'Arab Spring' Subversion is U.S. Funded

It's Official: "Arab Spring" Subversion is U.S. Funded

Doubts laid to rest; counter revolutions to come

By Tony Cartalucci, Land Destroyer
April 15, 2011

Bangkok, Thailand April 15, 2011 - As American bombs rain down upon Libya on the premise that Qaddafi was brutalizing indigenous pro-democratic demonstrators, the accusing fingers of Libya, Iran, China, Syria, Belarus, and a growing number of other nations are pointing at Washington for funding and plotting regime change against their respective governments. Either in an act of absolute hubris or to spin emerging evidence that the US indeed has been funding and preparing the ground for the "Arab Spring" for years, New York Times has recently published "U.S. Groups Helped Nurture Arab Uprisings."

Essentially throwing these activists under the bus, New York Times exposes that the April 6 Youth Movement in Egypt, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, and Entsar Qadhi of Yemen amongst others, received training and financing from the International Republican Institute, the National Democratic Institute, and the Neo-Conservative lined Freedom House.

The New York Times goes on to explain that these organizations are in turn funded by the National Endowment for Democracy which receives 100 million USD from Congress while Freedom House receives most of its money from the US State Department. While the New York Times asserts "no one doubts that the Arab uprisings are home grown," leaders of groups now admittedly funded and trained by the US are anything but "home grown." The most prominent example is the April 6 Movement of Egypt led by Mohamed ElBaradei of the International Crisis Group. ElBaradei sitting along side George Soros, Kenneth Adelman, Wesley Clark, and Zbigniew Brzezinski, within a US foreign policy think-tank engenders a considerable amount of "doubt."

Also conceding involvement is the Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED), chaired by various Council on Foreign Relations and Brookings Institute alumni. POMED claims that they helped protesters develop skills and to network. Such training has taken place annually under Movements.org starting in 2008 where Egypt's April 6 movement among many others, learned techniques to subvert their government. Movements.org of course is sponsored by a conglomerate of corporations and government agencies including the US State Department, Google, MTV, the Edelman public relations firm, Facebook, CBS News, MSNBC, Pepsi, and others. Despite the claim that such meddling is "promoting democracy," looking at the sponsors and war mongering interests involved in this operation, it appears to be more about promoting global military and economic hegemony.

The role of NGOs and the so called "civil society" used to support the unrest is also included in the New York Times piece, as well as the displeasure expressed by Arab leaders berating the US for meddling in their internal affairs. Such accusations have now reach a crescendo with China, Iran, Syria, and Belarus making similar claims.

The New York Times piece ends by describing cables indicating that many activists who became aware of US involvement in funding and directing the movements became disenfranchised. Such activists were "ousted." Training was conducted outside of target countries, including in Jordan, Morocco, Serbia, and the United States. What the New York Times omits are the similar connections and involvements corporate special interests hand in steering human rights organizations in support of these operations as well. Such organizations had amply laid the rhetorical groundwork needed to justify the ever expanding war in Libya.

Of course, one needs only remember the feigned ignorance exhibited by the US State Department, Hillary Clinton, and Barack Obama, along with the litany of lies purveyed by the mainstream media to see a disingenuous plot in motion. This is because everyone from the US State Department and the corporate owned media had been involved, for years, preparing to bring the "Arab Spring" to fruition. With open admissions now being made by a global corporate-financier mouthpiece like the New York Times, one must consider the serious implications of what may come next.

Behold the circus that is the mainstream media. MSNBC feigns ignorance and
confusion over unrest they had been involved in engineering since at least 2008.

Surely this information is going to incite a counterrevolution. In Egypt, suspicion over Mohamed ElBaradei has already seen the interloping globocrat pelted with rocks and his agenda derailed. Many activists truly believed in their cause and risked their lives for the idea that they were fighting not only their own corrupt dictatorships, but the West as well who had been propping them up for years. Such a perception was exasperated during the early stages of the of the uprisings with the West lavishing support on embattled regimes in order to maximize the disenfranchisement of the people. With ongoing operations to seize Libya by force, and to see through similar US backed uprisings in Syria, Yemen, Iran, and even as far as Thailand and China, it will be interesting indeed to see how nation-states tailor their response to what is now clearly foreign funded subversion.

In what manner this realization will manifest itself is not certain. However, it would be wise for activists, pundits, politicians, and concerned citizens genuinely interested in truth, to think very carefully before making their next move. As George Bush had once attempted to say, "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. "

Ultimately, and upon examining the architects behind this global gambit of deceptive destabilization, we must look past the puppet politicians and the disingenuous liars that presume to give us "the news." We must see the global corporate-financier empire as the source of the problem and its removal and replacement as the solution.

For ways to battle the globalists by achieving self-sufficiency and freedom through independence please read on:

Boycotting: One Corporation at a time
Self-Sufficiency
Alternative Economics
The Lost Key to Real Revolution
Boycott the Globalists
Naming Names: Your Real Government

Muslim Brotherhood and the Revolutions

Exposing the International Arbiters

Supposedly mapping “freedom.”

The corporate funded exploitation of freedom, democracy, and human rights.

By Tony Cartalucci, Land Destroyer
April 10, 2011

The colorful maps of press freedom, democracy, and other metrics we are told are indicative of a free and prosperous society are the products of wholly corporate funded special interest lobbying groups like “Reporters Without Borders,” “Transparency International,” and the fraudulent “Human Rights Watch.” In giving us a clear picture of freedom, prosperity, and human rights throughout the world, they are about as accurate and as useful as divining rods are at finding water.

These large multinational organizations may include professional, dedicated, and immensely sincere people from all walks of life who believe in their cause, however, the vector sum of their effort is to advance the collective interests of the corporations that populate the board of directors and fund them.

Libya

The hyped, unverified hearsay coming out of Egypt, Libya, and now Syria regarding “alleged” brutal crackdowns on “unarmed” protesters has been lent legitimacy by being repeated through organizations like Human Rights Watch (HRW). In fact, nearly all of HRWs reports are merely collections of witness accounts, allegations, and hearsay, generally from protesters and opposition members and entirely devoid of any empirical evidence. Hearsay, one would reasonably think, is a good impetus for further investigation, not drawing a conclusion. For HRW however, the conclusion is usually already politically predetermined. In Libya’s case, Qaddafi’s ouster was a given, leaving HRW the task of simply filling in a compelling narrative.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after admitting to funding sedition worldwide, demands that Qaddafi leave power based on still unfounded accusations. Perpetuating these accusations are corporate funded organizations like HRW.

Some samples of HRW reports regarding Libya:

HRW: “Libya: Allow Eman al-’Obeidy to Leave Tripoli” Regards allegations of Eman al-Obeidy who claimed she was raped and tortured by Qaddafi forces in Tripoli before stumbling fortuitously into a hotel lobby full of foreign reporters. Her allegations remain as such, however this has not stopped the media or HRW from exploiting the story to bolster anti-Qaddafi sentiment.

HRW: “Libya: African Rights Court Issues First Ruling Against a State” Again, unverified allegations serve as the basis for a contrived court’s decision using entirely contrived laws to berate Libya and undermine the government’s legitimacy. To this day allegations against Libya’s military for intentionally targeting civilians are not only unsubstantiated, but refuted even by Western military analysts engineering the war.

HRW: “Libya: At Least 370 Missing From Country’s East” Here we have 72 “possible disappearance” cases “documented” by HRW, but based on interviews with family members or witnesses to the arrest of the “apparently” missing persons.

A pattern of consistently misleading propaganda becomes apparent – designed to undermine the Libyan government in support of the predetermined “Qaddafi must go” narrative. As the West’s aggression against Libya unfolds, evidence is emerging that not only is HRW’s propaganda misleading, but much of it is verifiable lies. Evidence is now emerging that these “freedom fighting” rebels are in fact Al Qaeda fighters, many of whom quite literally just got back from fighting Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq including one of the current rebels leaders, Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi.

Funding HRW are the regular corporate suspects including
the Soros’ Open Society Institute, the Ford Foundation,
and the CFR lined Atlantic Philanthropies.

Thailand

In Thailand, a combination of metrics stemming from these disingenuous groups are fueling another attempted color revolution trying to ride the current wave of destabilization started by the West through the US State Department, and equally disingenuous groups like Freedom House and the National Endowment for Democracy.

The leader of the Thai color revolution is globalist stooge Thaksin Shinwatra, a former adviser to the Carlyle Group who was literally standing in front of the CFR in NYC on the eve of his ousting from power in 2006. Since 2006, he has been represented by fellow Carlyle man James Baker and his Baker Botts law firm, International Crisis Group’s Kenneth Adelman and his Edelman Public Relations firm, Belfer Center adviser Robert Blackwill of Barbour Griffith & Rogers, and now Robert Amsterdam of Amsterdam & Peroff, a major corporate member of the globalist Chatham House. To say Thaksin has the support of multinational corporate interests is an understatement.

The opposition party operating under Thaksin has been attempting to undermine the government’s legitimacy through a steady stream of contrived metrics regarding “freedom,” “democracy,” and “human rights,” provided by Human Rights Watch, Freedom House, Transparency International, and Reporters Without Borders.

Often cited is the Freedom House’s “Freedom in the World” report where Thailand was downgraded from free under the globalist-friendly cleptocratic Thaksin regime, to partly free under the current Thai government who has been steadily distancing itself from free-trade with the US, ignoring US calls to enforce “intellectual property,” and pursuing a more protectionist policy in regards to the West and its unraveling economy.

What those who cite Freedom House forget to mention is that upon its board of trustees sits Kenneth Adelman who was Thaksin’s paid lobbyist. Such a conflict of interest derides Freedom House’s legitimacy entirely, and similar personalities and corporate sponsors involved in the organization have also directly benefited financially from conflicts started on lies given legitimacy through Freedom House’s “work.” These include both George Soros and signatories of the war mongering Project for a New American Century.

Reporters Without Borders is funded by the corporate-lined National Endowment for Democracy, and has downgraded Thailand as well regarding it as a “nation under surveillance.” The organization cites the crackdown on the elements involved in the foreign-backed color revolution as the reasoning behind its judgment, using the NED funded Prachatai website in particular as an example. Reporters Without Borders attempts to portray such crackdowns as an affront to freedom, even as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton openly admits to funding subversion worldwide.

Freedom House is a big fan of NED funded Prachatai as well.
Prachatai is an over-the-top propaganda clearinghouse for
the Thai red color revolution.

One must wonder how the United States would deal with foreign funded sedition when they are already labeling collector coin dealers “domestic terrorists” and dealing them out 10 year prison sentences.

Perhaps the most ludicrous of all is Transparency International which has been frequently cited by the color revolution for downgrading Thailand’s score on the “Corruption Perception Index” from 3.6 under Thaksin to a negligible 3.4 under the current government. Transparency International, however, is funded by perhaps the most corrupt corporations on earth, in human history, including: Anglo American, Ernst & Young, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Merck, Procter & Gamble, Shell International, Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, and Wal-Mart. Foundation support includes the eugenicist Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the criminally run World Bank.

What exactly do these corporate-financier oligarchs have against Thailand? A lot of it stems from the failed US-Thailand FTA Thaksin tried to ramrod through into law before being ushered out of power. A quick look at the corporations (listed on page 8 here) of the US-Thailand FTA Business Coalition reveals some of the largest, most influential corporations on earth, many of which are also found on lists naming the key corporate members behind the global corporate-financier agenda. Impeding the US-Thailand FTA doesn’t just deny these power-mad corporations another market to plunder, it impedes the entropy of global oligarchical megalomania in general.

Thailand and Libya are but two examples. These organizations are manipulating public opinion and providing armies of seditious agents worldwide with statistics and official looking reports, leveraging the very noble causes of human rights, democracy, and freedom for their own nefarious agenda. As chaos attempts to consume Syria, Iran, and even Moscow and Beijing, remember the names of these organizations – Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, Freedom House, and the ridiculous Transparency International and recognize the disingenuous agenda they are peddling.

Hamas Makes Rare Appeal to Israel to Halt Fighting

Hamas Makes Rare Appeal to Israel to Halt Fighting

The Associated Press
April 9, 2011

A senior member of Gaza's ruling Hamas movement on Sunday made a rare appeal to the Israeli public for a halt to the escalating cross-border fighting, telling an Israeli radio station in fluent Hebrew that Hamas is ready to stop its rocket fire if Israel ends its attacks on Gaza.

As nightfall approached, Gaza militants had fired about 10 rockets and mortar shells at Israel, police said, but Israel had not hit back.

At a late afternoon meeting of Israel's Security Cabinet, made up of senior ministers, the military was told to "continue to operate against terrorists in order to stop the (rocket) fire on Israel."

Hamas' deputy foreign minister, Ghazi Hamad, delivered the message to state-run Israel Radio.

"We are interested in calm but want the Israeli military to stop its operations," Hamad said in Hebrew.

Hamas refuses to recognize Israel, but Hamad and other leaders of the Islamic militant group learned Hebrew during time spent in Israeli prisons.

Other Hamas officials said they were in touch with mediators in hopes of restoring calm.

Israeli leaders sent mixed messages Sunday.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak said if militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza cease their attacks, so would Israel.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took a more combative tack.

"If the attacks on Israeli citizens and soldiers continue, the response will be far harsher" than it has been, Netanyahu told his Cabinet.

Arab League leader Amr Moussa called on the U.N. to impose a no-fly zone over Gaza to protect Palestinians. Arab League support for a no-fly zone over Libya was crucial in its imposition there. It was unlikely the world body would take such drastic action against Israel in light of the Hamas rocket attacks.

The violence escalated a week ago when an Israeli airstrike killed three Hamas militants who Israel said were planning a cross-border kidnapping. On Thursday, Hamas militants fired a guided anti-tank missile at an Israeli school bus, wounding the two people on board, including a teenage boy who was critically hurt.

Since Thursday, Palestinians fired more than 120 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel, prompting Israeli reprisals that have killed 19 Palestinians, including six civilians, and wounded 65 others. It has been the most intense fighting between Israel and Gaza militants since a major Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territory ended in January 2009.

While neither side appears interested in all-out war, the fear is that an isolated incident could easily spark an Israeli offensive because of the combustible situation that has developed over the past month.

Mohammed Awad, Hamas' foreign minister, told the group's Al-Quds TV station that there was a "sustained effort" to halt the fighting.

"I can say we were in contact with Egypt, Turkey and the United Nations," he said.

Islamic Jihad, a smaller Palestinian militant group, also called for a halt to the violence.

Israel invaded Gaza in December 2008 in an attempt to stop years of persistent rocket fire at Israeli civilians near the Palestinian territory. Some 1,400 Gazans, including hundreds of civilians, and 13 Israelis were killed in the three-week offensive.

Until the recent flareup, cross-border violence remained at a relatively low level.

However, the balance of power has gradually shifted since the war.

On Thursday, Israel first used a new system designed to intercept incoming rockets. The system, Iron Dome, has now successfully shot down eight projectiles aimed at Israeli cities, the military said, though Israeli officials say it cannot provide a complete defense.

Israel says Hamas, meanwhile, has acquired deadlier weapons since the war. It says the group now has rockets capable of striking deep into Israel, anti-aircraft missiles and sophisticated anti-tank weapons like the laser-guided missile that hit the bus on Thursday.

If Saudi Arabia Is Overthrown, the Global Price for Oil Is Likely to Skyrocket

The Political-Unrest / Oil-Price / Food-Price Spiral

By Alfred Adask
March 11, 2011

The recent turmoil in the Middle East: 1) is likely to not only continue but get worse; and 2) could precipitate another global recession—or worse.

The fundamental problem is the relationship between political unrest in the Middle East, the price of crude oil, and the price of food. I.e., political unrest in the Middle East causes the price of oil to increase. A rise in the price of oil causes the price of food to increase. As the price of food increases in Arab countries (like Egypt) that are not significant producers of oil or food, political unrest within those countries will grow . . . causing the price of crude oil to go even higher . . . causing the price of food to go even higher . . . causing even more political unrest.

It’s hard to imagine an end to this spiral that doesn’t include catastrophe.

Consider:

March 5^th (AFP) “LONDON—The price of a barrel of crude could double if the unrest in the Arab world continues, oil trader turned British international development minister Alan Duncan warned Saturday. . . . the price of a barrel of crude could top $200, well above the record high of $147 reached in July 2008. If extremists used the instability in the Arab world to bomb oil tankers, pipelines or Saudi reserves, prices could even hit $250 a barrel . . . . Speaking of the turmoil in the Middle East, Mr. Duncan warned, ‘At the moment this is secular, economic and demographic but if it goes wrong you will see Islamic fundamentalism becoming the only vehicle for people’s grievances.’”

Note that the previous “record high” for crude oil helped precipitate the global “recession” in A.D. 2008. It follows that another “record high” for crude oil could precipitate another dose of “global recession”.

Note that crude oil is essential to modern agriculture. Tractors that pull plows run on diesel fuel or gasoline as do the trucks and ships that haul produce to markets. Crude oil is a primary component of most modern fertilizers. When the price of crude oil increases, the production costs for food must also increase.

When the Egyptian dissidents who recently fostered a new secular “democracy” are unable to feed the hungry, there will probably be more unrest and starving Egyptians may be drawn inevitably to support radical Muslims.

• The relationship between the price of crude oil and the price of food was implied in a March 4^th report from News.com.au (out of Australia):

“Food prices hit highs as oil rises. World food prices have hit new records and oil price spikes could push them even higher, the UN food agency warned as unrest in the Middle East and North Africa hits markets. . . . The Food Price Index, which monitors average monthly price changes for a variety of key staples, rose to 236 points in February from 231 points in January, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said. It was the highest level since FAO began monitoring prices in 1990. . . . Unexpected oil price spikes could further exacerbate an already precarious situation in food markets, . . . rising food prices are driving unrest around the world, including recent uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa.”

Rising food prices can be an inconvenience for people in the Western World where, on average, food costs are a relatively small part of family budgets. But in the impoverished, third world, the cost of food can comprise over half of a family’s budget. Small increases in the price of food can be devastating to poor nations. Such price increases can easily exacerbate political unrest and precipitate revolution or social collapse.

Egypt, for example, does not produce much oil and therefore won’t profit significantly from any increase in the price of crude oil. Egypt is not self-sufficient for food. Therefore, if the price of crude oil increases, the price of imported food will increase, and the Egyptian people who overthrew Hosni Mubarak in February may be starving in June. In the midst of hunger, political unrest must increase.

Egypt sits on the Suez Canal—a significant means of transporting crude oil from the Middle East to Europe. If the Egyptian people become so frustrated that they restrict traffic on the Suez Canal, the price of oil will increase further, the price of food will increase further, and the Egyptian people will become even more frustrated.
• But growing political unrest is not limited to the Middle East and North Africa. On March 9^th, NewsCore reported:

“A senior economist at the worldwide bank HSBC has warned of civil unrest in Britain if food prices continue to soar . . . . Karen Ward cautioned that ‘Even in the developed world I think we have very, very low wage growth, so people aren’t getting more in their pay packet to compensate them for food and energy price increases, and I think we could see social unrest certainly in parts of the developed world and the UK as well.’ . . . Food costs have gone up for eight months in a row, with the UK’s National Farmers Union forecasting the trend will continue for the rest of 2011.”

It’s unlikely that “the cost of food will continue to rise for the rest of 2011” in England and not also rise in the Middle East. If the cost of food continues to rise in the Middle East for the remainder of this year, how much more political unrest can we expect to see?

• The February 9^th Wall Street Journal reports,

“Wheat prices rose to fresh highs yesterday as news that top buyer Egypt had entered the market after an absence of almost a month boosted dealers’ confidence following weeks of unrest. . . . Egypt’s state-owned wheat buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities, . . . . bought 170,000 tonnes of US, Argentine and Australian soft wheat. The news pushed wheat futures higher . . . . This upward pressure adds further stress to the carefully calibrated systems in place to bring enough food into countries to feed hungry populations, and provide the subsidies that ensure it is sold at prices that are accessible to the poor and the vulnerable.”

“Top buyer Egypt” implies that Egypt is incapable of growing sufficient food to feed its people and must therefore import lots of grain.

But, as Egypt bought more grain, the news “pushed wheat futures” (and prices) of grain higher. Egypt must buy grain. As it does, the price of grain rises . . . which makes it harder for Egypt to buy more grain . . . which tends to increase Egyptian political unrest.

Describing the global food distribution system as “carefully calibrated” means there’s not much room for error. Small increases in prices or small decreases in supplies may devastate impoverished countries and spawn more political instability.

• February 16^th (AP) “Global food prices have hit ‘dangerous levels’ that could contribute to political instability, says World Bank President Robert Zoellick. The rising prices have hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as much as half their income on food. . . . The World Bank estimates higher prices for corn, wheat and oil have pushed 44 million people into extreme poverty since last June. The bank report said global food prices have jumped 29 percent in the past year, and are just 3 percent below the all-time peak hit in 2008. The World Bank’s food price index rose by 15 percent between October and January alone.”

Annualized, a price increase of 15% in 4 months, is almost 50% in a year. If that rate of increase continued, a poor family that currently spends 50% of its income on food might soon be required to spend 75%. Chaos will ensue.

• “The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted last week U.S. corn farmers will have just 675 million bushels of corn at the end of August, before next year’s harvest begins. That’s just an 18-day supply. The slim reserves mean traders will likely bid up crop prices further at any weather event that reduces next year’s planting. ‘We need to get good crops, all around the world, in all of these commodities. You just don’t have much foot room for error.’”

Think of it: a mere “18-day supply” of corn—here, in the USA. That’s scary. If there are any global disruptions in the food supply–including drought, war, closing the Suez Canal, earthquake in Japan, Tsunamis, rising oil prices, etc.–that “18-day supply” might evaporate and America might temporarily run out of corn.

What’s the probability that we’ll “get good crops, all around the world” before next fall’s harvest? Very small.

The global food distribution system is already stretched so thin, that even a small disruption could have massive, international consequences.

• March 8^th, NYTimes:

“Gasoline prices have risen by nearly a third in the last year . . . . Nouriel Roubini, the New York University economist who became known for his pessimistic [but accurate] forecasts before the [A.D. 2008] financial crisis, said that an increase in oil prices to $140 a barrel could even cause some advanced economies to dip back into recession. . . . What it is going to do is leave us with anemic and sporadic growth that to most Americans will still feel like a recession.”

America may suffer a longer “recession”. The people of third world countries like Egypt will suffer a depression. Our recession may be tolerable. Their depression may be unendurable.

• March 7^th, Washington Times:

“Tipping point for oil seen at $150 per barrel. Dennis P. Lockhart, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta . . . spelled out what level of oil prices might trigger Fed action, pinpointing the record level around $150 set in 2008. Many economists say those oil prices helped throw the economy into a recession. “I think at the $120 range—it’s a manageable level. Around $150 it becomes a much more serious concern.” . . . Despite widespread worries that the Fed could stoke inflation by accommodating high oil prices, Mr. Lockhart said inflation is not a problem, especially because wage gains — the biggest cost for most businesses — remain anemic.”

“Anemic wage gains” mean that as the price of gasoline and food rise, the working people of the world will not enjoy a comparable increase in income. That implies that “de common folk” (as usual) will be financially squeezed across the globe. With that stress will come a greater global predisposition for political unrest.

• March 7 (Bloomberg):

“Options traders are betting more than ever that crude oil is heading to $200 a barrel as some websites call for a national “Day of Rage” on March 11 and March 20 in Saudi Arabia and anti-government protests in the Middle East and North Africa. Saudi Arabia produced . . . one third of OPEC output and almost six times as much as Libya . . . . ‘The price of oil is going up, whether you like it to or don’t,’ said Juerg Kiener, chief investment officer at Swiss Asia Capital Ltd. in Singapore. ‘If Saudi Arabia fails, then I say you have a fire in the house.’”

While some warn that the economic “tipping point” may be $140 to 150/barrel, traders are beginning to bet on $200/barrel.

• March 10^th (AP):

“CAIRO – Saudi police have opened fire at a rally in the kingdom’s east in an apparent escalation of efforts to stop planned protests. Government officials have warned they will take strong action if activists take to the streets after increasing calls for large protests around the oil-rich kingdom to press for democratic reforms. . . . gunfire and stun grenades were fired at several hundred protesters marching in the city streets Thursday.”

I don’t expect Saudi Arabia to be overthrown. But if it happens, the global price for oil is likely to skyrocket—at least until some stability is restored. As a consequence of skyrocketing oil prices, food prices will also skyrocket, third world nations will suffer further political unrest, and prices for oil will be driven even further.

• America also has food supply problems. Food stamps are setting records. They’re now being sent to more than 44 million Americans. And another 15 million qualify—one out of every 5 Americans. Very few countries are absolutely immune to political unrest caused by higher oil and food prices.

• The Arab countries of the Middle-East are not generally self-sufficient for food.
So,
1) If Arab unrest causes the price of crude oil to rise; and,

2) Crude oil is critical to making fertilizer, operating tractors, trucks and machines needed to plant, harvest and ship food; then,

3) A rise in the price of crude oil must cause a correlative rise in the price of food—in the very Arab countries that are already in a state of unrest.

So, when the already-angry Arabs see the price of their food rising to levels they can’t afford, they’ll become even angrier . . . which will cause even greater “Arab unrest” . . . which should cause even higher prices for crude oil . . . which should cause even higher prices for food . . . etc., etc..

If anyone can tell me how the spiral of Arab unrest, higher oil prices, higher food prices and more Arab unrest can be alleviated without violence, chaos and perhaps millions of deaths, I’m all ears.

PUNCHLINE: On February 10^th, the Associated Press reported that, “Chinese officials said they were preparing for a severe drought in several provinces, causing wheat prices to spike.

The global food distribution system is already stretched to the near-breaking point. It’s a virtual certainty that sooner or later . . . this year, next year, the year after . . . the food distribution system will fail and millions of people may be forced to choose between starvation and a shooting revolution. Millions. In the context of such catastrophe, the price of food (if you can find any for sale) may be astronomical.

It might not be a bad idea to stock up on food now, while it’s still affordable . . . and still available.

Muslim Brotherhood and the Revolutions

Troops Fire on Yemen Protest, 6 Killed, 30 Wounded

Associated Press
April 4, 2011

Security forces and plainclothes gunmen opened fire on crowds of Yemenis marching through a southern city Monday, killing at least six and wounding more than 30, in an intensifying crackdown against the uprising against the 32-year rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Witnesses described troops and gunmen, some on nearby rooftops, firing wildly on thousands of protesters who marched past the governor's headquarters in Taiz in the second straight day of violence in the southern city. Some — including elderly people — were trampled and injured as the crowds tried to flee, witnesses said.

Violence has swelled in recent days amid frustration over behind-the-scenes efforts to convince Saleh to step down in the face of a nearly two-month-old uprising. The United States and European countries have been contacting Saleh and his opponents, trying to find a formula for the president to leave his post with a stable transfer of power , an opposition spokesman said.

Saleh has been a key ally of the United States, which has given him millions in counterterrorism aid to fight al-Qaida's branch in the country, which has plotted attacks on American soil. So far, Washington has not publicly demanded that he step down, but the diplomatic effort was a clear sign that the Americans have decided the danger of turmoil and instability outweighs the risks if Saleh leaves.

Mustafa al-Sabri, a spokesman for a coalition of opposition parties, said U.S. and European diplomats who had been in contacts with Saleh had asked the opposition for their "vision" for a transition. In response, the opposition over the weekend gave the Americans a proposal that Saleh step down and hand his powers to his vice president, who would then organize a process for rewriting the constitution and holding new elections, al-Sabri said.

But the 65-year-old president has dug in against the idea.

On Sunday, Saleh took a tough line, saying no negotiations could be held without a "halt to all protests and the mutiny by some units in the military."

"We are prepared to explore the peaceful transfer of authority in the framework of the constitution. But arm-twisting will absolutely not work," he said.

The U.S. Embassy has not commented on its efforts, saying only in a statement over the weekend that "Saleh has publicly expressed his willingness to engage in a peaceful transition of power; the timing and form of this transition should be identified through dialogue and negotiation."

Saleh has managed to cling to power even after many of his top allies in the government and military abandoned him and joined the opposition because of the harshness of his crackdown on the protesters. The opposition has been holding continual protest camps in main squares of the capital Sanaa and other cities around the country, and hundreds of thousands turned out for the biggest and most widespread marches yet on Friday. At least 97 people have been killed since demonstrations began Feb. 11.

The violence in the mountain city of Taiz began when thousands of protesters down its main street toward Freedom Square, where demonstrators have been camped out, surrounded by security forces.

As the march passed the governor's headquarters, troops stationed there blocked the procession, and clashes broke out, with some protesters throwing stones, witnesses said.

Troops on nearby rooftops opened fire with live ammunition on the crowd and the marchers then turned to besiege the governor's headquarters, said Bushra al-Maqtara, an opposition activist in Taiz, and other witnesses.

"It was heavy gunfire from all directions. Some were firing from the rooftop of the governor's building," said one man in the crowd, Omar al-Saqqaf. He said he saw military police load the bodies of two slain protesters into a car and then speed away.

At least six protesters were killed and more than 30 wounded, some with gunshots to the head and chest, said Zakariya Abdul-Qader, a doctor at a clinic set up by protesters in Freedom Square. Other doctors at the clinic confirmed the figure.

The military has clamped down on the city of nearly half a million, about 120 miles (200 kilometers) south of the capital, Sanaa. For a second day, tanks and armored vehicles blocked entrances to the city to prevent outsiders from joining the protests. They also surrounded Freedom Square, bottling up the thousands in the protest camp there and arresting anyone who tries to exit.

Saleh's top security official in Taiz, Abdullah Qiran, to oversee security in Taiz, is accused by demonstrators of orchestrating some of the most brutal crackdowns against demonstrators, particularly in the southern port town of Aden, where he was previously stationed until his transfer several weeks ago. On Sunday, police attacked a march by thousands of women in Taiz, sparking a battle with a separate group of male protesters.

Marches in solidarity with the Taiz protesters erupted in the cities of Mukalla, in the east, and Hodeida, on Yemen's western Red Sea coast. In Hodeida, protesters tried to march on a presidential palace in the city but were blocked by security forces, who opened fire with tear gas and live ammunition, said activist Abdel-Hafiz al-Abbasi.

He said three people were wounded.

Protesters massed in a Sanaa square they have renamed Taghyir, or Change, Square, said they too would hold a march Monday in support of Taiz. At the same time, pro-government gunmen in civilian clothes were seen taking up positions on a man boulevard in the capital, raising worries of a new confrontation.

Over the crisis, Saleh has offered to step down in 2013, when his term ends, or as early as the end of this year — if a transfer of power acceptable to him is reached. The opposition fears that Saleh is using the discussions over stepping down to stall for time — either to stay in power or to ensure he is succeeded by one of his sons, a prospect the opposition has staunchly rejected.

But the opposition is not united on their demands. A group of official opposition parties put forward the proposal that Saleh hand over power to his vice president, Abd Rabou Mansour.

The youth activists who have been organizing the protests are distinct from the opposition parties — and many of them have refused the proposal, believing that it would mean an extended transition that would keep Saleh in power for a longer time.

"We refuse any initiative or proposal that doesn't explicitly state the immediate departure of the president and his sons. That is a central issue that we will not put aside," said Adnan al-Odeini, an activist leader of the protests in Sanaa.

Military Rule in Egypt

Reuters
March 28, 2011

Egypt will hold a parliamentary election in September, its military rulers said on Monday, setting a date that analysts said would suit well-organized Islamists and remnants of former leader Hosni Mubarak's party.

The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said emergency laws that have helped crush political life for decades would be lifted before elections, but did not say when, and approved a law easing restrictions on political party formation.

"It is a challenge for the new forces that came up as a result of the revolution," said Mustapha al-Sayyid, a political scientist, referring to the timetable for elections. "This period is relatively short for these parties."

Many secular reform groups have been calling on the military, which has governed since Mubarak was deposed on February 11, to extend the transitional period to allow political life to recover from decades of oppression.

The Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist group formally banned under Mubarak, has emerged as the country's best organised political force. Other fledgling groups are trying to organize.

"Parliamentary elections will be in September," said Mamdouh Shaheen, a member of the ruling military council. A date for a presidential election, which will follow the legislative polls, had yet to be set, he added in a news conference.

The elections are major milestones on the path set by the military in a transition that will end with the army relinquishing power to a civilian, elected government.

The military also said on Monday a curfew in place since the start of the uprising that swept Mubarak from power was shortened to three hours from 2 a.m. (0000 GMT) to 5 a.m. -- a sign of growing confidence in the police that have returned to the streets in recent weeks to restore law and order.

"The time is short but we will work with all our capacities to take part," said Abou Elela Mady, leader of the recently licensed Wasat Party (Center Party). "It doesn't give us a full opportunity but it's a good start."

The Brotherhood has voiced support for quick elections. But it has sought to reassure Egyptians worried about its relative strength by saying it will not seek the presidency or a parliamentary majority.

PARTIES "NEED YEARS, NOT MONTHS"

The Islamist group and other reformists are discussing the idea of entering the legislative election in an alliance to produce a "revolutionary majority" that will take the lead in drafting a new constitution once the parliament is elected.

The military suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament after Mubarak stepped down. Shaheen said the army would issue a constitutional decree that will provide a legal basis for its rule in the coming days.

The military council said the state of emergency which has been in force since the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981 would also be lifted before any elections were held.

"We have said before that parliamentary or presidential polls will not be held while emergency law is still in force," Shaheen said.

The military council also approved a law that will ease restrictions on the formation of political parties.

Under the new law, Shaheen said new parties would need the approval of 5,000 members from at least 10 of Egypt's 29 provinces, increasing the number of signatures from 1,000 outlined in a draft law approved by cabinet last week.

The Brotherhood is one of the groups expected to now begin steps toward forming a political party.

A plethora of new parties are expected to apply for an official license from a committee formerly headed by a leading figure in Mubarak's party. Under the new law, it will be headed by a judge.

"The September date is not too soon," said Amr Hashem of the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.

"The argument that parties will need more time to prepare is wanting. Parties will need years, not months, so any delay we are talking about now is not going to make that much of a difference," he said.

Syria's Assad Deploys Army in Port to Keep Order

March 27, 2011

President Bashar al-Assad, facing the gravest crisis in his 11-year rule, deployed the army in Syria's main port of Latakia for the first time after nearly two weeks of protests spread across the country.

State television showed deserted streets in Latakia littered with rubble and broken glass and burned-out vehicles. Damascus cited attempts by 'armed groups', possibly backed by foreign powers, to stir sectarian conflict across the country.

Dozens have died in pro-democracy demonstrations in the southern city of Deraa and nearby Sanamein as well as Latakia in the northwest, Damascus and other towns over the last week.

Witnesses said major cities appeared calm on Sunday, but several hundred men were holding a sit-in at the Omari Mosque in the town of Deraa, the original focus of protests and scene of a crackdown by security forces last week.

Syrian officials had said Assad, 45, who has made no direct public comment since protests began, was expected to make a television address; but by late evening he had not appeared.

The dispatch of troops to the streets of Latakia late on Saturday signals growing government alarm about the ability of the security police to maintain order there. Latakia is a potentially volatile mix of Sunni Muslims, Christians and the Alawites who constitute Assad's core support.

Its residential areas house large secret police complexes.

"There is a feeling in Latakia that the presence of disciplined troops is necessary to keep order," one resident told Reuters. "We do not want looting."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States deplored the bloodshed in Syria, but that a Libya-style intervention should not be expected.

The unrest in Syria came to a head after police detained more than a dozen schoolchildren for scrawling graffiti inspired by pro-democracy protests across the Arab world.

Such demonstrations would have been unthinkable a couple of months ago in this most tightly controlled of Arab countries, where the Baath Party has been in power for nearly 50 years. Modern Syria gained its independence from France in 1946.

Assad, a British-educated eye doctor, pledged to look into granting greater freedom but this has failed to dampen a protest movement emboldened by uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia.

Assad adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told Al Jazeera television news that the emergency law hated by Syrian reformists for the far-reaching powers it gives to security services would be lifted, but did not give a timetable.

Lawyers say the emergency law has been used by authorities to ban protest, justify arbitrary arrests and closed courts and give free rein to the secret police and security apparatus, which have all severely compromised the rule of law.

BID TO DEFUSE PROTESTS

In another step to placate protesters, Syrian authorities released political activist Diana Jawabra, her lawyer said, along with 15 others arrested for taking part in a silent protest demanding the release of children responsible for the graffiti.

This followed news of the freeing of 260 political prisoners.

Assad also faces calls to curb his pervasive security apparatus, free political prisoners and reveal the fate of tens of thousands of dissidents who disappeared in the 1980s.

There have also been protests in Hama, a northern city where in 1982 the forces of President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father, killed thousands of people and razed much of the old quarter to put down an armed uprising by the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood.

Middle East analysts do not rule out a harsh crackdown to crush the current demonstrations.

Syria's establishment, including its army, is dominated by members of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam to which the Assads belong. This causes resentment among Sunni Muslims who make up some three-quarters of the population.

Latakia is mostly Sunni Muslim but has significant numbers of Alawites.

"An official source said attacks by armed elements on the families and districts of Latakia in the last two days resulted in the martyrdom of 10 security forces and civilians and the killing of two of the armed elements," SANA news agency said.

The source said 200 people, most of whom were from the security forces, had been wounded. Rights activists told Reuters at least six people had been killed in Latakia in two days.

"Decades of pent-up feelings are generating these confrontations. But this is not a mass Sunni-Alawite strife," the Latakia resident told Reuters by telephone. "Cooler heads are prevailing in Latakia."

STATE OF EMERGENCY

Deraa is a center of Sunni Muslim tribes who resent power and wealth amassed by the Alawite minority. During protests, a statue of the late Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for 30 years until his death in 2000, was toppled.

There were at least three funerals for those killed in the unrest in villages around Deraa on Sunday, which passed off peacefully with no security in evidence. Mourners in one of the funerals chanted: "The people want the downfall of the regime."

Asked about security forces opening fire in recent days, government spokeswoman Reem Haddad told Al Jazeera on Sunday:

"The security forces were given very strict orders not to shoot at anyone and they did not shoot at anyone at all until those people shot at them and at other citizens.

"Now obviously when you have people shooting then it becomes a matter of national security and you can't just have that happening," she said, adding that she suspected foreign powers were involved in the unrest.

The United States, France and Britain have urged Assad to refrain from violence. A week ago they launched a U.N.-backed air campaign to protect opponents of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.

WEB OF CONFLICTS

But analysts see little likelihood of heavily armed Syria, which is part of an anti-Western, anti-Israel alliance with Iran and sits within a web of conflicts across the region, facing the sort of foreign intervention seen in North Africa.

Syria also has links to the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas and the Lebanese Shi'ite political and military movement Hezbollah.

Assad was welcomed as the fresh face of reform when he replaced his father, a master of Middle Eastern politics who brooked no dissent at home and made the refusal to bend on the Arab-Israeli conflict the heart of Syrian policy for 30 years.

Syria Deploys More Soldiers at Flashpoint Town Deraa

Reuters
Mar 27, 2011

Syria's army beefed up its presence in the southern city of Deraa, a focal point of bloody protests across the country, and soldiers took to the streets in a northern port where tensions are rising, residents said on Sunday.

The protests, which started in Deraa eight days ago, pose the most serious challenge to the 48-year rule of the Baath Party, and its leader, President Bashar al-Assad.

The demonstrations, in which protesters in some towns set fire to ruling party headquarters, would have been unthinkable a couple of months ago in the tightly controlled Arab country.

The army has so far taken a secondary role to secret police and special forces that have been sent to the city to try to quell more than a week of protests in which at least 55 people have been killed in and around Deraa, a rights group said.

The protesters have called for political freedoms and an end to corruption, but they have also directed their wrath at Assad, and torched a statue of late President Hafez al-Assad, who ruled Syria with an iron fist for 30 years until his death in 2000.

Security forces had fired on protesters on Friday in Deraa and there were reports of more shootings in other parts of Syria. Authorities have blamed the violence on "armed gangs."

SOLDIERS ON STREETS OF LATAKIA

The unrest spread to the heavily fortified main port city of Latakia, where, according to a Syrian official source, twelve people -- including security forces, civilians and "armed elements" -- have been killed in two days of clashes.

Latakia is a mostly Sunni city but also has many Shi'ite residents from the Alawite sect who have moved into the city from nearby mountains over the past several decades.

A resident of Latakia said soldiers took to the streets of the city on Saturday night to help secret police and security forces control the city after confrontations between Alawite and Sunni youth.

"Decades of pent up feelings are generating these confrontations. But this not a mass Sunni-Alawite strife. Cooler heads are prevailing in Latakia," the resident said.

He said no tanks or troop carriers were to be seen and the army was restricting its presence to soldiers on foot.

"There is a feeling in Latakia that the presence of disciplined troops is necessary to keep order. We do not want looting," he added.

An official source said security forces had not fired at protesters in Latakia but that an armed group had taken over rooftops and fired on citizens and security forces, killing five people since Friday.

PROMISES NOT ENOUGH

In an attempt to placate protesters, Assad freed 260 prisoners on Saturday and earlier in the week made a rare public pledge to implement reforms, such as "studying" an end to emergency law and proposing draft laws that would grant greater freedoms in the media and the formation of political parties.

But protesters did not seem to be mollified by the promises and in Deraa, at least, they have called for the "downfall of the regime," a refrain heard in uprisings across the Arab world which have unseated the entrenched rulers of Tunisia and Egypt.

Syrian authorities said on Saturday the country was the target of a "project to sow sectarian strife."

Syria's establishment is dominated by members of the minority Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, a fact that causes resentment among the Sunni Muslims who make up some three-quarters of the population.

Demonstrations in support of Assad have also take place in Damascus and other cities, where thousands of Assad's loyalists marched or and drove around, waving flags, to proclaim their allegiance to the Baath party.

A Lebanese security source told Reuters that Syrian border police were stopping a number of Syrians entering from Lebanon.

In Beirut, a Syrian protester was slightly wounded when unknown assailants fired a few gunshots at a pro-Assad rally.

Sarkozy Warns Arab Rulers About Libya Precedent

EUOBSERVER
March 25, 2011

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned all Arab rulers that they risk Libya-type intervention if they cross a certain line of violence against their own people.

The president told press at an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday (24 March) that UN Security Council resolution 1973 authorising air strikes on Libya has created a legal and political precedent on the "responsibility to protect."Referring to deadly violence in Syria, he explained:

"Every ruler should understand, and especially every Arab ruler should understand that the reaction of the international community and of Europe will from this moment on each time be the same: we will be on the side of peaceful protesters who must not be repressed with violence."

Sarkozy indicated that he is ready to tolerate a certain level of violence, but that any country which orders its army to open fire on crowds will cross a red line.

"In any democracy there can be demonstrations which can turn violent. But no democracy can accept that the army shoots live ammunition at protesters. This is the position of France and it does not change no matter what the country concerned."

He drew a difference between Egypt, Tunisia and even Yemen, where dozens have been killed but where the armed forces have begun to defect, versus Libya, where Colonel Gaddafi's tanks and planes have waged open war on rebels.

He suggested that the Ivory Coast, where President Laurent Gbago's forces recently fired a heavy artillery shell into a market square, will be next in line for a UN vote on intervention.

Sarkozy noted the political sensitivity of Western military action in the Arab world.

He said that there is a new post-UNSC 1973 model of "world governance. But he added that it can only work if Libya coalition powers "precisely ... rigorously ... scrupulously" stick to the UN mandate to protect civilians instead of playing God on who should take power after Gaddafi.

Recalling the "extremely moving" scenes of Libyan rebels in Benghazi celebrating the arrival of French warplanes and the "extreme importance" of the United Arab Emirates' and Qatari involvement in the coalition, he called Libya a "historic opportunity" for "reconciliation between the two worlds."

"What's at play here is Europe as a political force, with a military means serving its political ambitions, and its relations with the Arab world," the French leader went on. "It's a moment of extreme importance for the political future of Europe and for the future of relations between Europe and the Arab people."

The hawkish speech comes amid criticism of EU "double standards" on tolerating violence in strategically important countries such as Bahrain, Syria and Yemen. Palestinian diplomats have also pointed out the EU did nothing when Israeli jets bombed civilians in Gaza in 2009.

Syrian president Bashar al-Assad earlier on Thursday put forward a package of political reforms designed to soothe tensions and pulled back troops from the hotspot town of Daraa near the Jordanian border.

More protests are expected after prayers on Friday however, with one Arab commentator describing the al-Assad reforms as "essentially transforming Ba'athist Syria into [pre-revolutionary] NDP Egypt."

Syria protests spread, authorities pull back
Syrian forces shoot protesters, kill 6 in mosque
Syria: dozens more dead, US and France divided

Five-nation Coalition Launching Libya Strikes

U.S. Says Missile Strikes on Libya Only "First Phase"

Al Arabiya
March 19, 2011

A series of more than 110 cruise missile strikes on Libyan targets is only the first phase of a multiphase operation, a senior U.S. military official said on Saturday.

Vice Admiral Bill Gortney, director of the U.S. military's Joint Staff, declined to discuss what the next phase of the operations would be. He said more than 20 sites had been targeted in coalition strikes so far.

“We are on the leading edge of a coalition military operation," Gortney said. "This is just the first phase of what will like be a multiphase operation."

But he said it will be six to 12 hours before commanders, using Global Hawk unmanned aircraft and other means, can assess the damage the strikes have inflicted.

Gaddafi has warned Western powers they will regret getting involved in his country's internal affairs.

The United States, France, Britain, Canada and Italy make up the coalition carrying out the operation, called "Odyssey Dawn." Arab nations are expected to join later, said a U.S. military official on condition of anonymity.

Some 25 coalition ships, including three U.S. submarines armed with Tomahawk missiles, are stationed in the Mediterranean, a military slide showed. Five U.S. surveillance planes are also in the area.

Officials said U.S. forces and aircraft will take part but U.S. planes had not yet begun patrolling the skies above Libya.

Officials said General Carter Ham, head of U.S. Africa Command, was taking the lead in the operation.

Gortney said no U.S. forces were on the ground in Libya, but the United States would take a leading role in the operation's logistics, such as refueling.

Libyan state media Western warplanes bombed civilian targets in Libya's capital on Saturday, causing casualties,

"Civilian targets are being bombed by the 'Crusader' enemy fighter planes in Tripoli," state television said.

State news agency Jana said there were "civilians casualties as a result of this aggression."

Earlier witnesses told AFP that several loud blasts were heard east of Tripoli and that "balls of fire" could be seen on the horizon.

"We don't know where the explosions occurred," a resident of Tripli's eastern suburb said.

The French air force earlier destroyed some tanks and armored vehicles of troops loyal to Gaddafi that were threatening the civilian population, the French military said, hours after President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the start of the military operations in the North African state.

"The vehicle was clearly identified as being enemy," army spokesman Colonel Thierry Burckhard said after the first UN-mandated air strike, describing the target as "a vehicle that was threatening the civilian population".

Sarkozy had said allied air forces had gone into action on Saturday evening over Libya and were preventing Gaddafi's forces attacking opposition fighters and civilians.

"Our planes are already preventing air attacks on the city (Benghazi)," he said, adding that military action supported by France, Britain, the United States and Canada and backed by Arab nations could be halted if Gaddafi stopped his forces attacking.

British Prime Minister David Cameron told British television reporters after a meeting of international leaders in Paris that Gaddafi has broken the ceasefire and will face urgent action to prevent more civilian deaths

"Colonel Gaddafi has made this happen. He has lied to the international community, he has promised a ceasefire, he has broken that ceasefire," Cameron said.

"He continues to brutalise his own people and so the time for action has come. It needs to be urgent, we have to enforce the will of the United Nations and we cannot allow the slaughter of civilians to continue."

U.S. President Barack Obama warned Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi on Saturday that the international community would act with urgency to shield Libyan rebels from his aggression unless the violence stopped.

"The international community demanded an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to all attacks against civilians," Obama said during an appearance with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.

"Our consensus was strong and our resolve is clear. The people of Libya must be protected and in the absence of an immediate end to the violence against civilians, our coalition is prepared to act and act with urgency," he said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said world powers were united that violence in Libya must end, but confirmed her country would take no part in military action. She made the comment after world leaders discussed how to coordinate a military intervention in Libya in Paris.

Berlin abstained on Thursday in a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya and ruled out any military involvement. However, Merkel noted that her government has offered German AWACS aerial reconnaissance troops could take over duties in Afghanistan, freeing up U.S. forces to do the same job over Libya.

A french military source earlier said that several French Rafale fighter jets on Saturday overflew "all Libyan territory" on reconnaissance mission, ready to enforce an air-exclusion zone to halt Gaddafi’s attacks.

The planes were in the air not far from Libya this afternoon and were ready to carry out air strikes if there are orders from Sarkozy, a military official with knowledge of the preparations said on condition of anonymity.

Gaddafi continues violence

A witness told Al Arabiya television on Saturday that Zintan in western Libya was being bombarded and Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's tanks were approaching the town. "Now we are being bombed in Zintan from more than one direction: from the north and the south," said the witness, who was not identified.

"There are tanks heading towards the southern entrance of Zintan, around 20 to 30 tanks, which are hitting the city and residential areas in the south," he said.

The witness added that Gaddafi forces were attempting to subdue the opposition-held town because of its strategic location west of the capital Tripoli.

Gaddafi's forces also battled insurgents on the outskirts of the opposition-held city of Benghazi on Saturday, defying world demands for an immediate ceasefire and forcing opposition fighters to retreat.

The advance by Gaddafi's troops into Libya's second city of 670,000 people appeared to be an attempt to pre-empt Western military intervention which diplomats say will come after an international meeting currently underway in Paris.

A Libyan opposition spokesman said Gaddafi's forces had entered Benghazi while a Reuters witness saw a jet circling over the city shot down and at least one separate explosion near the opposition movement's headquarters in the city.

"They have entered Benghazi from the west. Where are the Western powers? They said they could strike within hours," opposition military spokesman Khalid al-Sayeh told Reuters.

Hundreds of cars full of refugees headed east from Benghazi towards the Egyptian border. One family of 13 women from a grandmother to small children, fled Benghazi on Saturday morning.

"I'm here because when the bombing started last night my children were vomiting from fear," said one of them, a doctor, sitting crying in the lobby of a hotel on the road to Egypt. "All I want to do is get my family to a safe place and then get back to Benghazi to help. My husband is still there."

In the besieged western city of Misrata, residents said government forces shelled the opposition town again on Saturday and they were facing a humanitarian crisis as water supplies had been cut off for a third day.

"I am telling you, we are scared and we are alone", a Misrata resident, called Saadoun, told Reuters by telephone.

Gaddafi said Western powers had no right to intervene.

"This is injustice, this is clear aggression," government spokesman Mussa Ibrahim quoted Gaddafi as saying in a letter to France, Britain and the United Nations. "You will regret it if you take a step towards interfering in our internal affairs."

The Libyan government blamed the opposition fighters, who it says are members of al Qaeda, for breaking the ceasefire around Benghazi.