Saturday, March 19, 2011

Libya: French Plane Fires on Libya, Countries to Send Warplanes

Source: rfi

A French warplane fired on a Libyan military vehicle on Saturday afternoon, according to the French military. The Defence Ministry said about twenty planes are involved in operations over the country to enforce a UN-sanction no-fly zone over the country to keep leader Moamer Kadhafi's troops from attacking rebels.


France is to send its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to Libya on Sunday to support international forces, according to the Defence Ministry.

The US will deploy its "unique capabilities", Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Saturday.

"America has unique capabilities and we will bring them," she said in Paris, after an international summit held there on the Libyan crisis, where US, European and Arab leaders agreed to launch air strikes against Kadhafi's forces.

The US has F-15 and F-16 fighter jets in Sicily, while the USS Barry and the USS Stout, destroyers equipped with sea-to-ground missiles are in the Mediterranean.

Italy offered its seven military bases for the forces, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told journalists on Saturday.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero said his country would provide an airborne refuelling plane and four F-18 fighters that would leave Saturday for an Italian air base.

Belgium said it would provide F-16s it has in southern Greece, and Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou offered the use of the island of Crete, which lies between Greece and Libya.

Norway said it would send six F-16 warplanes would be in place in the next few days, and the Danish defence ministry said four F-16s, two reserve fighter jets and a transport plane had been sent to a military base in Sicily.

The Dutch confirmed they would join in the military operation shortly.

Seven Canadian CF-18 jets and a C-17 Globemaster transport plane left Friday for the

Mediterranean, and British Prime Minister David Cameron said Friday that was moving Tornado and Typhoon fighter jets were being moved "in the coming hours" to bases near Libya.

The US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice has said she expects a number of Arab partners be involved in the military operations.

Qatar said it would contribute, though it did not get any details, and a UN diplomat said the United Arab Emirates would participate.

Representatives from Jordan, Morocco, Qatar and the UAE attended the Paris summit, as well as Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in his capacity as head of the Arab League, along with League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

Meanwhile, members of the African Union committee on Libya are to go to Tripoli on Sunday, leaving from Mauritanian Nouakchott, where the group has been meeting.

News Headline

Inside Liberia with Bernard Gbayee Goah

Everyone is a genius

Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid. – A Einstein

Drawing the line in Liberia

Crimes sponsored, committed, or masterminded by handful of individuals cannot be blamed upon an entire nationality. In this case, Liberians! The need for post-war justice is a step toward lasting peace, stability and prosperity for Liberia. Liberia needs a war crimes tribunal or some credible legal forum that is capable of dealing with atrocities perpetrated against defenseless men, women and children during the country's brutal war. Without justice, peace shall remain elusive and investment in Liberia will not produce the intended results. - Bernard Gbayee Goah



Men with unhealthy characters should not champion any noble cause

They pretend to advocate the cause of the people when their deeds in the dark mirror nothing else but EVIL!!
When evil and corrupt men try to champion a cause that is so noble … such cause, how noble it may be, becomes meaningless in the eyes of the people - Bernard Gbayee Goah.

If Liberia must move forward ...

If Liberia must move forward in order to claim its place as a civilized nation amongst world community of nations, come 2017 elections, Liberians must critically review the events of the past with honesty and objectivity. They must make a new commitment to seek lasting solutions. The track records of those who are presenting themselves as candidates for the position of "President of the Republic of Liberia" must be well examined. Liberians must be fair to themselves because results from the 2011 elections will determine the future of Liberia’s unborn generations to come - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's greatest problem!

While it is true that an individual may be held responsible for corruption and mismanagement of funds in government, the lack of proper system to work with may as well impede the process of ethical, managerial, and financial accountability - Bernard Gbayee Goah

What do I think should be done?

The situation in Liberia is Compound Complex and cannot be fixed unless the entire system of government is reinvented.
Liberia needs a workable but uncompromising system that will make the country an asylum free from abuse, and other forms of corruption.
Any attempt to institute the system mentioned above in the absence of rule of law is meaningless, and more detrimental to Liberia as a whole - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia's Natural Resources
Besides land water and few other resources, most of Liberia’s dependable natural resources are not infinite, they are finite and therefore can be depleted.
Liberia’s gold, diamond, and other natural resources will not always be an available source of revenue generation for its people and its government. The need to invent a system in government that focuses on an alternative income generation method cannot be over emphasized at this point - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Liberia needs a proper system
If Liberians refuse to erect a proper system in place that promotes the minimization of corruption and mismanagement of public funds by government institutions, and individuals, there will come a time when the value of the entire country will be seen as a large valueless land suited on the west coast of Africa with some polluted bodies of waters and nothing else. To have no system in place in any country is to have no respect for rule of law. To have no respect for rule of law is to believe in lawlessness. And where there is lawlessness, there is always corruption - Bernard Gbayee Goah

Solving problems in the absence of war talks

As political instability continues to increase in Africa, it has become abundantly clear that military intervention as a primary remedy to peace is not a durable solution. Such intervention only increases insecurity and massive economic hardship. An existing example which could be a valuable lesson for Liberia is Great Britain, and the US war on terror for the purpose of global security. The use of arms whether in peace keeping, occupation, or invasion as a primary means of solving problem has yield only little results. Military intervention by any country as the only solution to problem solving will result into massive military spending, economic hardship, more fear, and animosity as well as increase insecurity. The alternative is learning how to solve problems in the absence of war talks. The objective of such alternative must be to provide real sustainable human security which cannot be achieved through military arm intervention, or aggression. In order to achieve results that will make the peaceful coexistence of all mankind possible, there must be a common ground for the stories of all sides to be heard. I believe there are always three sides to every story: Their side of the story, Our side of the story, and The truth – Bernard Gbayee Goah

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