The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Losing My Blog Readership in Tripoli

Posted on | March 5, 2011 | 4 Comments

The Libyan regime has apparently shut down the Internet again, which means that no one there will be able to keep track of Charlie Sheen’s latest exploits. Meanwhile, Libyan rebels have announced formation of a republic. And here’s an update on the military situation:

Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi waged a second offensive against the western town of Zawiyah on Saturday after rebels drove them out in a morning of fierce fighting, while in the east, opponents of the Libyan strongman pushed toward his hometown.
In a second day of fierce fighting for control of Zawiyah, 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, government forces retreated to the outskirts early in the day but later mounted a counter-offensive. Rebels said both attacks were repelled. The city bore the signs of heavy fighting, with one building completely burned and smoldering rubble littering the center. Other buildings around the main square, the stronghold of rebel resistance, were riddled with holes from large-caliber weapons.
Rebels in eastern Libya said they were pushing further west after driving forces loyal to Gaddafi from the oil town of Ras Lanuf on Friday. Opposition fighters said they had taken the town of Bin Jawad some 525 km east of Tripoli and were moving on toward Sirte, Gaddafi’s heavily guarded home town 160 km (100 miles) away.

The capture of Ras Lanuf is a major victory for the Libyan rebels. Here is a video report:

With gasoline now reportedly selling for more than $5 a gallon in Florida, Americans may wonder what the Obama administration is doing about the Libyan crisis. And the answer is, “Not a whole lot.”

While we have no more reason to support the Libyan rebels than we did to support the uprising in Egypt — an Islamic “republic” might be even worse than a dictatorship — it appears that a rebel victory would be the quickest way to end the current crisis. And ending the current crisis would be the quickest way to (a) lower gas prices and (b) letting Libyans back onto the Internet to check for Charlie Sheen updates.

There’s no point blogging if no one’s reading it. Research indicates that Libyan men really admire Charlie Sheen, so the Qaddafi regime’s Internet shutdown is hurting my traffic.

Such are my own personal foreign-policy priorities. Yeah, “human rights,” blah, blah, blah — but $5 a gallon for regular unleaded sucks.

Category: Libya

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