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“Operation Odyssey Dawn.” What’s in a Name?

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Why are Military Actions in Libya Called “Operation Odyssey Dawn”?

“Operation Odyssey Dawn” began Saturday (March 19th) in Libya, when French warplanes opened fire on four pro-Gaddafi tanks headed to Benghazi.

An international coalition agreed to initiate airstrikes following the UN Security Council resolution on Libya (see last post). which authorized “all necessary measures” short of a ground invasion to defend civilians from attacks by units loyal to Libyan leader.

Phase One started the same day with the involvement of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.

U.S. military’s nickname for the no-fly zone in Libya is “Operation Odyssey Dawn.”

According to the Washington Post “The Pentagon permits military commanders to assign two-word nicknames to military exercises or operations using instructions laid out in a carefully crafted Defense Department naming policy. The instructions assign each military command a certain set of words that must be used to select the name’s first word. AFRICOM is assigned to use pairings of words that start with JS to JZ, NS to NZ and OA to OS … A recent headquarters exercise was called Judicious Response, and another recent operation used the NS to NZ range, leaving OA to OS as the only option …

So how did commanders select “Odyssey Dawn”?

A group of lieutenant colonels and majors met several weeks ago in the early planning stages of the operation and agreed that Odyssey was the only usable word in the OA to OS range. Then, “they sat around and brainstormed for a random word that went well with it.””

Here’s what countries enforcing the resolution name “Operation Odyssey Dawn” 

*Canada: Operation Mobile

*France: Opération Harmattan

*United Kingdom: Operation Ellamy

*United States,  Italy,  Denmark,  Norway: Operation Odyssey Dawn

*NATO: Operation Unified Protector (arms embargo)

UN security council resolution 1973 (2011) on Libya – full text

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The UN Security Council has passed a resolution authorising “all necessary measures” to protect civilians in Libya from pro-Gaddafi forces.  Read the full text of the resolution passed at UN headquarters in favor of a no-fly zone and air strikes against Muammar Gaddafi.

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Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

Security Council

6498th Meeting (Night)

Security Council Approves ‘No-Fly Zone’ over Libya, Authorizing ‘All Necessary Measures’ to Protect Civilians, by Vote of 10 in Favour with 5 Abstentions

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ARABIC text of UN security council resolution 1973 (2011)

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مجلس الأمن

قرار مجلس الامن

القرار  ١٩٧٣

الذي اتخذه مجلس الأمن في جلسته ٦٤٩٨ ، المعقودة في ١٧ آذار/مارس ٢٠١١

إن مجلس الأمن،

إذ يشير إلى قراره ١٩٧٠

المؤرخ ٢٦ شباط/فبراير ٢٠١١

وإذ يعرب عن استيائه لعدم امتثال السلطات الليبية للقرار  ١٩٧٠
وإذ يعرب عن القلق ا لبالغ إزاء تدهور الوضع وتصاعد العنف والخسائر

الفادحة في صفوف المدنيين، …………… الخ

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Libya UN Resolution 1973:

Text analysed (BBC)

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[Gaddafi’s flag]

Feb 26, 2011
Security Council
SC/10187/Rev.1**Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New YorkSecurity Council 6491st Meeting* (PM)

In Swift, Decisive Action, Security Council Imposes Tough Measures on Libyan Regime, Adopting Resolution 1970 in Wake of Crackdown on Protesters Situation Referred to International Criminal Court;Secretary-General Expresses Hope Message ‘Heard and Heeded’ in Libya

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دستـور لـيبيـا

أصدرته  “الجمعية الوطنية الليبية” في 7 أكتوبر 1951

وألغاه الإنقلابيون في أول سبتمبر 1969

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Libyan Constitution

(Libyan Constitutional Union)

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Libya’s Constitution

[English Translation]

Promulgated by the “National Constituent Assembly” on

7th October 1951

Abolished by a Military Coup d’etat on

1st September 1969

Reading Adam Smith in Arabic

In The Wall Street Journal, Donald J. Kochan writes that the region needs ‘The Wealth of Nations’ now more than ever.

Never mind the tone of the piece, especially in the first par. —What else is new?!  Read more below about

Reading Adam Smith in Arabic

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The region needs ‘The Wealth of Nations’ now more than ever.

By Donald J. Kochan.  The Wall Street Journal, 17 February 2011, A17

At this time of unrest and transition in the Arab world, the United States’s capacity to communicate core values of democracy and individual liberty is a priority. Our capability to translate them into Arabic is a necessity. We need to expose the Arab world to the fundamental texts of Western political and philosophical thought. Indeed, the export of ideas may be the most valuable commodity we have to offer.

Of course we hear similar sentiments often. But our seduction by the power of the Internet has distracted us from remembering the power of books.

Twenty-five years ago, the U.S. State Department initiated a little-known but very important project, the Arabic Book Program. It primarily operates out of our embassies in Cairo and Amman, and the U.S. Consulate General’s office in Jerusalem. As the State Department explains, the objective is “translating into Arabic, publishing and distributing selected books from American writers in various areas, including economics, management sciences, politics, humanities, arts, and the environment.” … [MORE]

Arabic Book Program

“The Arabic Book Program was established in 1986 with the objective of translating, publishing, and distributing in Arabic a selection of books from U.S. authors in various areas and disciplines. The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem provides local Palestinian organizations with quality Arabic translations of American books through this program. These books are  offered free of charge. We currently have in stock more than 60 different titles in a variety of categories, including: democracy and governance, economic development, management, civic education, media, the U.S. financial system, American Studies, conflict resolution, international relations, political science, information technology, and more.”

Libya: revolution, 17 February, 2011

Libyans Revolution

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The Libyan League For Human Rights

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handar4Libyan Revolution Blogs, Tweets, etc.

handar4Revolutionary Situation in LibyaProf. Juan Cole @ University of Michigan

 

210px-Flag_of_Libya.svg Gaddafi’s flag

  • How To Spell Qaddafi/Gadhafi/Gaddafi/Qadhafi

    You may have noticed reading the news recently, that there is no agreed upon way to spell the name of the current Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. The controversy is well illustrated by a May 1986 letter to Minnesota second graders; Gaddafi signed his name in English “Moammar El-Gadhafi.” The AP reported the event, “Second-Graders Get Letter From Khadafy.”

    Librarians are all too familiar with the profusion of guises in which the name of Libyan dictator Qaddafi may be encountered in the Latin alphabet.  (The Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) preferred form of entry — Qaddafi- lists 72 alternate spellings). For the rest of the public out there it’s still mystery that still requires explanation.

    In 2009, ABC News listed 112 different ways to spell Gaddafi, which have appeared in various news outlets. The leader’s name was even the topic of a 1981 Saturday Night Live sketch, offering the most creative spelling a one-way ticket to Tripoli.

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    The Definition Of Democracy According to

    Gaddafi“!!!

    [YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP!!]

    Qaddafi’s Arabic etymology of democracy:  ديمو كراسي

    Qaddafi gave a live interview with Al Jazeera in which he expounded on the meaning of the word “democracy.” According to him, the word “Democracy” is actually an Arabic word that means to sit in one’s chair, because apparently “cracy” is an Arabic plural that sounds like the word for chairs “karasy = كراسي” … and “demo” ديمو in Arabic means “to stay” or “to last a long time.”  The word “karasy” (cracy) in Arabic (pl.)  usually refers to the thrones or seats of power of ruling dictators, who tend to “sit on the chair” for life. Gaddafi, who has been on the chair himself since 1969, seems to understand that democracies are meant to be dictatorships, and vice-versa. “A system where you have a party, a president and a government is ridiculous,” he said.

    He ended the interview with the usual plug for his book, The Green Book (“all this is in The Green Book,” he concludes), a manifesto for government based on the “Third Universal Theory,” which proposes a solution to economic and social problems for humanity. If followed correctly, governments and societies would look much as Libya does.

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    Who is Muammar al-Gaddafi?

    AllGov.com

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    Fatwas, or religious edicts, Against Gaddafi

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    Several moral figures, both inside and outside Libya, backed the pro-democracy protesters and the spreading rebellion against his regime.

    Libyan authorities arrested Islamic Scholar Al Sadeq Al Gheryani after he spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic program over the phone (Feb-20-11) … during which he issued a holy decree (FATWA, or, Islamic edict), saying that it was “everyone’s duty to get out on the streets and topple Gaddafi.”

    Libyan cleric issues fatwa against Gaddafi gift cash

    On Tuesday (March 1st), one of Libya’s most prominent religious scholars issued a fatwa against the 500 dinars now being handed out to every Libyan family. In his fatwa, Sheikh Al Sadeq Al Gheryani said the money was tantamount to accepting a bribe from the Kadhafi regime. Such a fatwa is likely to be implemented by his followers, who represent a large section of the Libyan people.

    This fatwa was endorsed later by Sheik Ali Mohammed al-Selabi, who is considered to be the most influential religious scholar among Libyans abroad.

    Refused an appeal from one of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons, Saadi el-Qaddafi, to issue a fatwa banning demonstrations against his father. “Saadi, Qaddafi’s son, asked me to say a word against the protests; I refused to back him because they were killing innocent people, killing old men and peaceful demonstrators.” The cleric issued a fatwa against Gaddafi instead, saying that “it’s a religious obligation” to fight oppressors and to provide medical and humanitarian help for the protesters.

    The Saudi cleric said that he refused to back the Libyan regime because of its “injustices against the Libyan people. That regime is not offering security and peace to the people but it is offering the opposite.”

    The Grand Imam of Al-Ahmed Al-Tayeb, head of al-Azhar University in Cairo, calls for the Libyan army to disobey orders Gaddafi.

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    handar4Seif Qadhafi’s PhD thesis from LSE

    A copy of the PhD thesis Seif al-Qadhafi, son of Muammar al-Qadhafi, filed in September 2007 at the London School of Economics (whose former chancellor, Tony Giddens, was an advisor to his father). It’s called “The Role Of Civil Society In The Democratisation Of Global Governance Institutions: From ‘Soft Power’ to Collective Decision-Making?” [See more about academics-turned-consultants, Anthony Giddens and Benjamin Barber, according to guardian.co.uk]

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    A careful Wiki-study of Saif al-Gaddafi’s PhD thesis at the London School of Economics yields an astonishing amount of suspicious, non-cited similarities to other texts.

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    As government security forces were reported to be firing into crowds of civilian protesters on Monday, and with Gaddafi Jr appearing on television to threaten a civil war in which the regime “will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet”, many of his erstwhile associates were questioning their friendships with him… More about this—

    handar4An inquiry into the LSE’s links with Libya and lessons to be learned (October 2011) This Report has been prepared by the Woolf Inquiry, an independent inquiry appointed by the Council of the LSE [London School of Economics] to establish the full facts of the LSE’s links with Libya.

    At the time Tony Blair was anxious to secure a rapprochement with the Libyan regime. The call from the Foreign Office to Professor Valpy FitzGerald, the head of Oxford’s Department of International Development, came in the spring of 2002. …    Continue reading Libya: revolution, 17 February, 2011

Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators

Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators

Scholars from the University of Chicago developed this teacher resource to provide an overview of Middle Eastern cultures and their contributions to the world.

Discover the great currents of continuity and change throughout Middle Eastern history…

This resource was written by many of the best scholars in the field of Middle Eastern studies and created in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and three University of Chicago units, the Oriental Institute, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the eCUIP Digital Library Project (a collaboration between the University of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools to provide high-quality digital resources to the K—12 educational community using the content expertise of University of Chicago scholars, the development skills of the University Library’s Digital Library Development Center, and the experience of CPS educators).

The goal of Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators is to provide teachers of Middle Eastern history and culture with a rich, reliable, and easily accessible resource that draws upon sound humanities scholarship to help build student understanding of Middle Eastern history and culture.

Drawing upon the unparalleled expertise of renowned scholars from the University of Chicago, the archaeological resources of a world-famous research facility and museum, and the inherent flexibility and strengths of the Internet…

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Online Maps of Current Interest