As I said in my prior post, Qadafi isn’t backing down one bit and isn’t afraid of Barack Obama. Why should he be afraid considering Obama has already said that the U.S. will not use grounds forces? Bombing alone will not get the job done. And I think Qadafi is well aware of that.
CBS News reports that Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi appeared to defy the United Nations' call for an end to violence and even his own government's claim of an immediate cease-fire, with continued strikes against rebel forces in Benghazi.
A warplane was shot down over this eastern Libyan rebel stronghold Saturday, though it is unclear whether the jet belonged to Qaddafi's forces or to the rebels.
An Associated Press reporter saw a plane go down in flames outside Benghazi early Saturday, sending up a black cloud of smoke after the city came under attack. The sound of artillery and crackling gunfire was heard in the distance.
Libyan television broadcast live pictures this morning of a pro-Qaddafi demonstration at a Sabha airport. The video, which was taken on an airport runway, appeared to demonstrate the use of human shields.
Arab media has speculated that if Qaddafi's power base in Tripoli is threatened, he may flee to Sabha.
The latest developments come as leaders from the Arab world, Africa, the United States and other Western powers hold urgent talks in Paris Saturday over possible military action against Qaddafi's forces.
Trying to outmaneuver Western military intervention, Qaddafi's government declared a cease-fire on Friday as the rebel uprising faltered against his artillery, tanks and warplanes. But the opposition said shells rained down well after the announcement and accused the Libyan leader of lying.
On Saturday, government spokesman Ibrahim Musa denied that a government plane had gone down. He also denied government forces shelled any Libyan towns on Saturday, saying the rebels are the ones breaking the cease fire by attacking military forces.
CBS News correspondent Mandy Clarke reported on "The Early Show on Saturday Morning" that there is confusion over whose plane it was -- whether it was from government forces or those of the rebels.
Later, Qaddafi said the U.N. resolution authorizing international military intervention in Libya is "invalid.'' The Libyan leader said he sent a message to President Obama defending his decision to attack rebel cities: "If you found them taking over American cities by the force of arms, tell me what you would do?''
More details here
I think Obama and these coalition forces are setting themselves up for major embarrassment. Qaddafi isn’t as much of a nutcase as everybody thinks. He’s committed to endure ‘till death. I doubt very highly Obama is really serious here and if he’s going with half-ass military action, what will he really accomplish?
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