Tripoli falls

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ooh great does that mean oil prices will fall then? I mean it was an excuse to put the prices up so presumably they can come back down now......
:rolleyes:
 
Can't help feeling that this is how Saddam should have been taken care of - a far better mechanism using the locals, with a little help from their friends.........:)
 
Still waiting for the first democracy in the Arab World to emerge :(

(well, there's Lebanon, but with a long history of ethnic tensions and civil war, not to mention lengthy occupations by both Syria and Israel, I hope this will not be the template for future Arab democracies).

As Turkey demonstrated, a religious Muslim party can be democratically elected and rule very effectively. It proves that the choice isn't just between secular dictatorship and Iranian-style Hayatullahs regime.

As for oil prices.... unfortunately the flip side of a democracy is that people have greater say about their own affairs. When the non-democratic west-friendly regimes turn into true democracies - Saudi and Bahrain come to mind - the oil may flow in a different direction - China for example.

So from the narrow perspective of securing cheap oil supplies, supporting west-friendly dictators in oil-reach countries seems to be the best policy for the west...

Better buy myself a G-Whiz then.
 
How odd it was to see Libya's recently appointed attaché being interviewed on the BBC this morning. Standing in what looked like a suburaban street somewhere in Metroland, the first thing he heard Kate Silverton say was "I suppose you're the best person to speak to about the situation." He didn't seem too sure...
 
I doubt that very many people actually know what's actually going on right now in Libya. I think it is quite clear that Gaddafi is history, but the full details are yet to emerge...
 
From the BBC:

'0923: China respects the choice of the Libyan people and hopes the situation will stabilise as soon as possible, China's foreign ministry says. Rebel leaders promised last week to honour China's business contracts in the country and requested China's help in rebuilding Libya, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.'




There you go... 'Shookran NATO for all the help, much appreciated, sorry we won't be seeing much of each other now that we've won'... Oil works in mysterious ways.
 
Still waiting for the first democracy in the Arab World to emerge :(

Unfortunately, the only tangible result of all the Arab uprising so far is chaos and yet more hatred towards everyone who's [even slightly] different. Until humanity grows up and rids itself from the psychotic delusion called religion there will be no true peace and no true democracy, especially in Arab/Muslim world ...
 
So a fall in forecourt prices is imminent then?
;)
 
So a fall in forecourt prices is imminent then?
;)

Indeed. However, while reports do say that temperatures in Hell indeed came down slightly, it may still be a very long wait until in actually freezes over.
 
Unfortunately, the only tangible result of all the Arab uprising so far is chaos and yet more hatred towards everyone who's [even slightly] different. Until humanity grows up and rids itself from the psychotic delusion called religion there will be no true peace and no true democracy, especially in Arab/Muslim world ...


I am not sure I agree... as said Turkey is a point in case. It may have some border tensions with Greece and the Kurds, but the fact that it is an EU candidate suggests that it has got quite a few things right. And it is being ruled democratically by an Islamic party.

But regarding Libya, my worry is that the bloodbath we have seem so far will pale in comparison to the one that will ensue after the fall of Gaddafi, i.e. the infighting over control of Libya (and it's oil, which can turn a new dictator into a billionaire overnight).
 
Indeed. However, while reports do say that temperatures in Hell indeed came down slightly, it may still be a very long wait until in actually freezes over.

Haha quite, 'free market trade', don't you love it...if you happen to be a market trader...
 
Cue all the "criminals" that tied their colours to the Gaddafi tent to maintain a low profile for a time to re-emerge later having "seen the light" to continue their wicked ways. Any bets on the secret police headquarters complete with records being one of the buildings completely destroyed by fire in the liberation? Still every cloud has a silver lining Abdelbaset al-Megrahi may finally be able to go on that holiday to the States he's been looking forward to.
 
Turkey is a point in case. It may have some border tensions with Greece and the Kurds, but the fact that it is an EU candidate suggests that it has got quite a few things right.
EU canditature and "getting things right" aren't necessarily happy bedfellows - especially where Turkey is concerned. I suppose they do have a marginally better record than some of the more odious regimes, but their record on Human Rights is pretty poor by northern european standards. I always think it's relatively easy to shine when the bar is set so low.
 
Ibut the fact that it is an EU candidate suggests that it has got quite a few things right.

It just demonstrates that being an "EU candidate" is about geography and aspiration. Nothing about actual sensibility. Bit like the Eurozone and Greece.
 
Cue all the "criminals" that tied their colours to the Gaddafi tent to maintain a low profile for a time to re-emerge later having "seen the light" to continue their wicked ways. Any bets on the secret police headquarters complete with records being one of the buildings completely destroyed by fire in the liberation? Still every cloud has a silver lining Abdelbaset al-Megrahi may finally be able to go on that holiday to the States he's been looking forward to.

Like this one?
 
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This morning on Sky News Sir Andrew Green (former ambassador to Syria and Saudi) said a few sobering things:

The fighting in Tripoli will continue to the end, as Gaddafi loyalists will not surrender - in a culture of revenge there is not much motivation for the looser to surrender.

The result of this fighting-till-the-end is a total destruction of all existing government and state institutions, and in a country that never had any meaningful political parties, trade unions, etc, in the first place, complete annihilation of the old regime will bring Iraq-style tribal/ethnic civil wars and power struggles (I believe he used the words 'chaos' and 'near-anarchy'). Anyone hoping for the emergence of the democracy that some of the Libyans want is very optimistic.

As for Syria, he said the situation was very different. While some do want to see Assad go, many Syrians fear that the removal of the existing oppressive regime will bring chaos and Lebanon-style civil war between the various ethnic groups in the country, which is why there is a large portion of the population that would not support the overthrowing of Assad. He also said that he was sure that Assad will not go willingly, as he thinks he can tough it out.
 

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