Peter Graff: NATO Strikes on Tripoli Pause, Mission Strained!

NATO bombing of Tripoli paused on Wednesday morning after some of the heaviest bombard -ments of the Libyan capital since air strikes began in March, but rebels said Muammar Gaddafi's army continued to shell their positions. A Reuters reporter in Tripoli said no further explosions were heard after about 2 AM. Loud blasts had been shaking Tripoli throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday morning, with warplanes hitting the city several times an hour. NATO defense ministers met in Brussels on Wednesday, but there were few signs of willingness to intensify their Libya mission, which has so far failed to oust Gaddafi. The "alliance", (read murderers) says the bombing aims to protect civilians (-what a bunch of CRAP!) from the Libyan leader's military, which supposedly "crushed" popular protests against his rule in February, but with supposedly many dead. It is my considered opinion, that is why Gaddafi provides free housing and free medical treatment for his loyal people, despite the pain of fighting against his household. Unfortunately, "Western powers" are now lining up behind the rebels (read murderers of his people). Spain, on Wednesday said that it had recognized their "National Transitional Council" as the country's only representative, probably to get a huge share of Libya's oil. Gaddafi's troops and the rebels have been deadlocked for weeks, with neither side able to hold territory on the road between Ajdabiyah in the east, which Gaddafi's forces shelled on Monday, and the Gaddafi-held oil town of Brega further west. Rebels (Read al Quaeda), control the east of Libya, the western city of Misrata, and the range of western mountains near the border with Tunisia. They have been unable to advance on the capital against Gaddafi's better equipped, and as a former Advisory Team Leader in Vietnam, I would say: "More highly motivated" force. Bad news for the so-called "alliance": As NATO defense ministers met in Brussels, to discuss the Libyan campaign, some "allies" that have NOT taken part in the bombing, said that they would NOT alter their stance, and Sweden, , a non-NATO participant, said it would "scale down its role". Of the 28 NATO allies, only eight, led by Britain and France, have been conducting air strikes on Gaddafi's forces, and a "senior" US official warned this week, that while there were no risks to the mission yet, fatigue was beginning to set in among the aircrews already committed. Germany, which has opposed opposed the Libyan intervention, said it understood the pressures on Britain and France, but would not change its position. "Germany sticks to its position - "NO MILITARY ENGAGEMENT" said German Deputy Defense Minister Christian Schmidt to reporters. Meanwhile, back in that war, Gaddafi said that the rebels are a minority minority of Islamist militants (read Al-Qaida). Gaddafi's forces pulled back to high ground in the Western Mountains outside Yafran, 130 km (80 miles) southwest of Tripoli. The rebels broke a government siege of it on Monday.