World

NATO Bombs Libyan State TV Transmitters

NATO Bombs Libyan State TV TransmittersNATO warplanes bombed three Libyan state TV satellite transmitters in Tripoli overnight, targeting a key propaganda tool that the military alliance said Saturday is used by Moammar Gadhafi’s government to incite violence and threaten civilians.

Libya’s rebel movement, meanwhile, appeared in disarray after the mysterious death of its chief military commander in a killing that some witnesses said was carried out by fellow rebel fighters who suspected him of treason.

The rebels’ political leader sought to dispel any notions of infighting on Saturday and accused Gadhafi supporters of killing Abdel-Fattah Younis. He told reporters that the commander, who was Gadhafi’s interior minister before defecting, had not been suspected of treason but had been arrested after complaints he was mismanaging rebel forces.

The NATO strikes in Tripoli echoed across the capital before dawn. There was no comment from Libyan officials on what had been hit, but state TV was still on the air in Tripoli as of Saturday morning.

NATO said the airstrikes aimed to degrade Gadhafi’s “use of satellite television as a means to intimidate the Libyan people and incite acts of violence against them.”

“Striking specifically these critical satellite dishes will reduce the regime’s ability to oppress civilians while (preserving) television broadcast infrastructure that will be needed after the conflict,” the alliance said in a statement posted on its website.

It called Gadhafi’s TV broadcasts inflammatory and said they were intended to mobilize his supporters.

During the previous 24 hours, alliance aircraft also targeted military vehicles, radars, ammunition dumps, anti-aircraft guns and command centers near the front lines in the east and west, NATO said.

The head of the rebel National Transitional Council, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, gave a more detailed account Saturday of the events leading up to the rebel military commander’s slaying.

Abdel-Fattah Younis‘ body was found dumped outside the rebels’ de facto capital of Benghazi on Thursday along with the bodies of two colonels who were his top aides. They had been shot and their bodies burned.

His killing while in rebel custody immediately raised suspicions that he was assassinated by his own side. But Abdul-Jalil said authorities had the names of those behind the attack and believed they were acting on behalf of the Gadhafi regime. No arrests have yet been made, he said.

Younis had been taken into custody for investigation into complaints he mismanaged forces and did not provide them with enough ammunition, supplies and food, Abdul-Jalil said.

The attackers struck while he was being transported to a safer location, he said.

Abdul-Jalil said the head of the security brigade guarding Younis is under arrest and being questioned for failing to protect him.

Younis defected to the rebellion early in the uprising, which began in February, bringing his forces into the opposition ranks. But some rebels remained deeply suspicious that he retained loyalties to Gadhafi, and many are believed to still hold a grudge against him for his policies as Gadhafi’s chief of security.

Younis’ deputy, Suleiman Mahmoud, has now been put in charge of the rebel’s military portfolio and will bring all armed groups under one central command, Abdul-Jalil said.

“Now is the time for all these forces and formations to follow the existing plan put together by the interior minister to absorb these different groups. … There will be a penalty for all those who don’t obey orders,” Abdul-Jalil said.

The coalition of NATO members participating in the air campaign against Gadhafi’s forces is also under strain as public opposition mounts in Europe to the costs of the mission – estimated at more than a billion euros – at a time of budget cuts and other austerity measures.

The United States was the first to limit its participation, deciding to only provide support to the European allies. Then Italy withdrew its only aircraft carrier and part of its air force contingent. Meanwhile, Norway has announced it will pull all of its F-16 warplanes out of the operation by Monday.

The other five nations taking part are Britain, France, Belgium, Denmark and Canada.

NATO has been increasingly embarrassed by the failure of the bombing campaign, now in its fifth month, to dislodge Gadhafi’s regime. With the fasting month of Ramadan due to start in early August, there is a growing realization within the alliance that the costly campaign will drag on into the autumn and possibly longer.

The only place where rebels have seen small advances lately is in the western Nafusa mountain range, where they have gradually pushed Gadhafi’s forces out of a string of towns and villages, bringing them within about 60 miles (95 kilometers) of Tripoli.

In one sign that rebels were successfully holding onto territory in the mountains, families that had fled to Tunisia appeared to be confident enough to return to the area.

On Saturday, long lines formed at the Dhuheiba border crossing with Tunisia that enters the mountains, as families in pickup trucks laden with supplies returned home. Many were headed to Nalut, a town that Gadhafi’s troops regularly shelled until rebels pushed them out earlier this week.

An official with the United Nations refugee agency, Lutfi ben Hamed, said about 2,000 people had entered Libya Friday, about double the daily number for the past month.

On Saturday, more than 100 cars waited on the Tunisian side to enter Libya. A similar number waited to enter Tunisia to pick up families and bring them home.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.

Comments (46)

1 2
  • jzs
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 9:43pm

    These were NATO bombs not Obama bombs. Where did the news go about the US being involved with this conflict in violation of the War Powers Act? Funny, that just disappeared.

    Report Post » jzs  
    • jhaydeng
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 10:33pm

      Does this mean they can’t watch re-runs of Seinfeld?

      Report Post »  
    • jzs
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 11:07pm

      No Seinfeld. This is psychological warfare.

      Report Post » jzs  
  • nysparkie
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 9:17pm

    :ROSE_ELLEN: Dead Muslims!!! LALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALALAL
    Any get away? Rats….

    Report Post » nysparkie  
  • LinkedIn G
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:40pm

    If they only had the Network of Tomorrow a day early…Another reason Glenn is ahead of the curve.

    Report Post » LinkedIn G  
  • V-MAN MACE
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:32pm

    Cowards.

    Let me speak.

    Stop censoring me.

    Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
  • V-MAN MACE
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:30pm

    NATO bombs Libyan TV stations. In an ILLEGAL war. At the BEHEST of the UNITED NATIONS, who talks bad about us on our own soil.

    What happens to our own TV stations for propagandizing us with government lies and fearmongering us about the CIA-run and led Al Qaeda?

    I already got censor-smacked by some irrelevant douche for having the audacity to suggest someone might do something untowards to our own lying TV stations…

    Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
  • trooper
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:29pm

    They must have been running Glenn Beck re-runs at 5 o’clock.

    Report Post »  
  • Angel
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:10pm

    well since obama seems to be running this show, it is his war, he started it… maybe he is using it as a model to form his attack on the U.S.

    Report Post » Angel  
  • LowTechBackup
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:10pm

    let’s see. if the U.S. is leading NATO, doesn’t this kinda seem like barry is turning the arab world against the western world. maybe that’s just crazy talk…it’s not like terrorists are being sent to civilian courts instead of military tribunals. oops- my bad.

    Report Post »  
    • the hawk
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 8:19pm

      The U.S.ain’t leading nothing but the race to the bottom!

      Report Post »  
  • ILUVAMERICA
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:59pm

    @olddog
    You got that right!!!!!

    Report Post » ILUVAMERICA  
  • Sean In LI
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:52pm

    I’m sure that taking out government television facilities were within both the letter and spirit of UN resolution to force Libya into civil war.

    Report Post »  
    • John 1776
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:57pm

      Have to wonder if BO has his eyes on a few transmission facilities in the US as well…..

      Report Post » John 1776  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:52pm

    Is that photo from Dawn of the Living Dead? Looks like a bunch of crazed zombies going berserk to me.

    Report Post » mossbrain  
  • bullcrapbuster
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:47pm

    What exactly is the hope and change that the rebels are fighting for?

    Report Post » bullcrapbuster  
    • LinkedIn G
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 7:48pm

      The Muslim Brotherhood will take over the entire Middle East…No wonder the Palestinians say they will dissolve if they don’t get a state in September…The next attempt to destroy Israel will be The Muslim Brotherhood taking over everything…Kinda like a Muslim U.N.

      Report Post » LinkedIn G  
  • LowTechBackup
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:38pm

    what will the people on the left say when the political line on the map between Egypt and Libya is erased? The brotherhood in Egypt will then control the Libyan Oil, the largest military force in the region, and the Suez Canal (with it’s oil traffic). Gotta love that peace and freedom (the liberals are so smart). Not to worry, we’ve decreased our oil production in the gulf of Mexico. It‘s not like we’re being setup for an energy crisis- they’d have to test shut-down of the Alaskan oil pipeline and see how release of oil from the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve works. oops, my bad- they shut the Alaskan oil pipeline to 5% just this year and didn’t we just release 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve. I‘m sure it’s all just a coincidence.

    Report Post »  
    • MODEL82A1
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:54pm

      Oh, no, Islamists could control the majority of the world’s oil supply??????? That’s unimaginable!

      Report Post » MODEL82A1  
  • heavyduty
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:35pm

    As usual NATO is wasting money on little bombs. When they could do so much more with a bomb with the letter H on it.

    Report Post »  
  • V-MAN MACE
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:31pm

    Who’s gonna bomb our Federal Reserve-bought-and-paid corporate media for fearmongering to the American public about the CIA-created-and-run Al Qaeda, and propagandizing us with neocon/liberal garbage?

    Report Post » V-MAN MACE  
  • Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:28pm

    So they have once again demonstrated they cannot beat Quaddafis ground forces; they cannot manage to kill or assassinate him directly, then they switch to bombing the TV station transmitters?

    Hello people, it is the head dingbat apperantly you want to get, not the TV station itself?
    http://artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm (cat folk gallery)

    Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}  
    • Sicboy
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:33pm

      Can somebody please tell me whats going on here? Where are the repub’s? they didn’t defund this racket. Where are the anti war dupes? What is going on? Syria has killed more people and nothing. Have we knocked out the Mid East tough guys that would not follow a Callaphate? What the hell is going on.

      Report Post » Sicboy  
    • tower7femacamp
      Posted on July 31, 2011 at 11:47am

      Quaddafis against the NWO and refuses to bow to Satan
      and his Lucifarian Bankers

      Report Post » tower7femacamp  
  • Dougral Supports Israel
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:27pm

    I have been a supporter of the US in every war in my lifetime except this one. Frankly I don’t care if we win this one or lose. Perhaps its because there is no point at all for us to be involved here. We lose no matter who wins this war.

    Report Post »  
    • Want our country back
      Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:46pm

      Doug, couldn’t agree with you more…. under this administration nothing makes sense…. bring all of our kids home…..now…. the middle east is lost, they will revert back 2000 years and we can’t change that…. let them blow themselves up all day long.

      God Bless the USA and Israel

      Report Post » Want our country back  
  • LowTechBackup
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:27pm

    (as part of the “no-fly-zone”)- We certainly can’t have those TV Transmitters taking off and attacking civilians from the air. better to destroy the TV Transmitters while they’re still on the ground.

    Report Post »  
  • South Philly Boy
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:26pm

    That‘s what should’ve happened to al jazeera

    Report Post » South Philly Boy  
  • Captain Crunch
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:26pm

    Big mistake. We should never have gotten involved in Lybia or Egypt.

    Report Post »  
  • scruffycat
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:25pm

    no freedom of speech for Libya… BOOM go your transmitters… look out FNC…

    Report Post » scruffycat  
  • MODEL82A1
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:24pm

    Hilarious that NATO is now autonomous. From 2000-2008 NATO equaled US Miltary.

    Report Post » MODEL82A1  
  • Ron_WA
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:22pm

    This may be an illegal war but at least it gives our aviators good live fire training …

    I’m still not sure why no one in Congress has formally proposed impeachment – nothing would actually happen to the POTUS since it is such a long & technical process which in the end only results in a decision to put the POTUS on trial or not … but it would force the issue.

    Report Post » Ron_WA  
  • chips1
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:14pm

    They can only take so many ‘I LOVE LUCY” reruns.

    Report Post »  
  • Rice Water
    Posted on July 30, 2011 at 6:14pm

    WHY won’t the progressives let free-market economics sort this out???

    Report Post » Rice Water  
1 2

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love