Since 2005, Veterans for Peace and others have been calling for the impeachment of the sitting president for war crimes. After their demands to lawmakers to uphold the rule of law against Bush were largely ignored (except by Dennis Kucinich who introduced impeachment articles too late in 2008), they renewed their effort to impeach Obama once he continued to bomb sovereign nations without congressional approval. Now, some lawmakers seem to have finally decided to take the rule of law and Separation of Powers seriously.
Obama will face impeachment over his failure to seek congressional authorization before launching offensive military action in Libya last year. Official impeachment proceedings have now been filed in both the House and Senate.
Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-N.C., has introduced a resolution declaring that should the president use offensive military force without authorization of an act of Congress, “it is the sense of Congress” that such an act would be “an impeachable high crime and misdemeanor.”
Specifically, Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution reserves for Congress alone the power to declare war, a restriction that has been sorely tested in recent years, including Obama’s authorization of military force in Libya.
“This week it was Secretary of Defense Panetta’s declaration before the Senate Armed Services Committee that he and President Obama look not to the Congress for authorization to bomb Syria but to NATO and the United Nations,” Tancredo writes. “This led to Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., introducing an official resolution calling for impeachment should Obama take offensive action based on Panetta’s policy statement, because it would violate the Constitution.”...[Full Article]
Stepping up a simmering constitutional conflict, House Speaker John A. Boehner warned President Obama on Tuesday that unless he gets authorization from Congress for his military deployment in Libya, he will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution.
In a letter sent Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Boehner, the top Republican in the constitutional chain of succession, said Mr. Obama must provide a clear justification by Friday for committing troops to Libya.
Sunday marks the 90th day since the president notified Congress that U.S. troops had been committed to help enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, which is designed to protect the rebels fighting Col. Moammar Gadhafi’s government.
“The Constitution requires the president to ‘take care that the laws be faithfully executed,’ and one of those laws is the War Powers Resolution, which requires an approving action by Congress or withdrawal within 90 days from the notification of a military operation,” Mr. Boehner said in the letter...[Full Article]
The UN report explained that “due to the Libyan upheaval ... governments in the region are faced with the return of millions of economic migrants, the smuggling of weapons from Libyan stockpiles, terrorist activities, youth unemployment, trafficking in drugs and human beings, and a surge in criminality,” the international body summarized in a press release on its findings.
But the international body carefully ignored its own obvious role in creating the tragedy. The UN, of course, first called for the “no-fly zone” over Libya and all measures necessary to “protect civilians” in March of last year. Western powers including the U.S. government promptly interpreted the international resolution as a green light for military strikes and eventually regime change.
Almost incredibly, the UN and some of its member governments are now calling for even more international intervention. To deal with the fallout crisis created by the previous round of failed intervention, a collection of regimes in the region seeking to quash rebel groups joined forces with various UN officials to seize on last week’s report, demanding more support from the international body and the regional African Union (AU).
As The New American reported throughout the war and the UN’s recent report confirmed once again, everything from machine guns and grenade launchers to anti-aircraft weapons, explosives, and even missiles have made their way out of Libya. Fears also exist about the possible proliferation of chemical agents or other Weapons of Mass Destruction Gadhafi may have hidden....[Full Article]
Angry protesters have stormed the local headquarters of Libya's ruling National Transitional Council (NTC) in the eastern coastal city of Benghazi after besieging the building for hours.
The demonstrators were demanding a meeting with the interim leaders.
The incident came a day before declaration of new electoral law and composition of the election commission in Libya.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Webster Griffin Tarpley, author and historian, to share his opinion on this issue.
Following is a transcript of the interview: ...[Full Article]
With the violence and chaos in Libya escalating as the country descended into civil war earlier this year, many were struck by the image of a country in turmoil.
But one group of mercenary individuals saw just one thing- a lucrative business opportunity.
Four Americans: a former CIA agent, a DC terrorism expert, a Kansas city lawyer and a onetime Republican National Committee member, offered themselves to Gaddafi as consultants for hire, new documents found in a Tripoli government building and published on Facebook show.
Venture: With Libya in turmoil one group of mercenary individuals saw a lucrative business opportunity
The upfront fee to begin negotiations? A cool $10 million.
According to the New York Times, 'The fees and payments set forth in this contract are MINIMUM NON-REFUNDABLE FEES,” the proposed contract stated. 'The fees are an inducement for the ATTORNEYS AND ADVISORS to take the case and nothing else.' ...[Full Article]
The Al-Qaeda flag has been flying high over Libya and the governments of the western world that helped remove Gaddafi from power don't seem to mind at all. The flag, which contains the phrase "there is no God but Allah" with a full moon underneath, has been photographed flying beside the new national flag of Libya at the courthouse in Benghazi. The courthouse in Benghazi is where the "rebels" established their provisional government, and it is where the "media center" for communication with foreign journalists was located during the fight against Gaddafi. So it isn't as if the al-Qaeda flag has been flying over some insignificant building. But this should be no surprise. It has been known all along that al-Qaeda was very heavily represented in the army of "the rebels" and among the leadership of "the rebels". Now, thanks to Obama, they have taken over Libya and they intend to impose a brutal form of Sharia law on the entire Libyan population. (Read More.....)
Libyan fighters celebrate in the streets of Sirte Libya in this image taken from TV Thursday Oct. 20, 2011. The Libyan fighters on Thursday overran the remaining positions of Moammar Gadhafi loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, ending the last major resistance by former regime supporters still holdi...
A recent secret White House meeting revealed that an estimated 20,000 portable, heat-seeking missiles appear to have vanished from an Army warehouse in Libya, ABCNews.com reported.
The new revelations stoke ongoing fears that such weapons, which are light, relatively easy to use and have the capacity to take down a commercial airplane, could end up in the wrong hands as the Libyan war that ousted Muammar Qaddafi winds down...[Full Article]
"There is no tomorrow" under a NATO-sponsored Al Qaeda rebellion in Libya.
While a "pro-democracy" rebel government has been instated, the country has been destroyed.
Against the backdrop of war propaganda, Libya's economic and social achievements over the last thirty years have been brutally reversed:
The [Libyan Arab Jamahiriya] has had a high standard of living and a robust per capita daily caloric intake of 3144. The country has made strides in public health and, since 1980, child mortality rates have dropped from 70 per thousand live births to 19 in 2009. Life expectancy has risen from 61 to 74 years of age during the same span of years. (FAO, Rome, Libya, Country Profile)
According to sectors of the "Progressive Left" which have endorsed NATO's R2P mandate: "The mood across Libya, particularly in Tripoli, is absolutely—like there’s just a feeling of euphoria everywhere. People are incredibly excited about starting afresh. There’s a real sense of rebirth, a feeling that their lives are starting anew. (DemocracyNow.org, September 14, 2011, emphasis added)
The rebels are casually presented as "liberators". The central role of Al Qaeda-affilated terrorists within rebel ranks is not mentioned...[Full Article]
The criminal globalists are at it yet again! Under the guise of humanitarian aid, hundreds of millions of dollars are to be pilfered from the Libyan people with the help of the illegitimate, unaccountable body known as the United Nations.
Unfortunately, this is no longer a matter of Washington simply attempting to steal these funds, as today the Chinese news agency Xinhua has reported that according to a U.S. diplomat, the U.N. is going to release $1.5 billion in Libyan assets.
South Africa was attempting to block this release, but they finally caved to the Anglo-American Empire Thursday and “reached a deal” to release the frozen assets...[Full Article]
Organization declared terrorist group by State Department to become political force in post-Gaddafi regime
Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Concern on behalf of NATO powers France, Britain and the United States that Al-Qaeda could smuggle deadly weapons out of Libya is somewhat rich given the fact that senior Al-Qaeda terrorists who killed U.S. troops have been commanding western-backed Libyan rebels for the past six months.
“The United States, France and Britain have asked Libya’s neighbors to beef up security on their borders to prevent the possible smuggling out of weapons,” reports RIA Novosti.
“The West is afraid that in the chaos of Gaddafi’s downfall the leftovers of his military capabilities could fall into hands of al-Qaeda or other militant groups.”
NATO’s support for the Libyan Al-Qaeda cell known as Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which was declared a foreign terrorist organization by the US State Department in 2004, will provide the extremist group the opportunity to seize “a stew of deadly chemicals, raw nuclear material and some 30,000 shoulder-fired rockets”
Not only will the group have access to such weapons, it also “may become the real political power behind whatever regime is established once Gaddafi relinquish power,” according to a report in the Asian Tribune.
As we have previously highlighted, shortly after the start of the conflict in March, Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the leader of the anti-Gaddafi rebel army, admitted that the rebel ranks include Al-Qaeda terrorists who have killed U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Although NATO and the U.S. admitted that “flickers” of Al-Qaeda members had infiltrated rebel ranks, in reality, they were leading the anti-Gaddafi forces in several areas of the country. As the Wall Street Journal reported in a piece entitled, Ex-Mujahedeen Help Lead Libyan Rebels, Al-Qaeda terrorists who worked directly for Bin Laden were tasked with recruiting, training and acting as front line field commanders for the rebel army.
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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
The serving soldiers have joined British special forces and have been acting as forward air controllers and advising on tactics
A detail from the badge of the SAS, who have been assisting the rebels in Libya. Photograph: PA
The Guardian has learned that a number of serving British special forces soldiers, as well as former SAS troopers, are advising and training rebel forces, although their presence is officially denied.
The Guardian has previously reported the presence of former British special forces troops, now employed by private security companies and funded by a number of sources, including Qatar. They have been joined by a number of serving SAS soldiers.
They have been acting as forward air controllers – directing pilots to targets – and communicating with Nato operational commanders. They have also been advising rebels on tactics, a task they have not found easy...[Full Article]
Update: 11: 18 CST – Al Jazeera is reporting that those fighting in the compound are not all rebels and some appear to be being directed in their actions by a non-rebel presence.
Update: 11.13 CST - Info on the compound from a Reuters article indicates it is possible Gaddafi could have fled via underground tunnels.
The fortified Tripoli compound attacked by Libyan rebels Tuesday is the seat of Muammar Gaddafi’s political power and the principal base of loyalist fighters trying to rescue his 42-year-old rule.
Analysts say Gaddafi loyalist fighters confronted with an influx of rebels since the weekend have sought to use his Bab al-Azizyah bastion as a springboard from which to carve out a loyalist zone and chip away at rebel control of adjoining neighborhoods.
The encampment is believed to sit atop a network of tunnels and bunkers that lead to adjoining districts, including possibly a subterranean route to the coast.
But the tunnel networks are not the loyalist militiamen’s only card: Gaddafi’s fighters have an intimate knowledge of the city and many are believed to have a greater degree of military training than their opposition guerrilla opponents.
Long the seat of Gaddafi’s power as well as his main Tripoli home, the barracks may well be the final battleground of Libya’s war. Even if Gaddafi is not there, its loss would inflict a potentially crippling symbolic defeat.
Update: 11.06 CST – Live news footage from inside the compound shows rebels pulling the head off a statue of Gaddafi and are stomping on it and attempting to destroy the statue of a golden fist crushing an American fighter plane. Al Jazeera live stream.
Update:Reports are now coming in that rebels have control over the compound. These reports are coming from AP and CNN reporters. It is unclear whether or not they are accurate and given yesterday’s false reports that Gadaffi’s son had been arrested, they should be viewed as speculation only at the moment.
Rebels have entered the fortified compound of Muammar Gaddafi in Bab al-Azizya in Tripoli, amid intensified fighting with forces loyal to the Libyan leader.
The rebels “broke through the gates of Bab al-Aiziya [and] some opposition fighters managed to enter the government’s stronghold in the Libyan capital,” Al Jazeera’s correspondent Zeina Khodr said, reporting from Tripoli on Tuesday.
“But others were pinned down at the entrance because of heavy fire and we also couldn’t go any further [as] opposition fighters had to take cover from incoming fire,” our correspondent said.
Fighting also continued across the capital for a second day, and columns of grey smoke were seen billowing over the Bab al-Azizya area with the sound of gunfire and occasional explosions ringing out.
Opposition forces were concentrating their firepower on Gaddafi’s compound, our correspondents reported.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez (@LMartinezABC) reports: The cost of U.S. military intervention in Libya has cost American taxpayers an estimated $896 million through July 31, the Pentagon said today.
The price tag includes the amounts for daily military operations, munitions used in the operation and humanitarian assistance for the Libyan people.
The U.S. has also promised $25 million in non-lethal aid to the Libyan Transitional National Council, half of which the Defense Department has already on MRE’s (military lingo for Meals, Ready to Eat)...[Full Article]
A hawkish Jerusalem-based news outlet with reported links to Israeli intelligence that has proven accurate in its forecast of future geopolitical events claims that the war in Libya is approaching a “coup de grace” and that French, British and American troops will land on Libyan soil within the next two weeks to spearhead a full ground invasion.
In a piece entitled, US and NATO prepare final assault on Qaddafi, DebkaFile cites military sources for its contention that NATO powers are finalizing plans for a “large-scale, all-out military bid to kill or oust” Colonel Gaddafi.
“The coming coup de grace, expected in the next couple of weeks, is the hottest topic of discussion in the corridors of power and high-level military and intelligence get-togethers in London, Paris, Brussels, Moscow, Oslo, The Hague and Rome. It is expected to start in a couple of weeks with French and British troop landings on Libyan soil, to be followed in its last stages of by American forces,” states the report.
In military terms, “coup de grace” is a synonym for ‘death blow’, and Debka views France’s announcement that it is providing weapons to anti-Gaddafi rebels as a precursor for a ground invasion and “the opening shot of the final act in the scenario for removing him.”
If the report is correct in its claim that a ground invasion is imminent, it would mean that a plan for boots on the ground originally scheduled for the end of October has been dramatically accelerated, which is perhaps a reflection on the fact that Al-Qaeda-affiliated rebels have thus far failed to depose Gaddafi.
As we reported last month, sources from Ft. Hood, Texas as well as CENTCOM contacted us to reveal that the 1st Calvary Division (heavy armor) and III Corps were being deployed to Libya in late October and early November, and that a total of 30,000 US troops would be in place by that time.
DebkaFile is a pro-Israel intelligence-gathering website run out of Jerusalem. It has been labeled a media arm of Mossad, yet claims published on the website in the past have proven accurate, including a 2000 prediction that terrorists would attack the World Trade Center in New York.
In addition to Israeli sources, Russian Envoy Dmitry Rogozin told RIA Novosti on Friday, ““I think that now we are witnessing the preparation stage of a ground operation which NATO, or at least some of its members… are ready to begin.”
Lawmakers in Washington are increasingly irate at an intervention that has already cost nearly a billion dollars, particularly with regard to how the administration has ludicrously attempted to argue that America’s role in a bombardment does not represent a “war,” in addition to Obama’s arrogance last week in claiming he doesn’t “even need to get to the Constitutional question” while justifying the war.
Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a regular fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show.
NATO has been pumping propaganda out of Libya to justify its “humanitarian war” against the government of Moammar Gadhaffi. Until now, NATO has succeeded in large part because ordinary citizens around the world have no access to direct intelligence on which to base their own opinions. As the former CIA Asset who covered Libya at the United Nations from 1995 to 2003 during negotiations for the Lockerbie Trial, I am compelled to break past that propaganda to examine actual evidence.
Responding to numerous requests, I am sharing primary evidence that I receive daily from sources inside Tripoli. Video documentation comes from Libyan refugees, collected by a fact finding commission called “Global Civilians for Peace in Libya.” The fact-finding team includes Europeans, Africans, Americans and international human rights attorneys, who are preparing allegations of War Crimes against NATO. Judging from these videos, financial damages that NATO will be required to pay Libya should be stupendous, indeed.
Above all, it’s clear NATO has grossly misrepresented its arguments at the United Nations, in order to justify military action against Gadhaffi. Britain and France trusted bad intelligence from unreliable sources, trying to gain power from the conflict. A more careful investigation shows that it is the NATO Rebels who are guilty of serious war crimes—not Gadhaffi’s soldiers at all. Sanctions should be thrown out, and NATO should shift its military forces to back Gadhaffi in defending the Libyan people.
Never play truth or dare with a spy.
The videos portray horrific atrocities. There are two important reasons why NATO Rebels would commit these acts. First, in committing war crimes, NATO Rebels have deployed a strategy for provoking panic and confusion at the street level, where they must control the people. They have frightened their opposition into silent submission. Ordinary Libyans can see with their own eyes that Libyan Rebels are all powerful, protected by NATO and CIA enforcers. Pro-Gadhaffi loyalists had better shut their mouths or face terrible consequences...[Full Article]
On Sunday, CNN reported on a huge Marine war exercise dubbed Exercise Mailed Fist.
“The exercise is designed to test the capability of every type of Marine Corps aircraft, including MV-22 Ospreys and F/A 18 Hornets, as well as some Navy ships and Air Force planes,” CNN reported.
The exercise will encompass a large area on the U.S. East Coast – from Quantico Marine Base in northern Virginia to the Navy’s Pinecastle Bombing Range in Florida. Most of the exercise activity will occur above North and South Carolina.
The drill begins today and ends on Friday.
Thousands of Marines will take part. According to CNN, it will be biggest drill of its kind ever held on the East Coast.
“Exercise Mailed Fist is the first exercise of its specific kind and the largest 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing exercise conducted in recent history,” Staff Sgt. Roman J. Yurek, Marine Corps spokesman, told CNN. “In the past, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing units had to deploy to the West Coast to conduct this type of training.”
It appears the Pentagon has released information about the exercise exclusively to CNN. A Google News Search produces scant results on Exercise Mailed Fist.
CNN is a notorious focal point for Pentagon psyops. In 2000, the Pentagon confirmed that psyops personnel, soldiers and officers, have worked in the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. In February of that year, Dutch journalist, Abe de Vries, reported on the presence of U.S. Army personnel at CNN for the Dutch daily newspaper Trouw.
Obama will visit Fort Drum in New York on Thursday. It is speculated he will announce a decision on drawing down U.S. forces in Afghanistan, but the visit may also be related to a plan to send ground troops into Libya.
The huge military exercise comes at a critical time. As we reported last week, the United States is in the preparatory stages of a ground invasion of Libya and a campaign against Syria.
“Infowars.com has received alarming reports from within the ranks of military stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas confirming plans to initiate a full-scale U.S.-led ground invasion in Libya and deploy troops by October,” Aaron Dykes reported on June 15.
Moreover, the source stated that additional Special Forces will be sent to Libya in July, with the 1st Calvary Division (heavy armor) and III Corps deploying in late October and early November. Initial numbers are estimated at 12,000 active forces and another 15,000 in support, totaling nearly 30,000 troops.
Other calls to the Alex Jones Show from military personnel confirmed the reports.
NATO air strikes killed nine civilians in the Arada neighbourhood of Tripoli, which is a known anti-Gaddafi stronghold, the regime said Sunday. The incident occurred a day after the government accused NATO of specifically targeting civilians.
AFP - NATO said Sunday it was investigating Libyan claims that nine civilians, two of them of toddlers, were killed in an alliance air raid and would be "very sorry" if that were the case.
"NATO is looking into this matter," said spokesman Wing Commander Mike Bracken. "NATO was operating in Tripoli last night, conducting air strikes against a legitimate military target."
Libyan government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim told AFP that a NATO air strike on a residential district of Tripoli early on Sunday killed nine people, five of them from the same family, and wounded 18...[Full Article]
Infowars.com has received alarming reports from within the ranks of military stationed at Ft. Hood, Texas confirming plans to initiate a full-scale U.S.-led ground invasion in Libya and deploy troops by October.
The source stated that additional Special Forces are headed to Libya in July, with the 1st Calvary Division (heavy armor) and three corps deploying in late October and early November. Initial numbers are estimated at 12,000 active forces and another 15,000 in support, totaling nearly 30,000 troops.
This information was confirmed by numerous calls and e-mails from other military personnel, some indicating large troop deployment as early as September. Among these supporting sources is a British S.A.S. officer confirming that U.S. Army Rangers are already in Libya. The chatter differs in the details, but the overall convergence is clear– that a full-on war is emerging this fall as Gaddafi continues to evade attempts to remove him from power.
A caller identified as “Specialist H” working for mortuary affairs under USCENTCOM revealed that there have already been American casualties inside Libya. He confirmed that at least 2 soldiers and 3 civilians have died from combat bullet wounds, something the media has yet to report, and needs to investigate and address.
Geo-political expert Dr. Webster Tarpley also told the Alex Jones Show today that wider war is being planned for Libya, while the count of simultaneous U.S. wars has reached five conflicts– including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya and Yemen. The potential for an even greater spread of regional conflict could well provoke a World War III scenario, drawing in tenuous nations like Syria, Lebanon, Iran or even Saudi Arabia, according to Tarpley.
For his part, President Obama has brushed off demands to answer to Congress for continuing military action beyond the 60 day limit set under the war powers act. The engagement he first claimed would be over in mere days, Obama then dubbed a “kinetic action” rather than a war. Further, Obama has justified his commitment of American forces under a United Nations mandate, unconcerned by his own admission with the will of Congress. Now, with significant overlap in reports, we can confirm an apparent decision by Obama to support wider war and a longer-term involvement in Libya.
