BREAKING: Revolutionary airforce destroy 2 Gaddafi warships and damage a third

[pinboy3niner]

From libyafeb17.com:

16:16 < (10:15am EDT) >Al Jazeera Arabic News that the Free Libyan Airforce have destroyed and sunk 2 Gaddafi warships and hit a third off the coast of Ajdabiya and Benghazi


http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/03/march-15-updates/

And from AJE:

4:30pm < (10:30am EDT) >

Anti-government activists said that rebels commanding fighter jets have destroyed two of Gaddafi's warships off the northeast coast of Ajdabiya.

The opposition also claimed to have hit a third naval ship in the air attack, according to opposition website Libya al-Youm.

A number of army generals and soldiers, particularly in the Libyan Air Force, have defected to join the rebels and have an arsenal of weapons and fighter jets at their disposal.

The alleged attack comes as Gaddafi's forces continue to battle for control of Ajdabiya and the nearby city of Brega in order to advance on to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.


http://blogs.aljazeera.net/live/africa/libya-live-blog-march-15

[Jazzgirl]

1. Where did the revolutionary forces get jets?

This is the first I've heard of them having access to any air force equipment.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. and the fuel, ground crew, ordnance, ordies etc

[Jazzgirl]

8. Interesting......

Not sure what to say about this but something is......weird?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. A lot of stuff sourced like this has not been true

Not slamming the poster, but a lot of the excited utterances we see are not true. Recent claims of nerve gas being used in Bahrain is a case in point.

[LiberalEsto]

4. Defectors, probably

I think some Libyan military pilots defected to Malta a while back

[TheWraith]

25. Or, this could have been guys who "defected" in the air.

If guys who were previously just doing their jobs were sent up and then ordered to bomb a bunch of civilians, knowing that failure to do so meant execution on their return, they might decide to inflict some damage instead.

[hifiguy]

5. A number of Libyan AF pilots bugged out to Malta

when the uprising started. They just flew their planes out of the country.

[pinboy3niner]

6. From defecting military units

They also have helicopters and tanks (about 100 tanks, according to a recent report).

Ed. to add: These are purportedly photos of some of the aircraft that have 'defected':
http://www.libyafeb17.com/2011/02/photos-more-of-the-libyan-air-force-is-joining-the-revolution/

[conspirator]

14. Most likely RAF unmarked jets. Or probably not even jets, but royal navy cruise missiles n/t

[northernlights]

15. defectors from the military

it says it right in the article.

[malaise]

18. Guess

The Western boys want a new dictator

[Bandit]

21. From the post you are replying to

"A number of army generals and soldiers, particularly in the Libyan Air Force, have defected to join the rebels and have an arsenal of weapons and fighter jets at their disposal."

[backscatter712]

29. Western intelligence agencies providing covert technical support?

French or British by my guess.

The CIA might have provided some toys to the rebels too, but I doubt it - too many of the US .gov insiders, especially Republicans, like dictators, and were secretly hoping that Gadaffi would crush the rebels - they were also poo-poohing the Egyptian uprising, and even the Iranian Green movement. They'll claim to the public that they support democracy and oppose dictators, but their actions say otherwise.

[Shagbark Hickory]

32. Something tells me I don't want to know.

:eyes:

[ProgressiveProfessor]

2. Before everyone gets all excited, consider the source

There have been any number of similarly sourced posting, that while encouraging, have not turned out to be true. We need to see if something else backs this up. It takes a whole lot more than just a pilot to get a warplane in the air.

While I too want to see Gaddafi gone, locking on to bad gouge will not help things

[dipsydoodle]

7. Well if they do set up a no fly zone

the Free Libyan Airforce will be screwn.

By implication the claim, which I consider to be suspect, implies they have killed the crews of the ships too.

[meow mix]

9. glad to hear it

[Desertrose]

10. Good!

All those defecting solders & equipment and abandoned bases have helped the revolutionaries!


Gadaffi is like the cockroach that just won't die...but he's going to take out as many of his people before he does.

[WatsonT]

11. Wouldn't a no fly zone have prevented this?

[TheWraith]

27. Probably, yes.

Generally a "No Fly Zone" means NO FLYING, since it can be hard to verify the identity and intentions of unknown aircraft.

[WatsonT]

31. So is that something we should really be considering enforcing?

Especially in light of the fact that the rebels now have an airforce (apparently).

[xchrom]

13. so the defectors are back in action? nt

[pinboy3niner]

16. According to the Libyan Youth Movement - Feb 17th:

4:30pm < (10:30am EDT) >: Anti-government activists said that rebels commanding fighter jets have destroyed two of Gaddafi’s warships off the northeast coast of Ajdabiya. The opposition also claimed to have hit a third naval ship in the air attack, according to opposition website Libya al-Youm. A number of army generals and soldiers, particularly in the Libyan Air Force, have defected to join the rebels and have an arsenal of weapons and fighter jets at their disposal. The alleged attack comes as Gaddafi’s forces continue to battle for control of Ajdabiya and the nearby city of Brega in order to advance on to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.


http://feb17.info/

[howaboutme]

17. So do you think that the PTB want the status quo and Gaddafi to remain in power?

What do you think? Do the world leaders want the stability of having Gaddafi remain in power or do they really want his overthrow and and the birth of an infant democracy, or are they just posturing, acting and talking out of both sides of their mouth?

I'm not convinced that they actually want change with all the inherent risks to oil prices and government. But they can never say it.

[galloglas]

23. The PTB ??

If they wanted Gaddafi gone, he would be gone by now. The conclusion seems obvious.

[howaboutme]

24. Good point!

What we hear from our government and of others, and of course the voice of our propaganda machine (USA MSM) is nothing but titillation.

While they create expectations others face life and death.

[TheWraith]

26. Right, because US military strikes in random countries always go so brilliantly well.

I have the feeling that if they DID do anything concrete to help turf him out of power, you'd be screaming about imperialism and colonization.

The Libyans seem to be doing okay for themselves so far. Let's let them handle it.

[howaboutme]

28. You are correct

on that point. I oppose getting the USA involved in another country. It would have been good to see their peer group involved.

[originalpckelly]

19. Holy shit, they blew up the death star!

It does have that kind of ring to it, now doesn't it?

[The Backlash Cometh]

20. So glad they aimed at the right target.

[pinboy3niner]

22. Video report by AJE's Tony Birtley (2:30):

Latest on Libya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeo_EEZjpHg&feature=player_embedded

[AlabamaLibrul]

30. B-b-b-b-booyah. n/t

[rucky]

33. Can we say the tide is turning yet?

fingers crossed