Gaddafi Has Fled Tripoli?
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here.]
“Keith Richards? You have really let yourself go…”
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Events are moving fast but this Daily Mail account is promising:
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is believed to have fled the capital Tripoli after anti-government demonstrators breached the state television building and set government property alight.
Protesters appear to have gained a foothold in Tripoli as banks and government buildings were looted while demonstrators have claimed they have taken control of the second city Benghazi.
It is thought up to 400 people may have died in the unrest with dozens more reported killed in Tripoli overnight as protests reached the capital for the first time and army units were said to have defected to the opposition.
Read the whole thing. And of course Hot Air has all over this in this post, too. And we have this report of the Libyan military bombing protesters?
And I will note something to our special forces community. Abdelbasset Ali al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bomber who was released to Libya because he had cancer and was only expected to live another 3 months, but who failed to live up to his obligation to die on time, is still alive over there.
This is a picture of him.
Just thought maybe you should pay him a visit…
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
I hope he leaves, but I wonder what would replace him. Lots of rumors flying around, in a part of the world where truth isn’t given much of a premium. Haaretz is quoting Al Jazeera reports that the Libyan air force “bombed protestors.” Yikes. If that’s true, this could be a very different outcome than what happened in Egypt.
carlitos (c006f6) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:28 amGaddafi is a zombie! How do you say “brains” in Arabic?
Joe Miller (160e2d) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:37 amI had the pleasure of shooting him the bird last year – funny the Qataris usually threaten to beat me when I do that to the various despots car caravans as they wind through the city – this time nothing – of course this might explain it…
http://www.englishsabla.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70201
EricPWJohnson (862059) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:38 amGaddafi has that kind of pallor and complexion of somebody just about to have a heart attack. It is almost a white/green color, subnormal blood circulation; he is 68 years old. Maybe one of the learned medical professionals on PP can give an informed opinion?
TimesDisliker (5d76cf) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:39 amTimesDisliker – He’s looked like hell for years. I remember thinking when he showed up for the UN several years ago he looked like a poorly animated corpse. Maybe that Ukranian nurse is playing Weekend at Bernie’s?
Have Blue (854a6e) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:46 amWhere would he flee? Who would have him? I think that Cuba and Venezuela would decline.
Zimbabwe?
North Korea?
Maybe we should set up a resort on, say, St Helena for all these bigwigs to retire to.
Kevin M (298030) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:46 amkevin
i wouldn’t assume he has left the country yet.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:50 amI don’t think the old dog will give up that easily, neither will Seif, who doesn’t want to be in the same spot as Gamal or one of the Sopranos, I mean
narciso (28df0c) — 2/21/2011 @ 8:53 amTrabelsis
Aaron,
The Shah, Id Amin, Gorbachov, Bin Ali, Mubarek, All those 9 or ten South American Dictators – which one’s stayed and fought it out….
None If I can remember.. Only Saddam – and thats because he really had no money or nowhere to go
EricPWJohnson (862059) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:01 amDaniel Foster at NRO has this;
Reuters has a flash report quoting British foreign minister William Hague, who says he has seen intelligence that suggests Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi has already fled the capital in Tripoli and is en route to Venezuela. </I.
Venzuela?
madawaskan (fd190b) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:33 amMessed up html-sorry.
That’s me freaking out about Venezuela not Daniel Foster.
madawaskan (fd190b) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:35 americ
Saddam teaches us the important lesson that one should not spend all your money pimpin’ your palaces.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:35 amAnother opportunity for Obama to show he supports free elections – even if the winners are the pillars of freedom from the religion of peace.
joe (6120a4) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:37 amSeriously annoyed here…how long is it going to take for someone, anyone, to photoshop a propeller on to that idiots stupid hat.
Vivian Louise (eeeb3a) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:48 amy’all don’t really expect Ear Leader to take a side, make a decision or do something Presidential, let alone authorize the use of military force, now do you?
besides, he’s too busy with
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:49 ambacking up his union mastersthe important Federal issues at play in Wisconsin right now…AW, at least Keith Richards quirky je ne se qua was modeled by Johnny Depp in those pirate movies…Gaddafi wasn’t even in the running. So there’s that.
Dana (8ba2fb) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:56 amon the medical issues, has Whacky ever been right since El Dorado Canyon?
if the stories are true, he was danger close to one or more LGB impacts and nearly died from the blast effects. that would be enough to scramble a sane man’s brain.
redc1c4 (fb8750) — 2/21/2011 @ 9:57 amGaddafi Qadafi or whatever can’t pass to his reward soon enough for me. He and his people came to power as brutal thugs–and they didn’t get better with age. Right now the guy looks like a preserved weasel.
Mike Myers (0e06a9) — 2/21/2011 @ 10:11 amI think Berkeley will take him, so long as he reiterates his hatred of America and Israel a bit more strongly.
Brian (9010f9) — 2/21/2011 @ 11:02 amSTRATFOR claims that not only has Gadhafi ordered the military to fire on protesters, he’s also “given execution orders to soldiers who have refused to fire on Libyan protesters.” That might explain the report that 2 Libyan military pilots have sought asylum in Malta.
DRJ (fdd243) — 2/21/2011 @ 11:11 amyou never hear of people going out for Libyan food what’s up with that
happyfeet (ab5779) — 2/21/2011 @ 11:24 amI’m keeping an eye out. One of Gaddafi’s cousins lives across the canal from me, his back yard pool is only about 30 yards from my dock. If Muammar shows up in SW Florida, I’ll know it.
ropelight (9a2403) — 2/21/2011 @ 11:30 amNow he’s really done it – he’s got himself a fatwa ordered,
A coalition of Libyan Islamic leaders has issued a fatwa telling all Muslims it is their duty to rebel against the Libyan leadership and demanding the release of all jailed protesters.
The group also demanded the release of fellow Islamic scholar Sadiq al-Ghriani, who was arrested after criticizing the government, and “all imprisoned demonstrators, including many of our young students.”
Dana (8ba2fb) — 2/21/2011 @ 11:32 amInformed sources tell us that Mr. Gaddafi has taken to electrocuting dissidents with bolts of lightning from his finger-tips, while informing them that their puny Rebel Alliance is doomed to failure…
Leviticus (ed6d31) — 2/21/2011 @ 1:39 pmleviticus
earlier a top lieutenant of his strangled a man to death with his mind because of a “disturbing lack of faith.”
there, you got your nerd card punched.
Aaron Worthing (e7d72e) — 2/21/2011 @ 1:50 pmhappyfeet has me laughing, but seriously – I googled Libyan Restaurants in New York and there isn’t one? What is up with that? Even Tripoli Restaurant in Brooklyn claims that they serve Lebanese food.
carlitos (180bd6) — 2/21/2011 @ 1:56 pmThe United States could offer limited sanctuary to Gadaffi while he arranges more permanent asylum. This would be merciful, not to him, but to the country. Providing a quick extraction out of a country for tyrants would save lives and might spur more necessary political transitions. This would seem the enlightened approach.
KvnStar (09cf90) — 2/21/2011 @ 2:11 pmGhaddafi used to have a client state in Chad to the south.
Some of the delay with Mubarak was related to extricating his gold. The rest have no doubt taken the hint.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 2/21/2011 @ 2:36 pmThe United States could offer limited sanctuary to Gadaffi while he arranges more permanent asylum.
You have got to be kidding me – he wouldn’t last one minute if he put even one foot onto US soil. The relatives of Lockerbie would rip him to shreds, like a pack of wild dogs. I’d pay to see that, no question. Let Hefe Chavez take him, then we can watch two scumbags get taken out at the same time when Venezuala’s citizens get going.
Dmac (c50897) — 2/21/2011 @ 3:59 pmthey just said that he appeared on national TV, for all of four seconds, saying, “i am not in venezuela, i am in tripoli” or something to that effect. literally 4 seconds.
stay tuned.
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:19 pmObviously you people have your foreign policy priorities screwed up. Barack and Michelle did not receive an invitation to the royal wedding. This is an outrage. The British Royals are clearly raacists. We must condemn and denounce them!
elissa (8b40b7) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:20 pm@Aaron – reminds me of those sitcom/cartoon gags where a school principle/important person is talking over the PA, claiming to be in school/in the office, but is really on the beach with a drink in hand…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:26 pm@elissa – Were I the royals, I wouldn’t invite the Obama’s either…
I mean, the wedding gift would just be a set of Lady Di commemorative plates anyways…
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:27 pmScott- don’t you mean a set of Obama inauguration 2009 commemorative plates?
elissa (8b40b7) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:33 pmFair point.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:39 pmJust seems that while crappy dinner plates of himself would be in bad taste, crappy plates of the dude’s dead mom would be worse.
Especially if the receipt was included, and it was from Harrods.
Scott Jacobs (d027b8) — 2/21/2011 @ 4:40 pmGaddafi ducked when
ColonelHaiku (b9ab95) — 2/21/2011 @ 5:12 pmbotox injection drew near
time not on his side
What would Reagan do? Oh, wait, he already did it.
Kevin M (298030) — 2/21/2011 @ 5:53 pm