One year after Mohammed al-Bouazizi lit himself on fire in protest against mistreatment by police, sparking a movement that has toppled regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, a global wave of popular protest continues, from the Arabic-speaking world to Europe, India, Chile, the United States and Russia. Today, democracy advocates protest unlawful detention, arbitrary power and socio-economic injustice across the world.

December 17, 2011, marks the one year anniversary of Mohammed al-Bouazizis desperate self-immolation, the 24th birthday of Bradley Manning, a US Army private held in solitary confinement in conditions some have described as torture, for allegedly releasing secret documents, and the three-month mark of the Occupy Wall Street movement seeking to take back public spaces, Constitutional liberties, and the fundamental right to active participation.

Tragically, in Egypt, this day of worldwide celebration and peaceful protest is being marked by a deliberate campaign of killing against unarmed civilian demonstrators, by the last holdouts of the old criminal regime, who now say democratic gatherings are counter-revolutionary activities that warrant deadly force.

The news from Cairo today: military police squads stormed into Tahrir Square, lit the protest camp on fire, have shot and killed an unknown number of unarmed civilians, and have allegedly begin throwing people off of a bridge into the Nile River. The depraved indifference to human life is so extreme, the civilian advisory council, that was supposed to lend some legitimacy to the military junta running the country, has resigned in protest.

It now appears that under the negotiations agreed after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the military council now longer wields any legitimate authority, and it is time forth international community to apply maximum pressure to force all military personnel out of power and implement an immediate, and orderly, transition to 100% civilian rule.

All acts of violence against civilian demonstrators must now be treated by the international community as deliberate, coordinated crimes against humanity, and arrest warrants and/or material witness warrants issued for every member of the ruling military council. International warrants should be put on hold only if the crimes committed are prosecuted through a credible, legitimate, transparent system of due process, in Egypt.

In Syria, after 9 months of resistance to the escalating aggression and violence of the Assad regime against its own people, at least 35 people have been killed in direct military assaults against civilians. Russia and China are blocking direct action through the United Nations Security Council, but Assad has now lost all legitimacy, and will likely be the next dictator swept from the scene. One can only hope it is achieved before he kills another 5,000 of his own people.

In the United States, the use of paramilitary tactics and alternative combat weaponry (including chemical agents, LRAD sound cannon, flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets) to evict or shut down Occupy protest camps, has become commonplace. There is, now, a mounting popular concern about the commitment of elected officials to the fundamental principles of the Constitution.

Instead of honoring the historic force of principle being expressed by the American people, city governments across the US have given in to the darkest temptations of arbitrary power, and have declared the commons off limits for peaceful protest, using potentially deadly force at times to bar citizens from exercising their constitutional rights to free assembly, free speech and open protest (to petition the government for a redress of grievances, many and far-reaching).

But TIME Magazine, recognizing the worldwide wave of citizen awakening that has marked the year 2011, has named The Protester its Person of the Year. Across the middle east, across Europe, in India, Chile, the United States, and now in Russia, a movement of citizen-centered activism is not only occupying public spaces to demand immediate positive change in political and economic structures, but is now publishing, webcasting and building a global collaboration to bear witness to any and all obstacles to genuine democracy.

On December 17, 2011, hundreds of thousands of people across the world are honoring the cause of humanity: freedom, dignity, equal treatment and equal opportunity, and the primacy of the citizen over the power of the public servant. #D17 is intended to be a global day of celebration and resistance.

The Occupy movement in the United States marks its third full month in practice today, and a transition to focused actions to right injustices is underway. Occupy assemblies are discussing and deciding plans for new encampments and an OccupyHomes movement is spreading, as legal advisers, protesters, concerned citizens and others, join together to literally take back foreclosed homes from banks the occupiers accuse of criminal activity and predatory mortgage and foreclosure practices.

The world will enter the year 2012 infused with a now explicit and spreading demand for an end to all forms of tyranny, including that great weapon of all tyrants: official secrecy. Technology, democratic process, creative media and nonviolent civil disobedience are converging to allow citizen volunteers to retake the reins of the decision-making process, potentially turning advisory protest movement into a new civic order, designed to uphold and propagate genuine democratic rights and safeguards.

Engaged citizens everywhere should demand that every public official at every level honor the primacy of citizens over the exercise of power.

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are gathering for a nonviolent “Last Chance” pro-democracy protest. Military police have killed at least 41 unarmed civilians since last Saturday. Today, the massive numbers of civilians who turned out are demanding an end to military rule, and an orderly transition to genuine democracy. The 9 months of military rule have seen little progress in the dismantling of the violent, corrupt Mubarak regime.

Once again, Egyptian citizens of all ages have converged on the square which was the heart of the peaceful uprising that brought an end to three decades of dictatorship under the presidency of Hosni Mubarak. The demonstrators include families with small children, and a broad cross-section of Egyptian society. The massive show of public support for the pro-democracy movement is yet another show of defiance as civilians demand an end to the use of lethal force against to crush dissent in Egypt.

The Egyptian-American writer and activist Mona Eltahawy, traveled to Cairo, to join the new round of demonstrations, to support her people and her country, and to stand with those brave souls calling for an end to violence and a real transition to democracy. She was detained, battered and abused, and says multiple guards attempted to sexually assault her. She said her treatment was not unique and that such brutality was one of the motivating forces behind the Tahrir Square demonstrations.

News emerging this morning from the battle-torn city of Sirte, hometown of ousted dictator Col. Muammar Qadhafi, suggested Qadhafi was wounded in battle, captured, and had died from his injuries. Al Jazeera quickly began broadcasting images of a body it said was Qadhafi’s. Images were then published showing a young Misratan TNC fighter brandishing a gold-plated handgun he says he took from Qadhafi when he captured him.

Throughout the afternoon, we have seen images of Qadhafi’s body spread across the internet and global media. There are conflicting accounts of what happened in the moments leading up to Qadhafi’s death, including claims by supporters he was killed by the Transitional forces, perhaps executed by a single shot from his own gold-plasted pistol, claims by the Transitional forces that he had been wounded in combat and died of his injuries, and still other claims that he had been accidentally killed by his own fighters.

Video this evening appears to show he was killed by a bullet wound to the head. CNN is reporting that he suffered, in addition to the fatal shot, two other shots to the head and neck and five shots to the back.

The town of Sirte is now in the hands of the revolutionary forces, and it now appears the fight is over. There are reports at least one of his sons was killed as well, and that another was injured. The Transitional National Council forces who captured Qadhafi say he was not executed, that they were transporting him to a hospital for treatment when he died.

There has been anticipation of his capture, along with a trial, an open hearing of four decades of crimes against his people.

The capture appears to have come in the wake of a NATO strike against a pro-Qadhafi convoy. The airstrike is reported to have included French fighter jets and a US “Predator” drone. There is speculation that the strike may have sent the top ranks of Qadhafi’s remaining loyalists into disarray, paving the way for the final seizure of Sirte by revolutionary forces.

As the images of Qadhafi’s bloodied corpse spread across the internet, spontaneous mass celebration spread across Libya. The people of Tripoli, so long held by and tormented by pro-Qadhafi forces, poured into the streets to celebrate the irreversible end of 42 years of brutal authoritarian rule. The new Libyan flag was visible in celebrations across the country, as hundreds of thousands of Libyans cheered the end of the Qadhafi era.

In the US, Sen. John McCain, the Republican rival to Pres. Obama in the 2008 election, said this evening “I’d like to congratulate the administration; they helped out enormously. I think that they deserve great credit. I think greater credit goes to our British and French allies, who really were leaders.” McCain lamented that the NATO campaign had not included “the full force of American airpower”. He then added, “The fact is this is another success for the Obama administration.”

Perhaps more importantly, the demise of Qadhafi showed the forces from Misrata and Benghazi working together to put an end to the pro-Qadhafi resistance, and as some commentators have noted, the rebels can now stop being rebels. The civil war in Libya is over, and the rebuilding of civil society, after four decades of cruel persecution, can proceed.

Two days after taking control of most of the capital, and a day after two of Qadhafi’s sons escaped house arrest as pro-Qadhafi forces staged a challenge to the rebel onslaught, Libya’s pro-democracy rebels swept into Qadhafi’s compound in Tripoli. Reports from the Libyan capital spoke of scenes of rebels destroying images of Qadhafi and symbols of his regime, and seizing much of the extravagant wealth he had accumulated over four decades of authoritarian rule.

Beyond Libya’s borders, the capture of Qadhafi’s own main compound is being touted as the true collapse of his regime, though it has not yet brought word of outright surrender by his closest supporters. The whereabouts of Col. Qadhafi himself are as yet unknown, with reports and rumors suggesting he may be hiding in Tripoli itself, or that he may have fled to remote southern Libya, near the Chad border region.

There is also concern the pro-Qadhafi forces’ shelling of civilian areas in Tripoli and Misrata may cause some among the armed rebels to become more radical in the post-Qadhafi era. But the Transitional National Council has reiterated its intention to establish the rule of law, refrain from revenge-oriented actions, and prosecute regime leaders according to recognized standards of due process.

There is optimism that the fall of Bab al-Azizya—Qadhafi’s heavily fortified compound inside Tripoli, guarded by sharpshooters and special forces, and where he survived US airstrikes nearly three decades ago—to Libyan freedom fighters means Libya will see the end of the bloodshed of Qadhafi’s last days. But the mystery of Qadhafi’s whereabouts became all the more urgent this evening, when the missing leader reportedly broadcast a message, saying he would accept only victory or “martyrdom”.

Al Jazeera reported:

“After what we have seen today, after what Mahmoud Jibril (a leader of the rebel National Transitional Council) said, and the international recogntion of NTC as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people, it means that Gaddafi is now just a sought after criminal. The idea of Gaddafi as ‘the Libyan leader’, is over.

Meanwhile, 30 journalists remained holed up in Tripoli’s Rixos hotel on Tuesday. The New York Times reported that journalists from the BBC, CNN and other international news organisations were stuck inside the hotel with no electricity and described the hotel as a “prison”.

The capital is still very much a war zone, and pro-Qadhafi soldiers and mercenaries are reportedly threatening the lives of civilians and journalists, in an effort to hold onto the little terrain that has not been taken by the rebel forces. There had been rumors Qadhafi was holed up in a bunker beneath the Rixos Hotel, and there is concern the civilians inside the hotel might be in danger if they are not allowed to leave.

Seif al-Islam, Qadhafi’s 38-year old son, once thought of as a reformer and now a committed combattant fighting to defend his father’s dictatorship, said his father is safe and inside Tripoli. Observers have expressed skepticism about that possibility, and worry a prolonged manhunt could ensue, disrupting the potential for a peaceful transition to democracy. Others say Qadhafi should be treated as an international fugitive, to be arrested on sight, under indictment from the International Criminal Court, as soon as he emerges, wherever he emerges.

There was also fighting reported today in Ajelat, and in Ageila, along the coast outside Ras Lanuf, a key oil facility. It was reported that Qadhafi loyalists were attacking Ajelat with missiles and tanks and that scud missiles were fired from Sirte, Qadhafi’s hometown, toward Misrata, a city besieged by Qadhafi for four months, and only recently liberated by the rebel forces.

The morning after Tripoli fell to rebel forces, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, leader of the Transitional National Council, has called on all Libyans to coexist peacefully, and to respect the rule of law, as the war comes to a close. Abdel Jalil said there will be no street justice, and that regime figures will be tried fairly in a court of law. He called for restraint and “self control” and respect “for the lives and properties of others”, and an atmosphere of cooperation in rebuilding civil society.

There has been concern that after 6 months of war, which began when Qadhafi’s regime began full-scale military assaults on crowds of unarmed civilian protesters, elements in the rebel movement might begin to carry out vigilante attacks against former supporters of the regime. Mustafa Abdel Jalil, who defected when Qadhafi ordered the killing of protesters, has said, however, that the rebel movement is committed to a peaceful transition to democracy and to the rule of law.

The leader of the interim Libyan government gave the following statement:

“During the last few days the revolutionaries in Tripoli have really proved that they are the revolutionaries of the capital. And that the calls for Tripoli to be our capital were rightful calls.

“Muammar Gaddafi will be remembered and his period of rule through the acts that he committed against the rebels and the world. From political assassinations, arrests and mind games. And oppressing all the efforts of the Libyan people to oust him since the first year of his revolution. There were many, many attempts to oust Gaddafi. The Libyan people never submitted to Gaddafi, since the first year of the revolution..or, rather, since the first year of the coup.

“But God has chosen that Gaddafi’s end should be at the hands of these youths, so that they can join the Arab Spring that is going around the Arab nations.

“And now I say with all transparency that the era of Gaddafi is over.

“Libyans must realise that the coming period will not be a bed of roses. We face many challenges and we have many responsibilities. Beginning with healing the wounds and putting our hands in one another’s. All this in loyalty to the blood of our martyrs. And to the principles tat this revolution was created for: creating safety, security, peace and prosperity. These principles can only be achieved through reconciliation, forbearance and tolerance.

“All of this will be done after we put the finishing touches and we identify those who are responsible for acts in Libya.

“Therefore I call upon all Libyans to practice self control and to protect the lives and properties of others.”

The whereabouts of Col. Qadhafi are, at present, unknown. He has been referred to the International Criminal Court for prosecution on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and there are reports of fierce fighting still in the area around his main compound in the capital. Rebels now control as much as 85% to 90% of the territory inside Tripoli.

Throughout the night, they took more territory, and there is now video showing rebels storming into the home of Qadhafi’s daughter. There was also a dramatic phone interview last night, after his son Mohammed surrendered, in which gunfire is heard and he says repeatedly “They are inside my house”, before the line cuts off.

Across the world, there have been celebrations, as Libyan exiles and émigrés marked the fall of Qadhafi’s regime by gathering in public squares and outside government buildings, in London, in Australia, in Washington. In front of the White House, Libyans chanted “Libya is free” and “Thank you, Obama”. One Libyan celebrating the fall of Tripoli waved a green, red and black rebel flag, with the words “Thank you, NATO! Thank you, Obama!” across it.

According to Al Jazeera’s reporting:

The mother of two, who arrived in the US in 1984 with her brothers and sisters after receiving political asylum, also had kind words for France, which was among the first countries to call for international intervention in Libya.

“We want to say thank you to President Nicolas Sarkozy and the French people who were the first, even before the Americans, to support the Libyans in their struggle,” she said.

Al Jazeera reported overnight:

Euphoric Libyan rebels have moved into the centre of the capital, Tripoli, as Muammar Gaddafi’s defenders melted away and thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air.

The rebels’ surprising and speedy leap forward, after six months of largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours. By nightfall on Sunday, they had advanced more than 32km to Tripoli.

Zeina Khodr, Al Jazeera’s correspondent, said from the Green Square: “There’s a party in the Libyan capital tonight. The people are in charge of the city. They’ve decided the square is now called Martyrs’ Square, the original name. They’re shouting ‘We’re free’ and shooting at a poster of Gaddafi.”

Skirmishes continue, however, with the BBC reporting tanks and heavy artillery under the control of Qadhafi’s military commanders are still holding key positions inside the capital. Even as the world appears unified in celebrating the fall of the four-decades-long regime, there are concerns that further fighting could lead to deaths and revenge killings. The Transitional National Council is now working to coordinate an official takeover of security operations across the nation, even as some cities have not yet recognized its authority.

More reporting on the Libyan liberation movement:

• Libyan Rebels Capture Qadhafi Son, Enter Tripoli (video) – updates - Aug. 21, 2011
• Qadhafi Under Siege as Rebels Move into Tripoli – updates - Aug. 20, 2011
• Libyan Rebels Advance on Tripoli, Take Key Cities - Aug. 20, 2011
• US Now Recognizes Transitional Council as Legitimate Libyan Government - July 15, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime Abuse of al-Obeidi Crime Against Humanity - Apr. 4, 2011
• UN Action in Libya is Bid to Rescue Democracy Movement - Mar. 27, 2011
• Airstrikes Underway Against Libya, as Qadhafi Refuses to Pull Back - Mar. 19, 2011
• UN Security Council Votes to Support Strikes Against Qadhafi - Mar. 17, 2011
• Qadhafi ‘has lost the legitimacy to rule’ - Feb. 27, 2011
• Protesters in Central Tripoli Fired on by Irregular Army Loyal to Qadhafi - Feb. 26, 2011
• Ban calls for action to stop Qadhafi killing… - Feb. 26, 2011
• Qadhafi Declares War on His People - Feb. 25, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime on Brink of Collapse - Feb. 22, 2011
• Qadhafi’s Son Warns of Civil War, as Libyan Military Appears Split - Feb. 21, 2011
• Violent Crackdown in Libya; Bahrain Protesters Take Pearl Square - Feb. 20, 2011
• Qadhafi Crackdown Has Killed at Least 84 - Feb. 19, 2011
• Spirit of Democratic Revolution Spreads Across Mideast - Feb. 15, 2011

UPDATE: Rebel forces have taken much of Tripoli, celebrate with civilians in Green Square and control the Tripoli airport

Reports from Tripoli, the capital of Libya, suggest rebel forces have taken territory inside the capital, and captured one of Qadhafi’s sons, after a top security official ordered troops to lay down arms and let the rebels in. There are reports of convoys of rebel soldiers moving into the capital, being welcomed and celebrated by unarmed civilians. Some news reports have talked of “uprisings” in the suburbs, and possibly within Tripoli itself.

According to Reuters:

In a coordinated revolt that rebels have been secretly planning for months to end Gaddafi’s 41-year rule, shooting started on Saturday night across Tripoli moments after Muslim clerics, using the loudspeakers of mosque minarets, called people on to the streets.

The fighting inside Tripoli, combined with rebel advances into the outskirts of the city, appeared to signal the decisive phase in a six-month conflict that has become the bloodiest of the “Arab Spring” uprisings and embroiled NATO powers.

A source inside the regime reportedly told Reuters that 376 people were killed, on both sides, in overnight clashes inside the capital. In the village of al-Maya, pro-Qadhafi forces reportedly clashed with the rebels, who took the town, painted the walls to declare their presence and their march to Tripoli, then continued with the convoys flowing into the capital.

According to CNN and the Baltimore Sun:

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) — Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, a son of Libya’s ruler Moammar Gadhafi and a top official in the regime, has been captured by opposition forces, a rebel official said Sunday night.

Ali Said, general secretary of the Benghazi-based Transitional National Council, said that the arrest had taken place in Tripoli. The head of the same rebel group also confirmed the capture in an Al Jazeera interview. There was no immediate reaction from Libyan government officials to the report.

Al Jazeera English reported, on its Libya Live Blog this evening, that one of Qadhafi’s sons, Mohammed, “has surrendered” to the rebels. That marks the closest any of the top-level defections has come so far to Qadhafi himself. With two of his sons now in custody, and his family apparently splitting over whether to fight or surrender, it is expected Qadhafi himself may attempt to negotiate his own surrender.

But Muammar Qadhafi has been defiant, stating as recently as this morning that he would “fight to the end”. This evening he repeated calls for residents of Tripoli and other cities to rush to his defense and to fight the rebel “rats”.

On Twitter, the news is pouring in, with anecdotal reports mixing with video, audio and official news reports. @ArabRevolution posted this re-tweet: “RT @LibyanLion17 AJA Caller – BREAKING – NATO is taking out the walls of Bab alAziziya so that FFs can move in. #Libya #Feb17 #Tripoli“. (“FF” has become Twitter code for freedom fighter.)

@LibyanLion17 posted this update around the same time: “BREAKING – Saadi, Mohammed and Saif al-Islam have ALL been captured by FF. 4 more to go. #Libya #Feb17 #Tripoli“, around 6:00 pm EDT, midnight in Tripoli. Less than half an hour later, reports broke that Muammar Qadhafi himself had fled the country and was in hiding in Algeria. That report has not been confirmed, and NATO’s secretary general was unable to answer questions about whether Qadhafi had left Libya or not.

- – -

UPDATES

At 12:01 am, 1:01 am Monday, Tripoli time, London’s Guardian newspaper reports:

Tripoli resident Hakeem Guja has told the BBC: “We celebrate the victory. The people are very happy and want to thank the Nato forces for helping us.”

A few minutes before 1:00 am, Tripoli time, @LibyanLion17 tweeted “BREAKING – ALJAZEERA – THERE IS NEWS THAT GADDAFI HIMSELF HAS BEEN CAUGHT #Libya #Feb17 #Tripoli“. But Al Jazeera reported only minutes later that “The ICC has confirmed that Saif al-Islam Gaddafi has been detained, and NOT his father, Muammar Gaddafi.”

The BBC is reporting the International Criminal Court has confirmation that at least one of Qadhafi’s sons, Saif al Islam, has been taken into custody. CNN’s Ben Wedeman tweeted, also shortly after 1:00 am Tripoli time: “When the Rixos minders run away, it means the regime has given up on trying to mold the message. Game over. #Libya #Feb17“.

(1:11 am, Tripoli) From the Guardian’s Libya Live Blog:

12.11am: The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s spokeswoman says it has been confirmed that Gaddafi’s son Saif al-Islam has been detained, Reuters reports.

12.09am: The Libyan rebels reach Green Square in the centre of Tripoli, Sky News reports.

The US State Dept. is urging Libya’s rebels, and the governing authority under the Transitional National Council, to begin planning for the post-Qadhafi period. According to Reuters:

“Clearly the offensive for Tripoli is under way,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said in a statement.

“We continue efforts to encourage the TNC to maintain broad outreach across all segments of Libyan society and to plan for post-Gaddafi Libya. Gaddafi’s days are numbered. If Gaddafi cared about the welfare of the Libyan people, he would step down now.”

A spokesman for the Council, which has been recognized as Libya’s legitimate governing authority, said in recent days that mistakes had been made in the early days after rebel takeovers in the east, and that a plan for secure, non-violent government would be in place once Tripoli falls.

Shortly after 1:00 am, Tripoli time, Reuters reported the rebels had reached Green Square. Other reports suggested the fighting there had ceased and civilians were welcoming the rebels.

At 1:42 am, Tripoli time, Al Jazeera English reported that the rebels had taken control of the Tripoli airport. There have been intermittent reports that fighting had ceased, but news continues to pour in of skirmishes, rebel advances, with no clear sign the regime has fallen, but no clear sign of a forceful ongoing resistance. At 1:44 am, Tripoli time, AJE reported that Libyan state television is “blacked out”, not active.

Reports from journalists in Tripoli that regime “minders” had fled have been taken as a suggestion that the regime is no longer actively seeking to fight the rebel offensive or control the media message. There are rumors the rebels seek to detain fleeing government officials at the Tripoli airport, but no confirmed reports at present of top-level detentions there.

1:48 am Tripoli time: Libya’s ambassador to the UAE (representing the Transitional National Council) tells AJE there is an atmosphere of “jubilation and relief” as cities across Libya celebrate what appears to be the last night of the Qadhafi regime. He said the transitional stabilization team was working to build a non-violent democratic transition process “according to the best practices of stabilization and reconstruction work”.

The ambassador also pledge that there would be no campaign of vengeance against former loyalists or loyalist enclaves and specified that a peaceful post-war was necessary to ensure that the “suffering and pain of so many Libyans and Libyan families does not go in vain”. There are reports at this hour of contacts between US and European officials and representatives of the transitional Libyan government regarding ways to manage the peace.

At 1.59 am, Tripoli time, ThinkProgress posted this report on Twitter: “RT @Reuters: REBELS SAY ALL TRIPOLI IS UNDER THEIR CONTROL EXCEPT GADDAFI’S STRONGHOLD OF BAB AL-AZIZIYAH”.

Representatives of the rebel movement say the Transitional National Council will replace the Qadhafi-era name Green Square with Martyrs’ Square, in honor of the Libyan democracy advocates who died fighting to defend civilian populations against the regime.

2:04 am: @SultanAlQassemi, commentator on Arab affairs, tweets: “Al Jazeera: Sources: Libyan Revolutionaries have taken control of the State TV & Radio building in Tripoli #Libya“. The capture of state media is being treated as an important development for the democracy movement, as Egyptian protest leaders have expressed concern they have not been able to better guide the public debate in the post-Mubarak era.

Unconfirmed cell-phone images are now emerging purporting to show celebrations in the streets of Tripoli.

2:14 am: There are reports on CNN that regime snipers are still holding key positions inside Tripoli, even as rebel forces are said to be holding all territory surrounding Qadhafi’s compound. A statement has been made suggesting the compound is now being seen by rebels as “a five-star prison” for Qadhafi, if he remains inside. There is no confirmed information in the global media about whether clashes continue at the site of Qadhafi’s compound.

11:45 pm EDT, 5:45 am in Tripoli: Al Jazeera is now reporting:

Euphoric Libyan rebels have moved into the centre of the capital, Tripoli, as Muammar Gaddafi’s defenders melted away and thousands of jubilant civilians rushed out of their homes to cheer the long convoys of pickup trucks packed with fighters shooting in the air.

The rebels’ surprising and speedy leap forward, after six months of largely deadlocked civil war, was packed into just a few dramatic hours. By nightfall on Sunday, they had advanced more than 32km to Tripoli.

Zeina Khodr, Al Jazeera’s correspondent, said from the Green Square: “There’s a party in the Libyan capital tonight. The people are in charge of the city. They’ve decided the square is now called Martyr’s Square, the original name. They’re shouting ‘we’re free’ and shooting at a poster of Gaddafi.”

11:17 am EDT, 5:17 am in Tripoli: Update from Mother Jones’ Hamed Aleaziz and Asawin Suebsaeng:

Deborah Haynes, an editor at London-based newspaper The Times, is on the ground in Tripoli. Haynes just sent out an unsettling tweet, indicating that the battle for Tripoli may be far from over: “Just been in Green Square. Gunfire erupted, sending rebels scattering. Then saw eight fresh corpses on way out. Tripoli ain’t secure.”

Also, Sarah Sidner, a reporter for CNN, tweeted around 5:15 a.m. Monday in Tripoli that “Green square nearly empty. We were warned to get out. Rebels say Gadhafi troops advancing toward square.”

12:03 am EDT, 6:03 am in Tripoli: The BBC is reporting there are fierce battles raging in the area around the Tripoli Hotel, where the Qadhafi regime has been basing its media operations. Al Libya TV is reportedly offline, but pro-Qadhafi forces are defending the Tripoli Hotel, and there are reports Qadhafi spokespeople claim as many as 35,000 troops may be in and around the capital, “ready to fight” to fend off the rebels.

The Transitional National Council has said rebels will not occupy the city militarily, if Qadhafi and his family leave power.

12:35 am EDT, 6:35 am in Tripoli: US president Barack Obama has called on Col. Muammar Qadhafi to “relinquish power once and for all.” He added that “Qadhafi and his regime need to recognize that their rule has come to an end”. He said “The future of Libya is now in the hands of the Libyan people,” and said the US would work closely with the Transitional National Council, which it recognizes as the legitimate governing authority.

Obama went on to say that “We will continue to insist that the basic rights of the Libyan people are respected. We will continue to work with our allies and partners in the international community to protect the people of Libya, and to support a peaceful transition to democracy.”

12:49 am EDT, 6:49 am in Tripoli: Al Jazeera English Live, tweeting as @AJELive, reports: “Nasser, #Tripoli resident, says they will let NTC take care of anything, are forming local security battalions, won’t take revenge #Libya“. Reports suggesting rebels are ready to establish law and order and to institute a transition guided by the rule of law are winning encouragement, and optimism that the six-month Libyan war may be ending.

More reporting on the Libyan liberation movement:

• Qadhafi Under Siege as Rebels Move into Tripoli – updates - Aug. 20, 2011
• Libyan Rebels Advance on Tripoli, Take Key Cities - Aug. 20, 2011
• US Now Recognizes Transitional Council as Legitimate Libyan Government - July 15, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime Abuse of al-Obeidi Crime Against Humanity - Apr. 4, 2011
• UN Action in Libya is Bid to Rescue Democracy Movement - Mar. 27, 2011
• Airstrikes Underway Against Libya, as Qadhafi Refuses to Pull Back - Mar. 19, 2011
• UN Security Council Votes to Support Strikes Against Qadhafi - Mar. 17, 2011
• Qadhafi ‘has lost the legitimacy to rule’ - Feb. 27, 2011
• Protesters in Central Tripoli Fired on by Irregular Army Loyal to Qadhafi - Feb. 26, 2011
• Ban calls for action to stop Qadhafi killing… - Feb. 26, 2011
• Qadhafi Declares War on His People - Feb. 25, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime on Brink of Collapse - Feb. 22, 2011
• Qadhafi’s Son Warns of Civil War, as Libyan Military Appears Split - Feb. 21, 2011
• Violent Crackdown in Libya; Bahrain Protesters Take Pearl Square - Feb. 20, 2011
• Qadhafi Crackdown Has Killed at Least 84 - Feb. 19, 2011
• Spirit of Democratic Revolution Spreads Across Mideast - Feb. 15, 2011

After 42 years in power, ruling throughout with authoritarian force, the regime of Muammar Qadhafi now appears to be falling. Abandoned by the international community, his top commanders defecting, and reports his troops have laid down their arms and fled, the rebel forces are now reportedly moving into the capital Tripoli.

Al Jazeera is now reporting that “Gaddafi forces shrink on all battle fronts”. According to the Arabic-language news service:

At a news conference, Bani said rebels captured the city of Zlitan, 140km southeast of Tripoli, after more than two months of fighting.

“Zlitan is now completely liberated after a severe fight, and for the first time I can say we have control over it,” Bani told reporters on Saturday.

As rebels battled for towns on either side of Tripoli on Saturday, fighting spilled across the border into Tunisia, where Libyan infiltrators clashed with Tunisian troops.

Tunisian security sources said their forces intercepted Libyan men in vehicles with weapons and fought them through the night in the desert. They reported several casualties.

With the opposition now controlling Misrata, Az Zawiyah, Zlitan, Gharyan, and most of the key port city of Brega, while governing much of the country from Benghazi, rebel forces have reportedly taken control of Tajoura, a suburb to the east of the capital. The rebels have also reportedly cut off supply routes from Tunisia, along the coast and from the east of the country, a key tactical achievement to lay the groundwork for an offensive against Qadhafi’s forces, after months of combat.

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UPDATES

Posted 11:20 pm EDT—From thepoliticalnotebook:

Reports on Twitter regarding Libya are moving very quickly. The front in Zawiya is moving to Tripoli as the fighters plan for an early morning offensive. There are reports, confirmed by Richard Engel of NBC, that there is fighting in the city itself.

Follow the Al Jazeera live blog, which is beginning to update more attentively.

Posted 11:22 pm EDT—From Al Jazeera English:

Head of the Political affairs of the NTC, Fathi Baja, told Reuters:

“There is certain information tells that forces loyal to Gaddafi withdrew and left their weapons behind in areas outside Tripoli. And I think everything is in order in Tripoli, rebels are approaching al-Sareem Street nearby Bab al-Azizia complex.

Gaddafi may be coerced to flee if he managed to co-ordinate it with some countries, but I hope to arrest him to be tried with his sons and his assistants in Libya”

Posted 11:25 pm EDT—From Al Jazeera Live Blog Libya:

Bashir Sewehli, a Libyan activist, tells Al Jazeera that the clashes in Tripoli are still ongoing.

“The military airport is under control of the rebels, and there are other areas in and around Tripoli as well. The rebels are wating for reinforcements.

The news has not been coming through because of the fighting, but we will know more in the next coming hours. The rebel fighters that I have spoken to said they will not go home until this is over.

Most of the people involved in this fight against Gaddafi troops are only civilians.”

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More reporting on the Libyan liberation movement:

• Libyan Rebels Advance on Tripoli, Take Key Cities - Aug. 20, 2011
• US Now Recognizes Transitional Council as Legitimate Libyan Government - July 15, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime Abuse of al-Obeidi Crime Against Humanity - Apr. 4, 2011
• UN Action in Libya is Bid to Rescue Democracy Movement - Mar. 27, 2011
• Airstrikes Underway Against Libya, as Qadhafi Refuses to Pull Back - Mar. 19, 2011
• UN Security Council Votes to Support Strikes Against Qadhafi - Mar. 17, 2011
• Qadhafi ‘has lost the legitimacy to rule’ - Feb. 27, 2011
• Protesters in Central Tripoli Fired on by Irregular Army Loyal to Qadhafi - Feb. 26, 2011
• Ban calls for action to stop Qadhafi killing… - Feb. 26, 2011
• Qadhafi Declares War on His People - Feb. 25, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime on Brink of Collapse - Feb. 22, 2011
• Qadhafi’s Son Warns of Civil War, as Libyan Military Appears Split - Feb. 21, 2011
• Violent Crackdown in Libya; Bahrain Protesters Take Pearl Square - Feb. 20, 2011
• Qadhafi Crackdown Has Killed at Least 84 - Feb. 19, 2011
• Spirit of Democratic Revolution Spreads Across Mideast - Feb. 15, 2011

After six months of fighting, the Libyan rebel forces, representing the pro-demcoracy movement that came under military attack by 42-year dictator Muammar Qadhafi, are reportedly advancing on the capital Tripoli. Since the fighting began, the rebels’ Transitional National Council has won support from world powers, the international community and ultimately the United Nations, as the official governing and diplomatic authority for Libya. Now, an isolated Qadhafi looks likely to lose power in the coming weeks or months.

According to the New York Times:

With unexpected swiftness, the ill-trained and ill-equipped rebels from the western mountains this week overtook much of the strategic coastal town of Zawiyah, with its enormous oil refinery, just 30 miles west of Tripoli. By Saturday morning, there were reports that they controlled it completely.

They had also taken Gharyan, an important outpost along the trade route to the south. And a correspondent for the Arab news network Al Jazeera in the town of Zlitan, a crucial Qaddafi barracks town east of Tripoli, reported that it too had fallen to the rebels. Qaddafi troops had concentrated in all three towns, and their retreat in the face of the amateurish rebels raised new doubts about the will and cohesion of the loyalist forces.

Recent weeks have seen a wave of defections from Qadhafi’s inner circle, as top officials orchestrated their escape from Libya, with their families. The focus is now shifting to Tripoli, where rebels hope to capitalize on their gathering momentum and swiftly end the war.

The main roads supplying Tripoli have now been cut off by the rebel advance. After months of rapidly increasing food prices, the city is now reportedly beginning to experience a siege culture, with reports of waits for gasoline of more than a week, civil services shutting down, garbage uncollected, police missing and a spreading crime wave.

Many are reportedly looking for ways to escape the capital, for fear of a bloody fight to end the Qadhafi regime. Qadhafi and his family had repeatedly vowed to exterminate populations that abandoned him, and barring some unexpected development, are expected to wage a battle of attrition to hold onto power. There are reports of ongoing behind the scenes pressure from the rebels, and possibly from foreign governments to urge Qadhafi’s military leaders to lay down arms.

With rebels now controlling most of the territory of Zawiyah, where the fighting remains fierce, reports suggest NATO bombing is being coordinated, both in the towns recently taken and in the capital Tripoli—where key regime buildings have been under bombardment—to help the rebels advance. The rebel strategy seems to be to take and hold the cities of Zawiyah, Zlitan, Gharyan and Brega, then to close in on the capital and take control of the military and government command structure.

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More reporting on the Libyan liberation movement:

• US Now Recognizes Transitional Council as Legitimate Libyan Government - July 15, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime Abuse of al-Obeidi Crime Against Humanity - Apr. 4, 2011
• UN Action in Libya is Bid to Rescue Democracy Movement - Mar. 27, 2011
• Airstrikes Underway Against Libya, as Qadhafi Refuses to Pull Back - Mar. 19, 2011
• UN Security Council Votes to Support Strikes Against Qadhafi - Mar. 17, 2011
• Qadhafi ‘has lost the legitimacy to rule’ - Feb. 27, 2011
• Protesters in Central Tripoli Fired on by Irregular Army Loyal to Qadhafi - Feb. 26, 2011
• Ban calls for action to stop Qadhafi killing… - Feb. 26, 2011
• Qadhafi Declares War on His People - Feb. 25, 2011
• Qadhafi Regime on Brink of Collapse - Feb. 22, 2011
• Qadhafi’s Son Warns of Civil War, as Libyan Military Appears Split - Feb. 21, 2011
• Violent Crackdown in Libya; Bahrain Protesters Take Pearl Square - Feb. 20, 2011
• Qadhafi Crackdown Has Killed at Least 84 - Feb. 19, 2011
• Spirit of Democratic Revolution Spreads Across Mideast - Feb. 15, 2011

Futurismo Verde :: En servicio al proyecto del Foro sobre Política y Crisis, la Red Hot Spring de innovación y debate plantea una conversación global sobre la seguridad alimenticia y la escasez crónica de agua y comida en África. Las lecciones de este experimento en investigación y brainstorming colaborativos se podrá aplicar a otras situaciones de crisis y escasez alrededor del planeta.

Los temas principales de debate serán:

1. Problemas relacionados con el abastecimiento alimenticio global, sobretodo en aplicación a las poblaciones más necesitadas;
2. La degradación medioambiental: o sea, servicios ecológicos y medidas de bienestar ambiental;
3. Deficiencies en las políticas de uso terrenal: cómo mejorarlas;
4. Caza furtiva de animales y cosecha furtiva de leño;
5. Tendencias corrosivas económicas;
6. La corrupción y la deficiencia urgente de presupuestos;
7. Medidas cooperativas para extender el suministro alimenticio a las zonas de conflicto;
8. Cómo superar los límites de la infraestructura de transporte;
9. Las enfermedades comunicables: tratamiento, educación, efectos socio-económicos;
10. Fallos comunicativos: cómo hacer llegar los datos tanto investigados como anecdóticos a los servicios relevantes.

La meta será idear y modelar soluciones calibradas a los desafíos al parecer imposibles de resolver, en relación a la seguridad alimenticia en diversas regiones del continente africano. Esperamos poder proporcionar ideas nuevas y factibles, prácticas y económicamente virtuosas, para que las poblaciones locales interesadas puedan comenzar a desplegarlas en su entorno.

Click aquí para agregar sus comentarios al foro…

The Libya Contact Group held its most recent diplomatic summit today in Istanbul, to discuss how best to deal with the exigencies of the security crisis there, and possible political solutions. Sec. of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, of the United States, now fully recognizes the Transitional National Council, based in Benghazi, as the legitimate government of the Libyan people.

According to the New York Times:

Speaking at an international gathering here to discuss the five-month-old conflict in Libya, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced that the United States would join more than 30 countries in extending diplomatic recognition to the main opposition group, known as the Transitional National Council, The Associated Press reported.

“The United States views the Qaddafi regime as no longer having any legitimate authority in Libya,” Mrs. Clinton said. “And so I am announcing today that, until an interim authority is in place, the United States will recognize the T.N.C. as the legitimate governing authority for Libya, and we will deal with it on that basis.”

The news is a major breakthrough, as it shows consensus among the NATO powers authorized by the United Nations to use “all necessary measures” to protect civilian life in Libya, and clarifies that the mission to do so can only be completed when Col. Muammar Qadhafi has resigned and left power. The NATO mission is intended to enforce UN Security Council resolutions 1970 and 1973.

The Libya Contact Group (LCG) is also studying how best to deal with severe and mounting humanitarian crisis across Libya, especially in the east, where the military forces of Muammar Qadhafi have been waging a brutal siege against the civilian population. The LCG intends to establish “humanitarian corridors”, starting in the east, in Benghazi, to make sure the civilian population is not cut off from aid by the ongoing fighting.

In recent days, there have been reports from numerous foreign governments that “contacts” with key Libyan officials suggest Qadhafi may be preparing to step down, if a political solution can be reached. There had been reports Qadhafi may have been planning “to blow up Tripoli”, but Libyan officials deny the allegation.

The rebel forces have come under fire from human rights watchdogs who report incidents of vandalism and burning of homes and villages, in areas considered loyal to the Qadhafi regime. Apparently under pressure to scale back such offensives and support efforts to negotiate a comprehensive political settlement, rebels are reportedly holding back from a rumored assault on the capital, Tripoli.

The protest movement that ousted Hosni Mubarak, after three decades of authoritarian rule has returned tens of thousands of people from all walks of Egyptian life to Tahrir Square, to demand significant democratic reform. Protesters say the military governing council has been slow to prosecute former regime figures guilty of corruption and/or crimes against humanity, and alleges it may be trying to slow-walk the revolution into non-existence.

The military council has said it views the protesters occupying Tahrir Square as a “minority” that does not speak for the Egyptian people and which is trying to disrupt the routines of civilian life. Protesters say this rhetoric mirrors that used by the Mubarak regime for three decades to use violence, harassment and intimidation to crush dissent, and they now fear there may be a military offensive against the peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators gathering at the square.

On Wednesday, after the defiant military message accusing the protesters of disrupting Egypt’s recovery, one witness at Tahrir Square told the press that if the military governing council takes a hard line against the peaceful pro-democracy movement, and fails to implement promised reforms, it will be time to call for the military “to return to their barracks” and accelerate the rise of an interim civilian government.

One source of anger among those who helped to stage the peaceful revolution that brought down the Mubarak regime is the large number of detentions (some say over 7,000) of civilians suspected of “disrupting” the military  council’s rule. Protesters also allege there has been little appetite in the military council for prosecuting and punishing former regime officials, or returning assets they may have wrongfully taken control of to the Egyptian people.

There are concerns that mounting tensions may result in a showdown, as protesters say they will not abandon the square until substantive reforms are implemented and real progress is made in dismantling the apparatus of the Mubarak regime. Some observers have accused the military council of prioritizing the power and influence of its own leadership, as Mubarak’s regime essentially established a security state in which most economic activity went through the military, massively enriching top officers.

Iman al-Obeidi, the Libyan woman who was abducted by Qadhafi agents while telling foreign journalists that she had been held captive and gang raped by Qadhafi’s military, says after several days in custody, she continues to suffer physical assault, repeated arrests, and threats, from Qadhafi’s regime.

The Qadhafi regime has orchestrated a coordinated campaign of abuse against al-Obeidi, which now appears to include intense physical abuse, a violent attempt to force her to confess —video of which has now emerged in Libya— and reporters on Libyan state television reportedly calling her a “whore”, a “traitor”, and worse.

The horror of what this woman appears to have been subjected to is in itself a series of deliberate crimes against humanity, and the regime’s persistent use of violence to attack the victim and suppress her testimony amounts to a confession of complicity in the campaign of rape, assault, torture and ongoing threats.

Iman al-Obeidi is reported to be living all day every day with the constant threat of extreme violence and assassination. She reportedly made it as far as the Libyan border, where she was again abducted by pro-Qadhafi forces, forcibly escorted back to Tripoli, and has been subjected to house arrest, while she is in fact the victim in a case where at least 15 Qadhafi agents should be charges or rape, abduction, and torture.

CNN was able to interview her tonight, and she said she lives in constant fear for her life, but that she won’t retract her allegations. She said she only wants to escape the capital, where she says the Libyan people are living in a state of fear of the regime, and civilians are regularly subjected to arbitrary abduction and harsh interrogation.

Today, Juan Cole published an open letter to the political left, asking them to understand the humanitarian urgency of the situation in Libya, and to balance their desire for an end to war and foreign interventions against the need to protect human life and ensure that a viable democracy movement is not put down through massive slaughter of thousands or tens of thousands of civilians. Cole is right. Though military action is never the best of all possible outcomes, it is sometimes the only way to protect innocent human life against plans of deliberate mass murder.

The Jasmine Revolution, the spreading pro-democracy movement that has reached into the capitals of so many nations across North Africa and the Middle East, marks an historical moment entirely without precedent in the history of the region. Peaceful, pro-democracy movements telling dictatorial regimes they are no longer afraid and they will not accept any future that continues to fail to be democratic. Muammar Qadhafi has already inspired several regimes to follow his lead and use extreme, massive, lethal violence to put down this peaceful revolution.

In Libya, that scheme of slaughter has gone further than anywhere else. What happened in Tiananmen Square in 1989, and in Tehran in 2009, has been turned into an all-out ground and air war against civilians across the nation of Libya. Qadhafi openly explained, in multiple public speeches, that he would slaughter thousands in Benghazi. He already did so in multiple other rebel-controlled cities. It has only been with sustained coalition airstrikes, and the imposition of a no-fly zone, that the pro-democracy resistance has been able to drive Qadhafi’s forces out of Ajdabiya, Brega and Ras Lanuf.

The pro-democracy movement became a de fact armed rebellion, when large factions of the military defected and joined the resistance. Qadhafi made hysterical claims that he was fighting a perverse coalition of al Qaeda, Israel, the United States, Iran, and “drug addicts”. His son said they were at war with “terrorists and gangsters”.

On one after another occasion, Qadhafi’s government declared a “ceasefire”, in an apparent effort to cause the coalition air forces and the pro-democracy resistance to stand down, while his air and ground assault continued virtually unabated. Footage from international journalists able to gain access to Qadhafi’s front-line positions showed a continual barrage of hundreds, if not thousands, of heavy artillery shells being fired into rebel-held civilian areas.

Yesterday, a woman found her way to a gathering of press at a government-controlled hotel in Tripoli, and screamed and cried that she had been kidnapped by Qadhafi’s militia, held prisoner for two days, and violently raped by 15 men. Reporters scuffled with hotel employees and government agents who tried to silence her. A TV camera was destroyed, the woman was threatened by at least one hotel employee with a butter-knife, and Qadhafi’s forces then forcibly removed her to an unknown location.

The incident clearly amounts to a brutal physical assault by pro-Qadhafi forces on foreign journalists. The woman’s fate is now unknown. The Qadhafi regime is using all force possible to brutally subdue not only the pro-democracy movement itself, but support from the civilian population and the ability of foreign journalists to report facts from the conflict.

In the United States, and across Europe, there has been friction on both the progressive left and the conservative right, among factions that do or do not favor military intervention in Libya, for ideological, practical or political reasons. There has been an unfortunate split between people who feel human life and democracy matter more than ideological preference and partisan interest, clouding the landscape and raising questions about the commitment of the allied forces to helping promote justice in Libya.

It has to be said, no one, of any political persuasion, in the US, Europe or the Arabic-speaking world, views Qadhafi as a legitimate head of state. This means there is a moral blur and intellectual incoherence among those who seek to oppose a limited airborne intervention to limit Qadhafi’s ability to use force against his own people.

In the US, there has been a split on the right between those who have been pushing for swift military action and those who seek to oppose Obama, either for partisan reasons or in adherence to an absolute prioritization of budget cuts. On the left, there has been a split between those who vehemently oppose the so-called “imperial presidency” and those who prioritize the interest of the pro-democracy movement.

In both cases, there has been significant rhetorical confusion about what is happening, how to characterize it, and whether or not there is public support for military action. In the US, polling clearly shows support for Pres. Obama’s response to the Libyan crisis. The people of the United States believe Qadhafi needs to be stopped from slaughtering thousands of civilians in a quest to perpetuate a 42-year-long dictatorship.

The United States Congress will likely soon face the choice of whether or not to retro-actively authorize military force, perhaps for a sustained period, to assist in maintaining the no-fly zone. If NATO officially takes control of the mission, it may be unnecessary to secure a Congressional vote on assistance to NATO, but politicos right and left will be challenged to find coherent positions: do they favor limited action to prevent massive civilian death, or a world in which principled people stand by and watch the slaughter go forward, with the explicit intent of crushing the pro-democracy movement spreading across the Middle East?

The wishful defeatism that is cynically promoting the idea that we should not be involved in implementing the Libyan no-fly zone because it cannot succeed is a cynical attempt to undermine the success of the action, and little more. It depends almost entirely on the view that because we cannot guarantee the perfect democratic success of the people of Libya, in their aspirations for democratic freedom, they don’t deserve recognition or assistance.

This flies in the face of the entire historical political culture of the United States. Though seen as imperialist leanings in much of the rest of the world, the Monroe doctrine —that the US would defend democratic freedom anywhere it cropped up in the Americas— and the Truman doctrine —extending this principle to the entire world— resonated in the US because they echo the sentiment of the American people that the American revolution was 1) not ideological, 2) universal, and 3) a humanitarian and morally necessary action to which all people should have a right.

The aspirations of the Libyan people are the aspirations of people everywhere, to be free of the brutality and torment of a rapacious dictator who imposes his will through thuggish secret police, kidnap, torture and the use of naked military force against civilian populations. But perhaps more significantly, in this particular historical moment, these aspirations are linked to the fate of millions of people in at least a dozen countries, where non-violent protest movements are calling for change, and where even “moderate” regimes appear tempted to try their hand at violent suppression.

The international community failed to act to protect civilians in Rwanda, and nearly 1 million people were murdered in cold blood, in medieval fashion, in just 100 days. The international community has never intervened effectively in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and over the last 13 years, an estimated 6 million people, most of them civilians, have died. Darfur continues to live under threat of genocide and in the case of Libya, the international community has three things that warrant immediate action:

1. Qadhafi’s open declaration of an intent to use his military to slaughter thousands of civilians in Benghazi;
2. The invitation of the resistance movement in Libya, which has formed a transitional government;
3. The unanimous support of the Arab League and the UN Security Council for imposing a no-fly zone, using “all necessary measures” to protect civilian life.

To not act, with the historical imperatives, the moral imperatives, the democratic movement at risk, and these three factors, aligning with an international legal imperative to act, would be a morally bankrupt betrayal of our own fundamental principles as a free people that prize the value of individual human life over the whims of the powerful.

There has been a lot of controversy among members of Congress as to whether Pres. Obama “consulted” adequately with the Congress before intervening in the Libyan crisis. The controversy is mostly cynical politicking by opponents of Obama who were demanding Obama intervene, right up until he did. In fact, Pres. Obama sent notice to Congress, as required by the War Powers Resolution, within the time required.

The War Powers Resolution, passed in 1973 over Pres. Nixon’s veto, was intended to limit presidential authority to use military force without the explicit consent of the Congress. There was mounting controversy over unauthorized interventions in Laos and Cambodia. But the resolution requires only a notification from the president, within 48 hours of deploying the military in a zone of hostilities.

Below is Pres. Obama’s notification to the Speaker of the House and the leader of the Senate regarding Libya. It was sent on March 21, 2011.

Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:)

At approximately 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, on March 19, 2011, at my direction, U.S. military forces commenced operations to assist an international effort authorized by the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council and undertaken with the support of European allies and Arab partners, to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe and address the threat posed to international peace and security by the crisis in Libya. As part of the multilateral response authorized under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, U.S. military forces, under the command of Commander, U.S. Africa Command, began a series of strikes against air defense systems and military airfields for the purposes of preparing a no-fly zone. These strikes will be limited in their nature, duration, and scope. Their purpose is to support an international coalition as it takes all necessary measures to enforce the terms of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973. These limited U.S. actions will set the stage for further action by other coalition partners.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 authorized Member States, under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter, to take all necessary measures to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in Libya, including the establishment and enforcement of a “no-fly zone” in the airspace of Libya. United States military efforts are discrete and focused on employing unique U.S. military capabilities to set the conditions for our European allies and Arab partners to carry out the measures authorized by the U.N. Security Council Resolution.

Muammar Qadhafi was provided a very clear message that a cease-fire must be implemented immediately. The international community made clear that all attacks against civilians had to stop; Qadhafi had to stop his forces from advancing on Benghazi; pull them back from Ajdabiya, Misrata, and Zawiya; and establish water, electricity, and gas supplies to all areas. Finally, humanitarian assistance had to be allowed to reach the people of Libya.

Although Qadhafi’s Foreign Minister announced an immediate cease-fire, Qadhafi and his forces made no attempt to implement such a cease-fire, and instead continued attacks on Misrata and advanced on Benghazi. Qadhafi’s continued attacks and threats against civilians and civilian populated areas are of grave concern to neighboring Arab nations and, as expressly stated in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973, constitute a threat to the region and to international peace and security. His illegitimate use of force not only is causing the deaths of substantial numbers of civilians among his own people, but also is forcing many others to flee to neighboring countries, thereby destabilizing the peace and security of the region. Left unaddressed, the growing instability in Libya could ignite wider instability in the Middle East, with dangerous consequences to the national security interests of the United States. Qadhafi’s defiance of the Arab League, as well as the broader international community moreover, represents a lawless challenge to the authority of the Security Council and its efforts to preserve stability in the region. Qadhafi has forfeited his responsibility to protect his own citizens and created a serious need for immediate humanitarian assistance and protection, with any delay only putting more civilians at risk.

The United States has not deployed ground forces into Libya. United States forces are conducting a limited and well-defined mission in support of international efforts to protect civilians and prevent a humanitarian disaster. Accordingly, U.S. forces have targeted the Qadhafi regime’s air defense systems, command and control structures, and other capabilities of Qadhafi’s armed forces used to attack civilians and civilian populated areas. We will seek a rapid, but responsible, transition of operations to coalition, regional, or international organizations that are postured to continue activities as may be necessary to realize the objectives of U.N. Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973.

For these purposes, I have directed these actions, which are in the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States, pursuant to my constitutional authority to conduct U.S. foreign relations and as Commander in Chief and Chief Executive.

I am providing this report as part of my efforts to keep the Congress fully informed, consistent with the War Powers Resolution. I appreciate the support of the Congress in this action.

BARACK OBAMA

In a stunning insult to the American people and to the world community, the national Republican party has adopted a new propaganda attack against Pres. Obama: they now argue Pres. Obama is too talented at doing too many things and that the American people cannot comprehend such a complex job description.

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, in his best known essay “Self Reliance”, that a “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” His meaning is two-fold: first, that to demand absolute consistency in the face of evidence of nuance is tragically foolish; second, that free people must be able to grasp and to handle complexity, or they will be less self-reliant, less able to govern their fate, less free.

Barack Obama definitively pulled ahead of John McCain in the 2008 presidential election contest when McCain foolishly said he was suspending his campaign to learn about the unfolding economic crisis. Obama reminded Americans the job of president required a person who could “walk and chew gum at the same time”, and that Sen. McCain had cst hundreds of votes on the relevant issues.

The moment provided in high contrast a rich insight into the governing philosophy of the two candidates: the question was no longer about the “3am phone call”, but about what kind of intellect is required to deal with multiple crises at once. The nation was very clearly in that situation, and Sen. McCain had all but declared his inability to even understand issues on which he had been voting, with real-world consequences.

Pres. Obama was elected by the most votes ever cast for any candidate, precisely because the American people believed he should be given the responsibility of dealing with the mind-boggling complexity of the job of president in a time of multiple converging, and possibly mounting, crises.

Pres. Obama has done more to steer the economy back to prosperity than any president since FDR, and the fact is: just to keep pace with population, the Great Recession has required massive new job creation. It is a genuine accomplishment that unemployment did not exceed 10% and is now steadily (if slowly) falling.

Pres. Obama is building new markets across the western hemisphere, to spur exports, investment and job creation, at home. These alliances are vital to the national interest, and Pres. Obama is able to govern at home, respond with material assistance to the unfolding Japanese quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, and plan, authorize, and direct, the diplomatic and military efforts needed to impose a no-fly zone on Libya.

The president is talented enough to do this complex work. He is staffed and equipped to do it. And he was elected specifically because the American people understand the value of this kind of job performance and in fact demand it of their president.

On the question of clarity on Libya: every Republican who is raising this objection that “it’s not quite clear” what the objective of the military action in Libya is, absolutely must be a cynic willing to propagandize the American people, to undermine the military and diplomatic strategy of the president, the nation, and our allies.

The objective could not be more clear: Muammar Qadhafi threatened mass atrocities against an entire civilian population, and is thought to have already carried out such strikes, which he publicly stated he would in perverse moments of “outreach” to the very communities he was about to attack mercilessly; the UN Security Council voted unanimously to impose a no-fly zone on Libya, and authorized “all necessary measures” to protect civilians.

Five nations abstained, including China and Russia, who fundamentally oppose this type of military intervention. Those abstentions were, in effect, a deliberate choice to support the international effort to oppose Qadhafi.

The president has been clear he believes Qadhafi has lost the legitimacy required to govern and should leave power. He has also been working diligently and persistently, for two years, to build the United States’ credibility as a light in the world that supports the upholding of and abiding by the rule of law.

At present, there is no legal authority for any foreign power to intervene to remove Qadhafi or to depose his government. This is not confusion or lack of clarity. We have a president who understands the complex reality in which we have to operate; the Republicans seem not to, and seem convinced to persuade the American people to shut down their intellect, blind themselves to the complex environment of crises facing the world community and abandon a president who is actively and admirably dealing with all of those crises.

There is no reason for this nonsensical argument the Republican party’s propaganda machine is pushing, other than a nakedly partisan attempt to manipulate the political landscape. It is cynical, undemocratic and a sign of pervasive unwillingness to support the better interests of the American people, if in any way doing so might lend even minimal support to the man who won more votes than any candidate in American history.

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously this week to authorize the enforcement of a no-fly zone over Libya, and gave member nations the power to take “all necessary measures” to protect civilians. NATO and an alliance of Arab countries are now orchestrating airstrikes against Libyan military positions, to clear the ground for a secure no-fly zone.

The Libyan reaction was mixed and confused. Muammar Qadhafi, the Libyan president of 42 years, warned his forces would attack any Mediterranean traffic close to Libya, while his son Saif al-Islam al-Qadhafi said Libya would protect civilian lives, then said his father’s forces were at war with “gangsters and terrorists”, a suggestion of the defense they might use to continue their military offensive.

But the Libyan foreign minister surprised a group of international journalists being barred from leaving a hotel in Tripoli unaccompanied, and explained that the regime was declaring a unilateral ceasefire and would abide by all of the terms of the UNSC resolution.

On Friday, US president Barack Obama warned the Libyan leader that allied forces would consider him in breach of the resolution if he did not immediately halt the military offensive, withdraw his troops from key cities they had taken back from the rebels, stand down and restore power, water and communications systems to all civilians across the country.

Diplomatic and military analysts have characterized the conditions Qadhafi must meet as beyond his reach, or beyond his will. Today, Qadhafi declared the UNSC resolution illegitimate. International leaders are slated to meet in Paris to plan the assault against Qadhafi’s military installations and artillery, but the Libyan leader seems to be planning an escalation of his planned blitz against Benghazi.

UPDATE, 11:12 am EDT: Shortly before 11 am EDT, French president Nicholas Sarkozy emerged from the Paris Summit in Support of the Libyan People, where he met with allied heads of state and foreign ministers, including US Sec. of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, to announce that French aircraft had already launched operations inside Libya, attacking ground positions and armored vehicles, in an effort to protect civilians in areas held by rebels or recently retaken by Qadhafi’s forces.

There have been reports from outside Benghazi that Qadhafi’s forces violated the ceasefire the Libyan foreign minister had declared just yesterday. The refusal to withdraw from rebel-held territory or to cease operations in the vicinity of civilian populations, along with Qadhafi’s declaration that he would not recognize the legitimacy of the UN no-fly zone, give France, the US and the allied forces clear authority to use “all necessary measures” to prevent violence against civilian populations.

UPDATE, 3:25 pm EDT: At present, it appears the Arab countries’ participation in military operations includes both Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. While France and the UK are leading NATO combat operations, and Italy and Spain are providing basing support, the US is reportedly providing radar, satellite and targeting information, as well as mobilizing submarines in the Mediterranean, to assist the air campaign.

UPDATE, 3:38 pm EDT: News has just broken that US forces have fired the first ballistic missiles into Libya, in support of the NATO-led air campaign. US retired military officers speculated the strikes were likely Tomahawk missiles fired from submarines in the Mediterranean.

French airstrikes earlier in the day reportedly shot down at least one Libyan military plane over Benghazi, suggesting Qadhafi was moving ahead with his plans to attack the rebel-held city. At present no US combat aircraft have been reported to be taking part in the airstrikes.

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously today —with five abstentions— to support the imposition of a no-fly zone over Libya, authorizing military action against Muammar Qadhafi, to halt his war against the people of his own country. Qadhafi and his sons have been waging a full-scale military assault against civilians and rebel forces supporting the pro-democracy opposition.

The abstention of crucial powers Russia and China —both permanent members with veto power—, as well as Germany, Brazil and India, was itself a clear sign of international consensus that the brutality of Qadhafi’s assault on his people needs to be stopped. The vote was a victory for Arab states, European powers and the United States, which wanted UN support for air strikes against Qadhafi.

In anticipation of the vote, Qadhafi said on state radio that “If the world gets crazy then we will get crazy too” and threatened to accelerate his air war against the people of Benghazi. Thousands of people in Benghazi gathered in the city center, watching news reports of the results of the Security Council vote.

A massive cheer went up from the crowd when it was announced the Security Council had voted unanimously to take “all necessary measures … to protect civilians”. The resolution authorizes any force necessary to prevent violent military action against civilians, and will likely result in an intense barrage of airstrikes against Qadhafi’s forces.

It is not clear at this writing whether Qadhafi will be given an opportunity to back down or to leave the country before strikes begin. The UN has called on all member nations to protect civilians. Enforcing a no-fly zone requires forward clearing strikes. US Sec. of State said it would be necessary to attack Qadhafi’s defenses to ensure the safety of international pilots enforcing the no-fly zone.

What Qadhafi has been planning for in Benghazi, a medieval siege with heavy artillery attacks and waves of bombing raids, is a planned, premeditated war crime, designed to include the mass killing of civilians. Because the Security Council resolution mandate the protection of civilians, any ground action by Qadhafi against the people of Benghazi may result in a full-scale military attack on relevant military positions.

Pres. Barack Obama’s ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, yesterday said to the UN that “When a leader’s only means of staying in power is to use mass violence against [his] people, he has lost the legitimacy to rule.” The Obama administration has now taken the position that Muammar Qadhafi can no longer be recognized as leader of Libya, and an interim government should be instituted to oversee a transition to democracy.

On Friday, Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council to take concrete action to stop the violence in Libya. The US has frozen Qadhafi’s assets in the United States, imposed a travel ban on top Libyan officials and is exploring further sanctions. The United States Congress is talking about whether or how to impose a “no-fly zone”, a tool used to contain Saddam Hussein and ultimately to destroy his weapons program, during the Clinton administration.

In Libya, there are conflicting reports about the security of the Qadhafi regime. With most of the east of the country now in control of rebel factions, the pro-democracy movement is reportedly closing in on Qadhafi’s strongholds in central Tripoli, and Qadhafi and his sons are said to be using private mercenary armies to attack civilians in a quest to hold onto power.

More top diplomats and officials have defected, and military leaders are reportedly in talks with opposition leaders to establish a process for non-violent transition to democracy. According to VOA:

A former Libyan army officer and head of a leading opposition group says he knows of growing defections among Libya’s military not just by individuals, but in some cases, entire units. Ibrahim Abdulaziz Sahad is the Secretary-General of the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, or NFSL, which was organized in in October 1981 by a group of former military officers, diplomats and businessmen with one goal – to end the regime of Colonel Moammar Gadhafi. He spoke to VOA’s Cecily Hilleary from his base in the United States.

Leading US senators are now calling for official recognition of the Libyan opposition as the legitimate interim government of Libya. Libyan opposition leaders are denouncing foreign business interests, including US multinationals. The Huffington Post is reporting:

A broad coalition of interests from oil companies, defense manufacturers and well-connected lobbying firms to neoconservative scholars and Harvard Business School professors has worked in recent years to advance a rapprochement with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and take advantage of business opportunities in the country, even in the face of the longtime international pariah’s brutal repression of his people and his legendary belligerence.

Yet Libya’s opposition leaders say that such efforts have harmed the interests of the North African country by helping enrich Gaddafi’s family and close allies at the expense of the majority of Libyans, serving only to prolong Gaddafi’s brutal reign. They also blame U.S. policy for prioritizing national security interests over issues of reform and human rights, the lack of which helped fuel the country’s ongoing violent upheaval.

The uprising in Libya has been cited as a potential watershed moment in world history, because while the Ben Ali and Mubarak regimes fell in the face of non-violent protests, Qadhafi has used extreme violence to try to crush the protest movement. If he fails, the analysis reads, it will be a lesson to other hardline regimes that violence will not save them from the call of history, the need to institute real, credible and irreversible democratic reform. But if Qadhafi succeeds, it could lead to a wave of violent crackdowns across Africa and Asia.

The US administration is ready to provide “any type of assistance” needed by the Libyan opposition, according to a statement from Sec. of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. The major powers in the United Nations, and the world’s most influential democracies now have a vested interest in making sure Qadhafi’s violent extremism is fully exposed and his regime falls to the popular uprising.

Benghazi, Tobruk and much of the east of Libya are now said to be firmly under the control of anti-Qadhafi protesters. Tripoli and smaller surrounding cities have been the scene of intense gun battles, reportedly including helicopter gunships and rocket-propelled grenades fired into crowds of demonstrators. Today, the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on the Security Council to take “concrete action” to end the bloodshed.

With an estimated 8,000 soldiers comprising what is increasingly a private army of “irregulars” loyal to Qadhafi, the BBC is reporting at least 5,000 elite special forces troops are now believed to have defected to the opposition. There are increasing reports flowing out of Libya of heavy fire against unarmed demonstrators.

A top Qadhafi general who defected to the opposition, who was interviewed at an undisclosed location by the BBC, said Qadhafi takes incredibly dangerous decisions in fits of anger, adding that “It’s impossible to think he’s completely sane.” General Yunas addressed Qadhafi directly, his boss since 1964, saying “My dear brother… I hope you’ll leave for Venezuela or anywhere else. May God show you the righteous way and stop the annihilation of our people.”

Muammar Qadhafi reportedly remains in Tripoli, in one of several heavily fortified locations, and is said to be arming civilians loyal to his regime. There are now reports of African mercenaries in “yellow hats” or “yellow helmets”, snipers firing from rooftops, “irregular armies” controlled by Qadhafi personally and his sons, the freeing of violent convicts and now the arming of civilian “gangs of thugs”.

The United States government is now freezing the assets of Muammar Qadhafi, citing the violence against civilians as an unacceptable break from international norms of legitimate government.

Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, today called for “concrete action” by the Security Council to stop the violence in Libya. He did not make clear if the action he considered “concrete” would be sanctions or military action.

While no UN official has raised this prospect explicitly, there is mounting speculation there could be a move to coordinate an attack on Qadhafi’s core of power, and the installation of peacekeepers, should the opposition take control.

In central Baghdad today, thousands of young men gathered to protest the pervasive corruption many Iraqis say dominates life in their country. At least 12 people were killed when government police reportedly fired on demonstrators, who were reportedly throwing stones.

In Egypt, protesters again massed in Tahrir Square, two weeks after the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, to demand the complete dismantling of the Mubarak police state. Demonstrators said the emergency law must be lifted immediately and specific old regime figures must step aside.

Protests continued in Bahrain, as the king removed more top officials, in a quest to placate pro-democracy protesters’ demands.

Muammar Qadhafi has ruled Libya in strictly authoritarian fashion for 42 years. Now, as his grip on power appears to be slipping, with major parts of the country no longer under his control and top officials defecting to the opposition, he has vowed to wage war against his own people till the last drop of his blood.

Qadhafi has long been known for his defiance, bu in the face of his people’s outright rejection of his rule, his threat to fight the pro-democracy movement with military force risks plunging the country into civil war. Reports from the streets of Tripoli today say bands of government snipers are patrolling the streets, firing on anyone in a group of two or more.

There are estimates the Italian foreign minister calls “credible” that over 1,000 people have been killed. Italy is calling the situation a “bloodbath”, and Qadhafi’s own UN ambassador has called it “genocide”. The UN Security Council has ordered am immediate cessation of all violent acts against civilians, and the EU is threatening to cut off economic ties.

Governments are now scrambling to get their citizens out of Libya, by boat, train or airplane. The US State Department has chartered a ferry to carry its citizens to Malta. Turkey and the European Union are arranging for the rescue of their citizens and there are reportedly efforts to coordinate the safe passage of citizens of western or sub-Saharan African nations, whose governments have not been able to arrange transport for them. The Egyptian military is reportedly coirdinating border security with interim militia in eastern Libya.

Oil futures are now soaring, as markets apparently respond to unrest in the vital oil-producing mideast region. Speculation seems to be siding with the so-called stability interest of dictators like Qadhafi. Pressure on world economies could, however, drive the international community to respond harshly to Qadhafi’s bloody crackdown.

Thursday morning, there were unconfirmed reports, via cell phone, from Libya, that Qadhafi’s forces may have killed upwards of 1,000 people in one mass attack. By early morning Friday, Libyan time, there were reports of an ongoing massacre 80 kilometers west of Tripoli, where pro-Qadhafi forces are said to be firing rocket-propelled grenades and bullets into crowds of unarmed demonstrators.

Protesters there have reportedly captured at least one soldier, who spoke to both his comrades and later to the press, to express his shock and surprise at finding the protesters were Libyans and to urge the military to cease its attacks. The soldier said security forces are being lied to, that they have been tricked into believing they are firing on highly trained foreign invaders, when in fact Qadhafi was ordering full-blown military strikes against Libyan civilians.

UPDATE, 12:43 am EST: There are mounting concerns that Muammar Qadhafi is not mentally well. In a rambling 30-minute-long phone call to state television, he has reportedly named Kurds in northern Iraq, India, the United States, Al Qaeda and the Unabomber, and claimed that young people specifically had been fed hallucinogenic drugs by Al Qaeda, in order to cause them to revolt.

He reportedly addressed his phoned-in address to the people of Zawia, the town where his forces are reportedly firing rocket propelled grenades into crowds of civilians.

According to the Christian Science Monitor:

In the eastern Libyan city of Tobruk – part of what some are calling “Liberated Libya” – a flood of criticism of Muammar Qaddafi, his sons, and the vicious tactics he’s long used on his own people pours out of locals at the slightest prompting. Many are worried that with Col. Qaddafi surrounded by still-loyal troops in Tripoli, their unfinished revolution could still fail.

While there’s happiness – not least of all because they haven’t dared speak their minds, even to their closest friends, for decades – there’s also a feeling that they had better get their word in while they still can.

Members of the Libyan Army who defected last week to the side of the protesters in Tobruk are readying for a possible reprisal from pro-Qaddafi forces. They say Qaddafi has at least three brigades of paramilitary loyalists in and around Tripoli, one controlled by his son, Khamis.

As Muammar Qadhafi has ordered his air force to attack the capital city, Tripoli, his regime appears to be collapsing. According to the Egyptian military’s Facebook page, Libyan border guards have abandoned their posts. Two Libyan air force colonels reportedly flew their fighter jets to Malta, where they defected and revealed that Qadhafi had ordered the bombing of protesters. They seem to have fled to avoid participating in the violence against unarmed civilians. Qadhafi’s own UN ambassador has accused him of “genocide” and says the UN delegation stands with the protesters.

There are reports from Libya saying protesters have taken control of Benghazi and multiple other cities. There have been suggestions that some factions of the military had already abandoned Qadhafi before the air force defection and the standing down of border guards. There are reports of one or more factions declaring Benghazi a free republic.

This evening, after a wait of some five hours, Qadhafi himself appeared on state television for less than 20 seconds, sheltered by an unidentified concrete structure, a truck of some kind, and an umbrella. He said he has not fled to Venezuela, he remains in Libya, and called foreign journalists and protesters “dogs”. His son, last night, blamed the BBC and “drug addicts” for opposing his rule.

The regime claims the bombing of Tripoli was not a military offensive against unarmed demonstrators, but rather an an attempt to destroy “weapons caches” to prevent their falling into the hands of the regime’s opponents.

When the civil disobedience of peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations spreading from Tunisia to Egypt to Yemen reached Libya, there were clear indications of the regime’s sense of its own fragility. Demonstrators occupied a government housing project, demanding better quality housing, and the government responded with a $24 billion fund for improved housing. In the wake of the fall of Hosni Mubarak, demonstrations in Libya have intensified and the Qadhafi regime has used extreme violence to end the protests.

It is now estimated at least 200 people have been killed. Numbers are hard to track, as foreign media have been banned, and only state media are operating inside Libya. There are estimates that 25 people died in clashes on Sunday, as the military moved in on mourners at a funeral for some of the dead. Until today, reports from the capital, Tripoli, suggested the city was enjoying relative calm, but today there are reports of an uprising there, and the emergence of a possible split in the military.

A blog for the Spectator newspaper is now reporting that the military could be splitting, with key power blocs turning away from Qadhafi:

There’s an intriguing Sky News report this evening which suggests that the Libyan Army might be about to turn away from Gaddafi. The channel is reporting that soldiers in the second city of Benghazi have turned from the regime and have told locals that they have ‘liberated’ the city. If the bulk of the military abandon him, then Gaddafi is done for.

This combined with the news that the demonstrations have spread to Tripoli and that several of the tribes are joiningthe cause suggests that the revolution is Libya is gaining momentum. Certainly, the live resignation of the Libyan Ambassador to China live on air indicates that the governing class is split. Set against this though is that Gaddafi is nothing if not a survivor.

Reports from Libya now suggest much of Benghazi has been taken over by the protest movement and there have been clashes throughout Tripoli. Seif el Islam Qadhafi, son of the Libyan ruler, made the following statement, as transcribed by Al Jazeera English:

“Citizens tried to attack the army and they were in a situation that was difficult. The army was not used to dealing with riots,” he says.

“Libyan citizens died and this was a tragedy.

“There is a plot against Libya. People want to create a government in Benghazi and others want to have an Islamic emirate in Bayda. All these [people] have their own plots. Of course Arab media hyped this. The fault of the Libyan media is that it did not cover this.

Libya is not like Egypt, it is tribes and clans, it is not a society with parties. Everyone knows their duties and this may cause civil wars.

Libya is not Tunisia and Egypt. Libya has oil – that has united the whole of Libya.

“I have to be honest with you. We are all armed, even the thugs and the unemployed. At this moment in time, tanks are driven about with civilians. In Bayda you have machine guns right in the middle of the city. Many arms have been stolen.

“No one will come to Libya or do any business with Libya.

“We will call for new media laws, civil rights, lift the stupid punishments, we will have a constitution… We will tomorrow create a new Libya. We can agree on a new national anthem, new flag, new Libya. Or be prepared for civil war. Forget about oil.

“The country will be divided like North and South Korea, we will see each other through a fence. You will wait in line for months for a visa.

“The Libyans who live in Europe and USA, their children go to school and they want you to fight. They are comfortable. They then want to come and rule us and Libya. They want us to kill each other then come, like in Iraq.”

There is a clear tone of foreboding throughout the speech, mixed with nationalism and accusations of foreign interference. It remains unclear, however, whether the language suggests a threat of increased force or whether the regime feels there is a risk of segments of the military breaking away to join the protesters.

Qadhafi seems to be offering an opportunity to negotiate comprehensively with the pro-democracy movement, to reform the system and even change the flag of the nation if that is necessary, but in fact offers no concessions. Is is unclear whether he intends to say the wiser choice is reform or civil war, or whether he is speaking for a regime that fully intends to avoid both.

Bloomberg is reporting:

Muammar Qaddafi’s son called on protesters in Libya to engage in dialogue or face a civil war that risks the country’s oil wealth, as a widening revolt posed the most serious challenge to his father’s 41 years of rule.

“Instead of weeping over 84 dead people, we will weep over hundreds of thousands of dead,” Saif al-Islam Qaddafi said on state television. “Rivers of blood will flow.”

Bloomberg says the dictator’s son is offering dialogue. But Reuters sees the language as a threat, says Muammar Qadhafi will “fight to the end”:

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi will fight attempts to unseat him until “the last man standing,” one of his sons said on Sunday after days of protests reached the capital.

At least 233 people have now been killed since unrest started last week, Human Rights Watch said, making Libya’s uprising one of the bloodiest to have erupted in the Arab world over the past two months.

The US is said to be analyzing the statement, in an effort to determine whether there is any credible possibility of negotiation and reform. Reuters reports the US is considering “all appropriate actions” in response to the regime’s violent assault on unarmed protesters.

UPDATE, 9:17 am EST: Reports emerging from Libya say Qadhafi has deployed heavily armed mercenaries from other African nations to attack pro-democracy demonstrators with machetes and live ammunition. The BBC World Service has played an emotional interview with a young woman in Tripoli who told of a friend and a cousin shot dead in the streets, her three brothers in hiding.

There are reports of snipers taking up position throughout the capital, and PRI reported this morning that witnesses say the victims of the sniper fire have been hit in the head, neck and heart, signs that the shooters are highly trained special forces soldiers and that they are shooting to kill. The attacks appear to be indiscriminate attacks against unarmed civilians.

As of this hour, there are unconfirmed rumors that Muammar Qadhafi has fled the capital and may be in hiding. The violence has reportedly spread to Tripoli, where there are reports of mass casualties and of buildings set ablaze, including one police station. The few Libyan civilians who have risked their own safety making calls out of the country are calling on the international community to demand an end to the violent crackdown and accusing Qadhafi of being an enemy of his own people.

After 5 days of violent clashes, pro-democracy demonstrators in Bahrain flooded Pearl Square and caused the military to back out. The king has ordered his son to enter into reform talks with protest leaders and has called for an end to police violence. Tensions remain high, as the population of Bahrain has been shocked and angered by the regime’s violent attacks on civilians, and protesters’ demands for reform have widened.

There are fears that calls for talks are meant to quell international pressure on the regime. US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has called for an end to the government’s violent attacks against its people, and suggested the situations shows that reform is necessary, but has refrained from calling for an end to the monarchy.

She did, however, suggest that US policy is the same in all situations where democratic process is inadequate. She told ABC’s Christiane Amanpour: ”We try to hold everyone to a similar standard, but we cannot dictate the outcomes. We cannot tell countries what they’re going to do. We had, you know, no control over what happened in Egypt. We expressed our opinion as we went along and were working with our Egyptian counterparts so that their transition is peaceful, meaningful, transparent, produces results.”

Clinton went on to say that “With Bahrain, as they move toward greater reform, which we have consistently encouraged, recommended and urged, we’re going to be supporting that and we will speak out where we see them violating human rights and using violence inappropriately.”

According to Reuters:

Anti-government protesters have occupied a central square in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, demanding political reform and a more direct say in government.

At least six have been killed and hundreds wounded in clashes with riot police this week, prompting the king to appoint the crown prince to talk to protesters.

There was a surge of protest in Yemen, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Algeria and Djibouti, over the weekend, with security forces challenging protest movements with varying degrees of force, including teargas, batons and arrests. Reports of violence in Yemen include the state police shooting at least one protester dead on Saturday, injuring several others as they fired into a crowd of unarmed demonstrators.

In Libya, the violence is ongoing, with attacks on journalists and demonstrators. Reports from Benghazi are describing the situation there as “open revolt”. It is not known what the nature of the clashes has been, but a ban on foreign media means witnesses have had to risk their lives to make phone calls to get the word to outside media. The number of dead in the latest round of clashes in Benghazi is unknown, but protest leaders say they will continue to push for an end to Qadhafi’s 42-year dictatorship.

As many as 200 people may have been killed in the latest round of attacks on demonstrators calling for an end to Qadhafi’s regime. The Libyan situation is being described as “the bloodiest of multiple revolts now rocking the Arab world”. US Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) has called for “regime change” in Libya, but offered few details about his views on current events.

He said the regime there is “an old enemy” and needed to be fundamentally changed. Libya’s regime had sought to improve relations with the west, dismantling a long-running program to develop WMD and professing to reform domestic economic policy to move closer to the EU. But the violence of the crackdown appears to show Qadhafi has no intention of allowing democratic change, and has radicalized the opposition, which is now demanding his removal.

From Tripoli to Benghazi, protesters have gathered in the thousands, to demand reform and an end to the dictatorship of Muammar Qadhafi. The security forces’ crackdown against the demonstrators has been persistent and intensifying, and new reports from Libya now say at least 84 people have been killed.

According to Human Rights Watch:

Government security forces have killed at least 84 people in three days of protests in several cities in Libya, Human Rights Watch said today, based on telephone interviews with local hospital staff and witnesses.

The Libyan authorities should immediately end attacks on peaceful protesters and protect them from assault by pro-government armed groups, Human Rights Watch said.

Qadhafi has been ruling Libya for 42 years, as a military strongman unwilling to tolerate dissent. Independent media are virtually nonexistent, and Qadhafi’s regime systematically censors information. It has sought to block access to the Internet, and has taken a flagrantly aggressive approach to pro-democracy demonstrators.

The people of Libya seem determined to resist the crackdown, however. Today, there were protests in Benghazi, Baida, Ajdabiya, Zawiya, and Derna. Human Rights Watch is reporting:

The protests in Benghazi on February 18 began during funerals for the 20 demonstrators killed by security forces the day before. Eyewitnesses told Human Rights Watch that security forces with distinctive yellow uniforms opened fire on protesters near the Fadil Bu Omar Katiba, a security force base in the center of Benghazi. One protester told Human Rights Watch he witnessed four men shot dead.

The regime appears to be hoping to block even public mourning for the victims of the crackdown. One hospital official in Benghazi told HRW that “We put out a call to all the doctors in Benghazi to come to the hospital and for everyone to contribute blood because I’ve never seen anything like this before.” The protesters continued their march, despite the attacks and there are fears of a widening crackdown in the coming days.

The revelation that Lara Logan was sexually assaulted, after being abducted, falsely accused, then released, by Mubarak regime, has renewed accusations Mubarak used sexual assault to intimidate female critics

Lara Logan —a courageous CBS News reporter who was abducted by the Mubarak regime, falsely accused of being an Israeli spy and held without charge, for reporting on the protest movement in Egypt— is now reportedly recovering from a sexual assault she suffered while covering the demonstrations. She reportedly was attacked by a “dangerous element” on the very day Hosni Mubarak left power.

She suffered the regime’s persecution directly, returned home after her release, then chose, courageously, to go back and to continue reporting. Human rights observers worry that hers was just one of many cases in which the regime attempted to silence its critics by any means necessary. According to the LA Times, “The [CBS] network said that a group of 200 people were then ‘whipped into a frenzy,’ pulling Logan away from her crew and attacking her until a group of women and Egyptian soldiers intervened.”

Logan was shooting footage for a report on 60 minutes, in which she was hoping to get a sense of the mood of the crowds in Tahrir Square. Journalists were routinely brutalized by the Mubarak regime amid the recent wave of protests. The Committee to Protect Journalists, of whose board Logan is a member, says at least 140 journalists were wounded or killed in the Mubarak government’s violent crackdown on dissent.

CPJ released this statement:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news that CBS correspondent and CPJ board member Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and beaten in Cairo on Friday while covering rallies marking the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. “We have seen Lara’s compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced brutal aggression while doing their jobs,” CPJ Chairman Paul Steiger said. “She is a brilliant, courageous, and committed reporter. Our thoughts are with Lara as she recovers.”

The news raises still more concern that the crimes committed by the Mubarak regime before the dictator relinquished power may have been just the tip of a cruel iceberg, a systematic regime of arbitrary detention, false charges, brutal assaults and disappearances. There are renewed calls for criminal investigations into the exact nature of all high-level discussions relating to the government’s response to the protests.

We stand with Ms. Logan in her process of recuperation and healing, and we call on authorities in the United States and throughout the international community to demand a full, open and relentless investigation to uncover any evidence of connections between the Mubarak regime and the gangs of armed thugs and agitators who sought to disrupt the peaceful demonstrations and assault demonstrators, and bring all parties connected in any way to the assaults to justice.

IRAN: Demonstrators in Tehran yesterday defied an official ban on their proposed rally to support the people of Egypt and their ongoing process of democratic change. Security forces clashed with demonstrators, firing tear gas into the crowds. There are reports at least one person was killed, and hardliners within the regime are now calling for opposition leaders to be rounded up and executed.

The US government has reacted with intense criticism, saying the Iranian people have “universal human rights” to organize, protest and seek political reform. The White House and the State Dept. have both noted the “hypocrisy” of the Iranian regime’s treatment of the issue: while consistently praising the “people’s revolution” in Egypt, they are engaging in the same kind of authoritarian crackdown (with deadly consequences) at home.

BAHRAIN: In Bahrain, the ruling family says it supports the people’s right to demonstrate publicly, yet police attacked demonstrators there yesterday, firing not only tear gas, but also “bird shot” into crowds of unarmed civilians. At least one person was killed. When thousands marched today in the funeral procession to honor the victim, the scene was repeated.

Amid intense domestic and international outcry, and a spreading demand for the end of the monarchy, the royal family again said it supports the right of Bahrainis to peacefully demonstrate, and that the police violence was inexplicable. According to NPR’s reporting, after this morning’s attack on the funeral procession, police have not been seen near the demonstrators.

JORDAN: In Jordan, where any statement critical of the royal family can result in three years’ imprisonment, protesters are calling for major action to counter official corruption, but are not calling for an end to the monarchy. King Abdullah is widely seen as a source of “stability” and a positive figure for the nation. But in recent days, allegations his wife, Queen Rania, may have used her influence to “enrich her parents’ family” have been spreading.

The royal family says there is no truth to the allegations, but pro-democracy demonstrators are said to be discussing a campaign to have the allegations investigated. Queen Rania is widely seen as a committed proponent of human rights and democracy, internationally. Political observers say the King’s handling of the situation could be crucial for containing the protest movement within the parliamentary system.

LIBYA: Pro-democracy organizers are planning protests in Libya for Thursday, and there are calls on social networking sites for the end of Qadhafi’s rule. There are rumors of a brutal crackdown in the works, and there is mounting pressure on Qadhafi, who has sought to improve relations with the west, especially with the European Union, in recent years, to let the Libyan people demonstrate peacefully.

Qadhafi (also commonly spelled Gaddafi) has warned against the use of sites like Facebook and taken action to suppress online organizing. According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information: “Gaddafi has hired agents to attack activists who call for political reform and an end to corruption in Libya.”

Today, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on all governments to respect the “universal right” of all people to free expression and to share information. She said efforts to block access to the Internet were illegitimate and would not work. She echoed Pres. Obama’s recent statements about authoritarian obstruction of people’s rights being “unsustainable”.

Clinton said the US would support the right of pro-democracy movements to call for democratic change, especially where that effort is carried out through peaceful means. She called on all governments to show their legitimacy by recognizing the right of their people to self-determination, peaceful assembly and free expression.

EGYPT: Lara Logan —a courageous CBS News reporter who was abducted by the Mubarak regime, falsely accused of being an Israeli spy and held without charge, for reporting on the protest movement in Egypt— is now reportedly recovering from a sexual assault she suffered while covering the demonstrations. She reportedly was attacked by a “dangerous element” on the very day Hosni Mubarak left power.

She suffered the regime’s persecution directly, returned home after her release, then chose, courageously, to go back and to continue reporting. Human rights observers worry that hers was just one of many cases in which the regime attempted to silence its critics by any means necessary. According to the LA Times, “The [CBS] network said that a group of 200 people were then ‘whipped into a frenzy,’ pulling Logan away from her crew and attacking her until a group of women and Egyptian soldiers intervened.”

Logan was shooting footage for a report on 60 minutes, in which she was hoping to get a sense of the mood of the crowds in Tahrir Square. Journalists were routinely brutalized by the Mubarak regime amid the recent wave of protests. The Committee to Protect Journalists, of whose board Logan is a member, says at least 140 journalists were wounded or killed in the Mubarak government’s violent crackdown on dissent.

CPJ released this statement:

The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by news that CBS correspondent and CPJ board member Lara Logan was sexually assaulted and beaten in Cairo on Friday while covering rallies marking the resignation of Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak. “We have seen Lara’s compassion at work while helping journalists who have faced brutal aggression while doing their jobs,” CPJ Chairman Paul Steiger said. “She is a brilliant, courageous, and committed reporter. Our thoughts are with Lara as she recovers.”

The news raises still more concern that the crimes committed by the Mubarak regime before the dictator relinquished power may have been just the tip of a cruel iceberg, a systematic regime of arbitrary detention, false charges, brutal assaults and disappearances. There are renewed calls for criminal investigations into the exact nature of all high-level discussions relating to the government’s response to the protests.

The Egyptian military council now ruling Egypt has announced, by way of an official communique (number 4), that it will suspend the Mubarak-era constitution and dissolve parliament —a central demand of the pro-democracy movement, as Mubarak’s party was given 83% in rigged elections— and that free and fair elections will be held to organize a democratic transition. Protesters remain in Tahrir Square, intent on helping to guide the transition to democracy, and labor strikes are being called.

There are reports the military government is planning to “get tough with protesters” and crack down on dissent, as it “steers” the transition to a democratic form of government. Reuters is now reporting:

Egypt’s new military rulers will issue a warning on Sunday against anyone who creates “chaos and disorder”, an army source said.

The Higher Military Council will also ban meetings by labour unions or professional syndicates, effectively forbidding strikes, and tell all Egyptians to get back to work after the unrest that toppled Hosni Mubarak.

It now appears the military government may be at risk of provoking a fresh round of massive street protests, if during the period of democratic transition it begins to operate under emergency rule similar to or even more forbidding than Mubarak’s ban on dissent.

According to the Guardian’s live Egypt blog for today:

Mubarak’s exit has not been enough to clear people out of Tahrir Square, nor has it been enough to persuade all workers to call off their strikes.

I’ve already mentioned the police walk-out but some 2,000 employees of the National Bank of Egypt have also been on strike today, reports Ahram online. It says they want the resignation of the bank’s directors and restructuring of the wages within the company.

The journalist and blogger Hossam El-Hamalawy has also been tweeting details of various strikes, including by oil workers, public transport workers and environment ministry civil servants.

It is expected the military will reveal a raft of prohibitions on dissent in Communique number 5. A prohibition on labor strikes could lead to unrest in Cairo and other major cities. There are currently plans for strikes in the public and private sectors, ranging from police to transport to shipping and port workers.

It is not known, at present, how closely the ruling military council is conferring with leaders of the pro-democracy movement to discuss plans for a democratic period of transition to full and open democracy.

On This Week, with Christiane Amanpour, conservative political commentator George Will suggested the Egyptian uprising has shown that “It may be that tyranny is just not feasible anymore.” But today, there are brutal crackdowns underway in Algeria and Yemen, and rising concern the military in Egypt may be the part of Egyptian society “not ready” for democracy.

Communique 4 is, however, being welcomed by protesters, who say it signals the official legal end of the Mubarak era and the next step in dismantling the authoritarian police state. Some are calling for further change in leadership, with the removal of key Mubarak allies like Omar Suleiman. The new prime minister, Shafiq, is expected to stay on and work with the military council to oversee the transition.

UPDATE, 12:21 pm EST (7:21 pm Cairo): Wael Ghonim reported to be in talks with two top generals from the ruling military council, expected to post updates on “Really great insights” later.

UPDATE, 12:25 pm EST (7:25 pm Cairo): Labor protests from Egyptian police forces continue outside Ministry of the Interior; there are reports of tear gas fired to keep control, and/or disperse protesters.

UPDATE, 12:27 pm EST (7:27 pm Cairo): The Guardian is now reporting:

Prime minister Ahmed Shafiq said the current cabinet, appointed by Hosni Mubarak, would remain in place to oversee the transition to democracy.

There were scuffles as the army tried to force protesters to leave Tahrir Square (10.24am). Soldiers tore down tents in the square and some used sticks against people. But a number of protesters refused to leave and others streamed into the square to join them (11.07am) and maintain the pressure for all their demands for reform to be met.

Two gilded wooden statues of Tutankhamun are among 18 items missing from the Egyptian museum in Cairo, the antiquities minister Zahi Hawass said today. He had previously said nothing had been stolen during the disturbances that occurred in the midst of the anti-government protests (11.03am).

Pro-democracy demonstrators say it is not yet time to leave Tahrir Square, that it may be necessary to remain there until a fully democratic government is elected and the end of authoritarian rule made irreversible.

Across the middle east region, hardline regimes with more or less favorable relations with Washington are reportedly expressing concern about how the United States “abandoned” Mubarak after a 30-year relationship. These complaints show three crucial facts about the situation they find themselves in: 1) they are not evolving psychologically to keep pace with events; 2) they do not understand what gives them legitimacy; 3) they need to institute credible democratic reforms immediately, if what they want is “certainty” about US support.

It was not for Barack Obama to “stand by” or to support Hosni Mubarak. Mubarak has for too long relied on the artistry of bullies and thugs to impose a regime of fear on a noble people; he is the one who sowed the seeds of his own downfall; it was his brutality that lost him support at home and abroad. Any regime that does not see this, persists in the logic of tyranny at its own peril. The language of 1776 can no longer be isolated as “western” and born of American, or French (1789), provenance; it is now a foundational component of contemporary Arab culture.

There are demonstrations in Yemen, in Jordan and in Algeria. Iran’s opposition movement is planning a massive rally for Monday, to honor those who lost their lives in the Egyptian uprising and to recognize the universal right to democratic self-determination. In Yemen, the regime has assaulted demonstrators (there are, at this hour, reports of some deaths); in Algeria, the regime is seeking to contain or disperse protesters; in Iran, the opposition has been barred from marching, and tensions are escalating.

Jordan’s King Abdullah has instituted meaningful democratic reforms and sought to provide economic relief for the Jordanian people, and for now, seems to be on the right side of history. In Kuwait, the government has issued direct payments to every resident, to help cope with the steep rise in food and fuel prices. Marches are planned for Damascus, and Khartoum has been cracking down on opposition organizing, even as the nation begins to cope with the separation of the south.

There are reports Algerian police are trying to block the entire city center of Algiers and specifically targeting women among the pro-democracy demonstrators. In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak’s security forces and hired thugs were notorious for sexually assaulting female protesters in past attempts at organized protest, to undermine the democracy movement’s ability to gain traction among mainstream middle-class Egyptians.

There are concerns that the abduction and mistreatment of female protesters may be a deliberate strategy to harm innocent women in order to instill fear and division in the general population or even in the democracy movement itself.

In any of these cases, having good relations with the United States may or may not rely on strategic utility, but being both strategically useful and favorable toward domestic democracy protest movements would be the simplest, most sustainable way to invite substantial support from the administration of Barack Obama.

Obama’s message to hardline regimes across the world was simple from the beginning, and has been consistent: he seeks to work with leaders everywhere to foster conditions of greater freedom and prosperity for their populations. “If you unclench your fist, we will extend a hand”, he said during his inaugural address.

Egypt shows this philosophy at work. It is a simple recipe: no government is legitimate if does not rule at the consent of the governed, so such regimes are unsustainable and not worthy of sustained good will or trust. Democracy is stable, so long as those in power respect the rule of law, so allies should move in that direction.

Hosni Mubarak refused to honor the will of his people in almost any instance whatsoever over the course of 30 years. It was an incredibly poor record, and when challenged with what was obviously a sweeping nationwide movement, and a rising tide that could destabilize his nation, he continued to put his own personal status ahead of the good of his nation, and murdered as many as 300 of his fellow Egyptians.

Avoid that disgusting record of terror and criminality, and work to honor the legitimate aspirations of the governed, the sovereign people of your nation, and you will find all doors are open. It is not Barack Obama who abandoned Mubarak, but Mubarak who abandoned reason and good will, and sought to rule through acts of murder, torture and repression. He was the one who was not politically mature enough to rise to the level of his own population.

The following is an official transcript of Pres. Barack Obama’s remarks on the departure of Egypt’s Pres. Mubarak and the victory of a non-violent protest movement over an authoritarian regime…

3:06 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. This is one of those moments. This is one of those times. The people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, and Egypt will never be the same.

By stepping down, President Mubarak responded to the Egyptian people’s hunger for change. But this is not the end of Egypt’s transition. It’s a beginning. I’m sure there will be difficult days ahead, and many questions remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt can find the answers, and do so peacefully, constructively, and in the spirit of unity that has defined these last few weeks. For Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day.

The military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the state, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the Egyptian people. That means protecting the rights of Egypt’s citizens, lifting the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible, and laying out a clear path to elections that are fair and free. Above all, this transition must bring all of Egypt’s voices to the table. For the spirit of peaceful protest and perseverance that the Egyptian people have shown can serve as a powerful wind at the back of this change.

The United States will continue to be a friend and partner to Egypt. We stand ready to provide whatever assistance is necessary — and asked for — to pursue a credible transition to a democracy. I’m also confident that the same ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit that the young people of Egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunity — jobs and businesses that allow the extraordinary potential of this generation to take flight. And I know that a democratic Egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership not only in the region but around the world.

Egypt has played a pivotal role in human history for over 6,000 years. But over the last few weeks, the wheel of history turned at a blinding pace as the Egyptian people demanded their universal rights.

We saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like.

We saw a young Egyptian say, “For the first time in my life, I really count. My voice is heard. Even though I’m only one person, this is the way real democracy works.”

We saw protesters chant “Selmiyya, selmiyya” — “We are peaceful” — again and again.

We saw a military that would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect.

And we saw doctors and nurses rushing into the streets to care for those who were wounded, volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed.

We saw people of faith praying together and chanting – “Muslims, Christians, We are one.” And though we know that the strains between faiths still divide too many in this world and no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we need not be defined by our differences. We can be defined by the common humanity that we share.

And above all, we saw a new generation emerge — a generation that uses their own creativity and talent and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears; a government that is responsive to their boundless aspirations. One Egyptian put it simply: Most people have discovered in the last few days…that they are worth something, and this cannot be taken away from them anymore, ever.

This is the power of human dignity, and it can never be denied. Egyptians have inspired us, and they’ve done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence. For in Egypt, it was the moral force of nonviolence — not terrorism, not mindless killing — but nonviolence, moral force that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.

And while the sights and sounds that we heard were entirely Egyptian, we can’t help but hear the echoes of history — echoes from Germans tearing down a wall, Indonesian students taking to the streets, Gandhi leading his people down the path of justice.

As Martin Luther King said in celebrating the birth of a new nation in Ghana while trying to perfect his own, “There is something in the soul that cries out for freedom.” Those were the cries that came from Tahrir Square, and the entire world has taken note.

Today belongs to the people of Egypt, and the American people are moved by these scenes in Cairo and across Egypt because of who we are as a people and the kind of world that we want our children to grow up in.

The word Tahrir means liberation. It is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. And forevermore it will remind us of the Egyptian people — of what they did, of the things that they stood for, and how they changed their country, and in doing so changed the world.

Thank you.

END 3:13 P.M. EST