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[olemars]

The advanced computer equipment is obviously a direct satellite video link to Queen Elizabeth II.

[RedKing]

Better than that -- a direct link to 4chan. Qaddafi's about to get rickrolled HARD.

[DJ]

Sounds to me like UK guys were delivering communications equipment, which will be used to assist Benghazi with intel. Keeping tabs on Gadaffi's forces via satellite surveillance could be pretty useful. Well, at least I hope this is what's going on.

[RedKing]

UPDATE:

18:19 Al Jazeera eyewitness says negotiations are currently under way and revolutionaries will enter Sirt without a fight

OMG. If that's true, that is a HUGE victory. Sirte was supposed to be armed to the teeth and packed with Qaddafi loyalists. If the city falls without a fight, that's the last major obstacle between the Benghazi army and Tripoli. They could relieve the siege in Misrata within 1-2 days, and be in Tripoli a day after that.

Of course, it could also be a trap. But my guess is that the local government and Army commanders in Sirte saw the writing on the wall and wanted to avoid their city being chewed up in a long siege. And if the Army commanders there defect to the rebels, that's another huge victory.


Addendum: Losing Sirte would also entail losing the Ghurdabiya airbase, where most of these SU-22 and Mi-24 attacks have been coming from. With the exception of the Okba ibn Nafa AB outside of Tripoli, and the Ghadames AB on the Tunisian border, all other major airfields would be in rebel hands. If Sirte falls, the need for a no-fly zone may actually diminish significantly.

[RedKing]

And now the Daily Mail (which I realize is not exactly a source to be taken at face value) claims that MI6 is getting involved, the Brits are conducting AWACS surveillance and passing that intel to the rebels, and 600 members of the Black Watch are on standby. Srsly?

I have to grudgingly admit, Cameron seems to be about the only Western leader not just sitting on his hands and waiting.

[Puzzlemaker]

That is awesome.  And it makes me feel sad.  I wish the USA would... I dunno.

[nenjin]

Do something big and flashy and play front man for the whole thing? We don't exactly have great memories of Libya, it's where we got yet another black eye despite all our advanced military. And we can hear a giant sucking sound begin the minute American boots touch soil.

[DJ]

I reckon Britain is still very pissed about Lockerbie, so they should be all over any chance to get some revenge on Gadaffi.

[Puzzlemaker]

Do something big and flashy and play front man for the whole thing?

Shush you.

[RedKing]

Do something big and flashy and play front man for the whole thing? We don't exactly have great memories of Libya, it's where we got yet another black eye despite all our advanced military. And we can hear a giant sucking sound begin the minute American boots touch soil.

I...what...where...who? Black eye? Libya was one of those "Hey, let's pick on Grenada!"-type Reagan fights designed to restore our self-confidence after Vietnam. Don't exactly remember us being on the losing end of that confrontation.



As an aside, Glenn Beck's newest rant is because Hillary Clinton committed the dual sin of:

A. Stating that al-Jazeera is doing some pretty damn fine newswork of late.
B. Stating that American news networks suck, and are "millions of commercials and talking heads yelling at each other".

Truth hurts, eh Beckers?

[Leafsnail]

I reckon Britain is still very pissed about Lockerbie, so they should be all over any chance to get some revenge on Gadaffi.

Lockerbie is only part of it.  Gaddafi also funded IRA terrorists, and was at least partially responsible for most of their bomb attacks in mainland Britain...

http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/06/30/us-britain-bomb-timeline-idUSL2989470120070630

EDIT: I should point out that not all of those attacks can be linked to the IRA or Gadaffi.

[RedKing]

Yeah, Qaddafi ran training camps back in the 80's that were sort of a "TerrorCon". You had IRA there, PKK from Turkey, PLO from the West Bank, even some last-ditch elements of the Red Army in Japan. Lot of cross-pollination of methods and ideas, especially bomb construction techniques. There were similar camps in Syria as well.

[olemars]

Aftermath of Misurata attack today. Rebels beat back the Gaddafists, destroying a few of their tanks and capturing several pickups as the soldiers fled. You see a burning APC at 5:25.

Also this one was kinda funny.

[Urist is dead tome]

That is awesome.  And it makes me feel sad.  I wish the USA would... I dunno.

We just sent 1200 hundred Marines for evacuating civilians and such.

[Sheb]

Al-Jazeera just published a communique from the Libyan Transitional National Council, as the Benghazi government is calling itself. Between that and the British diplomatic moves, it looks more and more as if the Council is on its way to become the legitimate government of Libya. I'm going to phone my MPs tomorrow to ask them to start lobbying for the Belgian government to recognize Libya.

Spoiler: Scan of the communique (click to show/hide)