Demonstraton Against War in Libya
9 Jul 2011

Libya demo
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - Buoyed by what they cite as reports from military analysts as well as rebel forces in Libya, hundreds of protestors organized by the International ANSWER Coalition paraded in front of the White House July 9, to protest U.S.-led NATO air attacks on Libya.

white house
Libyan rebels are now convinced that they have the upper hand in the battle against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi (Wikipedia says his full, formal title is "Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya"), but are themselves accused of human rights violations. Human Rights Watch says:

"We documented fairly widespread looting of homes and shops, the burning of some homes of suspected Gaddafi supporters and - most disturbingly - the vandalisation of three medical clinics [and] local small hospitals, including the theft of some of the medical equipment."

sign
The BBC has provided an map of the actions in Libya. The Russian Foreign Minister has declared that “Gaddafi must go. There is no place for him in the new Libya.” Roughly four months after the war started, Libyan rebels are sitting down with EU officials, including the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso.

whiite house
In an embarrassing rift within NATO over Libya, French defence minister Gerard Longuet called for the Transitional National Council in Benghazi to open direct negotiations with the government of Muammar Qaddafi, while the US stuck to its position that Qaddafi must go. In the French system cabinet members seldom have much discretion to carve out their own positions, so Longuet’s remarks almost certainly simply conveyed the current sentiments of President Nicolas Sarkozy.

women & children
Very interesting piece from Al Jazeera on why it is that the US can sustain these apparently-endless wars that seem to just drag on forever without reaching any conclusion. It's very much a matter of money and who pays it. Further commentary on rebel atrocities in Libya.

fightin' the good fight
Of course, Libya is not the only place where the US maintains a military presence, so the peace movement will battle that as well.