EUFOR Libya: a Maltese army officer has gone to Rome HQ
The Times reports today that a Maltese army officer – unnamed, it goes without saying – has been sent to Rome to take part in preparations which the European Union is now making in readiness for possible deployment in Libya of ground troops from EU member states.
The newspaper says that the government “is keeping its options open on whether to send troops on the mission once a decision has been taken to activate it”.
EUFOR Libya was given a positive vote by all EU member states last week, but will only see action in Libya at the UN’s request. It is headquartered in Rome and the commanding officer is Italian.
A government spokesman told the newspaper:
“Malta is considering a possible future contribution, which will need to be determined in line with the requirements of the operation once the exact tasks are established.”
Translated into proper English, this means: We shall wait and see. We have sent a man to Rome to be part of the planning stage, but we haven’t yet decided whether we want to be involved further than that, or how we might fit in.
European Commission spokesman Michael Mann said the EU is getting ready “but there are no real concrete plans on when this mission will be deployed”.
The purpose of EUFOR Libya is described as ‘humanitarian’ – for example, giving military support to aid organisations and medical groups to allow them to do their work.
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These are the sort of things which stir the foreign minister to take a stance and comment sternly:
http://www1.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20110412/opinion/Unfair-criticism-of-a-statesman.359482
One despairs.
It is quite clear that he is totally immersed in dogma. As a politician his first duty should be to his country. He clearly has a conflict of interest. I am wondering about the answer he would give if asked about creation and Darwinism.
What happened to “no boots on the ground” ?
Read Res. 1973 again.
EUFOR Libya, cannot find that nomenclature in the resolution, unless you are referring to the “all necessary measures” doctrine. Without US assistance and field equipment it will not happen, or/and/if it does (European forces only) expect a jihad to be declared from all terrorist groups who will be more than happy to not have to travel so far to take a pot shot at the infidels.
Oh no! What happened to our neutrality?!? Please, gvern, ahna newtrali.
Indipendenti l-ewwel = naghmlu l-ghazliet taghna fl-ahjar interess ghall-poplu Malti, u imbaghad newtrali, li illum nahseb li ma tfisser xejn.
Jien hekk nahseb ukoll, li newtrali ma tfisser xejn, ghajr li tkun bla principji. Imma mur spjegaha din lil hafna Maltin. Imma anke din, ‘fl-ahjar interess ghall-poplu Malti’, minn barra li giet abbuzata hafna matul is-snin, nahseb li irridu nikbru mentalment ftit iehor, u nibdew indahhlu l-ahjar for the international community ukoll fl-equation.
‘Newtrali’ kienet taghmel sens fi żmien il-gwerra l-bierda…
Behold. A troop contribution of one soldier. Issa xi kretin jikteb jghidli “You must be joking.”
GADDAFI BEWARE….The AFM are coming.
Not if it’s iron man.
One soldier might just be enough to win the war.
Just look at the success of one epic Libyan ; )
http://epiclibyan.tumblr.com/
One soldier might not make a difference, but spare a thought for the one man, Mohammed Bouazizi ( http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/tunisia-i-have-lost-my-son-but-i-am-proud-of-what-he-did-2190331.html ), whose actions has changed the lives of so many others, across the Arab world and beyond.
Private Parts.
Baxxter, it is not the time to be EUFORic about our contribution as yet.
Who said I’m euphoric? This war has turned into a giant anticlimax. I didn’t think that even a hardened Muslim desert people like the Libyans could be so effete, even after 42 years under a tyrant. There is truly no hope.
re. that AFM officer: Malta is a member of the EU Military Committee. It has had an EU liaison officer ever since we joined the EU. Now he’s been sent to Rome to report back to Malta. No big deal.
We can send our army to Libya under the banner “Partnership for Peace with Gaddafi.”
How can one remain neutral with a manic genocidal freak like Gaddafi still ruling the roost in nearby Libya?
Keep out!
Do not become lackeys to The New World Order.
First heard about The New World (Economic) Order was in the ’70s and look where it led us in September 2008 with the “Too Big Too Fail” syndrome.
I think The New World Order is a game associated with the Illuminati running the world from behind the scenes. Shades of Dan Brown or Davos in January, or, wait for it, the Bildberg Group. Are you into conspiracy theories? You will find a kindred soul on this blog.
New World Order as opposed to what?
Oh FFS another tin foil hatter..
Right on Reuben !
One seldom mentioned fact by western politicians and media pundits: the Central Bank of Libya is 100% State Owned. The world’s globalist financiers and market manipulators do not like it and would continue to their on-going effort to dethrone Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi, bringing an end to Libya as independent nation.
Currently, the Libyan government creates its own money, the Libyan Dinar, through the facilities of its own central bank. Few can argue that Libya is a sovereign nation with its own great resources, able to sustain its own economic destiny. One major problem for globalist banking cartels is that in order to do business with Libya, they must go through the Libyan Central Bank and its national currency, a place where they have absolutely zero dominion or power-broking ability.
Right on Reuben!
Conspiracy theorists of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chips, grudges, and blinkers!
Oh boy, another conspiracy fan. Central Banks are owned by the government and issue the national currency (except for the Eurozone). Go back to Malta pre – 2008; Central Bank was 100 % government owned and issued the the defunct and unlamented Malta Lira.
Quite a convoluted argument to declare you are pro-Gaddafi all the way!
[Daphne – Central Banks are actually owned by the state, not the government. The government doesn’t own anything.]
No. Instead we shall pay lip service to respect for human rights and become lackeys of your Old World Order!
Would you rather be a Gaddafi-lackey?
“The local community in Tunisia has offered considerable assistance, opening homes to hundreds of Libyan families. Youth hostels in Dehiba and the town of Tataouine further west are also being used to shelter families. A school near the camp in Remada has offered to take Libyan students.”
http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/libya/hundreds-of-libyan-berbers-flee-western-mountains-and-head-to-tunisia
Bhalna ezatt.
Funny, the Libyan families are being helped to settle in Tunisia, and the Tunisians are escaping in their thousands. Isn’t that funny?
[Daphne – Yes. Hilarious.]
The thousands that have arrived in Lampedusa are only the very early stage of an exodus.
@ cat
I’m very pleased to see blacks and Arabs settling in Malta. The more the merrier. Genetic mixing is very healthy.
Genes are already very mixed. It’s people who aren’t.
Gonzolino..watch your step.
Did you hear that, Daphne…… PETROL BOWT.
More like PETROWL BOWT, most probably.
So we have racist sentiments ,please see what the Italians are saying.astelli:
“Agli immigrati non possiamo sparare, almeno per ORA”
Where is the Pope??
Vota:
Votata: 29volte,
Indice di gradimento: 1
Yes, Maltese have racist sentiments. How does Italian sentiment change that?
Il-pressure li qed issir (inkluz minn dan il-blog) biex Malta tabbanduna darba ghal dejjem interpretazzjoni KODARDA ta’ xi tfisser newtralita qed thalli l-frott.
Prosit Daphne … inti zbukkata kemm trid … imma almenu ghamilt ix-xoghol biex caqlaqt l-“opinjoni publika” (dan kuncett difficli tiddefinih) jew ahjar gibt lil bosta konxji tal-ipokresija sfaccata tal-politikanti Maltin f’dil-kwistjoni.
Dan ghandu jiftah ghajnejn il-gurnalisti l-ohra hekk imsejjha investigattivi tal-gurnali li jhobbu jgemmghu it-tazzi (awards) tal-gurnalismu. Fejn kontu intom biex il-mexxejja politici jigu f’sensihom?
Xorta wahda ghandi ftit dubji … il-passat mhux garanzija ghall-futur. Tant ilhom iwaqqghuna ghan-nejk li ghandi dubji jekk jaslux jaghmlu U-turn. F’dak il-kaz ghandna l-blogg ta’ Daphne biex ikompli jaqlalhom it-tamal.
Do you want to see Maltese soldiers brought back to Malta in body bags? Are not soldiers human beings as well, why is it we only care about civilians when there is an ongiong war?
We would like peace to be achieved in Libya by political agreement not war, is there something wrong with that?
“Do you want to see Maltese soldiers brought back to Malta in body bags?”
May I answer this one? Yes I do. We’ve been a make-believe nation since 1964. When the first Maltese soldier dies on a foreign deployment, we will start the long road towards real nationhood. Besides, dead soldiers aren’t brought home in body bags, but in real coffins, draped with the national flag. Which is much more than was deserved by the deceased in many of our national funerals.
[Daphne – Thank for you pointing out that bit about the bodybags. I was dying to say it myself, but could hear the Labour chav chorus already – “Din f’kollox tifhem kemm hi tan-n**k?” If dead soldiers were shipped home in bodybags, the heroin-smuggling operation during the Vietnam war would have been set back. The heroin went from Vietnam to the US in coffins with false bottoms.]
Read any history book and learn that when diplomacy and other options fail the only solution is war. The question is whether a war is justified or not.
Professional soldiers sign on to fight. Death may be part of the package. Deal with it.
Gaddafi is stopping the political agreement – all he and his sons have to do is step down, leave Libya and face the International Criminal Court. How about sending him a personal e-mail? Maybe he will listen to you.
Here’s his email address
info@alqathafi.org
Or try to get the message through to him via his spokesman Musa Ibrahim aka Musa Mansour:
musa1274@hotmail.com
or send him a message through Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/musa.mansour
http://mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=1129ceb3-0e0e-c013-0f28-5f9ae7c5e78b
I’m dying to know who this special officer is and why his name is being kept secret?
Why should he be known? So we can fuss all over him like doting mothers? It’s not like he’s commanding the operation or something.
Why should he be known? To know if it’s true and he’s real.
It is true. Let’s not turn him into a national hero just because he’s taking notes around a conference table. Besides, it would be invidious to single him (or her) out when other soldiers are doing their duty on other, less glamorous missions.
Especially since a future Labour government will withdraw Malta from the EU Military Committee, so this will be the last time any AFM soldiers will be sent on such missions. What’s the point of putting a nice picture of this officer on the Times and showering him with praise, if not a single voice is raised against Labour’s despicable defence policy?
Labour has a *policy*? That’s the first we’ve heard of it.
Details, please – but not links to Maltastar fiction.
I’ll have to find the exact quote. And yes, it’s the only bit of policy produced by Labour since the last election: Withdrawal of Malta from PfP, the European Defence Agency and the EU Military Committee, all in the name of neutrality. This being Malta, no one took them to task over it. The newspapers were busy with other stuff such as weeping Madonnas, the definition of ‘implanted embryo’ and giant restaurant reviews.