Syrian government resigns

(CNN) -- The Syrian government resigned Tuesday amid an unusual wave of unrest that has roiled the nation, state TV reported.

President Bashar al-Assad accepted the resignations Tuesday, the same day that tens of thousands of Syrians poured onto the streets of Damascus to demonstrate in favor of the government.

A new government should be named in a few hours, said Reem Haddad, a spokeswoman for the Syrian Information Ministry.

Meanwhile, the president plans to make "a very important speech" on Wednesday, she said. The speech will "reassure the Syrian people," the state-run SANA news agency has reported.

The pro-government rally on Tuesday followed violent clashes between protesters and security forces in the cities of Daraa and Latakia in recent days. At least 37 people have been killed since last week, according to the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Syria is the latest in a string of Arabic-speaking nations beset with discontent over economic and human rights issues. Syria's discontent is centered Daraa, a southern city in the impoverished country's agricultural region, where security forces and anti-government protesters have sporadically clashed for nearly two weeks.

Many demonstrators at the pro-government rally held posters of the president. Others waved Syrian flags, while some painted their faces and chests in national colors.

Crowds filled the square in front of the Central Bank and jammed all roads leading to it, aerial pictures on state TV showed.

There were also pro-government rallies in the cities of Aleppo, Hama and Hasaka, the broadcaster said.

source: CNN news

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Gadhafi's son was on U.S. internship until crisis

Washington (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son, who runs the country's elite special forces for his father's regime, was on an internship program in the United States when public unrest exploded in Libya last month.

Khamis Gadhafi abruptly cut off his visit and returned to Libya, where he has led the 32nd Reinforced Brigade, known at the Khamis Brigade, in its brutal suppression of rebel forces.

The brigade's headquarters was the target of six Tomahawk missiles overnight, according to Vice Adm. William Gortney of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gortney described the brigade as "one of the most active in terms of attacking innocent people."

Libya's state TV on Monday night broadcast live footage from Gadhafi's Tripoli compound of Khamis Gadhafi dressed in uniform and greeting people. Prior to the broadcast there had been unconfirmed reports that the younger Gadhafi had died from injuries he suffered when a plane flown by a disgruntled Libyan pilot crashed into a military compound while he was there.

ABC News was the first to report Khamis Gadhafi's recent stay in the United States.

The month-long internship was sponsored by AECOM, a global engineering and design company based in Los Angeles, and with the assistance of the State Department.

AECOM has business dealings with Libya.

The younger Gadhafi traveled from coast to coast meeting with high-tech companies, universities and defense contractors. His itinerary included stops in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Colorado, Chicago, Houston, Washington and New York City.

Khamis Gadhafi left the United States for Libya on February 17.

Paul Gennaro, the senior vice president and chief communications officer for AECOM, issued a statement saying, "The educational internship, which consisted of publicly available information, was aligned with our efforts to improve quality of life, specifically in Libya, where we were advancing public infrastructure such as access to clean water; quality housing; safe and efficient roads and bridges; reliable and affordable energy; and related projects that create jobs and opportunity."

Gennaro said the company was "shocked and outraged" to learn of Khamis Gadhafi's role in the Libyan crisis. "We were aware of the student's family relationship, but we were not informed of any military connection whatsoever," Gennaro said. It was the company's understanding that Khamis Gadhafi was an MBA student from an accredited university in Spain. "The student was positioned to help oversee improvements in Libya's quality of life and infrastructure initiatives, which the country had been advancing since 2007," he said. The U.S. State Department was aware of and approved all the meetings, Gennaro said.

According to Gennaro, AECOM did not provide any funding for either Khamis Gadhafi or the internship program.

Since 2008, AECOM has been involved in a multibillion-dollar initiative with Libya to modernize the country's infrastructure. The company withdrew all its expatriate employees and their families from Libya earlier this month. The joint project to train Libyan engineers to build and maintain homes, roads and water systems is on hold.

source: CNN NEWS

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Why Libya 2011 is not Iraq 2003

Editor's note: Peter Bergen is the director of the national security studies program at the New America Foundation in Washington; a fellow at New York University's Center on Law and Security; and CNN's national security analyst. He is the author of the new book, "The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda."

(CNN) -- A critique of the U.S. involvement in the military intervention in Libya that will no doubt be common in coming days is that the Obama administration is making a large error by embarking on a war with a third Muslim country, as if reversing Moammar Gadhafi's momentum against the rebels will be a rerun of the debacle of the war against Saddam Hussein.

A further element of this view is that -- whatever the outcome of the Libyan intervention -- the United States' standing in the Islamic world will once again be severely damaged by an attack on a Muslim nation.


There are, of course, some real similarities between Hussein and Gadhafi -- both ruthless and erratic dictators of oil-rich regimes who fought bloody wars with their neighbors, brutalized their own populations, sought weapons of mass destruction, and sired some equally unattractive sons and heirs.

The déjà vu quality of the Libyan situation may help account for recent polls taken before the intervention which found that while Americans were either split or slightly in favor of imposing a no-fly zone over Libya, most were opposed to stronger U.S. military action.

But the military intervention that President Obama authorized against Libya on Saturday-- eight years to the day after President George W. Bush announced the commencement of "Operation Iraqi Freedom" -- is a quite different operation than the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Beyond the obvious difference that Obama has not authorized the use of U.S. ground forces in Libya, there are several other differences to consider:

First, the Obama administration was handed a gift by the Arab League, which in its more than six-decade history has garnered a well-earned reputation as a feckless talking shop, but unusually took a stand one week ago by endorsing a no-fly zone over Libya.

That endorsement put the Arab League way out in front of the Obama administration, which was then dithering about whether to do anything of substance to help the rebels fighting Gadhafi.

The unexpected action by the Arab League gave the administration the impetus and diplomatic cover to then go to the United Nations Security Council to secure a broad resolution endorsing not only a no-fly zone, but also allowing member states to "take all necessary measures" to protect civilians in Libya.

This U.N. resolution is reminiscent of the one that President George H.W. Bush secured in November 1990, which gave Iraq six weeks to withdraw from Kuwait following Hussein's invasion of that country. The U.N. resolution in 1990 similarly empowered states to use "all necessary means" to force Iraq out of Kuwait if Hussein ignored the deadline.

The similarities do not end there. The coalition that massed to drive Hussein out of Kuwait involved significant forces from major Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. So too the Libyan no-fly zone will be enforced by Qatar, along with western powers such as France and the U.K.

This is all quite in contrast to George W. Bush's ineffectual attempts to gather international support for the invasion of Iraq in 2003. There was no U.N. resolution explicitly authorizing the use of military force against Hussein, and no Muslim countries participated in the American invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Indeed, before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the Turkish parliament voted against allowing American troops passage across Turkey to invade northern Iraq, which put a wrench in U.S. military planning.

Underlining the fact that the Iraq War was widely viewed as illegitimate by Muslim countries, the same year that Turkey voted against allowing American soldiers to use its soil to attack Iraq, Turkish soldiers were also leading the International Security Assistance Force helping to keep the peace in post-Taliban Afghanistan, a military operation that was also authorized by the United Nations and was not seen as illegitimate by much of the Muslim world.

The Bush administration's largely unilateral decision to go to war in Iraq (the U.K. and a few other nations provided troops) undermined America's standing in Islamic countries. A poll taken a few months after the 2003 invasion found that Indonesians, Jordanians, Turks, and Moroccans all expressed more "confidence" that Osama bin Laden would "do the right thing" than that Bush would.

According to a poll four years later, America's favorability ratingstood at 9% in Turkey (down from 52% before September 11, 2001) and 29% in Indonesia (down from 75% before September 11).

Finally, another key difference between the Iraq war and the Libyan operation is that the casus belli for Iraq was based on highly classified intelligence accessible to few people -- later proved to be wrong -- that Saddam Hussein continued to maintain a weapons of mass destruction program. By contrast, the Libyan intervention was caused by the real time evidence provided by the world's leading media organizations -- including, of course, Al Jazeera -- that Gadhafi is massacring his own people.

The high level of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world that was generated by the Iraq War is unlikely to be replicated by U.S. military action against Libya, because Gadhafi is widely reviled in the Arab world. His antics on the world stage have earned him the enmity of even his fellow autocrats -- who will not be welcoming him if he chooses to "retire" to Saudi Arabia as other murderous dictators of his ilk have in the past (think Idi Amin).

And the fact that both the Arab League and the United Nations have endorsed a military action against Gadhafi strongly suggests that the Libyan intervention will not generate a renewed wave of anti-Americanism in the Muslim world.

Instead, it underlines a striking feature of the protests that have roiled the Middle East in the past several weeks: Strikingly absent from those protests has been the ritualized burning of American flags, something that hitherto was largely pro forma in that part of the world. That's because Arabs have finally been able to express publicly that their biggest enemy is not the United States, but their own rulers.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Peter Bergen.

source: http://edition.cnn.com/

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Libya attack photos -RAF strikes against Gaddafi's forces branded 'a success' as bombed out tanks and cars litter the roads near Benghazi

Burnt out tanks and cars belonging to forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi today littered the road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah.

The RAF proclaimed the start of hostilities a success just hours after British and American warships unleashed cruise missiles against Libya as the world finally lost patience with the dictator.

Tornado jets, submarines and stealth bombers fired 112 Tomahawk missiles and dropped explosives on 20 coastal locations as Gaddafi's men tried to take control of rebel-held Benghazi.

Stormshadow missiles were launched from GR4 fast jets which had flown 3,000 miles from RAF Marham in Norfolk and back - the longest range bombing since the Falklands.

David Cameron today pronounced the action was 'legal and right'.

• RAF Tornado jets launch 3,000-mile missile assault from Norfolk
• Arab league criticises strikes for going beyond the international agreement and killing civilians
• 94 people reported to have died in Gaddafi's strike on Benghazi
• Italy says it will do whatever it can to free crew of tugboat captured off the coast in Tripoli
• Cameron says 'what we are doing is necessary, legal and right'
• Chancellor George Osborne says no ground troop invasion on the cards 'at the moment'
• Three US B-2 stealth bombers dropped 40 bombs on Libyan airfields
• 112 Tomahawk missiles fired at Libyan air-defence by coalition troops

Full force: A huge explosion engulfs several cars with Gaddafi forces today as the full allied assault gets underway

Aftemath: A bus burns on the outskirts of Benghazi while the road to Alwayfiyah is littered with burnt out tanks

A tank belonging to Gaddafi forces explodes in a ball of flames after an air strike by allied forces

The head of the Arab League has criticized international strikes on Libya, saying they caused civilian deaths. The Arab League's support for a no-fly zone last week helped overcome reluctance in the West for action in Libya. The U.N. authorized not only a no-fly zone but also "all necessary measures" to protect civilians.

Amr Moussa says the military operations have gone beyond what the Arab League backed. He said: 'What we want is civilians' protection not shelling more civilians.'

Russia called for a stop to the 'indiscriminate' use of force that it said had killed civilians and that the air strikes went beyond the mandate of the UN Security Council resolution.

Alexander Lukashevich foreign ministry spokesman for the Kremlin said that U.S. and European air raids had killed 48 civilians and a medical centre was partially destroyed. Russia also announced this afternoon that it was evacuating some of its diplomatic staff and citizens from Tripoli through Tunisia in the coming days.

Italian officials said on Sunday that they would do whatever it takes to free the crew of an Italian tugboat apparently seized by Libyan officials at Tripoli's port as U.S. and European airstrikes enforced a no-fly zone over Libya

A bombed out tank hit in what is believed to have been a French airstrike

A huge explosion follows an air strike this morning hitting vehicles along the road from Benghazi to Ajdabiyah

Rebel fighters soon arrived at the scene of the bombings

A man celebrates while shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is the greatest!) as a huge explosion follows a direct hit. Meanwhile a rebel fighter shows official government documents found at the scene of an attack

The "Asso 22" tug of the Naples-based shipping company Augusta Offshore SrL has eight Italian, two Indian and one Ukrainian crew members aboard, state-run RAI television said. Armed men, including one believed to be the Tripoli port commander, detained the crew as Libyan workers aboard were disembarking Saturday and prevented the vessel from leaving port, the report said.

Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said Sunday that Italy was prepared to evacuate the crew "with every possible means".

Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the situation was fluid and confusing, but that he couldn't exclude that it amounted to a seizure. He said Eni, Italy's oil and gas giant which has significant interests in Libya, had rented the tug for use at oil platforms off the coast.

'Now they're taking it to the base of an Eni refinery,' Frattini said. 'We don't know what their intentions are, but we obviously can't exclude that we're dealing with a seizure, given that it's still a confused situation.'

Colonel Gaddafi today branded the allied attacks 'terrorism' and Libyan officials said that 64 people had been killed as a result of the aerial bombardment.

He also said that Libyan forces on the ground would be victorious, adding he would never leave the country and claimed to be arming a million people to defend him and the capital, Tripoli.

A Royal Navy Trafalgar-class submarine stationed in the Mediterranean took part in the co-ordinated assault, which also involved forces from the U.S., France, Italy and Canada under the operational control of US Africa Command.

A British nuclear-powered submarine was among the vessels in the Mediterranean that targeted Gaddafis defences near Tripoli and the town of Misurata.

Outside Tripoli it is believed that an Italian tugboat has been seized earlier today with several people on board. Italian officials have said they will do whatever it takes to free the crew

Rejoicing: Rebels today show they are happy that coalition forces have enforced the no-fly zone

The assault was led by the United States, which also has Tomahawk-equipped submarines in the region. Chancellor George Osborne said this morning: 'We are not considering ground forces at the moment.

'We are undertaking operations from our Navy, through the submarine-launched cruise missiles and the RAF and the Tornado planes the flew missions last night.'

He added: 'We are there to enforce a cease fire and protect the civilian population,' he said. 'We are not there to put an occupying force into the country.

'This is all about creating the space for the Libyan people to take their own decisions for the future and not be under vicious military assault from their own government.

Four tanks destroyed by the allied aerial assault continue to smoulder in al-Wyfiyah 35 km West of Benghazi

Vehicles belonging to forces loyal to Gaddafi burn after the air strike by coalition forces on a road between Benghazi and Ajdabiyah

'I don't think the Libyan government and Colonel Gaddafi should be in any doubt that we will enforce the will of the United Nations.'

Defence Secretary Liam Fox said: 'The fast jets flew 3,000 miles from RAF Marham and back, making this the longest range bombing mission conducted by the RAF since the Falklands conflict.

'This operation was supported by VC10 and Tristar air-to-air refuelling aircraft as well as E3D Sentry and Sentinel surveillance aircraft.'

Dr Fox said HMS Westminster was off the coast of Libya, and HMS Cumberland was in the region ready to support operations. Typhoon aircraft were also standing by to provide 


·         If your country doesn't stop Gaddafi today he will kill all of us - and he will kill you too...

·         MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT: Sending in the warplanes is the easy part

·         Ronald Reagan was famously known as The Great Communicator but paralysis over Libya has landed Barack Obama with the title The Great Vacillator

·         PETER HITCHENS: Why can't we just let the Libyans fight it out (...and then make friends with the winners)

·         The Battle of Benghazi: City seemed lost to Gaddafi forces but was retaken by rebels

·         British cameraman among four journalists captured by Gaddafi fighters in Tripoli

A rebel fighter makes a victory as he walks amid the aftermath of an allied attack on pro-government forces

A Libyan man holds ammunition gathered from the bodies of Gaddafi loyalists

Last night, the US Pentagon reported that 112 Tomahawk missiles had been fired from both US and British ships and submarines in Operation Odyssey Dawn while three B-2 stealth bombers from the U.S. have dropped 40 bombs on Libyan airfields. He added: 'Our capable and adaptable armed forces are once again displaying their courage and professionalism. This action has provided a strong signal - the international community will not stand by while the Libyan people suffer under the Gaddafi regime.'

A spokesman said: ˜The missiles struck more than 20 integrated air-defence systems and other defence facilities ashore. These strikes were carefully co-ordinated with our coalition partners.

The targets themselves were selected based on a collective assessment that the sites either pose a direct threat to the coalition pilots or, through use by the regime, pose a direct threat to the people of Libya.

I want to stress that this is just the first phase of what will likely be a multi-phased military operation designed to enforce the United Nations resolution and deny the Libyan regime the ability to use force against its own people.

He added that most of the locations targeted were on or near the coast. The British submarine involved in the operation, codenamed Operation Ellamy by the UK military, was the 130-crew HMS Triumph. It can carry up to 30 weapons, including Tomahawk missiles and heavy torpedoes.

The Royal Navy bought 65 Tomahawks in 1995 at a cost of $1 million (£650,000) each from US defence firm Raytheon Systems. Two American destroyers, the USS Barry and Stout, have been deployed. According to a Pentagon source, each carries up to 96 Tomahawk missiles.

The charred remains of cars belonging to dozens of Gaddafi loyalists litter the sides of roads on the outskirts of Benghazi

A rebel fighter looks at burning vehicles belonging to Gaddafi forces

Two amphibious assault ships, the USS Ponce and Kearsarge, carrying 1,600 Marines, anti-missile defence systems and helicopter fleets, were also off the Libyan coast, as was the command support vessel USS Mount Whitney. An aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise, equipped with dozens of fighter planes, was reported to be heading for the area.The total number of Tomahawks in our inventory is classified but I dont think theres any danger of running out, the spokesman said. ˜The bigger danger is we know virtually nothing about whos going to control Libya after we wipe out Gaddafi.

As the attacks began yesterday, Libyan state TV claimed that˜civilianâ targets in Tripoli were being bombarded by planes of crusader enemies. It later added that the international coalition had also 'targeted fuel storesâ for Misurata, which Gaddafis forces attacked with tanks and heavy artillery on Friday, killing more than 40 people.

Gaddafi appeared on TV to say he was opening up munition stores to the people. He said: It is now necessary to open the stores and arm all the masses with all types of weapons to defend the independence, unity and honour of Libya.

Last night there were reports of loud explosions east of Tripoli amid unconfirmed reports that the Tomahawks had successfully hit Gaddafis air traffic control installations and aircraft hangars.

It followed a day of high drama in which tanks and armoured vehicles were also destroyed in air strikes by French warplanes after pro-Gaddafi forces attacked the rebel stronghold of Benghazi in violation of the UN resolution.

About 20 French Rafale and Mirage warplanes were involved in the first phase of the operation. France last night denied that one of its aircraft had been shot down. The French were quick to acknowledge the success of their own role.Yes, we have destroyed a number of tanks and armoured vehicles, said a French official.

It was later reported that four Libyan tanks had been hit to the south-west of Benghazi. The final decision to launch military action was taken at an emergency summit in Paris attended by world leaders, including David Cameron, who declared that the time for action has come.

Along with European and North American allies, a number of Arab nations signed up to a communique pledging all necessary action to bring an end to the grave and massive violations of humanitarian law being committed by Gaddafi.

Countries including Canada, Denmark, Spain and Norway were sending planes while Italy said it would permit the use of air bases such as Sigonella in Sicily and Aviano in the north to launch sorties

An elderly rebel fighter gestures in front of a destroyed tank while the turret of a tank belonging to Gaddafi forces lies on the ground after an air assault

At war: The U.S. navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer launches a Tomahawk missile at Libyan air defences in Operation Odyssey Dawn

A Tomahawk missile launches from USS Stout as part of Operation Odyssey Dawn

British jets are performing a range of tasks, with RAF Tornados aiming at targets on the ground, Typhoon fighters performing air combat sorties, and AWACS planes and Sentinel R1s helping with mapping the ground and reconnaissance. It is understood they will be based in southern Italy under the overall command of the United States naval base in Naples.

Three US submarines carrying Tomahawk missiles were in the Mediterranean poised to bombard Libyas air defences and runways to enforce the no-fly zone, according to a defence official. 

Signalling the start of the international offensive, French warplanes took off in the afternoon from their base at Saint-Dizier in eastern France. The French aircraft fired the first shots at 4.45pm.

At RAF Marham in Norfolk, Tornado GR4 bombers were prepared by ground crews from early morning. Lorries carrying missiles were taken to the shelters where the Tornados are housed. Shortly after 8pm, a pair of GR4s were seen preparing to take off.

Similar preparations were made at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire, where Typhoons were spotted yesterday.

Two 1,500mph Tornado jets from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland were flown to Marham just before 11.30am to join the massive build-up. Later, two warplanes, F-15 Strike Eagle ground-attack jets, took off from nearby Lakenheath, from where US planes left in 1986 to bomb Libya.

Meanwhile, Canada has committed six F-18 fighter jets. Spain is deploying a submarine, a frigate and a surveillance plane. 

Night vision: Tomahawk cruise missiles fired from USS Barry in the Mediterranean Sea

Lockerbie bomber flees Tripoli

Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Al Megrahi was among thousands evacuated in Libya yesterday.

The 58-year-old was moved from his family home in Tripoli to a secure unit.We know targets are already being worked out by the West, and Brother Al Megrahi is certain to be high on the list, said an impeccably placed source within Gaddafis regime, which views the bomber as a national hero.

The source, who helped negotiate the convicted murderers 2009 release from a Scottish prison, added: It would make life very easy for the West if Al Megrahi was no longer a problem  we will do everything we can to protect him.

Plain-clothes police and armed soldiers were still visible around Al Megrahis home in the New Damascus district of Tripoli, but neighbours confirmed he had been moved.The government does not want him here it is too dangerous, said one.

Military strike is 'necessary, legal and right,' says Cameron

A sombre David Cameron stood on the steps of 10 Downing Street last night and praised the bravery of British forces who have gone into action to crush Colonel Gaddafi.

The U.S. military said 112 Tomahawk cruise missiles were fired from American and British ships in the first phase of Operation Odyssey Dawn.

Britain, the U.S., France, Canada and Italy were all launching strikes in the biggest international military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 Iraq war.

Strike force: Tornado GR4 bombers at RAF Marham yesterday

Speaking on his return from a Paris war summit with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, David Cameron vowed to stop this dictator who murders his own people.

He hailed British airmen and sailors involved in the first waves of attacks last night as the bravest of the brave.

Tonight British forces are in action over Libya,  he said.  They are part of an international coalition that has come together to enforce the will of the United Nations and to protect the Libyan people.

We have all seen the appalling brutality that Colonel Gaddafi has meted out against his own people. And far from introducing the ceasefire he spoke about, he has actually stepped up the attacks and the brutality that we can all see. 

So what we are doing is necessary, it is legal and it is right. It is necessary because with others we should be trying to prevent him using his military against his own people.

It is legal because we have the backing of the UN Security Council and also of the Arab League and many others. And it is right because I believe that we should not stand aside while this dictator murders his own people.

Longtime Libyan leader Gaddafi vowed to defend his country from what he called 'crusader aggression' and warned the involvement of international forces will subject the Mediterranean and North African region to danger and put civilians at risk

Scrambled: A Rafale jet fighter leaves Saint-Dizier, eastern France

Thousands of regime supporters, meanwhile, packed into the sprawling Bab al-Aziziya military camp in Tripoli where Gaddafi lives to protect against attacks.

He said the international action against his forces was unjustified, calling it 'simply a colonial crusader aggression that may ignite another large-scale crusader war.'

A UK submarine is understood to have been stationed in the Mediterranean for some time without being detected.

Earlier in the day, speaking at the Paris war summit heralding the start of military action, the Prime Minister pledged to stop the slaughter  of Libyan civilians by the Gaddafi regime. He sent an uncompromising message to the Tripoli government as he joined Mr Sarkozy and Ms Clinton at the Elysee Palace.

Mr Cameron said: What is absolutely clear is that Gaddafi has broken his word, broken the ceasefire and continues to slaughter his own civilians.

This has to stop, we have to make it stop. We have to make him face the consequences. So I think it is vitally important that action takes place and takes place urgently.

There will always be unforeseen consequences of taking action but it is better to take this action than to risk the consequences of inaction which is the further slaughter of civilians by this dictator.' flouting the United Nations and its will.

With the United Nations behind us, with the clear legality of this action and with local countries supporting us as well, it is right to act.

Cameronâs diplomatic triumph over Libya was secured by deliberately rejecting Tony Blair s tactics over the Iraq War.

Throughout the bargaining of the past three weeks, the Prime Minister has been acutely aware of the controversies that have dogged his predecessor since the 2003 invasion.

Tellingly, at a specially convened Cabinet meeting on Friday morning, Mr Cameron circulated the advice of Attorney General Dominic Grieve showing that the UK had aclear and unequivocal legal basis for taking action. 

It all formed a striking contrast to the rows that raged between Mr Blair and his Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, in the run-up to the Iraq War. Mr Goldsmith advised

Mr Blair that a single UN resolution was not sufficient to authorise force, but he was overruled, and Mr Blair fought for years to keep his advice secret.

President Sarkozy said the international community was acting to protect the people of Libya from the murderous madness of a regime which by killing its own people has forfeited legitimacy.

The official communique released after the summit warned the Libyan dictator that the countries were determined to take all necessary action, including military to enforce the UN no-fly zone resolution.

The statement was signed by a number of Arab nations, as well as countries including Canada, Denmark, Spain and Norway. Italy said it would permit the use of air bases such as Sigonella in Sicily.

Mrs Clinton, in the spotlight while President Obama is in Brazil, said that the US would use its unique capabilities to support the air missions, which US officials indicated would involve missile attacks on Libyas air defences by US warships stationed in the Mediterranean.

Speaking from Brazil, President Obama said: The use of force is never our first choice. But we cannot stand idly by while a tyrant says that there will be no mercy.

Actions have consequences.  


GHADAFI'S GIRLS CLICK LINK : WORLD OF STORY

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