Strategic Culture Foundation: America’s Death Pornography Culture - Celebrating brutal deaths of Qaddafi and Saddam
As Qaddafi’s body, along with those of his son, Mo’tassim, and the former Libyan army commander, Abu Bakr Yunis, rotted in a meat freezer in Misrata – for the whole world to see -- more details emerged about Qaddafi’s last hours in Sirte. On October 19, at around 8:00 am in Sirte, a convoy of 70 vehicles departed the heavily-bombed out city, heading west. There were also Twitter messages coming out of Sirte reporting that several white flags of surrender were seen in the city at day break. However, a CIA Predator drone tracking the convoy passed its coordinates on to NATO. French and other NATO jets pounded the convoy, incinerating many of the drivers and passengers. Many of those killed were black Libyans. There are now reports of mass graves in Sirte containing the bodies of scores of Qaddafi supporters and fellow tribal members.
There have been some reports that a truce and a surrender by Qaddafi and his forces was worked out between some rebel leaders and Qaddafi’s entourage through the auspices of the Qaddadfa (the tribe to which Qaddafi belonged) tribal leaders in Sirte. After the convoy was on the highway heading west, with reported white flags from some of the vehicles, the motorcade, which was not engaging in fire with rebel or NATO forces, was set upon by NATO forces. Witnesses to the surrender and/or safe passage negotiations will be hard to come by, since one of those murdered in his home in Sirte by Libyan rebels was reportedly the chief of the Qaddadfa tribe who was part of the negotiations for surrender and safe passage.
Reports that Qaddafi and his group were trying to make a dash through the offensive lines around Sirte make no sense since the convoy left after sun up and in broad daylight, when white flags could clearly be seen by the belligerents, and the Twitter messages out of Sirte indicated that rebels, pro-Qaddafi forces, and neutral observers could all see the white flags. If Qaddafi wanted to make a break for it, he would have done so at night with headlights out.
One of the last things Qaddafi is heard asking his captors is “Do you know right from wrong?” If the rebels or NATO reneged on a promise of safe passage and ignored the universally-recognized white flag signifying truce and surrender, it would constitute a gross violation of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, and would, therefore, be a war crime. Under the conventions, the white flag is protected as a sign that an approaching party intends to surrender or negotiate the terms of surrender. Those displaying a white flag may not fire or be fired upon.
If NATO and the rebels violated the white flag in Sirte, it would represent one of the first major violations of a practice that began with the Eastern Han dynasty in China in the year 25, and was recognized by the Roman Empire, armies during the Middle Ages, and every major and minor nation since. A violation by NATO of the flag of truce would represent a flagrant return to barbarism by the “collective defensive” organization.
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Madsen does not produce the specific Twitter feeds, and such should not of themselves be considered conclusive - after all, it was the unsubstantiated "tweets" out of Paris alleging a Qadaffi massacre of protesters that got this campaign rolling in the first place. However, we did come across this tweet from the otherwise NATO-subservient Ian Pannell of the BBC that would suggest that non-recognition of the white flag of surrender was among the rules of engagement of the NTC forces...
@iPannellbbc: Families from #Sirte waving white flag turned back on the road to #Misrata by rebels under orders. Wont b allowed thru 'til Sat.
1 Sep via web
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Update
A November 1 report in the Independent indicates that an agreement had been reached to have Qadaffi and others in his convoy spirited out of the country, but that he along with his rescuers were double crossed...
'Wonga Coup' mercenaries fixed Gaddafi's doomed last flight
An international operation to rescue Muammar Gaddafi from his besieged last refuge involved mercenaries who had taken part in the notorious "Wonga Coup" led by former SAS officer Simon Mann, The Independent has learnt.
Crause Steyl, a pilot and one-time business partner of Sir Mark Thatcher, had taken part, along with the former prime minister's son, in the failed attempt to overthrow the dictator of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. He was asked, just after the Libyan dictator's death, to fly stranded soldiers of fortune out of a mission "which had gone badly wrong". (He declined to help.)
The private force of South Africans are said to have undertaken the task of getting Gaddafi out of the country via the convoy in the belief it had the backing of the Western powers. The men were recruited, it is claimed, by a woman of British background – whose name cannot currently be published for legal reasons – living in Kenya and working on behalf of a company in London.
However, the extraction of Gaddafi ended in ferocious violence and confusion when the convoy carrying him out of Sirte, his birthplace where he made his final stand, drove into an ambush with sustained air strikes from French warplanes and ground attacks from rebel fighters. The venture came to a bloody end, with Gaddafi tortured and killed, and some of the South Africans with him reported killed, injured and captured. This has led to recriminations and accusations of betrayal. At least some of those taking part believe that the hidden aim of those who had hired them was not to save the former Libyan leader but to deliver him into the hands of his enemies...
Danie Odendaal, one of the fighters, claimed he was with Gaddafi when the convoy was attacked. He has told South African media that three groups of South Africans were flown in to Libya via Dubai and Cairo to help the Gaddafi family under a deal done with Nato.
The plan, he said, was initially to take Gaddafi to Niger. "We all believed they [certain Western countries] wanted him out of Libya. But then Nato attacked. It was a gruesome, gruesome orgy, I think we were sold out"...
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Here are a few of the more plausible reasons why he needed not only to be ousted, but murdered...
Reuters (Jan 21 2009): Gaddafi says looking at oil firm nationalization
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Wednesday his country and other oil exporters were looking into nationalizing foreign firms due to low oil prices and suggested Tripoli might not stick to OPEC production quotas...
GoldStockBull (May 6 2011): Invasion of Libya was About Gaddafi's Plan to Introduce Gold Dinar
Under the guise of “protecting civilians,” the United States led NATO into Libya and is attempting to assassinate the Libyan leader. Of course, Libya happens to be the largest oil producer in Africa, but many do not realize that Gaddafi was planning to introduce the gold dinar, a single African currency that would serve as an alternative to the U.S. dollar and allow African nations to share the wealth...
Simply put, if oil-rich nations begin trading in something other than dollars it will significantly reduce demand for dollars and threaten the dollar’s role as world reserve currency. Many experts belief this would lead to the quick death of the fiat greenback, which is now backed by nothing but faith in a government that is running an annual budget deficit of over $1.5 TRILLION...
GR Reporter (10 June 2010): Route of Solar Energy from Sahara to Europe will Pass through Greece
Memorandum of economic cooperation between Greece and Libya was signed by the Prime Minister George Papandreou and Muammar Gaddafi during a meeting in the tent of the Libyan leader in Tripoli.
Muammar Gaddafi expressed his willingness Libya and Greece to cooperate in all areas, and the Prime Minister al-Mahmoudi proposed an amount of the 200 billion dollars available to the Government of Libya for investments to be invested in Greece...
