US warships enter Suez Canal as nations pressure Gaddafi

[Feuer Frei!]

TWO US warships carrying marines and equipment have entered the Suez Canal en route to Libya, as the US and Europe piled pressure on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. "The USS Kearsarge and the USS Ponce entered the Suez Canal from the southern entrance at 3pm today (AEDT) and are making their way to the Mediterranean sea," a canal authority official said.
On average it takes 12 to 14 hours for a ship to transit the canal.
The Kearsarge amphibious ready group, with about 800 marines, a fleet of helicopters and medical facilities, could support humanitarian efforts as well as military operations.
"We're certainly moving assets to be closer (to Libya)," a US defence official told AFP in Washington yesterday.
"A ship like the Kearsage is capable of many types of missions."
Western powers are arguing over imposing a proposed no-fly zone over Libya to support rebels fighting Gaddafi's regime. Some opposition figures in Libya have begun calling for air strikes.


An American aircraft carrier, the USS Enterprise - which has fighter jets that could enforce a possible no-fly zone - could also be called upon for the Libya crisis.
The carrier is currently in the north of the Red Sea, according to the US Navy's website.

[Castout]

The perks of being a superpower is you have all these assets available to give a helping hand and it's would be a major help to these people. This action alone need to be applauded and appreciated.

Gaddafi won't hold out despite the worries that Libya could descend to chaos or prolonged civil war. In fact he's nearer to the end than ever and time is short for him. Really short. From this hour onward Gaddafi forces will only be beaten. Tide is changing. It is inevitable that Gaddafi will go.

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by Castout

It is inevitable that Gaddafi will go.

Correct.
Just how though remains a mistery.
For now. We won't have to wait long to find that out though.

[Feuer Frei!]

More threats, this time from HARDLINE Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who has warned against military intervention in Libya, saying such action would create a graveyard for its soldiers.

Egyptian officials have reported that two US warships have entered the Suez Canal on their way to the Mediterranean, moving closer to the Libyan coast after orders from US Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

''(Bush) used a deception named September 11 to prepare the ground to invade Iraq and Afghanistan,'' Ahmadinejad said.

"Be warned that if you intervene militarily one more time, in any of the countries in North Africa or the Middle East, the regional nations will rise and dig the graves of your soldiers."

But Defence Secretary Gates said earlier that "there is no unanimity within NATO for the use of armed force."

The Iranian president's warning to the US came as forces loyal to Gaddafi launched a major push to claw back lost territory, with reports of an attack on a key oil hub and renewed aerial bombardment as Libya descended further into violence.
It was unclear who held the town of Brega, home to one of the north African country's biggest oil installations, with Al Arabiya reporting that 14 people died in overnight fighting.


'Acres' of refugees wait to cross border

Meanwhile, France plans to send heavy-lift planes and a ship to create a land and sea bridge to ferry 5000 Egyptian refugees fleeing Libya home from the Tunisian border.

There's reports "acres of people" are still waiting at the Tunisia border to cross in freezing conditions.

UPDATED/SOURCE 2 MARCH 22:03 EST

[the_tyrant]

I don't think Gaddafi is going to let go easy
He wasn't democratically elected, nor was he simply next in the line of succession, nor did he inherit his power

He fought and plotted his was to the top. He's probably not going to let go easily. And if he is going to flee, where will he flee to?

[TLAM Strike]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

And if he is going to flee, where will he flee to?

Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Cuba, Syria, Iran, Pakistan

[Feuer Frei!]

Originally Posted by the_tyrant

And if he is going to flee, where will he flee to?

Lybian leader Gaddafi would commit suicide or flee to Latin America in the face of rising public outcry over his tyrannical rule.
This is the word of his youngest son Saif al-Arab.
Idi Amin finished up in Saudi Arabia. Mobutu Sese Seko went to Togo then settled in Morocco. Mengistu Haile Mariam, author of Ethiopia's Red Terror, is living out his days in Zimbabwe. And so, if the once unthinkable should happen and the dictator falls in Libya, whither Muammar Gaddafi? Burkina Faso, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Venezuela and Zimbabwe are among the contenders floated by analysts if the self-declared "doyen of Arab leaders, king of kings of Africa and imam of all Muslims" was forced to seek asylum. Saudi hospitality has previously been extended to ousted Pakistani prime minister Nawaz Sharif and overthrown Tunisia's Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. But its relations with Libya have been strained for years; in 2009 Gaddafi told King Abdullah: "You are propelled by fibs towards the grave and you were made by Britain and protected by the US.
Venezuela is a stronger candidate having had close ties with Libya of late. Gaddafi was seen shopping on a Venezuelan island during a summit 18 month ago. President Hugo Chavez has visited Libya several times and a football stadium there was named in his honour. One unlikely friend is Nelson Mandela, who never forgot Gaddafi's support for the African National Congress in the struggle against apartheid. Mandela, now 92 and retired, was once quoted as saying: "Those who feel irritated by our friendship with President Gaddafi can go jump in the pool."

[Jimbuna]

I'm not hoping for this but there is a possibility he may win the internal battle and stay put.....heaven forbid.

[Skybird]

Even if Gaddafi would will to go easy, he would be pressed not to do so by his own clan. All his sons and daughter are fighting against each other, and are as poisenous vipers as Gaddafi himself is.

[Rockstar]

Well it's about time. European countries did not hesitate to send a show of force with military ships and aircraft to extract their citizens from Libya.

The U.S. on the other hand charters ferry boat that got stuck at the dock for three days due to weather. It was said then a U.S. naval force might send the wrong message.

By placing U.S. naval assets in the region what's the message now?

[Jimbuna]

Latest update on the Libyan crisis: