Zudem soll die UN-Friedenstruppe in der Elfenbeinküste damit beauftragt werden, schwere Waffen im Großraum der Wirtschaftsmetropole Abidjan zu beschlagnahmen.

Der Resolutionsvorwurf des Sicherheitsrats fordere Gbagbo auf, endlich zu gehen und die Gewalt gegen Zivilisten einzustellen…
Der UNO-Sicherheitsrat will sich in der kommenden Woche eingehend mit den Sanktionen gegen Gbagbo beschäftigen…

The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, echoes previous U.N. calls for Gbagbo to step down, forbids heavy weapons, and provides for sanctions against Gbagbo and his close advisers.

The Ivory Coast is “close to civil war” as forces loyal to the country’s two rival presidents battle in the streets of the capital, Abidjan, France’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, said today in New York.

In cutting out Congress, Obama has overstepped even the dubious precedent set when President Bill Clinton bombed Kosovo in 1999. Then, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel asserted that Congress had given its consent by appropriating funds for the Kosovo campaign. It was a big stretch, given the actual facts — but Obama can’t even take advantage of this same desperate expedient, since Congress has appropriated no funds for the Libyan war.

U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973 made the Libya action valid under international law, but compliance with international law does not automatically ensure compliance with the Constitution.

Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi‘s regime. ..
US and British government sources said Mr al-Hasidi was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, or LIFG, which killed dozens of Libyan troops in guerrilla attacks around Derna and Benghazi in 1995 and 1996.

Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, who made the remarks in an interview with Il Sole 24 Ore, an Italian newspaper, admitted that he had previously recruited fundamentalists to fight in Iraq, and said that the fighters are “today are on the front lines in Adjabiya”.

al-Hasidi described the fighters as “patriots and good Muslims, not terrorists,” adding that “members of al-Qaeda are also good Muslims and are fighting against the invader”.

al-Hasidi himself was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and handed over to US forces after fighting against US troops in Afghanistan. He was held in Libya and eventually released in 2008.

Tornado GR4 warplanes had earlier fired missiles at four tanks in the key Libyan city, turning them all into fireballs…
Defence Secretary Liam Fox said the armoured vehicles had been threatening the civilian population.

The objective is not to come to the rescue of civilians. Quite the opposite. Both military as well as civilian targets have been pre-selected.
Civilian casualties are intentional. They are not the result of „collateral damage“.

Obama told Univision‘s Jorge Ramos that President Felipe Calderon wasn’t informed of the operation because he — the president of the United States — wasn’t informed either. When asked whether he knew of the weapon smuggling plan, Obama responded that it is “a pretty big government” with “a lot of moving parts.”

The investigation into the program comes after it was connected to two weapons that were found at the scene of a border shootout that killed U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in December. Likewise, a gun smuggled from the U.S. were used to kill Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent Jamie Zapata, but it has not been determined if it was part of “Fast and Furious.”

The U.S. intervention into the Libyan civil war is constitutional even without congressional authorization, the White House spokesman said Friday.

Some say that America has an imperial presidency, but any imbalance of power in the federal government seems to be as much the fault of a meek Congress as any executive overreach.

Can you believe it? Obama bypassed the Congress to take “military action” against Libya to enforce a “no fly zone” for a “humanitarian” cause for the United Nations-so that makes it alright, right? No! This is just another reason Obama needs to be impeached!

The cowboy from Illinois is pushing the boundaries of presidential powers even more than the cowboy from Texas did, it seems.

Pelosi said the groups was told the intervention „saved civilian lives,“ and that as „NATO takes control of operations,“ members „will receive a classified briefing from the administration on these transition plans and our future role when Congress reconvenes next week.“

All pretty timid for a branch that has the sole constitutional power to declare war. But these are no longer wars; they are „conflicts.“

Westerwelle äußerte sich besorgt darüber, dass es in Diskussionen möglicherweise auch noch um andere arabische Länder gehen könne. „Ich warne davor, dass wir jetzt eine Diskussion in Europa führen, dass überall dort in Nordafrika oder in Arabien, wo Unrecht herrscht, jedes Mal eine Militärintervention erfolgen kann. Ich bin überzeugt, dass es in Libyen nur eine politische Lösung geben kann.“

FDP-Generalsekretär Christian Lindner hatte bereits am Montag den FDP-Standpunkt in dieser schweren Abwägungsfrage klar gemacht: „Für uns als Liberale ist klar: Wir wollen, dass Gaddafi abtritt. Dieses Regime hat keine Zukunft mehr“, so Lindner. „Unsere Mittel dafür sind verschärfte Sanktionen für dieses Regime und keine militärischen Operationen.“ Es könne nicht sein, „dass man eher militärisch interveniert als das gesamte Sanktionsinstrumentarium zu nutzen.“ …

Entwicklungsminister Niebel erklärte im „Süddeutsche“-Interview: Man sollte wissen, wie man ein militärisches Engagement wieder beendet, bevor man es beginnt. „Ich bin sehr dafür, dass die Libyer die Chance auf ein freies, demokratisches Leben haben. Der Diktator muss verschwinden.“ Aber bislang wisse niemand, ob die Gegner Gaddafis sich letzten Endes auch für Freiheit einsetzen werden oder ob es sich „schlicht um klassische Stammeskämpfe“ handelt. Wer also in Libyen zum Schutz von Zivilisten militärisch interveniert, müsste das auch im Jemen tun. Daher stellte der Entwicklungsminister die berechtigte Frage: „Wollen wir tatsächlich bei jedem potenziellen Bürgerkrieg auf der Welt einschreiten?“

At the opening of the „Democracy and its Challenges“ conference in Tel Aviv (May 2010) Levy gave a very high estimation of the Israel Defense Forces, saying „I have never seen such a democratic army, which asks itself so many moral questions. There is something unusually vital about Israeli democracy.“

Lévy has reported from troubled zones during wartime, in order to attract the public opinion, in France and abroad, over those political changes. In August 2008, Lévy reported from South Ossetia (Georgia) during the 2008 South Ossetia war; in that occasion he interviewed the President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.

Dass er die scharfe UNO-Resolution und den schnellen Beginn der Libyen-Offensive mit in die Wege geleitet hat, will er nicht für sich in Anspruch nehmen. Aber dass der französische Präsident Nicolas Sarkozy überraschend die Repräsentanten der libyschen Rebellen anerkannte, gehe durchaus auf sein Konto, sagt er. Eingefädelt hatte Levy das Treffen per Satellitentelefon von Benghazi aus. „Das sind Libyens Mujaheddin. So ein Treffen hätte große politische Bedeutung“

Der FDP-Chef reagiert mit scharfer Kritik auf Sarkozys Drohung, bei jedem arabischen Herrscher notfalls militärisch zu reagieren. Westerwelle warnt vor Folgen.

At this moment there will still be a coalition operation and a NATO operation

However, diplomatic efforts may be sidelined, if reports by the Washington Post are confirmed with respect to US and NATO considering arming the Libyan opposition.

The newspaper reported on Saturday, citing unamed US and European officials, that the Obama admnistration believe the UN resolution that authorised international intervention in Libya has the „flexibility“ to allow such assistance.

According to newspaper, Gene Cretz, the recently withdrawn US ambassador to Libya, said administration officials were having „the full gamut“ of discussions on „potential assistance we might offer, both on the non-lethal and the lethal side“.

The five-member team from Tripoli turned up for the talks, which were also attended by EU, UN and Arab League representatives, following an invitation from AU Commission chairman Jean Ping.

The Libyan opposition however did not take up the invitation.

France actively supports training and arming the rebels, and the Obama administration believes the United Nations resolution that authorized international intervention in Libya has the “flexibility” to allow such assistance, “if we thought that were the right way to go,” Obama spokesman Jay Carney said. It was a “possibility,” he said.

Die erste Lieferung, bestehend aus 36 Tonnen medizinischer Hilfsgüter und Nahrungsmittel der iranischen Sektion der Hilfsorganisation Roter Halbmond ist am 25.März 2011 an der libysch-tunesischen Grenze eingetroffen.

U.S. and coalition leaders are discussing ways to arm the Libyan rebels, a senior military official told NPR.