Hugo Best: May 2011

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Afghan president warns NATO against airstrikes that kill civilians

Civilian Deaths Growing Concern for NATO in Afghanistan

The Afghan government said Monday that a NATO airstrike that killed 27 civilians in southern Afghanistan was "unjustifiable." A massive NATO operation is underway around Marjah in that part of Afghanistan and allied officials said the airstrike targeted insurgents. As the fighting escalates in Afghanistan, civilians are increasingly caught in the crossfire. VOA's Laurel Bowman has more.

NATO Forces in Afghanistan Can't Deny They Killed Civilians in Sangin Anymore

bit.ly For weeks, US and allied forces in Afghanistan have denied they killed several dozen civilians in Sangin District of Helmand Province on July 23. But our new video exposes the truth about one of the worst civilian casualty incidents of the war. Watch our exclusive interviews with survivors and demand that your elected officials act to prevent future catastrophes like this. rethinkafghanistan.com First, NATO denied knowing anything about the incident. Then, they said only six people were killed and that most of them were insurgents. They can't deny it anymore. http Working with a brave team in Afghanistan headed by Anita, Brave New Foundation's Rethink Afghanistan project sent an intrepid local blogger into Sangin District of Helmand Province--one of the most dangerous areas of the country. He brought back extraordinary first-person accounts from survivors of the Sangin catastrophe. Thanks to his work, there's no doubt anymore: as many as 52 people were killed by a rocket fired by NATO forces. Survivors tell of a scene of absolute carnage and despair, and when the smoke cleared, according to one local, "They [NATO] did nothing and afterwards they said nothing, just like nothing ever happened." But something did happen, and we have to act. Watch our new video and send it to your elected officials: rethinkafghanistan.com Tell them you'll remember how they reacted to Sangin when you enter the voting booth this November.

Afghan civilian casualties skyrocket

The United Nations has released a report about civilian deaths in Afghanistan and it states that civilian casualties are sky rocketing. Nearly 1300 Afghan civilians have been killed already from the start of the year; the deceased are mostly women and children. The Afghanistan people don't want NATO led forces into their provinces because once the coalition forces come in, Taliban insurgents are not far behind.

Big rise in Afghan civilian deaths

Attacks against Afghan civilians have jumped in frequency and intensity in the first half of 2010, according to a report released on Tuesday by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. The 3268 casualties mark a 31 per cent increase over the same period in 2009, the report said. The UN said that the Taliban was responsible for around 76 per cent of those casualties. Nato pointed out that the UN report showed a 64 per cent drop in the number of Afghans killed or wounded in coalition airstrikes. Clayton Swisher reports from Kabul.

afghanistan outrage at civilian deaths by us airstrikes

afghanistan people and government are outraged by civilian deaths in us/nato airstrikes. afghans demand that nato and the united states to leave their country as soon as possible. analysts believe that civilian casualties help the taliban's recruiting drives. this as many of the people who lost their loved ones in us attacks join the militants and this results in more nato casualties. the taliban claim that they have shot down a nato (canadian) helicopter in southern kandahar province killing all onboard. nato, however, says that the helicopter has only made an emergency landing due to technical issues. nato says only one soldier has been injured in the incident. in pakistan floodwater's are spreading to the central and southern areas of the country and more than 1500 people have lost their lives in the worst floods in nearly a century. waterborne diseases such as cholera are rapidly spreading among the survivors. press tv correspondent javed fana live in islamabad reports that the flooding is now heading fast towards pakistan's southern province of sindh. in the northern province of punjab the biggest losses is the crops. 1.3 million hectares [3212370 acres] of crops are now underwater. this will affect pakistan's economy because this is its agriculture hardland. if the flood continues, pakistans import and export are going to be affected. major crops produced in pakistans punjab and sindh provinces include: cotton, rice and sugercane. the flooding, besides affecting <b>...</b>

NATO night raids; civilian casualties

NATO now admits that it was responsible for the deaths of three Afghan women during a night raid in Kabul on February 12, 2010. What Afghan officials have called a cover-up, NATO officials are saying was a mistake by its International forces. Jerome Starkey said that the families of the dead civilians told him they felt that their dead bodies had been violated and the troops dug the bullets out of them.

Afghan civilian casualties, protests insue

NATO has killed more civilians; the international troops were trying to ward off an approaching vehicle. This occurred right outside Kandahar; the US servicemen said that the bus was warned multiple times with flares and even gunshots. After the deaths, many civilians swarmed the streets in protest of the circumstances and were chanting anti-American sentiment.

Civilian deaths spark Afghan unrest

Nato forces have claimed a victory in eastern Afghanistan, saying they have captured a key Taliban commander. But the raid that led to that success may have come at a heavy price, as Afghans vent their anger over three villagers killed in the assault. Clayton Swisher reports.

More civilian deaths in Afghanistan

Another deadly day in Afghanistan after western troops opened fire on a bus in the southern city of Kandahar. Afghan authorities are once again looking for answers from NATO, while survivors say four civilians were killed in the attack. NATO says the incident occurred as international troops tried to ward off an oncoming vehicle.

US General: Civilian Casualties Hurt US, NATO Mission in Afghanistan

The commander of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia, General David Petraeus, says civilian casualties in Afghanistan undermine the US and NATO military mission there. On Monday, US troops fired on a passenger bus, killing four civilians and further stoking Afghan anger over civilian casualties by coalition forces. VOA's Laurel Bowman examines what lies ahead for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

Afghans angry over civilian deaths

In southern Afghanistan, the fight for control is taking an increasing toll on civilian lives. As Nato and Afghan troops battle the Taliban, villagers are increasingly being caught in the crossfire.

US "concerned" over civilian casualties in Afghanistan - 5 S

At least 70 people, including civilians, have been killed in a Nato attack in northern Afghanistan. The US administration has expressed "great concern" over the civilian casualties in the air strike, which it said targeted Taliban fighters. Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the high civilian casualty rate is a problem for the allied effort in Afghanistan. "Civilians casualties are a problem for us and we are doing everything conceivable to try and avoid them," Gates said. Al Jazeera's Anand Naidoo reports on how civilian deaths could undermine the support for Nato's operations in Afghanistan.

NATO chief defends Afghan mission after civilian deaths

Watch enhanced version @ www.videocrux.com The US command in Afghanistan has been forced to apologise for the third off-mark NATO bombing in a week which the Afghan government says killed at least 33 civilians, including four women and a child. The air strike on Sunday came a week into a major NATO-led offensive in the south, which US commanders says is the first step of a region-wide campaign against the Taliban.

NATO regrets Afghan child deaths

Nine children have been killed in a NATO air raid in Afghanistan's Kunar province. They were out collecting firewood on Tuesday when a they were hit. General David Petraeus, the international forces commander, has personally apologised to Afghan President Hamid Karzai for the deaths. Afghan officials say as many as 65 civilians were killed in another air raid in February, claims that Petraeus have denied. Al Jazeera's Sue Turton has this exclusive from the village in Pech valley where the killings took place. Viewers may find some of the images disturbing.

Afghan civilian death toll rises - 31 Jul 09

A new UN report says the number of civilians killed in Afghanistan has jumped by 24 per cent compared to last year. It says while car and roadside bombs used by the Taliban and other fighters are the biggest overall killers of civilians, airstrikes are the main cause of civilian deaths by coalition forces. James Bays reports from Kabul

Journalists die, mainstream media doesn't care

As civilian casualties add up in Afghanistan following a NATO raid, the mainstream media in America looked elsewhere today. Where exactly? To sex scandals and fashion shows. As members of the press put themselves on the battle field, are the risks that come with reporting worth being in the line of fire? Sebastian Junger worked alongside Tim Hetherington, a filmmaker and journalist killed while covering the Libyan Civil War this year. Despite taking a back seat to more sensational stories at times, Unger says the press must continue to rally from the front line of war so the world has a chance to experience it as well. Follow Lauren on Twitter at twitter.com

General Stanley McChrystal, US and NATO commander on Afghanistan push

www.timesofearth.com Kabul - Nato has expressed its "deep regret" over the loss of civilian lives in its offensive against the Taliban in the town of Marjah in southern Afghanistan. Despite the deaths of 12 civilians, officials appeared pleased with the Marjah campaign's progress, with Afghan officials saying on Monday that almost total control of the area had been wrested from the Taliban. "Marjah has been almost cleared and our forces are in control," General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the Afghan defence ministry spokesman, said. "There are some small-scale, sporadic firefights. We are mostly busy with clearing the area of IEDs [Improvised Explosive Devices]. The operation is nearing its end." General Aminullah Patiani, the senior Afghan commander in the operation, echoed that "all of the areas of Marjah and Nad Ali have been taken by combined forces". "Much of Marjah is safe enough for dignitaries to visit. Forces have set up a cordon of three kilometres around the town and they are trying to extend that cordon." But the offensive, known as Operation Moshtarak, was overshadowed on Sunday by the death of 12 Afghan civilians killed when two rockets missed their target and landed on homes in Nad Ali district, where Marjah is located. Nato acknowledged responsibility for the deaths. General Stanley McChrystal, the head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, called the loss of life "regrettable" and said the operation was being conducted with "the protection of Afghan people in <b>...</b>

WikiLeaks 90000 Afghanistan Civilian Deaths

Pakistan plane crashes in Islamabad WikiLeaks 90000 Afghanistan Civilian Deaths

Civilian Casualties Mount During US Offensive in Afghanistan

Full video: www.democracynow.org Democracy Now! Tuesday, February 16, 2010 In Afghanistan, thousands of US and NATO forces have entered the fourth day of a major offensive in Marjah in southern Helmand province. At least nineteen civilians have been killed so far, including six children who died when a missile struck their house on the outskirts of the city. Meanwhile, the Italian NGO Emergency says that dozens of seriously injured civilians are being prevented from reaching hospitals in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, due to military blockades. We speak to Wall Street Journal reporter Anand Gopal in Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. John Shirras on NATO and Afghan Civilian Casualties

British Lt. Col. John Shirras addresses young leaders at the Warsaw Transatlantic Forum on March 12, 2009

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Source: http://article.wn.com/view/2011/05/31/Afghan_president_warns_NATO_against_airstrikes_that_kill_civ/

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Blatter set to stay as Fifa boss

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Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport1/hi/football/13610973.stm

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Blatter set to stay as Fifa boss

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Bullfights, the Colombian way

SINCELEJO, Colombia ? The fans came for the action. The bullfighters for the glory. The bulls, each 1,000 pounds of heaving, sweating fury, had no choice.

And so it was that the bulls, one after the other, were released into a vast, throbbing arena, to be faced down by a squadron of horsemen armed with long pikes, dozens of ?manteros? with red capes, hordes of young men swinging sticks, plus a clown or two. The copious amounts of beer and the local firewater consumed by the participants seemed to give the bull a fighting chance.

?Right now, I?m hurt in the leg,? said Rigoberto Hernandez, 44, who has been gored 19 times after years dodging bulls. ?But that is the way it is. This has been my art since I was born.?

The event is not a traditional bullfight but a corraleja (pronounced coh-rah-leh-ha), a huge, chaotic, pulsing Roman circus of the Colombian variety here in the cattle country of northern Colombia. There is no stirring contest between bull and matador, no highly ritualized artistry as in Spanish bullfights, no sequined outfits, no Hemingwayesque turn of phrase about death in the afternoon.

Indeed, there is nothing genteel about it.

?Here, there are no rules,? said Inis Amador, an organizer of Sincelejo?s corralejas.

Instead, a ring that could fit two football fields is swamped with anyone who dares take part, hundreds in all in a scrum before a creaky, makeshift wooden grandstand that seats 8,000, including rousing, old-time brass bands that pep up the crowds. In an afternoon, 40 bulls are released into this stew.

Those who see action dream of a big pay day, local stardom and, at night, perhaps a dance with a pretty girl.

?I have so much adrenaline right now,? Jorge Luis Villegas, 26, said moments before rushing into the ring. ?I want to triumph out there, go in with real courage and come out with the money I need.?

It is easy to see why ? this swath of Colombia is a throwback to the past, a land of hump-backed Cebu cattle, powerful regional bosses and hard-bitten men who toil under a blazing sun, their dreams of a better life always just dreams. The one escape is a century-old festival, held here in this provincial capital and small towns across the savannah.

In a highly stratified society, it brings everyone together in one place ? though the cattlemen and local entrepreneurs are in the stands, sipping strong drinks, while the ranch hands, small-town day laborers and teenage boys risk life and limb in the ring.

The cattlemen in the stands throw $2,000 peso notes, about $1, into the arena to reward those who?ve shown bravado. But some of those who have really shined ? by ?toreando,? fighting the bull, cape in hand, as a matador would ? can get hundreds of dollars over the corraleja?s spring season from wealthy sponsors.

?Thanks to God, I always do fine,? said Hernandez, who drives a motorcycle taxi when not sparring with bulls. To be sure, in a series of corralejas lasting a week he had made about $540.

Some in Bogota, Colombia?s sophisticated capital, see corralejas as monstrous medieval-like spectacle that reflects poorly on a country trying to modernize. But Amador, who is also a historian, noted that the bulls here come out alive, unlike those who fight in the traditional Spanish-style display that attracts the wealthy in Colombia?s big cities.

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From Spain, Charges Against 20 in the Killing of 6 Priests in El Salvador in 1989

MEXICO CITY ? A Spanish judge issued arrest warrants on Monday for some of the top military leaders of El Salvador?s civil war, accusing them of meticulously planning and carrying out the killings of six Jesuit priests in 1989.

Luis Romero/Associated Press

The funeral procession in 1989 for six Jesuit priests whose killing Spain says was planned by some of the top military leaders of El Salvador?s civil war.

In a 77-page document, the judge, Eloy Velasco Nu�ez of Spain?s National Court, said the 20 men named in the warrants never had doubts about ?carrying out the most execrable crimes against people merely to impose their strategies and ideas.?

The attack on the priests ? who were killed along with their housekeeper and her teenage daughter ? was considered brutal even in a civil war known for its violence against civilians. It led to a crisis in El Salvador?s relations with the United States, which had helped the country?s armed forces against leftist rebels, and intensified international pressure on the government to enter peace negotiations.

Five of the six Jesuits were born in Spain, where judges have used the doctrine of universal jurisdiction to prosecute crimes committed outside of the country, as they did against the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.

?When justice can?t be obtained in the country where the crimes were committed, it?s important that the process go forward,? said the Rev. Andreu Oliva, the rector of the Jesuit-run University of Central America, where the priests worked and where they were killed early in the morning on Nov. 16, 1989.

Among the men named in the indictment: Rafael Humberto Larios, who was the Salvadoran defense minister at the time; Juan Orlando Zepeda, the vice defense minister; Ren� Emilio Ponce, leader of the Army?s Joint Chiefs of Staff; and Inocente Orlando Montano, the vice minister of public safety. Mr. Ponce, who is believed to have given the order for the killings, died this month in El Salvador. Mr. Montano is in custody.

?We wanted to walk the judge every step of the way,? said Almudena Bernabeu, a lawyer with the Center for Justice and Accountability in San Francisco, which brought the case to Spain?s National Court with the support of the victims? families. ?The defense has always argued that it all happened in the chaos of war. But there is no doubt that this was a very carefully planned military operation.?

The killings occurred as left-wing guerrillas were beginning an offensive against San Salvador, the capital. The rector of the University of Central America, the Rev. Ignacio Ellacur�a, had been working as a mediator between the right-wing president, Alfredo Cristiani, and the rebel leaders. But some military leaders believed that he and other Jesuits at the university were collaborating with the guerrillas.

Under international pressure, a Salvadoran court tried nine men for the killings and convicted two officers, including Col. Guillermo Benavides Moreno, who witnesses said gave direct orders to the commando who carried out the killings. Both Colonel Moreno and the other officer were freed after serving 15 months under an amnesty declared in 1993. They are both named in the new indictment. Judge Velasco argued that the earlier trial was a sham.

Under the peace accords, the guerrillas joined the political process. Two years ago, their candidate, Mauricio Funes, was elected president and started a process of reconciliation.

Gene Palumbo contributed reporting from San Salvador, and Raphael Minder from Madrid.

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Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=83bb8e4e373a7c510a24633317016e8f

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Afghan leader warns NATO not to become "occupying force"

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Kabul May 31, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Ahmad Masood

By Hamid Shalizi and Amie Ferris-Rotman

KABUL | Tue May 31, 2011 8:14am EDT

KABUL (Reuters) - President Hamid Karzai warned NATO-led forces in Afghanistan on Tuesday they were at risk of being seen as an occupying force rather than an ally after a spate of civilian casualties, and said he would take unspecified "action" if they continue.

Raids on Afghan homes in pursuit of insurgents were "not allowed," and the patience of the Afghan people with the tactic had run out, Karzai said, underlining the challenge of winning popular support for an increasingly violent war.

"We see NATO from the point of view of an ally ... If they don't stop air strikes on Afghan homes, their presence in Afghanistan will be considered as an occupying force and against the will of the Afghan people," he told reporters.

The fiery speech also underlined Karzai's desire to forge an image as champion of Afghanistan and distance himself from the Western troops who have spent nearly a decade fighting the Taliban, as resentment against the foreign presence grows.

Karzai's rise to power in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban was due in no small part to Western support, something which his critics have not forgotten.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said General David Petraeus, the commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan, understood that a "liberation force" could be seen over time as an occupation force because of incidents such as civilian casualties.

"We are in agreement with President Karzai on the importance of constantly examining our actions in light of that reality," Rear Admiral Vic Beck, director of ISAF public affairs, said in a statement.

Karzai sharply condemned NATO air strikes which inadvertently killed at least nine people -- most of them small children -- in southern Helmand on Sunday.[ID:nL3E7GT041]. The strikes were ordered after a patrol had come under fire.

Civilian casualties caused by foreign troops have long been a major source of friction between Karzai and his Western backers. Karzai warned the tactics were a violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty.

"They must stop bombarding Afghan homes ... If they do not, the Afghan government will be forced to take unilateral action," Karzai said, declining to go into detail about what his government would do if the tactics were not stopped.

U.N. figures show at least three-quarters of civilian casualties are caused by insurgents.

KARZAI'S OPTIONS LIMITED

Holding up one finger, Karzai said he had warned NATO commanders "a hundred times," and hoped to meet them again this week to reinforce that message.

But with an army and police still not strong enough to fight the battle-hardened Taliban on their own, it was unclear how Karzai hoped to persuade NATO to give up a tactic they say has brought crucial gains against the insurgents.

"If more civilian deaths happen, maybe Karzai will actually do something, such as stopping Afghan forces from participating in joint operations," said Waheed Mujhda, political analyst at the Afghan Analytical and Advisory Center in Kabul.

"But this is dangerous. Afghanistan is in crisis and the Afghan forces do not have the capacity to run things on their own," Mujhda told Reuters.

NATO is racing against the clock to train Afghanistan's police and army before handing over all security responsibilities to the Afghans by the end of 2014. That process begins with several areas in July.

CHILDREN KILLED

Tension boiled over at the weekend after the strikes on a compound in Helmand's Nawzad district. Graphic television footage after the strikes showed grieving relatives cradling the bodies of several children, including babies.

The commander of ISAF troops in the region apologized for the deaths, saying the strikes on the compound had been ordered because insurgents were using them as a base.

U.S. and NATO commanders have stepped up the use of air strikes and night raids in the past 12 months, arguing they are effective weapons against insurgents who often hide among the Afghan population.

However commanders have significantly tightened the rules for using both tactics over the past two years amid a growing outcry from Afghan leaders. Beck said this had helped reduce the number of civilian casualties caused by ISAF and that Petraeus had issued new guidance to troops two weeks ago.

"General Petraeus emphasized the importance of doing everything within our power to reduce the number of civilian casualties," Beck said.

(Writing by Paul Tait and Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

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AdamSmith wrote:

Why are we still in Afghanistan? The US is spending roughly $2 Billion per week on that war. For what?

To build a high-speed rail system between 2 large American cities, like they have in Germany, costs about $2 Billion. That means for one year of a useless war in Afghanistan, we could build 50 high-speed rail systems, in just one year.

This would give high efficiency to our economy, cause many new jobs, and make us much more competitive in the world.

The US military-industrial complex is raping America, and indulging in the gore and blood of killing innocent people in Afghanistan. The troops refer to it as ?getting some?, just like they did in Vietnam.

The lingo is, ?You?d better get some, dude, before this war ends.?

That means you?d better make a kill of a human so you can have bragging rights later. The key is to kill a human. He is always later depicted as a threat. This is why so many returning soldiers have mental problems. They know they killed unnecessarily.

For Memorial Day, we should remember the innocent Afghanistan family-men defending their homes, who have been murdered by American ?troops?, in their goal of ?getting some?.

Why are we still in Afghanistan?

May 31, 2011�3:02am EDT��--��Report as abuse

MatthewNasuti wrote:

After every civilian casualty incident ISAF announces that it has begun an ?official investigation? but it never publishes any of its reports, giving the impression that this is all window-dressing. In addition there apparently are never any prosecutions or even disciplinary action ordered for these killings. NATO and the Pentagon claim that they are doing everything possible to avoid civilian deaths but the world is skeptical because all the alleged investigations and their findings are cloaked with secrecy. President Hamid Karzai needs to be supported in his efforts. NATO and the Pentagon have only themselves to blame.
Matthew Nasuti
Former U.S. Air Force Captain
Reporter ? Kabul Press

May 31, 2011�3:55am EDT��--��Report as abuse

Whiteathame wrote:

Karzai has required NATO to respect Afghan residential safe havens for insurgents. Time to go home.

May 31, 2011�6:43am EDT��--��Report as abuse

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Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/worldNews/~3/eVBIdEvSP74/us-afghanistan-karzai-casualties-idUSTRE74U0RP20110531

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Defections, protests hit Libyan regime

TRIPOLI ? South African President Jacob Zuma met Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi Monday but appeared to make no breakthrough in his attempt to broker a peace deal, as the regime was hit by a wave of high-level defections and the reemergence of protests in the capital.

Zuma, who also visited Tripoli in April, reiterated that Gaddafi had accepted an African Union peace plan calling for a cease-fire and dialogue, a plan explicitly rejected by rebels and implicitly by NATO, who maintain Gaddafi has to leave before any cease-fire can take effect.

Underlining NATO?s ultimate objective, the alliance?s Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen told a conference in Bulgaria on Monday that Gaddafi?s ?reign of terror? was coming to an end.

Hours later in Rome, eight Libyan army officers, including five generals, appeared at a news conference arranged by the Italian government, saying they were part of a group of 120 military officials and soldiers who had defected in recent days.

?What is happening to our people has frightened us,? one of the defecting officers, who identified himself as General Oun Ali Oun, told reporters, according to news agencies. ?There is a lot of killing, genocide .?.?. violence against women. No wise, rational person with the minimum of dignity can do what we saw with our eyes and what he [Gaddafi] asked us to do.?

In Tripoli, hundreds of people took to the streets in the Souk al-Juma neighborhood after the funeral of two rebel activists killed in a clash with security forces, a dissident said, in a protest captured on video. It was the third peaceful protest to have erupted in Tripoli in the past week, he said, but the first to be filmed.

?There is no god but Allah, and Moammar is the enemy of Allah,? they chanted. ?The blood of martyrs will not be shed for nothing.?

The timing of the protest could not be independently confirmed, given restrictions on foreign reporters in Tripoli.

Protests in Tripoli were violently suppressed in February, with scores of people killed, human rights group say. Since then the city has been relatively subdued, with many people saying they were scared to speak out for fear of being arrested.

But the reappearance of protesters on the streets in broad daylight could be a sign that the security forces are now struggling to keep a lid on dissent. Monday?s protest was dispersed after members of the feared Katiba security forces arrived in their trademark Toyota Tundra trucks and fired over people?s heads, the dissident said.

?Public anti-regime sentiment is increasing day by day in a progressive manner, which may culminate in an acute flare-up and an outpouring of people onto the streets of Tripoli,? he said by Skype. ?I cannot say how close we are to ?zero hour? but there are all the signs that we are moving steadily towards it.?

The defections announced in Rome may reignite hope among Gaddafi?s opponents that the regime is nearing collapse, coming two months after that of Libya?s foreign minister and former espionage chief Moussa Koussa.

One of the officers, Gen. Melud Massoud Halasa, claimed that Gaddafi?s military forces are ?only 20 percent as effective? as they were before the revolt broke out in mid-February, and that ?not more than 10? generals remain loyal to the Libyan leader.

NATO has at times appeared to be struggling to ratchet up the pressure on Gaddafi, with the regime often sounding as defiant as ever and rebels struggling to make military advances.

But airstrikes on Tripoli have increased in recent weeks, and Britain and France have said they are ready to deploy attack helicopters.

NATO?s Rasmussen said the military mission was achieving its objectives. ?We have seriously degraded Gaddafi?s ability to kill his own people,? he said. ?He is increasingly isolated at home and abroad. Even those closest to him are departing, defecting or deserting.?

With Russia?s decision to withdraw its support for the regime on Friday, most of Gaddafi?s few remaining allies are now in sub-Saharan Africa.

Although South Africa voted for the U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the enforcement of a no-fly zone, Zuma has since criticized NATO for going beyond its mandate and attempting to engineer Gaddafi?s ouster. He is advocating an African Union proposal that calls for cease-fire and dialogue with the opposition.

On Monday, images of Zuma meeting Gaddafi at the leader?s sprawling Bab al-Aziziyah residential and administrative complex appeared on state television. Avoiding Western reporters, Zuma spoke afterwards only to South African and Libyan television. ?He is ready to implement the road map,? Zuma said.

But Sheikh Khalifa Zuwawi, the chairman of the city council in the rebel-held city of Misurata, said the only proposal the rebels were interested in hearing from Zuma was that Gaddafi should stand down. ?There is just one offer ? that he leaves,? he said.

Special correspondent Portia Walker contributed from Misurata.

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