"We will settle accounts" – and he doesn't mean bills
You’d think this would be a greater reason to put a rocket under the bastards, and not a greater reason to cower and tremble. Better to get rid of these horrible people than to have to live with them and appease them for another generation or three.
timesofmalta.com, this evening:
Seif al-Islam also blasted Italy, Libya’s key commercial partner and its former colonial ruler, accusing it of “treason” and threatening “economic retaliation.”
“We are shocked and even irritated by your position,” he said, addressing Italy. “When you betray a partner how do you think he will react?”
Seif al-Islam said Italy would be the “first victim” if rebels took control over Libya “as terrorists and illegal immigrants would set sail from Tripoli to Lampedusa and Sicily.”
“The message to Italy is very simple: the Libyan people are united and soon we will win against the terrorists. Then we will settle accounts with the rest of the world.”
“It will be very easy to replace Italy with China or Russia,” he said.
And in a message addressed particularly to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is known to have close ties with the Libyan strongman, Seif al-Islam said: “Libya is a frontline for Italy.
“What is happening here now will determine what will happen in your country tomorrow.”
The former colonial power in Libya, Italy was initially reluctant to let go of Gaddafi but then followed the international community, while trying not to jeopardize its ties with the oil-rich North African country.
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A Libyan journalist commented on BBC News that the three Gaddafi brothers do not see eye to eye and the situation ‘will implode sooner or later’. Is there any truth in this?
Yes.
Yes. Mohammad, Gaddafi’s only son from his first wife, had a long stand-off with Mutassim, one of the many sons from his second wife, over the Coca Cola plant in Tripoli.
Daphne had uploaded the story on this blog some time ago. Am I right?
[Daphne – Yes.]
It doesn’t mean anything. Nothing is going to happen between them until the rebellion is crushed and having wreaked vengeance upon the rest of the world.
This thing is over, unless of course….
“We will settle accounts”. Sounds like one of Labour’s moderates and progressives talking about the next elections.
The tone has gone from “dar dar, zenga zenga” to “ghajn ghal ghajn u sinna ghal sinna.” As you say, Antoine, we’ve heard this before from Labour.
I guess he won’t be settling hers.
http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article964191.ece/SA-model-and-Gaddafis-son
SA model and Gaddafi’s son
‘I know a lot I can’t talk about,’ admits former swimsuit beauty who was hired to boost Saif’s image
Mar 13, 2011 12:11 AM | By LIN SAMPSON
South African model and former teen beauty queen Gina Athans was hired to give an extreme image makeover to the son of Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.
As I said three days ago (http://daphnecaruanagalizia.com/2011/03/10/dont-let-this-be-another-hungary-1956/) the BRIC countries have a role to play.
Saif al-Islam gave the game away. He is showing very, very clearly that R and C are interested in Libya.
I would exclude neither Brazil (that is why Chavez want to rope in Lula when talking of a mediating team) nor India (even though I presume that any Chinese help will be on condition that India be left out).
In other words, the Arab Revolutions are serving to allow BRIC to attain an even more prominent role in world affairs.
With Gaddafi, Malta was ultimately linked to her two neighbours (Italy and its former colony Libya). If Russia or China foray into Mediterranean politics, then we will have to face a standoff between R and/or C and the West. Our neutrality will then be useful again, as it was at the time of the Order.
Antoine Vella, rather than trying to turn this into a childish attack on Labour why not try and concentrate on the matter in hand?
Like it or not, there is affinity between Labour and Gaddafi. Nationalists may have befriended the tyrant out of convenience but Mintoffians actually like him; they admire his methods of intimidation and identify with him.
Threats like those of Saif have actually been addressed at Daphne and others by Mintoffian cyber-thugs, except that the latter, being the cowards they are, remain anonymous.
So yes, like it or not, Saif Gaddafi is your typical Mintoffian thug.
I’m disappointed he didn’t think Malta is important enough to threaten. It would have persuaded our politicians and businessmen that their only hope is to throw in their lot with the Libyan people.
Why threaten Malta? Malta is one of the provinces of Libya – according to the Libyan Opposition. If Gaddafi prevails, Gaddafi Sr will continue to rule Greater Libya, while Saif Gaddafi will be appointed Duke of Malta. Antoine, you know that at least half of the population of Malta is loyal to the Gaddafi regime – he paid our children’s allowances!
Why? Has his barb hit home?
Daphne, what do you expect Europe to do?
The Libyan people don’t want the West to interfere and you can’t do anything to Gadaffi without going against the Libyan rebels.
http://news.antiwar.com/2011/03/05/libyan-rebels-capture-british-sas-unit/
Where do you get the impression that the Libyan people don’t want the West to interfere? The Libyan people have been crying out for a level playing field which is what they deserve and that means a no-fly zone.
They can’t do this for themselves so they are asking the West to do it for them. It’s true they don’t want Western troops in Libya but the West need to get off their arses and give these people a chance, if it’s not already too late!
Read the link. They are against military intervention, if they really wanted help they wouldn’t have arrested them (beggars can’t be choosers) and I think HP Baxxter (or someone else on this blog) explained what a no-fly zone is and from what I can tell, its military intervention.
They don’t want foreign troops on the ground.
They do however want foreign intervention against Gaddafi’s airborne assets, in other words the no fly zone. (Or ‘new flyzoe’ as KMB calls it)
I’m not quite sure it will work though at this late stage as I’m quite sure that by this time he has had the ‘good sense’ to protect his anti aircraft radars with human shields.
If those (the radars that is) cannot be removed it will not be possible to safely enforce the no fly zone and the only airborne intervention possible will be the destruction of other military assests on the ground (including aircraft and runways) by precision bombardment.
I’m sure that the Libyans (as well as most of the Arab world) will be against that also. Unfortunately what they do want and would accept (no fly zone) is something that will not work. It would have if it had been done in time. As the saying goes – a stitch in time saves nine. In this case it would have saved much more.
Even so, an attempt to at least partially enforce a no fly zone is probably better than doing nothing at all anyway.
Beggars can’t be choosers.
Simple as that, why should the West waste its resources if it has no guarantee that its going to backfire in their faces?
These are scenarios:
a) Western Leaders do nothing i.e. carry on bitching, smiling and talking.
a i) Gaddaffi gets back into power and pays back the West (in the form of cancelling business contracts).
a ii) The Rebels get into power, accuse the West of doing nothing and refuse to do business with the West.
b) The West invades Libya on behalf of the Libyan rebels
b i) Majority Libyan rebels get suspicious and turn to Gaddafi
b ii) Western Soldiers fuck up everything, like they did in Iraq and Afghanistan and Libyans turn against the West.
c) No-fly-zone
c i) Libyans see their planes being downed by Western aircraft as well as anti-aircraft units being hit from the Air, turn to Gaddafi
c ii) Western air units hit rebel units on the ground by mistake and a shit storm erupts.
c iii) No fly-zone isn’t enforced properly and Gaddafi carries on doing what he originally did.
d) The West invades Libya to steal their oil
This is the only guaranteed option where the West wins at least, short term.
Every other option requires the Libyan rebels to be on board with the West, but this is not the case. Instead of greeting the SAS units as liberators, they arrested them for “not liking the way they entered the country” and this shows that they not want our help.
The Arab world does have military units available, so why don’t they commit any of their soldiers to liberating Libya?
Il-Ginger, your analysis is exactly like mine, save for the flowery language.
The answer to your last question: because Arab society is tribal. If other Arabs help the rebel tribes, they will cause an ever bigger blood bath, creating the optimal conditions for new inter-tribal alliances which might dismantle the entire political setup of these countries and lead to indomitable chaos.
This is NOT the West. Not even the Wild West.
Welcome, instead, to the ARAB WORLD!
Why is this person Saif being interviewed? The press should just ignore him.
[Daphne – That’s not an option. He is the news.]
Is Saif al-Islam Libya’s foreign minister? NO! Then what is he doing on state TV telling everyone what the Libyans want?
He is his father’s son.
Clear as crystal – no need to read between the lines.
“It will be very easy to replace Italy with China or Russia,”
One wonders why. Don’t wonder too long. He mentioned those two because they are the only two countries which oppose the no-fly zone over Libya.
Can one imagine if this were to materialize? Having China or Russia next door?
Now, who’s for neutrality as in neutralized?
I can understand Saif’s wrath at Italy since it decided (and rightly so) to suspend the multi-billion euro agreement with Libya, but it now it is clear as day that the Gaddafi clan is not only to be isolated but preferably eliminated one way or another.
Malta stands to lose much more than Libya’s friendship but it must also act with some restrain so as not to be included with Italy in any retaliatory actions by the Gaddafis – if, heaven forbid they prevail.
On surface the words of our government seem to lack the sting, but there is a Maltese saying which is somewhat hard to translate and still makes sense: ‘Il-borma min isawwara jkun jaf x’fiha’. We will do more harm to ourselves if we shoot our mouth before we engage our brains especially when lacking the necessary information about what is happening behind the scenes.
I think this Saif Al-Islam, the LSE graduate, is even crazier than the mad dog he hopes to replace. There he goes threatening the world with VINDICATION.