There are more reports this morning of British SAS on the ground in Libya "advising" anti-Gadhafi rebels.
Black Watch, officially 3rd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, is reportedly on 24-hour standby in case needed in Libya.
John Yoo slams the Obama administration in The Wall Street Journal for allowing Moammar Gadhafi's air assault on rebels and protesters.
Interpol issued an "orange notice" against Gadhafi and 15 members of his regime.
Time magazine's Joe Klein backs off no-fly zone (a very strange move by the pint-sized pontificator).
German press says there is only weak support for a no-fly zone: "Turkey remains firmly opposed to such a move whereas France and Germany are still hesitant."
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Walker Treads on Future of His GOP Brethren
There are signs Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has begun to look for a face-saving way to dig out from what a majority of people believe was a colossal overreach to abolish collective bargain rights.
But there is a long way go to go before the epiphany.
Even as Walker put in motion today the process of laying off 1,500 public employees over the unions' refusal to accept his anti-labor edict, he is beginning to look for a compromise that might spare his GOP colleagues some tough races amid the public relations debacle he has caused for the Republican Party in Wisconsin.
“It has come to a point where there could be a breakthrough,” state Sen. Chris Larson, on of 14 Democrats who fled the state to avoid a vote on the union issue, told The New York Times.
Walker continues to say the layoffs can be avoided, but only if workers give up their rights. "While these notices start the process needed to [fire] state employees, if the Senate Democrats come back to Wisconsin, these notices may be able to be rescinded and layoffs avoided," said a statement released by Walker's office.
The unions have long believed that Walker would sink center-right Republicans with a draconian approach to public employees' job security in a bad economy.
"As you can imagine, it’s no surprise that folks think (Republican) senators may abandon Walker, as the polling numbers show – including even Rasmussen – are driving them off a cliff," AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale said in an email.
Meanwhile, protesters are complying with a judge's order to clear out of the Capitol at night.
But there is a long way go to go before the epiphany.
Even as Walker put in motion today the process of laying off 1,500 public employees over the unions' refusal to accept his anti-labor edict, he is beginning to look for a compromise that might spare his GOP colleagues some tough races amid the public relations debacle he has caused for the Republican Party in Wisconsin.
“It has come to a point where there could be a breakthrough,” state Sen. Chris Larson, on of 14 Democrats who fled the state to avoid a vote on the union issue, told The New York Times.
Walker continues to say the layoffs can be avoided, but only if workers give up their rights. "While these notices start the process needed to [fire] state employees, if the Senate Democrats come back to Wisconsin, these notices may be able to be rescinded and layoffs avoided," said a statement released by Walker's office.
The unions have long believed that Walker would sink center-right Republicans with a draconian approach to public employees' job security in a bad economy.
"As you can imagine, it’s no surprise that folks think (Republican) senators may abandon Walker, as the polling numbers show – including even Rasmussen – are driving them off a cliff," AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale said in an email.
Meanwhile, protesters are complying with a judge's order to clear out of the Capitol at night.
Rebels Appeal for No-Fly Zone
Updated 12 noon est
There are reports of a slaughter today in the Western Libyan city of Zawiyah.
At least 13 people were killed in Zawiyah, Al Arabiya television reported, citing a doctor. CNN put the death toll at 15, with at least 200 other people wounded.
AlJazeera reported there were about 1,000 anti-Gadhafi protesters in Tripoli. They were dispersed by police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas.
end update
---[
Libyan rebels pushing forward with their offensive to topple Moammar Gadhafi are asking Western powers to provide them with cover from air attacks by forces loyal to the despotic regime, according to reports on the ground in Libya.
So far, however, there seems to be more stomach for air support for the Libyan rebels in Congress than the White House, as the L.A. Times reports.
Meanwhile, some 400 US Marines were pre-positioned Thursday to a US base on the Greek Island of Crete.
There are reports of a slaughter today in the Western Libyan city of Zawiyah.
At least 13 people were killed in Zawiyah, Al Arabiya television reported, citing a doctor. CNN put the death toll at 15, with at least 200 other people wounded.
AlJazeera reported there were about 1,000 anti-Gadhafi protesters in Tripoli. They were dispersed by police, who fired rubber bullets and tear gas.
end update
---[
Libyan rebels pushing forward with their offensive to topple Moammar Gadhafi are asking Western powers to provide them with cover from air attacks by forces loyal to the despotic regime, according to reports on the ground in Libya.
So far, however, there seems to be more stomach for air support for the Libyan rebels in Congress than the White House, as the L.A. Times reports.
Meanwhile, some 400 US Marines were pre-positioned Thursday to a US base on the Greek Island of Crete.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Loud And Clear: Obama Says Gadhafi Must Go
President Obama said publicly today what he has been been telling world leaders for days:
"You have seen with great clarity that he has lost legitimacy with his people," Obama said at a joint White House news conference with visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
"Let me just be very unambiguous about this. Col. Gadhafi needs to step down from power and leave," Obama told reporters.
"What I have instructed the Department of Defense, as well as our State Department and all those who are involved in international affairs, to examine is a full range of options," Obama said.
"I don't want us hamstrung, I want us to be making our decisions based on what's going to be best for the Libyan people in consultation with the international community," the President added.
Obama appears first and foremost to be concerned with an increasing likelihood of a refugee crisis along the Tunisian border.
"I have, therefore, approved the military aircraft to help move Egyptians who have fled to the Tunisian border to get back home to Egypt. I've authorized USAID to charter additional civilian aircraft to help people from other countries to find their way home. And we're supporting the efforts of international organizations," Obama said.
Ramstein Air Base in Germany was one potential staging base for an airlift, the AP reported.
Protesters, according to The Washington Post, plan to gather after prayers Friday in Tripoli, the Libyan capital and Gadhafi's base of power.
"You have seen with great clarity that he has lost legitimacy with his people," Obama said at a joint White House news conference with visiting Mexican President Felipe Calderon.
"Let me just be very unambiguous about this. Col. Gadhafi needs to step down from power and leave," Obama told reporters.
"What I have instructed the Department of Defense, as well as our State Department and all those who are involved in international affairs, to examine is a full range of options," Obama said.
"I don't want us hamstrung, I want us to be making our decisions based on what's going to be best for the Libyan people in consultation with the international community," the President added.
Obama appears first and foremost to be concerned with an increasing likelihood of a refugee crisis along the Tunisian border.
"I have, therefore, approved the military aircraft to help move Egyptians who have fled to the Tunisian border to get back home to Egypt. I've authorized USAID to charter additional civilian aircraft to help people from other countries to find their way home. And we're supporting the efforts of international organizations," Obama said.
Ramstein Air Base in Germany was one potential staging base for an airlift, the AP reported.
Protesters, according to The Washington Post, plan to gather after prayers Friday in Tripoli, the Libyan capital and Gadhafi's base of power.
Walker's Deal: Take It or 1,500 Layoffs
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is promising his showdown with state and local workers comes tomorrow, standing by his ultimatum to fire 1,500 government employees if the unions don't forego collective bargaining rights.
"I can't take any of that off the table," Walker said of his demands in an interview with the Associated Press.
The battle over workers rights have continued to escalate since both sides began arming for what is expected to be a viscous round of recall elections.
In another siogn of the bad blood, Wisconsin state Senate Republicans slapped a mostly symbolic $100-a-day fine on Democrats refuse to allow a vote on GOP Gov. Scott Walker's plan to take away state and local workers' rights to collective bargaining.
The GOP senators also want Wisconsin state police to cross into Illinois and take into custody the 14 Democrats who are hiding out. A police union official scoffed at the idea of using cops to wrangle the state lawmakers.
"The thought of using law enforcement officers to exercise force in order to achieve a political objective is insanely wrong and Wisconsin sorely needs reasonable solutions and not potentially dangerous political theatrics," said Wisconsin Professional Police Association Executive Director Jim Palmer.
"I can't take any of that off the table," Walker said of his demands in an interview with the Associated Press.
The battle over workers rights have continued to escalate since both sides began arming for what is expected to be a viscous round of recall elections.
In another siogn of the bad blood, Wisconsin state Senate Republicans slapped a mostly symbolic $100-a-day fine on Democrats refuse to allow a vote on GOP Gov. Scott Walker's plan to take away state and local workers' rights to collective bargaining.
The GOP senators also want Wisconsin state police to cross into Illinois and take into custody the 14 Democrats who are hiding out. A police union official scoffed at the idea of using cops to wrangle the state lawmakers.
"The thought of using law enforcement officers to exercise force in order to achieve a political objective is insanely wrong and Wisconsin sorely needs reasonable solutions and not potentially dangerous political theatrics," said Wisconsin Professional Police Association Executive Director Jim Palmer.
RNC Airing Ad in Wisconsin Linking Obama to Unions
The Republican National Committee has begun airing its ad "Obama Union Bosses in Wisconsin, according to reports.
Click here to watch the ad.
Click here to watch the ad.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Recall Maneuvers Overtake Wisconsin Battle
The battle over collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin is escalating at warp speed.
A day after Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a belt-tightening, job-slashing budget, the state GOP and Democratic parties in Wisconsin are moving closer towards recall elections for state senators on each respective side of the labor dispute.
Wisconsin Democrats sent out a fundraising appeal today to help pay for their effort to recall Republican senators: "In 60 days we can take Wisconsin back by recalling the Republican Senators who have decided to push Scott Walker's divisive, partisan power grab that strips teachers and other workers of their rights and his disastrous budget that will cut millions from our schools and universities."
And according to The Hill newspaper, the GOP ATM machine in Washington will likely be tapped to help fund the Republican-sponsored recall effort. Republican State Leadership Committee President Chris Jankowski said his group will "do whatever it takes to protect our incumbents."
Another poll, meanwhile, shows most Americans think public employees should pay more into their retirement and health care plans, but those workers should not have their collective bargaining rights stripped away.
A day after Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a belt-tightening, job-slashing budget, the state GOP and Democratic parties in Wisconsin are moving closer towards recall elections for state senators on each respective side of the labor dispute.
Wisconsin Democrats sent out a fundraising appeal today to help pay for their effort to recall Republican senators: "In 60 days we can take Wisconsin back by recalling the Republican Senators who have decided to push Scott Walker's divisive, partisan power grab that strips teachers and other workers of their rights and his disastrous budget that will cut millions from our schools and universities."
And according to The Hill newspaper, the GOP ATM machine in Washington will likely be tapped to help fund the Republican-sponsored recall effort. Republican State Leadership Committee President Chris Jankowski said his group will "do whatever it takes to protect our incumbents."
Another poll, meanwhile, shows most Americans think public employees should pay more into their retirement and health care plans, but those workers should not have their collective bargaining rights stripped away.
Gadhafi Not Swayed by Threats of No-Fly Zone
Updated at 9:15 p.m. est
Moammar Gadhafi is clinging to power on a gamble that he can buy his way into a protracted civil war while the world figures out what role, if any, it can play.
"In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face a protracted civil war, or it could fall into chaos. The stakes are high," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Separately Gadhafi and the governments of the West are testing the will and fortitude of Libyan rebels -- Gadhafi with renewed attacks on the insurgents, and the West with its hands tied and left with little it can do to help topple the Libyan dictator.
For now, it is the rebels' fight alone, since it is no easy task to pull off a no-fly zone, militarily or politically, and that is taking off the table for a moment the Russians' predictable, and premature, warning against a military intervention in Libya.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates was candid earlier today about what he called "a lot of, frankly, loose talk about some of these military options."
"Let's just call a spade a spade. A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses. That's the way you do a no-fly zone, and then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down," Gates said at a House Appropriations hearing.
"That's the way it starts," Gates insisted.
end update
---[
It is not easy to get a dictator who has dined out on thumbing his nose at the will of others to change his defiant ways.
The U.S. decision to move U.S. Naval ships closer to Libya, as well as NATO's on-going consolations over the possibility of creating a no-fly zone, are not enough to get Gadhafi to halt air strikes on protesters and rebel strongholds.
Gadhafi bombed the rebel-held eastern oil port of Brega today as two U.S. amphibious assault ships, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce, passed through Egypt's Suez Canal. The carrier USS Enterprise is also moving toward Libya.
President Obama will meet with top diplomatic and military advisers later today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Britain are trying to learn all they can about the Libyan rebels and their politics.
"Yes, we should also be making contact with, getting a greater understanding of, the opposition forces that are now in Benghazi and in control of quite a lot of the country," British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
"We are trying to step up our contact with them so we can get to know them better – what their intentions are. And I don't think we should go beyond that for now, but clearly we hope this will come to an end more quickly," he added.
White House spokesman Jay Carney added that "the United States is using many channels -- diplomatic, businesses, (non-government organizations) -- to reach out to those in Libya who are in the opposition who are interested in creating a government that respects the rights of the people and meets the aspirations of the people."
Carney added, "I think the issue is we want to hear from and learn from and talk to those who have a desire to move towards a representative government that is responsive to the aspirations of the people and protects the rights of the people. So what it's called matters far less than what it supports and what it does."
Moammar Gadhafi is clinging to power on a gamble that he can buy his way into a protracted civil war while the world figures out what role, if any, it can play.
"In the years ahead, Libya could become a peaceful democracy, or it could face a protracted civil war, or it could fall into chaos. The stakes are high," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said today in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Separately Gadhafi and the governments of the West are testing the will and fortitude of Libyan rebels -- Gadhafi with renewed attacks on the insurgents, and the West with its hands tied and left with little it can do to help topple the Libyan dictator.
For now, it is the rebels' fight alone, since it is no easy task to pull off a no-fly zone, militarily or politically, and that is taking off the table for a moment the Russians' predictable, and premature, warning against a military intervention in Libya.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates was candid earlier today about what he called "a lot of, frankly, loose talk about some of these military options."
"Let's just call a spade a spade. A no-fly zone begins with an attack on Libya to destroy the air defenses. That's the way you do a no-fly zone, and then you can fly planes around the country and not worry about our guys being shot down," Gates said at a House Appropriations hearing.
"That's the way it starts," Gates insisted.
end update
---[
It is not easy to get a dictator who has dined out on thumbing his nose at the will of others to change his defiant ways.
The U.S. decision to move U.S. Naval ships closer to Libya, as well as NATO's on-going consolations over the possibility of creating a no-fly zone, are not enough to get Gadhafi to halt air strikes on protesters and rebel strongholds.
Gadhafi bombed the rebel-held eastern oil port of Brega today as two U.S. amphibious assault ships, the USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce, passed through Egypt's Suez Canal. The carrier USS Enterprise is also moving toward Libya.
President Obama will meet with top diplomatic and military advisers later today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Britain are trying to learn all they can about the Libyan rebels and their politics.
"Yes, we should also be making contact with, getting a greater understanding of, the opposition forces that are now in Benghazi and in control of quite a lot of the country," British Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday.
"We are trying to step up our contact with them so we can get to know them better – what their intentions are. And I don't think we should go beyond that for now, but clearly we hope this will come to an end more quickly," he added.
White House spokesman Jay Carney added that "the United States is using many channels -- diplomatic, businesses, (non-government organizations) -- to reach out to those in Libya who are in the opposition who are interested in creating a government that respects the rights of the people and meets the aspirations of the people."
Carney added, "I think the issue is we want to hear from and learn from and talk to those who have a desire to move towards a representative government that is responsive to the aspirations of the people and protects the rights of the people. So what it's called matters far less than what it supports and what it does."
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