن نقبل إسرائيل.
وباسم الإنسانية يطالبنا العالم بأن «نتفاهم» مع إسرائيل.
العالم يديننا بالعنصرية وينسى في غمرة صراخه أن العنصرية بالذات هي الحجر الوحيد والأساسي في إقامة دولة خاصة باليهود.
هذا النقاش ليس حديثاً سياسياً… لان إسرائيل ـ بالنسبة لي ـ ليست سياسة بل دين نصف متحضر ونصف وثني، ولأني أعتقد أن قضية الشعب الفلسطيني لا تخصه وحده ولا تخص العرب وحدهم بل تخص الإنسانية بأسرها التي تحتاج الى الدفاع عن وحدتها ضد كل فلسفة عنصرية
الأحد، 27 فبراير 2011
Rage, Rap and Revolution: Inside the Arab Youth Quake
At 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 15, as thousands of people gathered to protest against their ruler at a busy intersection in Manama, the capital of the small island nation of Bahrain, you could just about hear over the general hubbub the anthem of the young people who have shaken regimes from North Africa to the Arabian Gulf. It wasn't a verse from the Koran. It wasn't a traditional tune from the region. It was rap. A reedy female voice shouted out, several times, the first line of "Rais Lebled," a song written by the Tunisian rapper known as El Général. "Mr. President, your people are dying," the woman sang. Then others joined in. "Mr. President, your people are dying/ People are eating rubbish/ Look at what is happening/ Miseries everywhere, Mr. President/ I talk with no fear/ Although I know I will get only trouble/ I see injustice everywhere."
Bahrain, as it happens, doesn't have a President; it's ruled by a King, Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa. No matter. The protesters in Bahrain knew that "Rais Lebled" was the battle hymn of the Jasmine Revolution that brought down Tunisia's dictator, Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, and that it was then adopted by the demonstrators in Cairo's Tahrir Square who toppled Hosni Mubarak. Now it had come to Bahrain, as rage against poverty and oppression swept the Arab world from west to east. It isn't just songs that are being copied: in a nod to the Egyptians, organizers in several countries have dubbed their demonstrations Days of Rage, and the popular Tunisian chant, "The people want the regime to fall," has been taken up by protesters from Algeria to Yemen.
But the most important things 2011's protests have in common don't come from copying — they come naturally. All of the revolts are led by young men and women, many of whom are novices at political activism. All use modern tools, like social-networking sites on the Internet and texting over mobile phones, to organize and amplify their protests. And all have the same demands: a right to choose and change their leaders, an end to rampant corruption, the opportunity for employment and improvement. "Whether you're in Tunis or in Cairo or in Manama," says Ala'a Shehabi, 30, a Bahraini economics lecturer and political activist, "young Arabs are all on the same wavelength."
In less than two months, this generation has already wrought political change on a scale not seen since the end of the Cold War. The class of 2011 has felled two despots and forced other famously inflexible rulers to make concessions, some dramatic (Yemen's longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh has promised not to run for re-election) and some desperate (King Hamad has offered every Bahraini household the equivalent of $2,700). And all this was achieved by largely peaceful demonstrations and despite the absence of clear leaders.
There may be more to come. Growing protests in Bahrain and Yemen could lead to greater concessions from their rulers. And the Arab uprising has already given a boost to the flagging Green Revolution in Iran. (That, in turn, has provoked a fierce crackdown by government forces.) There have also been demonstrations in Libya against the regime of "Brother Leader" Muammar Gaddafi. So who are the Middle East's new revolutionaries? Where do they come from, and what do they want?
Getting the Young People Wrong
Even those who have watched this generation come of age in the Middle East struggle to explain its sudden empowerment. "These young people have done more in a few weeks than their parents did in 30 years," says Hassan Nafaa, a political-science professor at Cairo University. "They are the Internet Generation ... or the Facebook Generation ... or just call them the Miracle Generation."
Yet not so long ago, these were the men and women who were being called the lost generation. For years, Middle East experts had described Arab youths as frustrated but feckless: they disliked and distrusted their authoritarian rulers, they keenly felt their limited economic prospects, but they were too politically emasculated to press for change. They were thoroughly intimidated by the Mubaraks and Salehs, together with their ubiquitous, Orwellian spies and secret police; they were disillusioned by the failed attempts at rebellion by their parents' generation. Western observers were not alone in misreading this generation's potential. "If you had said some years ago that my students would be responsible for democratic change in Egypt, I would have laughed," admits Nafaa.
According to the old narrative, the only outlet for youthful dissent lay in Islamic extremism and violence. A much cited 2003 Brookings Institution report on Arab youths warned that they were being raised in an environment of religious radicalism and anti-Americanism. "These values," the report argued, "thus become the formative elements of a new and dispossessed generation, auguring badly for the future."
The auguries were wrong. In reality, Arab youths were a big part of the silent, moderate majority. In virtually every Arab country, more than half the population is less than 30 years old. And like young people everywhere, most of them prefer the freedom that comes with democracy to the straitjacket of political autocracy or rule by religious conservatives. A survey of youths in nine Arab states released in 2010 by the p.r. firm Asda'a Burson-Marsteller showed that they ranked democracy as a greater priority than good civic infrastructure, access to the best education or even fair wages
Granted, these young people may not all have a clear vision of what kind of democracy they want, only that it is accompanied by free and fair elections. But that counts for a generation that has only ever known one ruler, the opportunity to kick one out every four or five years may be democracy's greatest appeal. "I don't care who ends up running this country," says Egyptian student Khaled Kamel, "as long as I have the ability to change them if I don't like them."
A Thousand Sparks
If most foreigners couldn't put the sheer numbers of Arab youths together with their political aspirations to measure their clout, neither did the young Arabs themselves. Jared Cohen, director of the corporate think tank Google Ideas, who until recently worked on online outreach at the U.S. State Department, says young people were the "de facto opposition in many of these countries, but they didn't see their own power."
As always, it needed a thousand little sparks to light the fire of revolt — to reveal to those who thought they were weak how much power they really had. Kamel, a university student from the Nile Delta village of Zawiyat Ghazal, recalls when he fell from a train at a station and a policeman came up to him. "Instead of helping me, he hit me because I was lying there on the platform, which you're not supposed to do," says Kamel. That sort of humiliation at the hands of authority was common-place in Mubarak's Egypt, but Kamel, 20, had an outlet for his frustrations: an ancient Hewlett-Packard PC and an Internet connection. He created a blog and chronicled his anger in sarcastic prose.
Then last summer, another instance of police brutality became the talk of the Egyptian online community: in Alexandria, a young businessman named Khaled Said was beaten to death by cops. A Facebook page entitled "We Are All Khaled Said" was created by an anonymous administrator. Kamel joined the Facebook group and became one of its lead organizers. He got to know the group's administrator online, and the two began an e-mail conversation. It wasn't until Feb. 7 that Kamel finally learned the identity of his correspondent: Wael Ghonim, the Google executive who has become the face of the Egyptian revolution.
Kamel's first sense that his activism could help change the entire system came when he worked with Ghonim and others to plan a day of protests on Jan. 25. While Cairo and Tahrir Square got the most international attention during the uprising, Kamel concentrated on rallying protesters across the country, marching with them in Alexandria and in the nearby town of Damanhur, where fleeing officials set fire to the state security headquarters.
Now Kamel walks through the burned and ransacked building, pointing to cells where security officers brutalized prisoners with dogs and electric prods. He exudes a sense of wonder that his generation put an end to these abuses. "We have forces now," he says. "And we're starting from right now to build Egypt the way we wanted to."
If Said's murder at the hands of the police spurred young Egyptians into action, in Tunisia it was the self-immolation of vegetable vendor Mohammed Bouazizi after he was slapped by a policewoman. In Yemen, activist Tawakul Karman was moved by the plight of 30 families expelled in early 2007 from their village when the land was given to a tribal leader close to President Saleh. The families are known collectively as Ja'ashin, after the name of their village, and Karman, 32, a mother of three, has made them her cause: every Tuesday since 2007, she and scores of others have protested in front of Sana'a University.
Her tenacity has yielded nothing: the government has refused to intervene on the Ja'ashin's behalf. Karman now believes that only Saleh's resignation — he's been in power three years longer than Mubarak was — will allow Yemen to start addressing its problems. Like activists elsewhere, she finds her spirits raised by what's happened in Tunisia and Egypt. The ranks of protesters at Sana'a University have swelled to the thousands. Several protests have been broken up by police or armed supporters of the regime, but Karman is undaunted. "Now there's a race between Yemen and Algeria to see who will be next," she says.
Not all the activist Arab youths are looking for regime change. In Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian territories, Fadi Quran has set his sights on what are arguably more difficult goals: unification of the warring Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas, followed by an end to the Israeli occupation. Quran, 22, a Stanford University grad who runs an alternative-energy start-up, set up a Facebook account calling for a sit-in in front of the Egyptian embassy while Mubarak was clinging to power in Cairo. But he was forced to take it down by the Palestinian Authority's security services and was then questioned for hours. "It truly was obvious they had never had to deal with this type of activism before," he says
Quran and several other Palestinian activists are now planning a wave of demonstrations to demand that Fatah and Hamas reconcile, the better to "fight the occupation in a much more efficient and productive manner." Quran is counting on young Palestinians to brush aside the failed policies of their elders. "They can't find any answers because they're stuck in the box," he says. "But when the youth comes in, they're going to see a new vision, and we're going to achieve the goals of our struggle."
Doing It for Themselves
The revolution of the young generation in the Middle East is theirs and theirs alone — spokespeople have been specific in dismissing the idea that they have needed outside assistance or have looked much to the outside for inspiration
Even so, their actions have been such that policymakers far from the Middle East now have to react to a new reality, recalibrate policies long based on convenient relationships with despots and build connections with this new source of political strength. That's especially true for the U.S., which many Arab activists regard as the great power that enabled their oppressors. "The U.S. government was aware of the injustices in Egypt but continued supporting Mubarak because of self-interest," says a Bahraini activist who asked that his or her name be withheld. "No one can argue that Saudi Arabia is the home of human rights or democracy, yet America continues to support the regime."
Still, for the Obama Administration, there's good news too. So far, there have been few instances of President Obama being burned in effigy or of the U.S. flag being torched by angry mobs. The State Department insists that it has long been paying attention to the needs and aspirations of young Arabs. "This has been a key demographic for us for quite some time," says a State Department official. Funding for youth outreach has increased significantly in recent years. The U.S. now spends more to support democracy and governance in the Arab world every year than the $250 million it spent in total from 1991 to 2001.
(Read "Joe Klein: How the U.S. Should Support Middle East Reform.")
Many programs are deliberately low-key, in part because an open association with the U.S. can be politically damaging. "It's really been very hard for most people in the Arab world to work directly with the U.S. government," says Ethan Zuckerman, one of the founders of Global Voices, an international network of bloggers and citizen journalists that has hosted regional conferences for Arab bloggers.
As the old order crumbles, the U.S. will want these new relationships to strengthen into lasting bonds. But Arab youths are unlikely to feel the need for U.S. support as acutely as the leaders who came before them. After all, they didn't need U.S. help to get rid of those dictators. "People said it couldn't happen, because the U.S. supported Mubarak, but still he fell," says the Bahraini activist. "Now we know we don't need the U.S. on our side to get what we want. Now we know we can do it for ourselves." Faced with such self-confidence, the Obama Administration must manage the delicate task of maintaining support for regimes in the region while telling Arab leaders, in public and private, to address the turmoil with more urgent reforms — all while trying to increase direct contact with the youths leading the uprisings.
That will not be easy. Foreign policy considerations couldn't be further from the minds of most members of the class of 2011. For young Arabs in Yemen, Libya and Algeria, there are regimes still to topple. The revolution hasn't yet gotten off the ground in Syria and is still in its early days in Bahrain. And in Tunisia and Egypt, the gains from the past two months need to be protected: there are political parties to form, elections to contest. The military council that took over from Mubarak has promised constitutional reforms and elections in six months.
Many of the young men and women who helped make the revolutions happen are keen to hold on to the sense of blissful dawn they have experienced for the first time in their young lives. Ahmed Khalil, scion of a wealthy Egyptian business family and a veteran of Tahrir Square, hasn't returned to work even though his plastics factory reopened several days ago: there are more important things now than making money, he says. Khalil, 29, is part of the "Revolution Friends" Facebook group that is exploring ways to channel the revolution's momentum into a civic-awareness campaign. He has printed leaflets, now being distributed throughout Cairo, calling on his fellow Egyptians to work "for a better Egypt and to protect the victory that you and I achieved with our own hands." (Sample suggestions: "Don't litter, don't blow your car horn for no reason, don't pay bribes, don't allow a police officer to humiliate someone in front of you, don't harass girls on the street, know your rights, stay positive, respect other opinions.")
And what of the revolution's rapper? El Général — his given name is Hamada Ben Amor — is disappointed he missed some of the action: he was jailed for three days during the Jasmine Revolution, and when Egyptian protesters invited him to perform in Tahrir Square, he couldn't go because he has no passport. Instead, he's written a new rap called "Vive Tunisie!" that honors Tunisian protesters and those killed during the uprising. There are shout-outs, too, to other youth movements. "I also speak about the program of freedom in Egypt, Algeria, Libya and Morocco," he says. The youth of the Arab world are not done yet
السبت، 26 فبراير 2011
Qaddafi Insists He’s Just a Harmless Old Queen
In yet more rambling remarks today — we're pretty sure that's the only kind of remarks he's capable of — Libyan despot Muammar Qaddafi blamed the uprisings embroiling his country on Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and powdered coffee.
He says those revolting are "loyal to bin Laden ... This is al Qaeda that the whole world is fighting."
He says al Qaeda militants are "exploiting" teenagers, giving them "hallucinogenic pills in their coffee with milk, like Nescafe."
But Qaddafi's comments also indicated that he was starting to feel the heat of the rapidly spreading revolt.
He argued that he was a purely "symbolic" leader with no real political power, comparing his role to that played by Queen Elizabeth in England.
Seriously, why are you guys even directing this rage at Qaddafi to begin with? He's just a gentle old man who smiles and waves to people and drinks tea and wears white gloves to protect his delicate hands and hosts foreign dignitaries and unleashes mercenary death squads on his people and takes leisurely strolls through floral gardens
الجمعة، 25 فبراير 2011
Libya Rebels Tighten Noose
Insurgent Commander Vows Assault on Capitol; Desperate Foreigners Try to Flee
BENGHAZI, Libya—Rebels menaced Col. Moammar Gadhafi's stronghold from all sides Thursday, as insurgent commanders said they have sent troops for an offensive against Tripoli and residents of the capital prepared their first mass demonstration in days on Friday.
Just 30 miles west of Col. Gadhafi's shrinking base of power, antiregime forces battled for the oil-industry town of Al-Zawiya. On Thursday evening, opposition forces gained control of Misrata, a coastal city 130 miles east of Tripoli.
In Benghazi, the country's second-largest city and the hub of eastern Libya, a group of army colonels who recently defected said they are plotting the end their former commander's 42-year reign, which began to crumble last week as Libyans joined the antiauthoritarian protests roiling the Arab world.
"We have a plan to bring down Tripoli," Col. Tareq Saad Hussein, one of seven former colonels who have taken charge of rebel forces in Benghazi, said in an interview. "We will not stop until we liberate the whole country."
Speaking inside a downtown army administrative compound—now the rebel commanders' operations center—Col. Hussein said his team had already begun sending rebels west toward Tripoli in small groups to slip past forces loyal to Col. Gadhafi.
Tripoli residents, meanwhile, said antiregime groups sent a wave of text messages Thursday urging residents to meet en masse Friday for prayers at the city's Green Square as a sign of defiance against Col. Gadhafi.
Several residents who participated in Sunday's large demonstration in Tripoli say heavy patrols by government forces have made the streets dangerous for protesters. Some say they hope Friday's event will be a turning point. "We will go and gather, even if we are slaughtered," said one resident.
Governments across the world continued their attempts Thursday to evacuate their citizens from Libya. Germany and the U.K. sent warships to retrieve nationals. A ferry loaded with U.S. passengers continued to await departure in Tripoli's port Thursday amid high winds and rough seas, complicating U.S. efforts to take diplomatic action against Col. Gadhafi.
On Thursday, President Barack Obama consulted with European leaders while Washington explored a full range of options. Asked whether the U.S. was considering military steps, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: "I'm not ruling anything out."
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Col. Gadhafi had told the U.S. through Libyan officials that his opponents are inspired by Islamists and under the influence of drugs, a message that has mirrored his statements on Libyan state television.
Col. Gadhafi lashed out at his domestic opponents again Thursday in a 23-minute telephone interview with state television, accusing rebels in Al-Zawiya and elsewhere of being under the sway of al Qaeda. "What is this farce? You in al-Zawiya turn to [Osama] bin Laden?" he said. "He brainwashed your sons."
While Libya does have a history of homegrown terrorism, Col. Gadhafi's more immediate concern appears to be the new military units commanded by Col. Hussein and other former officers around the country. Libya has long required its men to serve in the military, making the regulars, reservists and former soldiers who make up these militias familiar with arms.
Residents of Tajura, a suburb of Tripoli, say pro-government militias have fought running battles against local youths amid ongoing street protests by residents in defiance of Col. Gadhafi's speech Tuesday that promised death to demonstrators. The residents were taking inspiration from rousing sermons issued by a notable religious leader, Sheikh al-Geryani.
"He spoke up," says one resident about the religious leader. "He was telling the people that we can't let them kill us. Now they have raided his house and are looking for him."
Tajura youth groups have fought running gun battles with pro-regime forces for the three nights leading up to Thursday night, according to residents. But the government has moved in tanks and set up road blocks on most main streets of the town, and so far remain in control over the area, residents say.
In Benghazi, Col. Hussein said he and other colonels had dispatched armed rebels west toward Tripoli in small units, to make it difficult to detect them passing through territories including the city of Sirte, the heavily fortifieed hometown of Col. Gadhafi and his still-loyal tribesmen. Col. Hussein wouldn't say how many fighters had been sent to Tripoli and wouldn't comment on when a larger scale westward offensive might be launched.
Idriss Sherif, an economics professor who is serving on one of Benghazi's newly formed leadership committees, said he believed that over 1,000 rebel troops had already been dispatched to Tripoli.
At the Benghazi compound's front gate, two antiaircraft guns pointed skyward. Inside, in the shade of eucalyptus and palm trees, soldiers piled dozens of wooden crates filled with tank shells into a pickup truck. The soldiers said the compound now served as depot where weapons seized by young protesters from army bases and police stations were gathered and redistributed to trained rebel fighters.
Col. Hussein, speaking as he picked over a lunch of grilled chicken and macaroni, said his forces were also working to hunt down Col. Gadhafi.
Col. Hussein said intelligence from friendly senior army officers with whom he is in contact throughout Libya suggested Col. Gadhafi was moving from house to house to avoid detection.
He said there were strong indications that Col. Gadhafi's hold on power was fast slipping.
Some of Benghazi's new officials said their contacts in Sirte told them that Mr. Gadhafi's intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi, had bolted the city Thursday, along with the unit of soldiers protecting him.
Col. Hussein said his forces had recently been contacted by some members of Col. Gadhafi's tribe in and around Sirte who said they no longer supported Col. Gadhafi.
"Gadhafi's days are numbered," said Col. Hussein. "If we capture him, he will be publicly prosecuted for his crimes. But if the youth find him first, I don't think I'll see Gadhafi in less than 40 or 50 pieces."
Meanwhile, Col. Hussein and other rebel commanders say their forces are motivated and gaining in strength, numbers and organization with each day.
There was no way to confirm these rebel reports.
At the headquarters of Benghazi's interim governing committees, dozens of youth lined up Thursday to sign up.
"We've opened the doors for volunteers in the new army, to unite and fight against the mercenaries and liberate all of Libya," said Akram Akaza, a 36-year-old corporal who was directing the volunteers to the sign-up lists. "We must get Gadhafi out. I'm going to Tripoli."
Senior rebel commanders in other eastern cities said similar efforts were underway there.
"We are getting many volunteers every day," said Maj. Gen. Suleiman Mahmoud, who is headquartered in Tobruq. Gen. Mahmoud was the commander of the armed forces in eastern Libya—making him one of Col. Hussein's seniors—under Col. Gadhafi before he defected to the rebels on Sunday.
Gen. Mahmoud said his rebel forces were also preparing a march on Tripoli.
But it was unclear how much coordination there was between efforts in different cities.
Col. Hussein and Gen. Mahmoud both said coordination was good. But neither, when asked Thursday, seemed aware of what the other was doing.
Gen. Mahmoud is among a small group of top ranking Libyan defense officials who appear to be playing a key role in the rebellion. Another senior military figure in the uprising is Abdel Fattah Younis, who was Libya's defense minister until he defected to the rebels on Sunday. Mr. Younis was helping rebels days before that, according to some rebel officials in Benghazi.
Mr. Younis's leadership was key to drawing up and executing the operation that brought down Benghazi's principal pro-Gadhafi military base, which collapsed late Sunday night, according to Mr. Sherif.
"He was the one giving orders that day," said Mr. Sherif. "He commands the loyalty of officers throughout all of Libya."
But some rebel soldiers and loyalists voiced distrust of both Gen. Mahmoud and Mr. Younis, because they served for so long and in such a senior capacity.
Asked about his views on Gen. Mahmoud and Mr. Younis, Col. Hussein would only say: "There are officers with high ranks who had very nebulous positions toward the revolution until the last minute. These officers should have declared their support earlier
الخميس، 24 فبراير 2011
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