Ben Ali fled, Mubarak tried to face it down, but in the end ben Ali remains in exile and Mubarak was "caged". Gadaffi decided to teach the "rats" of Benghazi a lesson and brought the bombs of NATO on his compounds. The bombs came from Britain, whose Prime Minister of the day Tony Blair had visited him, embraced him and welcomed him back into the "club of Nations". It came from the USA, whose Sect. of State, Condy Rice had visited him in Tripoli and who had made such an impression on him that he had a specially bound photo album made of her and later on Hillary Clinton publicly welcomed his son at the State Dept.Berlusconi had many business deals with him and then FreNch, not to be left out of any oil deals led the charge with Britain to get their licks in first.
Gadaffi resisted and continues to do so, even though the rebels, with the help of NATO bombs and Special forces from France, Britain, Jordan and Qatar have steadily advanced, even into Tripoli. Thousands have been killed and many more thousands have been displaced (even Gadaffi's wife, daughter and two of his sons have fled to Algeria). He has seen the fate of ben Ali and Mubarak and the charges made at the ICC and the call for his head from the rebels and he is adamant about not giving in. There is no alternative but to fight to the end. He will not surrender and neither will his sons (images of a hung Saddam and his brothers must haunt them), but he may well move between the long borders with Algeria, Chad, waging war for a long time. He still has many supporters at home and many friends in the African Union (they may well offer sanctuary.He was their friend and financial supporter during their colonial struggles ). His last bastion is Sirte, and this is where he will make his last stand. It will be bloody.
In Syria, Assad has made it very clear that he will not step down and that he will use all necessary force to remain in power. He is from the small Alewite group and they have held power for over over forty years, benefitting immensely and they realise that they would be slaughtered (like they have their enemies), if they lose power. The West have been pressuring Assad to ease up on the use of force and even to step down, but he will not. The West may use diplomatic and economic means to pressure him ( Syria supply Europe with about 160,000 barrels of oil a day), but they(West) dare not go any further. Syria has massive amounts of chemical and other types of weapons, spread around the country and Assad has control of it. He has not used it and signs are that he will not use it and he has not lost control of it, which is crucial. Should he fall from power, that control would be lost and who knows who will be in charge or whether any control of these weapons is possible. This should give pause to those who want Assad to go.
. So Gadaffi in Libya and Assad in Syria will fight to stay in power, at any cost. Libya has sarin and mustard gasses (maybe not weaponized) and tens of thousands of shoulder-fired missiles. Syria has much more than and (its chemical and biological ) they are weaponized. BE CAREFUL, BE VERY,VERY,VERY CAREFUL
Interests not Friends, always Interests.
Gadaffi resisted and continues to do so, even though the rebels, with the help of NATO bombs and Special forces from France, Britain, Jordan and Qatar have steadily advanced, even into Tripoli. Thousands have been killed and many more thousands have been displaced (even Gadaffi's wife, daughter and two of his sons have fled to Algeria). He has seen the fate of ben Ali and Mubarak and the charges made at the ICC and the call for his head from the rebels and he is adamant about not giving in. There is no alternative but to fight to the end. He will not surrender and neither will his sons (images of a hung Saddam and his brothers must haunt them), but he may well move between the long borders with Algeria, Chad, waging war for a long time. He still has many supporters at home and many friends in the African Union (they may well offer sanctuary.He was their friend and financial supporter during their colonial struggles ). His last bastion is Sirte, and this is where he will make his last stand. It will be bloody.
In Syria, Assad has made it very clear that he will not step down and that he will use all necessary force to remain in power. He is from the small Alewite group and they have held power for over over forty years, benefitting immensely and they realise that they would be slaughtered (like they have their enemies), if they lose power. The West have been pressuring Assad to ease up on the use of force and even to step down, but he will not. The West may use diplomatic and economic means to pressure him ( Syria supply Europe with about 160,000 barrels of oil a day), but they(West) dare not go any further. Syria has massive amounts of chemical and other types of weapons, spread around the country and Assad has control of it. He has not used it and signs are that he will not use it and he has not lost control of it, which is crucial. Should he fall from power, that control would be lost and who knows who will be in charge or whether any control of these weapons is possible. This should give pause to those who want Assad to go.
. So Gadaffi in Libya and Assad in Syria will fight to stay in power, at any cost. Libya has sarin and mustard gasses (maybe not weaponized) and tens of thousands of shoulder-fired missiles. Syria has much more than and (its chemical and biological ) they are weaponized. BE CAREFUL, BE VERY,VERY,VERY CAREFUL
Interests not Friends, always Interests.
