TODAVÍA CON GADAFI EN EL PODER!

Top of the Agenda: Mulling a Post-Qaddafi Libya

As NATO steps up a bombing campaign targeting government strongholds in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, countries that comprise the so-called Contact Group are meeting in the United Arab Emirates today to discuss Libya's future after the expected fall of leader Muammar al-Qaddafi (BBC). CAÍDA ESPERADA PERO TODAVÍA POSTERGADA. DADO EL DESEQUILIBRIO DE FUERZAS ENTRE AGRESORES Y AGREDIDO, LA PREGUNTA ES POR QUÉ? ¿POR QUÉ GADAFI SE MANTIENE TODAVÍA EN EL PODER? ESTA DEMORA ¿RESPONDE A LA ESTRATEGIA DE LOS OTÁNICOS? ¿O ACASO LOS OTÁNICOS NO SE ENTIENDEN ENTRE SÍ Y POR ESO DEMORAN? ¿The group--which includes Britain, France, the United States, Jordan, Kuwait, and Qatar--is expected to outline plans for a joint fund that will support the Libyan rebels. APOYARLOS SIN MÁS? ¿QUÉ CAPACIDADES TIENEN PARA GOBERNAR Y HACER LA PAZ? The rebels' National Transitional Council has already set up shadow ministries O UN SIMULACRO DE PODER EN LA SOMBRA, SIN NINGUNA CAPACIDAD REAL RECONOCIDA POR LOS OTÁNICOS? in the eastern part of the country and named a civilian to head the military in anticipation of Qaddafi's fall (AFP).

Qaddafi broke a week-long silence to declare on Libyan state television that he will stay in the country "dead or alive" (Guardian). His announcement came as the International Criminal Court's Luis Moreno-Ocampo requested arrest warrants for Qaddafi and his son on the grounds that they had implemented a policy of raping opponents (Reuters)--by allegedly providing Libyan soldiers with the impotency drug Viagra--in an effort to crush the country's rebellion.

Analysis:

On his blog Politics, Power, and Preventive Action, CFR's Micah Zenko analyzes the consequences of a civil war stalemate in Libya, arguing for increased humanitarian aid to end the impasse. CUIDADO! LA "AYUDA HUMANITARIA" YA HA PRODUCIDO SUS "MUERTES AMIGAS"!

Daniel Byman and Matthew Waxman argue in Foreign Policy that Libya remains in limbo because of political constraints that bind the United States and its NATO partners.

In an interview with al-Jazeera, Nigel Pont, the regional director of Mercy Corps in the Middle East, discusses the ICC's allegations that Qaddafi is using rape as a weapon of war against rebels in Libya.