Tuesday, August 23, 2011

We will celebrate in Bab al-Aziziya!

That would be Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli, and today Libya's rebels made good on that oft-repeated boast. An interesting detail:
The conquest was spearheaded by hundreds of experienced fighters from the port city of Misurata, who developed into some of the rebels’ best organized and most effective units after months of bitter fighting with elite loyalist forces.
This sets me wondering who will rise to the top of the post-Gaddafi government: the reluctant warriors who have been the public face of the rebellion, or hardened men from the front lines?

Of course this is a bit premature, since Gaddafi is still at large and has many followers, who are reported to still control two neighborhoods in the capital as well as several outlying towns. But at the moment he seems to have been decisively defeated, and the rebels are in charge.

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