GADHAFI PROMISES ‘A Long War’

Push has come to shove. Operation “Odyssey Dawn” to oust Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi from power is under way.

In what is being called the biggest Western military intervention in the Arab world since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, European and U.S. forces unleashed warplanes and cruise missiles against Libya over the weekend. According to Libyan state television, so far 48 people are dead and 150 have been wounded in the air strikes.

Military strikes began Saturday with an abundance of air power that first came from France. Then U.S. and British planes took up the rear, launching 110 Tomahawk missiles against air defenses around the capital Tripoli and the western city of Misrata.  Following a U.N. Security Council vote authorizing strikes against Gadhafi for mutilating and murdering his own people, the U.S., France, Great Britain, Canada and Italy are all part of a concerted effort against Gadhafi forces, including a fresh wave of strikes waged on Tripoli early Sunday.

The military intervention was welcomed with a mix of apprehension and relief by the Libyan people, who have spent the past several weeks opposing Gadhafi’s rule in hopes of overthrowing him. “We think this will end Gadhafi’s rule. Libyans will never forget France’s stand with them.  If it weren’t for them, then Benghazi would have been overrun tonight,” said Iyad Ali, 37. And Mohammed Faraj, 44, a former military man who joined the rebels, held a grenade in each hand, saying “Me and all of Benghazi, we will die before Gadhafi sets foot here again.  Our spirits are very high.”

Following a meeting in Paris of Western and Arab leaders backing the intervention, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the allies had agreed to use “all necessary means, especially military” to enforce the Security Council resolution for an end to attacks on civilians. “Colonel Gadhafi has made this happen,” British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters after the meeting. “We cannot allow the slaughter of civilians to continue.” And Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper added “It is our belief that if Mr. Gadhafi loses the capacity to enforce his will through vastly superior armed forces, he simply will not be able to sustain his grip on the country.”

But despite much of the world’s power and might against him, Gadhafi remains adamant to stay in power.  In a phone call to state television, Gadhafi said he would not let up on Benghazi, and that Allah is with him while the Devil is with those who oppose him.  He added “We promise you a long war.”