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Good
Morning Readers.
As
reported in the Washington Post, Libyan soldiers and paramilitaries loyal to
Moammar Gaddafi attempted Tuesday to retake territory that has been seized by
rebels, but neither side appeared to gain ground, according to accounts of
the fighting from residents and officials with the opposition movement.
In a
six-hour battle, rebels armed with tanks, anti aircraft guns and automatic
weapons repelled an overnight attack by government troops using the same
weapons in the town of Zawiya, 30 miles west of Tripoli, the Associated Press
reported.
But the
battle for control of the North African country seemed to be settling into a
stalemate, with pro-Gaddafi forces unable to recapture any of the cities or
territory held by the opposition, despite episodic attacks that included the
use of helicopters and airplanes, residents and opposition officials said.
The strikes demonstrated that the regime remained able to fight back with
potentially lethal weaponry.
At the
same time, residents opposed to Gaddafi in the capital, Tripoli, have so far
been unable to seize control of his stronghold and achieve their ultimate
goal of ousting him from power --- a fact made evident by Gaddafi's hosting
of U.S. and U.K. reporters at a seaside restaurant in the capital.
Opposition
groups have asked the international community to keep any aircraft still
under Gaddafi's control from flying or firing on them.
In what
amounted to his first news conference since protests broke out in the
country, Gaddafi held court on Monday with reporters from ABC, the BBC and
London's Sunday Times - a performance U.S. officials promptly labeled
"delusional."
He said
he could not step down from power because, under Libya's peculiar
"stateless" form of socialism, he is not a president or a king. He
also asserted that there have been no demonstrations against him in Tripoli,
ABC News reported Monday.
"My
people love me," ABC's Christiane Amanpour quoted Gaddafi as saying.
"They would die for me." She said Gaddafi also denied ever using
force against his people; accused al-Qaeda of encouraging young people to
seize arms from military installations; and said he felt betrayed by the
United States.
"I'm
surprised that we have an alliance with the West to fight al-Qaeda, and now
that we are fighting terrorists they have abandoned us," he said.
"Perhaps they want to occupy Libya."
With
opposition groups in control of much of Libya's coast and edging close to
Tripoli, fighting broke out Monday in Misurata, 125 miles east of Tripoli,
when residents fired at a helicopter that was trying to destroy the antenna
of the local radio station - an important communications tool for the
opposition.
According
to residents of the town and a witness account, the helicopter was armed with
missiles, but flew away after opposition supporters opened fire. It was the
third time in as many days that helicopters have attempted to attack the
antenna or the radio station, residents said.
The
residents were contacted by telephone and spoke on the condition of anonymity
because they fear for their lives.
Though
Misurata was overrun by protesters last Thursday, Gaddafi loyalists are still
holding out at an airbase and a barracks on the edge of the town. There are
daily attacks and counterattacks between the two sides, the residents say.
On
Monday night, two people were killed and one was injured by sniper fire
coming from the barracks, according to hospital officials, bringing to 34 the
number killed in recent days. More than 300 have been wounded, the officials
said.
A
helicopter also attacked a military weapons depot Monday in Heniya, just
outside Ajdabiya, a town about 100 miles south of Benghazi, said Idriss
Sharif, an adviser to a committee that has come together to manage Benghazi.
A
fighter pilot from the air force base in Benghazi, an opposition stronghold
600 miles east of the capital, said weapons and ammunition have been moved
from storage units in case of a strike on the base. Over the past few days,
the air force here has been setting up anti-aircraft weapons to protect
against airstrikes on the town, the center of resistance against Gaddafi's
regime.
At 4
p.m. Monday, an airstrike hit just south of the airport, slamming into a
weapons depot in Rajma village, said an official at the Benina airport,
outside the city. Earlier in the day, fighter jets were circling over the
airport but did not strike, the airport official said.
As I
write this, U.S. stock index futures were higher on Tuesday as investors
awaited testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who is not
expected to cut short the Fed's bond buying program.
Much of
the market's nearly uninterrupted gains over the past several months have
come since the Fed announced its $600 billion stimulus program. Investors
have been concerned about the impact of ending it early.
Despite
what is reported the goal of this administration is to devalue the dollar. It
is the only hope of avoiding a double dip and a retracement to recession.
I will
keep a close eye on what Chairman Bernanke has to say.
Stay tuned!
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