Presidential Statement on Osama Bin Laden's death, Posted by Meosha Eaton

Italy To Join NATO-Led Airstrikes On Military Targets In Libya, Posted by Meosha Eaton

(RTTNews) - Italian fighter jets will soon join the ongoing NATO-led airstrikes on military targets in Libya, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi announced following a phone conversation with US President Barack Obama.

The Italian premier's office said in a statement issued late Monday that Italy "had decided to positively reply to the requests by NATO to boost the efficiency of its military participation in the Libyan mission."

"Italy has decided to increase the operative flexibility of its planes by means of aimed actions against specific military targets belonging to Qadhafi's regime with the goal of defending the Libyan civil population," the statement added.

Misrata rebels say under intense Libya attack, Posted by Meosha Eaton

* Rebels say pro-Gaddafi forces mount fierce attack

* Humanitarian situation is "catastrophic"

* British PM says Misrata suffering "murderous attacks"

(Adds new quote from rebels, more details)

By Hamid Ould Ahmed

ALGIERS, March 29 (Reuters) - Rebels in the Libyan city of Misrata said they had come under intense attack on Tuesday by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, and appealed to governments meeting in London to help them.

"Gaddafi's forces are launching intensive and vicious military campaigns against us in Misrata," rebel spokesman Mohamed said by satellite telephone. "They are determined to capture the city. Today was tough for the rebels."

Misrata, under siege for several weeks, is the last big rebel stronghold in western Libya. Some Western leaders cite it as proof that foreign military intervention must carry on if it is to protect civilian lives in the Libyan conflict.

Accounts from the city speak of bombardments killing dozens of people, sniper fire from rooftops, and food and water running out.

"The humanitarian situation is catastrophic. There is a shortage of food and medicine. The hospital is no longer able to deal with the situation," rebel spokesman Sami said.

Another rebel spokesman, Saadoun el Misrati, said a total of nine people had been killed on Tuesday. Rebels in the eastern city of Benghazi, their main stronghold, said 124 civilians had been killed in the past nine days in Misrata, a city of 300,000 people.

"Gaddafi's forces went into houses in Zawabi, which is near Tripoli street, and killed four brothers and two of their neighbours," Misrati said. "We are sure they have positioned snipers on the rooftops of these houses."


"MURDEROUS ATTACKS"

In London, where more than 40 governments and international bodies met to discuss Libya's future, British Prime Minister David Cameron said: "As I speak, people in Misrata continue to suffer murderous attacks from the regime."

Reports from Misrata, about 200 km (125 miles) east of the capital Tripoli, could not be independently verified because Libyan officials have not allowed journalists to work freely there.

Authorities in Tripoli say the insurgents are Islamist militants holding the population hostage.

The Al Jazeera news channel said that Qatar was sending ships to Misrata to evacuate Egyptians trapped there.

A Libyan doctor based in Britain who said he was in contact with people in Misrata urged Western governments to do more to protect the city's civilians from attack.

"The coalition force should stop this ongoing massacre," he said. "Either they are fully committed to protecting these civilians or should leave them to their destiny."

Western air strikes have targeted an air base near Misrata and some positions held by pro-Gaddafi forces.

Rebel spokesman Mohamed said the planes had bombed pro-government Gaddafi vessels near the port that had tried on Saturday night to land forces in Misrata.

But rebels say government troops have driven heavy armour into the city, making it difficult to hit them from the air. (Additional reporting by Michael Georgy in Tripoli, Joseph Nasr in Berlin and Miriam Karouny in Beirut; Writing by Adam Tanner; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

No reports of Libyan civilian casualties- US admiral, Posted by Meosha Eaton

WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - A top U.S. military officer involved in enforcing the U.N.-backed no-fly zone over Libya said on Wednesday he had no reports of civilian casualties caused by coalition forces.

"There have been no reports of civilian casualties. Our mission here is to protect the civilian populace and we choose our targets and plan our actions with that as a top priority," Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber told reporters by phone from the command ship USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean.
(Editing by Sandra Maler)

Tunisia won't join military intervention in Libya, Posted by Meosha Eaton

TUNIS, March 18 (Reuters) - Tunisia will not take part in any international military intervention in its neighbour Libya, a government spokesman said on Friday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during a visit to Tunis on Thursday that talks were underway about Arab countries playing a direct role in a military operation against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to protect civilians.

"It is out of the question," government spokesman Taieb Bakouch told Reuters when asked if Tunisia would be involved.

"We will not take part in any military intervention against Libya, we will not take part in any way," he said.

(Reporting by Tarek Amara, writing by Silvia Aloisi)

Egypt's army turns to the Web after protests, looks like they are taking notes from the protesters! Posted by Meosha Eaton

As reported by Reuters:

* Mubarak's govt cut Internet at early point in protests
* Egyptians sign up to army site as supporters


By Edmund Blair
CAIRO, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The army, thrust to the forefront of Egyptian politics with Hosni Mubarak's overthrow, has turned to the Web to win over youths who used the Internet to such devastating effect in bringing down the president.

The Higher Military Council has launched its own page on Facebook, the website that became an essential tool alongside others like Twitter in galvanising the masses on to the streets.

The once-feared interior ministry in Tunisia, where protesters ousted their own leader a month before Mubarak stepped down, has had the same idea. [ID:nAMA639171]
The Egyptian army site has drawn more than 98,000 supporters -- and rising. Among them were those who demonstrated in Tahrir Square. Some thanked the military, others called for a purge of old ministers and others urged the army to deliver on reform.
The council's site addressed its audience as the "sons of Egypt and the noble youths who ignited the Jan. 25 revolution".

The council's statement says it launched the page "in the belief that fruitful cooperation in the period ahead with the noble sons of Egypt will lead to stability, security and safety for our beloved Egypt".

In the early days of the revolt, the authorities shut down the nation's Internet system, stunning the world with such a brazen act of censorship. Mobile lines were cut too.
But youths still found the means to keep the protest momentum going, as the numbers of those turning out of the street surged from the thousands to hundreds of thousands.

On Friday, to mark the revolt, millions flooded Egypt's cities.
Ahmed N. Ibrahim, posting his comment on the council's page, wrote simply: "This is an admirable initiative. More and more reassuring."
Reflecting the anger many have towards Mubarak and his allies who they accuse of stealing Egypt's wealth, Maha Anwar Mostafa urged the council "to pursue the money of all the Mubarak family ... and freeze the foreign assets."

Others appealed to the army to remove old faces from a cabinet mainly made up of ministers appointed before Mubarak stepped down on Feb. 11.

"I salute the Egyptian army and ask how there can be ministers from the old regime, not to mention Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq," who was also the former civil aviation minister, Mohamed Adel wrote.

Ahmed Abouraia thanked the army but listed demands, including a call that it "continue to protect the revolution until all the demands are realised."

The Arabic-language Facebook page can be found at: http://www.facebook.com/Egyptian.Armed.Forces#!/Egyptian.Armed.Forces

Military Accused of Turning Blind Eye on Rape Victims Source: Military Accused of Turning Blind Eye on Rape Victims, Posted by Meosha Eaton

There has been a recent widespread conversation regarding the safety of our female marines while serving abroad or in some case right here on our own soil. This safety conversation is laced with explosive accusation that are being reported as "unacknowledged" or turning a blind eye to the allegations. Please stay in the loop as this story develops.

Here is what NBC reported:

Did the military turn a blind eye to rape victims? A local former Marine says yes, along with 13 other active and former U.S. service members.

The group of women, including a former Camp Pendleton Marine, says they were attacked by a group of Marines they knew and thought they could trust.

The women say military leadership ignored their cries for help and are suing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his predecessor, Donald Rumsfeld. The lawsuits claim both failed to take aggressive measures to protect women in the military and crack down on the military's sexist culture.

They hope the lawsuit will get top officials at the Pentagon to take notice of stories, like that of former Camp Pendleton Marine Sarah Albertson, and take action.

Military Accused of Turning Blind Eye on Rape Victims

WATCH

Military Accused of Turning Blind Eye on Rape Victims

Albertson says a higher-ranking officer climbed into her bed and raped her after a night of drinking.

"I kind of panicked and froze. I didn't say anything," said Albertson.

Even more traumatic, she says she had to face him at work everyday and claims she tried to get help, but was told to “get over it.”

"That was just the general attitude. The specific word were, 'Marines don't cry'," said Albertson.

Her only relief: Being deployed to Fallujah.

"I actually felt much safer there than I did back at our command," said Albertson.

Albertson's story is all too familiar. Military sexual assault victims say the close quarters of the barracks in the mess halls leave them feeling isolated and they're afraid to come forward out of fear they'll be singled out.

A new victims advocate program has been started to offer help when it's needed most. The training classes are part of a Department of Defense (DOD) Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program. The program started in 2004, but as the plaintiffs in the lawsuit point out, the effort did little to fix chronic problems with the way cases are handled and change a culture that doesn't take sexual misconduct seriously enough.

Military leaders have admitted they've got to do better.

"If you're the one to step up, you'll know they’re standing behind you and support you when you go to stop what looks like an event beginning to occur,” said Rear Adm. Dan Holloway, speaking with reporters last year.

One in five women in the Navy and Marine Corps say they've been victimized, while one in 12 male Sailors and Marines say they've been targeted. Often times it is commanders who are complicit in cover-ups like these and the problem is believed to be more widespread.

“There is a proportion of those Sailors and Marines that we can prevent from making one of the biggest mistakes of their lives by becoming the perpetrator,” said Sexual Assault Prevention & Response spokesperson Jill Loftus.

In 2009, there were more than 3,200 sexual assaults in the military, but the Pentagon says most go unreported. The Pentagon's own figures suggest fewer than one fourth of sexual assaults are ever reported.