Cheering crowds in Tripoli, eh? Bombing for Freedom®? A huge success story for cruise missile diplomacy.
Well, let's see how long the crowds cheer for America when this seeps through: Libyan papers show UK worked with Gaddafi in rendition operation.
Here's the bottom line: Back in 2003, the British were anxious to come to terms with Q, and they had a number of Libyan dissident in their control. MI5 and MI6 then arranged, with the CIA's help, to return these dissidents to Q where they were tortured, and one of them died as a result.
Documents describing this arrangement, and a long-term palsy-walsy relationship between British, American and Libya intelligence services were discovered in the rather untidy mess left by Q, before "responsible" parties could send them to the memory hole. One of the torture victims is the commander of the rebel forces in Tripoli -- and he is pissed.
And according to the BBC, from 2002 to 2004, the documents show that
the CIA went about kidnapping people and transporting them to Q for torture.
Oh, but that is not all. Again, according to the BBC, the Chinese government was negotiating (but apparently did not conclude) arrangements for arms sales to Libya for use by Q on the rebels. There was then a UN ban on such shipments.
My question is this: How did the Chinese expect to get any arms to Q without the knowledge of NATO and hence the U.S.?