Rick Rozoff: NATO Transitions To Terror Bombing of Libya

On the evening of April 30, a Libyan government spokesman announced that an air strike by NATO had killed Muammar Gaddafi's 29-year old son Saif al-Arab, three of the former's grandchildren, all under twelve years of age, and several friends and neighbors. The attack followed by only a few hours a television address by Gaddafi, in which he appealed to NATO nations for a ceasefire and negotiations after six weeks of bombings and cruise missile attacks against his country. His comments included the questions: "Why are you attacking us? Why are you killing our children? Why are you destroying our infrastructure?" As he spoke, NATO warplanes struck government buildings near the broadcasting facility where he was speaking, with the transmission going out on three occasions. The government accused NATO of attempting to kill Gaddafi in the attack! It was the latest in a steadily mounting series of air attacks on or near the Libyan capital, including a bombardment on April 20 that killed seven civilians and wounded 18 in a suburb of Tripoli, and an air raid that targeted Gaddafi's compound among strikes on several military and civilian locations two days later, killing three people and destroying the leader's office in his Tripoli residence. A Libyan official informed journalists of what was self-evident: "It was an attempt to assassinate Colonel Gaddafi."