The resulting controversy, reignited by the brutal response of the Gaddafi regime to the Libyan uprising, led to the resignation of Sir Howard, after further revelations that the LSE had also benefited from a £2.2m contract with Libya to train its civil servants. The LSE's council is also mounting an investigation into its Centre for the Study of Global Governance, whose co-director, Professor David Held, was Saif Gaddafi's unofficial adviser. He had recommended that the LSE accept the £1.5m grant from the Gaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF) for his centre, and became a trustee of the GICDF in June 2009. He was forced to quit the foundation several months later by the LSE's council over concerns of a potential conflict of interest. Professor Held denies any impropriety.

Meanwhile, amid continued allegations of plagiarism by Saif Gaddafi, his formal PhD supervisor, Professor Nancy Cartwright, admitted that she could not be entirely confident that he didn't have help with his thesis.

"I can hardly be confident that nobody else helped him since there's evidence that he lifted bits, but I'm confident that it isn't in the sense done by anybody else start to finish," she said.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/lse-insider-claims-gaddafi-donation-was-lsquoopenly-joked-aboutrsquo-2240488.html

Rebel forces in Libya say they have re-taken the eastern oil town of Brega, capturing a number of elite government troops and killing others.

The statement has not been independently confirmed.

It came hours after the rebels had themselves been driven from the town by air and ground attacks by forces loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Elsewhere, the rebel-held town of Ajdabiya is reported to have come under heavy aerial bombardment.

On the diplomatic front, France is stepping up its efforts to persuade the United Nations Security Council to impose a no-fly zone over Libya.

The rebel statement admitted that they have no answer to Col Gaddafi's air power, and backed demands for a no-fly zone, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi.

Those demands can only get louder if and when Col Gaddafi's forces come closer to the major population centre of Benghazi, our correspondent says.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12731079

Prospects of the swift establishment of a no-fly zone over Libya receded today after members of the G8 group failed to give their backing at a summit in Paris.

Britain has joined with France to push for military intervention by the international community to stop dictator Muammar Gaddafi using his air power to bombard towns held by the opposition.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/g8-avoids-libya-nofly-zone-debate-2242251.html

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Rebel forces on the outskirts of the eastern Libyan city Ajdabiya have come under renewed airstrikes from the pro-Gaddafi air force.

The ABC had just pulled back from filming anti-aircraft position at the gates of Ajdabiya when a Mirage jet bombed those positions.

There are reports one fighter was killed in the attack and another wounded.

The body of Wajid al-Hasi, 31, was brought to Ajdabiya hospital on the back seat of a badly-damaged car by fellow-fighters.

An angry crowd gathered as doctors from the hospital gathered tiny straps of flesh, shattered skull and bloodied scalp in plastic bags.

Rebel troops responded with anti-aircraft .50 calibre guns and with a single anti-aircraft missile.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/15/3164900.htm

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libyan_Air_Force#Current_air_force_equipment

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Gus: at present I believe that the "West" has no idea who the "rebels" are... or they know too well that they are "Muslim extremists" who are annoying their "friend" Mr Gaddafi... Ah.... diplomacy, democracy and peace are evil triplets....

The Libyan government claimed on Wednesday that it would defeat opposition forces in Benghazi within 48 hours and put an end to the most serious challenge to Muammar Gaddafi's rule in more than 40 years.

But as the leader's son Saif al-Islam boasted of imminent victory, rebels said they had inflicted heavy losses on government forces fighting to regain control of Misrata, a port which is the last big anti-Gaddafi stronghold in western Libya.

Opposition sources said they had destroyed 16 tanks and captured 20 members of an elite unit commanded by Khamis, another son of Gaddafi, after an armoured force attacked Misrata from the south and west. Artillery and rockets were also deployed.

Libyan officials, however, were speaking with mounting confidence about the outcome, insisting that foreign media had exaggerated the extent of the violence and portraying the rebels as influenced by al-Qaida – a claim for which there is little evidence.

Saif al-Islam poured scorn on talks at the UN and elsewhere to impose a no-fly zone over Libya. "The military operations are finished," he told France's Euronews channel. "In 48 hours everything will be over. Our forces are close to Benghazi. Whatever decision is taken, it will be too late."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/16/libya-benghazi-gaddafi-48-hours

UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations Security Council approved a measure on Thursday authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect Libyan civilians from harm at the hands of forces loyal to Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi.

The measure allows not only a no-fly zone but effectively any measures short of a ground invasion to halt attacks that might result in civilian fatalities. It comes as Colonel Qaddafi warned residents of Benghazi, Libya, the rebel capital, that an attack was imminent and promised lenient treatment for those who offered no resistance.

“We are coming tonight,” Colonel Qaddafi said. “You will come out from inside. Prepare yourselves from tonight. We will find you in your closets.”

Speaking on a call-in radio show, he promised amnesty for those “who throw their weapons away” but “no mercy or compassion” for those who fight. Explosions were heard in Benghazi early on Friday, unnerving residents there, Agence-France Presse reported.

The United States, originally leery of any military involvement in Libya, became a strong proponent of the resolution, particularly after the Arab League approved a no-fly zone, something that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called a “game changer”

With the recent advances made by pro-Qaddafi forces in the east, there was a growing consensus in the Obama administration that imposing a no-fly zone by itself would no longer make much of a difference and that there was a need for more aggressive airstrikes that would make targets of Colonel Qaddafi’s tanks and heavy artillery — an option sometimes referred to as a no-drive zone. The United States or its allies might also send military personnel to advise and train the rebels, an official said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/world/africa/18nations.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print

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Just a tad too much Gaddafian defiance?...

Libya's foreign minister has announced an immediate halt to all military operations in the country, following an earlier move by the United Nations which authorised military strikes to protect Libyan civilians.

"Libya has decided an immediate ceasefire and an immediate halt to all military operations," foreign minister Mussa Kussa told a press conference from the capital, Tripoli, on Friday (local time).

"(Libya) takes great interest in protecting civilians," he said, adding that the country would also protect all foreigners and foreign assets in Libya.

Mr Kussa said because Libya is a member of the United Nations, it is "obliged to accept the UN Security Council's resolutions."

Meeting on Thursday, the Security Council voted to permit "all necessary measures" to establish a no-fly zone, protect civilian areas and impose a ceasefire on leader Moamar Gaddafi's military.

The foreign minister's tone was different to that expressed earlier by Mr Gaddafi, who threatened to turn into "hell" the lives of anyone who attacked Libya in line with the UN resolution.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/19/3168237.htm

The thing about mission creep is that it takes control of the politicians and generals who would have us believe that they are in control.

This is not an argument against intervention, so much as a statement of the obvious that apparently is missed by those who still believe they are in charge of the military campaign against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libya.

The weekend pantomime - with encores continuing - over the leadership and objective of the campaign would be worthy of Gilbert and Sullivan, were the stakes not so high.

In Britain the politicians and the brass have fallen out on the question of Gaddafi becoming a specific target. In Ankara politicians have derailed the assumption that Washington might flick leadership of the campaign to NATO - and in Rome the politicians are saying that unless NATO gets the gig, coalition forces will not be allowed to use Italian bases.

American irritation at the antics of the Europeans was apparent when the leader of the campaign, the US general Carter Ham, snapped: ''It's not as simple as a handshake and saying, 'You are now in charge.' There are some very complex and technical things that have to occur … we are ready to begin that process immediately once that headquarters is identified.''

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/out-of-the-mouths-of-politicians--when-mission-creep-has-last-word-20110322-1c555.html

Blame the cartoonist: see toon at top.

Human nature is weird... It only has two motivators: the carrot and the stick... The stick is a stick... It has to be firm and hurtful... otherwise it ain't going to stick.

But the carrot can be of many shape and sizes — and of various devious taste, including the sugar-coated bitter pill. As long as it appears to be a psychological carrot. It's the old action/reward dichotomy. No point living to be flogged without a small reward. So when I did the toon at the top, There were still many ways for the "West" to do something other that going and use the stick...

But once you use the stick, that's it! if the stick does not pay off, you need to use a bigger stick and this does not look good. We often hope that a good whack might do the trick but it never does, does it?... Any parent would know that... till the blood spills too far. And sometimes we might hit innocent people in our rage to administer the whacking..

see toon at top...

The Americans are also starting to tot up the cost. It is estimated that the three-month operation in Kosovo in 1999 cost the United States $1.9 billion or $2.4 billion in today's money. Imposing the no-fly zone over Iraq for over a decade before the 2003 invasion cost the US an estimated £1.3bn a year.

Britain's share of the current bill may seem miniscule set against the US contribution, or against the overall deficit facing our country. But when taxpayers are being asked to endure years of relative hardship, they need to be convinced that the Libyan exercise is worth it.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, though a sceptic about the war on Libya, has hinted that if we don't sort out Gaddafi, the Libyan tyrant could finance more terrorist attacks in London.

That might convince some. But why should British taxpayers pick up the tab for Libya at all? The oil-rich members of the Arab League, on whose behalf the action is supposed to be taking place, contribute nothing to Britain's defence bill. Indeed, the oil states of the Gulf region are gaining from the rising cost of oil caused by the instability in the Middle East.

Less than a month into the Libyan conflict, NATO is running short of precision bombs, highlighting the limitations of Britain, France and other European countries in sustaining even a relatively small military action over an extended period of time, according to senior NATO and U.S. officials.

The shortage of European munitions, along with the limited number of aircraft available, has raised doubts among some officials about whether the United States can continue to avoid returning to the air campaign if Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi hangs on to power for several more months.

U.S. strike aircraft that participated in the early stage of the operation, before the United States relinquished command to NATO and assumed what President Obama called a “supporting” role, have remained in the theater “on 12-hour standby” with crews “constantly briefed on the current situation,” a NATO official said.

So far, the NATO commander has not requested their deployment. Several U.S. military officials said they anticipated being called back into the fight, although a senior administration official said he expected other countries to announce “in the next few days” that they would contribute aircraft equipped with the laser-guided munitions.

Opposition spokesmen in the western Libyan city of Misurata, under steady bombardment by government shelling, said Friday that Gaddafi’s forces had used cluster bombs, and Human Rights Watch said its representatives on the ground had witnessed the explosion of cluster munitions in civilian areas there. The Libyan government denied the weapons had been used.

A spokesman for the Misurata City Council appealed for NATO to send ground troops to secure the port that is the besieged city’s only remaining humanitarian lifeline.

The opposition has also repeatedly called for an increase in NATO airstrikes. The six countries conducting the air attacks, led by Britain and France, were unsuccessful at a meeting this week in Berlin in persuading more alliance members to join them.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/nato-runs-short-on-some-munitions-in-libya/2011/04/15/AF3O7ElD_print.html

Gus: weird to see that the West is alluding to Gaddafi using cluster bombs... If this is true, these would be mostly coming from US weapon makers... and this news is as loaded as it can be... Coming late in that part of the "campaign" seems to indicate, that because "gaddafi is not leaving, we need to tar him a bit more"...

Meanwhile on the precision munition shortage bizo, the Yanks could buy back some of the ones they gave to the Saudis... But of course weapon systems are the least of integrated universal fit, thus they would not work on French and Pommy planes, whose weapons don't match anyway...

Ah waging a non-war is such a logistic nightmare!... See toon at top.

The credibility of the British-backed rebel forces in Libya has been thrown into doubt after the shock assassination of a top military commander led to claims that the movement is enmeshed in a bloody internal feud.

Increasing evidence has begun to emerge that the savage killings of General Abdel Fatah Younes and two other senior officers – who were shot and whose bodies were burnt – may have been carried out by their own side.

The news of the deaths led to outbreaks of violence in the opposition capital, Benghazi, yesterday, with troops loyal to the General and members of the large and powerful tribe to which he belonged, the Obeidis, vowing retribution.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/rebel-feud-puts-uks-libya-policy-in-jeopardy-2328626.html