The government of Niger has said that it will not extradite Muammar Gaddafi's son

The government of Niger has said that it will not abandon Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saadi, who has taken ambush in the west African nation to Libya any time soon, but the Civic Transitional Council (NTC) were acceptable to catechism Saadi.

Marou Amadou, Niger's amends minister, who is aswell the government spokesman, said on Niger civic television backward on Saturday that Saadi could be questioned beneath an absolute cooperation acceding amid Tripoli and Niamey.

"If it is to catechism Saadi, the Civic Transitional Council (NTC), which we accept recognised, can advisedly appear to Niger, beneath the absolute accord," said Amadou.

"However, I acknowledge that at this stage...there is no achievability of extraditing Saadi, because ultimately what needs to be activated is all-embracing conventions," he said.

Saadi's exact abode in Niamey accept not been disclosed.
The all-embracing badge bureau Interpol issued an active on Thursday calling for the arrest of a additional son of the ousted Libyan leader, putting burden on Niger to apprehend Saadi Gaddafi who fled to neighbouring Niger three weeks ago.

Interpol said it had aswell issued an active for Saadi Gaddafi, who is accused of arch aggressive units amenable for crackdowns on protests and of misappropriating property.

Niger has maintained that it does not wish to abandon Saadi to a country area he would not be accustomed a fair balloon and risked the afterlife penalty.

However, accepted all-embracing laws would admittance Saadi's displacement to any absolute all-embracing cloister or autonomous country, Amadou said.

Niger was for years propped up by the oil-fuelled alms of Muammar Gaddafi in aggregate from agronomics to tourism, but aswell distrusted Gaddafi and at times doubtable his duke abaft its troubles in the north.

Western governments do not want to see social democracy in an oil-rich Arab country, and they will try to prevent it

In February 1776, in the aboriginal months of America's advocate war adjoin Britain, Tom Paine wrote that "we accept it in our ability to activate the apple again". In his announcement Common Sense, Paine ridiculed absolution and aristocratic and alleged for a government of chargeless humans beneath the law. The abundant success of Common Sense helped ensure that the apple did absolutely activate again. All but abolished in Europe, republicanism and alternative activate new activity in the United States. Aided by the French and Spanish kings, the Americans themselves fabricated do after the debris of crowns. The government they founded was not perfect, but the rebels in what would become the US dealt ancestral absolution a draft from which it never recovered.

This too is a time of revolutions. In the Middle East tyrants are falling. In Europe and the US humans continued accommodated to bribery and plutocracy are alpha to stir. There is a abundant bold to be played and abundant rests on the outcome. In one future, absolutism revives. A scattering of magnates and their spokesmen in government yield over anytime added of the world's wealth, alms abandon and bamboozlement in return. In another, the humans accomplish in their attempt for abandon and acquisition new means to aegis their success. Anniversary of us can accept to avoid the moment in which we reside and lose ourselves in the accent of canicule passing. The bold will play out with or after us. But our choices - anniversary and every one of them - will accept some address on the outcome.

In Libya, a accepted anarchy has baffled a tyrant. It is a aerial time. Abounding of the arch abstracts in the Transitional Civic Council are above associates of the Gaddafi regime. There are letters of boundless atrocities in Tripoli adjoin Africans and others accused of angry for Gaddafi. The humans took up accoutrements for freedom, but every abuse adjoin the defenceless and the innocent makes it easier for absolutism to return.

The rebels would be astute to accept to Mahmoud Abdullah Al-Tahouni. He was one of the organizers of the aboriginal demonstrations adjoin Gaddafi and has been in bastille back March. As he explained to the BBC's Jeremy Bowen, he has no ambition to see the absolutist dead. “I ambition him to see how Libya will be after him, after his sons. We are architectonics this country and I ambition him to see that.”
If the altruistic and autonomous attempt of the anarchy are betrayed in the moment of victory, the accident will be acquainted far above Libya. Libya, with its abundant accustomed advantages, could become a ablaze to the world. If the Libyans appear to apply allusive ascendancy over their government, the country could battling Norway in actual abundance and animal welfare. Like Norway, Libya has huge oil and gas affluence and a almost baby population. Unlike Norway, it has a Mediterranean bank and amazing age-old architecture. It aswell has the abeyant to accomplish huge amounts of solar power, addition advantage over Scandinavia. A tyrant and his ancestors accept looted the country for decades, berserk its accessible activity and abashed its people. We can alone assumption at what a chargeless humans ability achieve.

As it stands, the debris of the old administration and the Western admiral are atrocious to exclude the abundant majority from decisions about their country's development. Italian Adopted Minister Franco Frattini is already boasting that his country's better oil and gas aggregation Eni "will accept a No. 1 role in the future" of Libya. Apple leaders are acquisition in Paris to altercate about-face and France and Britain are acquisitive to accompany Italy in chargeless Libya's future. There are letters of a accord with the Transitional Civic Council that gives France admission to a third of Libya's oil. If Frattini is right, the actuality of ability will abide in the easily of the few. Western governments and oil companies do not ambition to see an alpha of amusing capitalism in an oil-rich Arab country, and they will do what they can to anticipate it.
Outright absolutism is no best possible, perhaps, but there are means of ensuring that adopted politicians don't abjure the mark.

Still, the celebration of Eni and BP and the blow is not inevitable. Libya has abounding accompany in the apple who ambition it to be affluent and chargeless - for its own sake, and as a assurance that change, abysmal change, is possible. The men and women who aboriginal took to the streets adjoin Gaddafi apperceive that they accept great, world-changing, ability in their hands. Adopted admiral helped them abolish their dictator. So what? Spain and France helped the US to chargeless itself from Britain. The Americans were not ungrateful, but if they came to actuate their government, they did not attending to the courts of Paris or Madrid for inspiration.

Similarly, Libyans charge not yield the suggestions of oil aggregation admiral and adopted diplomats too seriously. They would be wiser to attending to addition country in the algid north, Iceland, area the citizens themselves accept been autograph the architecture - a civic appointment called at accidental and an adopted built-in board accept been drafting a certificate that will eventually be adopted as the new constitution. Last anniversary the administrator of the Civic Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, was in Paris analogue his affairs for a new Libyan constitution. Those who ambition Libya to be affluent and chargeless should assert on a built-in assemblage in which all choir are heard. The aggregate drafting of a architecture will acquiesce the Libyans to authorize ascendancy over their country's accustomed resources. They ability analytic assert that above associates of Gaddafi's cardinal aristocratic be butterfingers from captivation appointment in a autonomous Libya. If the Transitional Civic Council refuses to admittance an accessible assemblage it will accept to explain why the humans of Libya cannot adore at atomic as abundant ability to appearance their country's approaching as the humans of Iceland.

Those of us alfresco Libya who ambition the country able-bodied cannot do actual much, but we can do something. We can pay attention. The democrats who brought down Ben Ali and Mubarak can action adherence and advice. Iraq's oil workers accept abstruse admired acquaint about the approach of the Western admiral in their adventurous attack to assure their country's assets from a adopted takeover. The demonstrators in Europe and the United States can abate the armament of arcane ability in their own countries by acknowledging capitalism and accustomed amends in Libya.

The war adjoin Gaddafi is, I hope, cartoon to a close. The attempt to activate the apple again, in Libya and elsewhere, is still alone beginning.

The authors added that Abu Layth al‐Libi, Emir of Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)

The Washington Post now admits that the key role of Islamists in Libya’s insurgence “went abundantly unnoticed” afore Muammar Gaddafi was agitated endure month. But Robert Parry asks whose accountability was that, back it was the Post and added Big Media that were acting added as propagandists for “regime change” than honest brokers.

By Robert Parry
During the six-month insurgence adjoin Muammar Gaddafi, above U.S. account outlets afresh afresh and afresh that the Libyan absolutist was abaft the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, and they abandoned warnings that active Islamists were at the amount of the anti-Gaddafi insubordinate army.
Indeed, for Americans to get addition angle on these points, they had to seek out Web sites, like Consortiumnews.com, which had the adventurousness not to advance in lockstep with the blow of the Western media. Alone alfresco the boilerplate columnist would you acquisition cogent questions asked about the authoritativeness over Libya’s answerability in the Pan Am bombing and about the architecture of the rebels.

Now, afterwards the United States and its NATO allies accept engineered the adapted “regime change” in Libya – beneath the affectation of “protecting civilians” – those two credibility are advancing added into focus.

The New York Times and the Washington Post on Thursday assuredly accustomed that abolitionist Islamists, including some with links to al-Qaeda, are accumulation their ability central the new administration in Tripoli.

And, the accustomed dog not barking – even as Libya’s abstruse intelligence files accept been apparent to the eyes of Western journalists – is the absence of any incriminating affirmation apropos Libya’s role in the Lockerbie case. Earlier interrogations of Libya’s ex-intelligence arch Moussa Koussa by Scottish authorities aswell allegedly came up empty, as he was accustomed to leave London for Qatar.

Since Gaddafi’s fall, account outlets aswell accept appear that Libyan intelligence agent, Ali al-Megrahi, who was bedevilled of the Lockerbie bombing by a Scottish cloister and was afterwards appear on altruistic area because of terminal prostate cancer, is absolutely acutely ill, bedfast and acutely abreast death.
Megrahi’s balloon in 2001 afore a console of Scottish board was added a kangaroo cloister than any austere accomplishment to actuate answerability – even a Scottish appeals cloister bidding affair about a grave abortion of amends – but the Western columnist continues to call Megrahi, afterwards qualification, as the “Lockerbie bomber.”

It aswell was accustomed in the West’s account media to beam at the angle that Megrahi was absolutely adversity from avant-garde prostate blight back he hadn’t died as bound as some doctors anticipation he might. Afterwards Gaddafi’s administration fell, Megrahi’s ancestors arrive BBC and added account organizations to see Megrahi disturbing to breathe in his ailing bed.

His son, Khaled al-Megrahi, aswell connected to advance on his father’s innocence. “He believes and we apperceive that everybody will see the truth,” the adolescent Megrahi told the BBC. “I apperceive my ancestor is innocent and one day his chastity will appear out.”
Asked about the humans who died in the bombing, the son said: “We feel apologetic about all the humans who died. We wish to apperceive who did this bad thing. We wish to apperceive the accuracy as well.”
Convicted or Railroaded?

As added advice becomes accessible central Libya, the facts may assuredly be antiseptic about whether Gaddafi’s government did or did not accept a duke in the bombing over Lockerbie. However, so far, the break are that Megrahi may able-bodied accept been railroaded by the Scottish board who begin a additional Libyan actor innocent and were beneath political burden to captive anyone for the crime.


After Megrahi’s analytical conviction, the West imposed acrid bread-and-butter sanctions on Libya, accordant to lift them alone if Libya accustomed “responsibility” for the bombing and paid amends to the families of the 270 victims. To get rid of the backbreaking sanctions, Libya accustomed the accord although its admiral connected to advance that Libya had annihilation to do with the Lockerbie bombing.

However, amidst this year’s advertising attack in abutment of the Libyan rebels, none of this ambiguity was mentioned in the New York Times, the Washington Post or added arch U.S. account outlets. Gaddafi’s answerability for Lockerbie was artlessly declared as collapsed fact, abundant as the aforementioned account organizations accustomed apocryphal claims about Iraq’s WMD in the countdown to the 2003 aggression of that Arab country.
Similarly, there was bare U.S. media absorption accustomed to affirmation that eastern Libya, the affection of the anti-Gaddafi rebellion, was a axis for Islamic aggression with that arena bartering the a lot of per-capita militants angry U.S. troops in Iraq, generally beneath the banderole of al-Qaeda.

Instead, Gaddafi’s claims that he was aggressive Islamic terrorists in the Benghazi arena were broadly mocked or abandoned in the West. Even a address by analysts Joseph Felter and Brian Fishman for West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center got short-shrift.

In their report, “Al-Qaeda’s Adopted Fighters in Iraq,” Felter and Fishman analyzed al-Qaeda abstracts captured in 2007 assuming cadre annal of militants who flocked to Iraq for the war. The abstracts showed eastern Libya accouterment a hasty amount of suicide bombers who catholic to Iraq to annihilate American troops.

Felter and Fishman wrote that these alleged Sinjar Annal appear that while Saudis comprised the better amount of adopted fighters in Iraq, Libyans represented the better per-capita accidental by far. Those Libyans came overwhelmingly from towns and cities in the east.

“The all-inclusive majority of Libyan fighters that included their hometown in the Sinjar Annal resided in the country’s Northeast, decidedly the littoral cities of Darnah 60.2% (53) and Benghazi 23.9% (21),” Felter and Fishman wrote.

The authors added that Abu Layth al‐Libi, Emir of Libyan Islamic Angry Accumulation (LIFG), “reinforced Benghazi and Darnah’s accent to Libyan jihadis in his advertisement that LIFG had abutting al‐Qa’ida.”
Top Libyan Terrorists

Some important al-Qaeda leaders operating in Pakistan’s affiliated regions aswell are believed to accept appear from Libya. For instance, “Atiyah,” who was allegorical the anti-U.S. war action in Iraq, was articular as a Libyan called Atiyah Abd al-Rahman.
It was Atiyah who apprenticed a action of creating a quagmire for U.S. armament in Iraq, affairs time for al-Qaeda address to clean its backbone in Pakistan. “Prolonging the war [in Iraq] is in our interest,” Atiyah said in a letter that upbraided Jordanian agitator Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for his hasty and adventuresome accomplishments in Iraq.

After U.S. Special Armament dead al-Qaeda architect Osama bin Laden on May 2 in Pakistan, Atiyah became al-Qaeda’s additional in command until he himself was reportedly dead in a U.S. bombinate bang in August. [See Consortiumnews.com “Time Assuredly Ran Out for Atiyah.”]
However, to a lot of Americans relying on the above U.S. account media, little of this was known, as the Washington Post itself accustomed on Thursday. In an commodity on the acceleration of Islamists central the new ability anatomy in Libya, the Post wrote:

“Although it went abundantly disregarded during the insurgence that agitated Gaddafi endure month, Islamists were at the affection of the fight, abounding as insubordinate commanders.
“Now some are clashing with secularists aural the rebels’ Transitional National Council, bidding worries a part of some liberals that the Islamists — who still command the aggregate of fighters and weapons — could use their backbone to advance an even added ascendant role.”

On Thursday, the New York Times led the foreground page with a agnate article, advantaged “Islamists’ Growing Sway Raises Questions for Libya.” It began:

“In the arising post-Qaddafi Libya, the a lot of affecting baby-kisser may able-bodied be Ali Sallabi, who has no academic appellation but commands ample account as an Islamic academic and autonomous orator who was active in arch the accumulation uprising.

“The a lot of able aggressive baton is now Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the above baton of a awkward accumulation already believed to be accumbent with Al Qaeda.”
Belhaj was ahead the administrator of the Libyan Islamic Angry Group, which was associated with al-Qaeda in the past, maintained training bases in Afghanistan afore the 9/11 attacks, and was listed as a agitator alignment by the U.S. State Department.

Though Belhaj and the Libyan Islamic Angry Accumulation abjure accepted adherence to al-Qaeda, Belhaj was captured during George W. Bush’s post-9/11 “war on terror” and was agonizingly interrogated by the CIA at a “black site” bastille in Thailand afore accepting handed over to Gaddafi’s government which confined and – Belhaj claims – bent him.

The Times appear that “Belhaj has become so abundant an cabal afresh that he is gluttonous to bound Mahmoud Jibril, the American-trained economist who is the nominal prime abbot of the acting government, afterwards Mr. Jibril askance criticized the Islamists.”

The Times commodity by correspondents Rod Nordland and David D. Kirkpatrick aswell cited added contempo developments of growing Islamist access central the Libyan insubordinate movement:
“Islamist militias in Libya accept weapons and costs anon from adopted benefactors like Qatar; a Muslim Brotherhood figure, Abel al-Rajazk Abu Hajar, leads the Tripoli Municipal Governing Council, area Islamists are reportedly in the majority; in eastern Libya, there has been no resolution of the assassination in July of the baton of the insubordinate military, Gen. Abdul Fattah Younes, doubtable by some to be the plan of Islamists.”

It may be admirable that the Post and Times are assuredly giving austere absorption to this adventitious aftereffect of the NATO-backed “regime change” in Libya, but the actuality that these arch American newspapers abandoned the Islamist affair as able-bodied as doubts about Libya’s Lockerbie answerability – while the U.S. government was whipping up accessible abutment for addition war in the Muslim apple – raises questions about whether any acquaint were abstruse from Iraq.

Do these authority account outlets abide to see their role in such cases as artlessly accepting the American humans to band up abaft the latest war adjoin a Mideast “bad guy” – or will they anytime yield actively their journalistic assignment to arm the accessible with as abundant advice as possible?

NTC fighters are still wrestling for control of Mr. Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and the desert town of Bani Walid

Fighters with Libya's National Transitional Council are claiming ascendancy in the boondocks of Sabha, one of the few actual strongholds for loyalists to Moammar Gadhafi.

The NTC said Thursday that its armament accept acquired ascendancy of all districts of the southern boondocks but still face pockets of attrition from snipers.

Provisional ascendancy fighters said Wednesday that they had affected Gadhafi loyalists in abounding locations of the town, 750 kilometers south of Tripoli.

However, NTC fighters are still angry for ascendancy of Mr. Gadhafi's hometown of Sirte and the arid boondocks of Bani Walid. The NTC armament accept been adverse annealed attrition from armed loyalists of Mr. Gadhafi in both towns.

Meanwhile, NATO says it is extending its operations in the country for addition three months. Chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday the accord is bent to abide its mission “for as continued as necessary.”
In addition development, the United States has appear affairs to reopen its admiral in Tripoli. U.S. Ambassador Gene Cretz has alternate to the capital, area the U.S. affairs to accession its banderole over its mission on Thursday.

Cretz was based in Tripoli until December 2010. He larboard the country afterwards WikiLeaks appear his assessments of Moammar Gadhafi's claimed activity in which he declared Libya's then-leader as “mercurial,” “notoriously erratic” and a “hypochondriac.”