After four decades of power, Gaddafi continues to drool over Libya’s oil.
Unlike the former presidents of Egypt and Tunisia, Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi has no intention of relinquishing control of his country.
Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) responded to his defiance over the weekend with a fractured Operation Odyssey Dawn, which resulted in an attack on Libya’s military control center. In addition to the obvious detriment ongoing military activity is having on that country’s cultural, environmental, historical, and social fabric, oil prices are rising.
Not long after the establishment of a no-fly zone and ceasefire, reports of continued fighting in the rebel stronghold Benghazi came streaming through the airwaves.
Today Globes reported Tomahawk missile strikes on Libya’s capital, Tripoli, and damage to a building in Gaddafi’s compound, the site of the military command center. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates insists that under the terms of the UN Security Council, Gaddafi was not a target of NATO strikes.
While Nato members decide whether to launched a coordinated campaign, with France, Germany, and Turkey reluctant to do so, oil prices edged up 2% to $103 per barrel.
According to Globes, Libya’s 16 million barrel per day production rate has shrunk to less than 400,000 barrels. Gaddafi relishes the difficulty this causes “the Christians.”
“We will not leave our oil for the US, France, Britain, or any Christian country. We will fight for every centimeter,” he said.
:: Globes
image via DonkeyHotey
More on Libya, Oil, and the Middle East:
Libya Touts Great Man-Made River As 8th Wonder of the World
All Eyes On Libya As Oil Prices Rise
Libyan Revolution Will End Gaddafi’s Green Visions
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
