History repeating itself?

[perseus]

Well not quite, but the respective sides in Libya are moving backwards and forwards along the same coast which saw action in WWII. I guess these names bring back some memories for some old soldiers. My late Dad was in the 8th.

eg from Wiki

Battle of Brega (1941)
Marsa Brega was the location of a brief but important battle in the Western Desert Campaign of the Second World War. On March 31, 1941, during the opening phase of Rommel's first offensive, the German Afrika Korps expelled the British from their partially prepared positions at Marsa Brega. This opened the way for Rommel's drive to the Egyptian border and encirclement of Tobruk.[7]

Battles of Brega (2011)
Main articles: First Battle of Brega, Second Battle of Brega, and Third Battle of Brega
During the 2011 Libyan uprising, anti-government forces gained control of the town and oil production facilities. Government forces attempted to regain control of the area on March 2 but were repulsed by the rebels.[2] On March 13 government forces retook Brega.[8] However, on 26th March, after UN intervention rebels took Brega back from Gaddafi's forces.[9]

Here's a peice of Trivia, Gaddafi was born in a tent near Sirte when under Axis control in 1942.

 

[Del Boy]

And before Mussolini took over Libya, it had operated as two seperate entities, the Benghazi region and the Tripoli region, ruled seperately.

Il Duce was the first to unify those regions after hundreds of years apart under various regimes. Gadaffi's time had coincided with that.

 

[perseus]

Yes I recall the mention of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania in the discussion of the North African Campaign.

Latest reports suggest Sirte has fallen, if so the Eastern Rebels will soon be coming to the rescue of Misrata, which has been besieged by Gadaffi troops.

 

[Del Boy]

Incredible times. We are watching history unfold before our eyes. We have the opportunity of backing our hunches, challenging our principles, relocating our politics, rethinking our positions within the global perplexities. Like old time generals observing war games from Whitehall.

OK Perseus - I'll be Winston - who do you want to be? I make one prediction; whatever the outcome - we lose!

I leave the field to you.:roll:

 

[perseus]

You could be right since the rebels are an unknown quantity.

I think the West secretly prefers dictators who they can sell weapons to and buy oil from with a nice backhander thrown in, free from democratic and accountable inconveniences. however, we have to be seen to play the moral game. It is also highly hypocritical since we allow dictators to run riot in Saudi & Bahrain etc.

 

[Del Boy]

And on the other hand, I believe it is said that the Arabs are hard on soft dictators and soft on hard dictators.

But this, of course, looks to be an entirely different kettle of fish. Will they be able to resist those hard dictators within their own ranks and find themselves under even harsher regimes?

 

[George]

Will they be able to resist those hard dictators within their own ranks and find themselves under even harsher regimes?

That's the big Q on all of this, how many are Al-Quida or Moslem Brotherhood?

 

[senojekips]

You could be right since the rebels are an unknown quantity.

I think the West secretly prefers dictators who they can sell weapons to and buy oil from with a nice backhander thrown in, free from democratic and accountable inconveniences. however, we have to be seen to play the moral game. It is also highly hypocritical since we allow dictators to run riot in Saudi & Bahrain etc.

A good case in point being seen in the different reactions to two despots who are both killing their people, Muammar Qaddafi and Robert Mugabi. One has oil, the other has none,... one gets the interest of the world powers, the other is totally ignored.

Tell me, "This is a coincidence"

 

[LeEnfield]

The rebels have no apparent organisation, they seem to be charging around blasting away for the cameras. When the government troops pushed forwards the rebels fell back faster than the Italians did. If it had not been for the allied air strikes it would have probably been all over by now

 

[George]

A good case in point being seen in the different reactions to two despots who are both killing their people, Muammar Qaddafi and Robert Mugabi. One has oil, the other has none,... one gets the interest of the world powers, the other is totally ignored.

Tell me, "This is a coincidence"

Just because someone is killing his own people doesn't justify intervention- Barak Obama commenting on Bush/Iraq

 

[Jasta Elf]

Scenes of unorganized rebels in pickup trucks fleeing up and down the Libyan coast doesn't inspire much confidence in this observer. While it is reminiscent of the running battles of ww2 this will not end well for the people of Libya. A new regime will emerge and I very much doubt they will be friendly to the U.S. Looks like the reemergence of French African Imperialism and the smell of Oil to me. Stay tuned!