NATO launched strikes overnight from Tripoli to Brega after a defiant Moammar Gadhafi told an African Union emissary he is not ready to step down, even amid mass defections in his military.
"He emphasized that he was not prepared to leave his country, despite the difficulties," the office of South African President Jacob Zuma said in a statement today.
Hours after Zuma met yesterday with Gadhafi NATO said its warplanes bombed surface-to-air missile sites, radar, artillery and storage depots.
Italy, meanwhile, opened a consulate in the rebel de facto capital Benghazi and pledged to provide the rebels with fuel and money to sustain their revolution. The rebels are running short of oil ready to bring to market, but with a sea of crude under their desert, the rebels credit is good.
In a bizarre twist of fate, it turns out Gadhafi was bit by the financial crisis of 2008 caused by Wall Street greed and Bush administration's laisses-faire policies. Gadhafi invested $1.3 billion through Goldman Sachs Group and lost 98% of their value, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The rebels have launched their own satellite and Internet television station to counter what they say is Gadhafi's powerful propaganda machine, which reaches deep into rebel territory. You can stream it here, or punch in these satellite coordinates: Nilesat Frequency 10872 V - 10873 V.
Here is a great timeline from Reuters of the Libyan Revolution from day one to the present.
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