"Truly, we have granted you a clear victory!!!"

The inside story of Libya's underground revolutionaries as they organized, hid out, waited, and finally liberated the capital city.

At first, the security forces outnumbered the protesters almost three to one. But the protests were spreading from one block to the next, and soon they reached the streets behind the security forces. Within moments after the shooting began, the government forces were surrounded. The few protesters with weapons began firing back. Some started throwing stones. "I'm a bit scared of guns, so I threw Molotov cocktails," says El Burai.

BY ANAND GOPAL, FOREIGN POLICY

TRIPOLI, Libya – One night late last month, in a sweltering apartment deep in the heart of Tripoli, a group of men gathered around the television to watch the evening news. The program was carried on Libya al-Ahrar, a Doha-based news channel beaming into Libya in support of the revolution. At precisely 8:30 p.m., after the breaking of the Ramadan fast and as locals were streaming to the mosques, the message these men were waiting for came: "Truly, we have granted you a clear victory," the newscaster said, before signing off for the night.

It was a verse from the Quran, but to the men in this room, in the tightly packed neighborhood of Souq al-Juma, it was so much more -- a code that signaled that their uprising was to begin. Over the next 48 hours, the people of Tripoli pushed Libya's six-month revolution to its staggering denouement, ensuring their country would never again be the same and reinvigorating the Arab awakening -- and it all began in this neighborhood.

The men watching the television were part of a group of 62 underground revolutionaries who had been preparing for this day for weeks. Malik Jamal Abargo, a 20-something port worker, was one of them. He grabbed his Kalashnikov and rushed into the streets with his comrades. "My heart was pounding," he says. "I thought that I might become a martyr."

The sight of the small crowd chanting slogans against Muammar al-Qaddafi in the street prompted shouts from the mosque. Soon its speakers issued forth a thunderous chant: Allahu akbar! Out came Khalid Abu Humeida, a customs worker. "I was standing in line for vegetables when I heard it," he says. "It had more force to me than any bomb or jet. I knew what to do." He was joined by Salem El Burai, a restaurant owner who came rushing out with a bag of rocks. Abdul, who would not give his last name and has no job at all, emerged with a Molotov cocktail.

The crowd grew to hundreds -- the first large open protests against the government in any part of Tripoli since February, when demonstrations were drowned in blood. Almost immediately, truckloads of state security forces began to arrive. They pointed their weapons at the demonstrators. "We inched forward, step by step, trying not to waver," says Abdul.

Soon, less than 100 meters separated the two sides. They were facing off under a large overpass, and speeding cars roared above. Snipers were arrayed on a nearby high-rise. One group of protesters then doused vehicles parked on the roadside in gasoline and set them ablaze. "We wanted to create a sense of chaos, to confuse the government forces," El Burai explains.

This provocation was enough: The security forces opened fire. Bullets whizzed and popped, the protesters recall, and they jumped behind concrete pillars and behind trash cans.

At first, the security forces outnumbered the protesters almost three to one. But the protests were spreading from one block to the next, and soon they reached the streets behind the security forces. Within moments after the shooting began, the government forces were surrounded. The few protesters with weapons began firing back. Some started throwing stones. "I'm a bit scared of guns, so I threw Molotov cocktails," says El Burai.

Things turned into a stunning rout in the protesters' favor: Thirteen police lay dead and almost 30 were captured. The rest fled. In that moment, on that street corner, 42 years of despair began to dissolve. "We've lost a whole generation to fear," says El Burai. "This was like a rebirth." Women and younger children gingerly stepped out onto the streets, for the first time in their lives free of the state's presence. Strangers embraced, men praised God, and rebels fired their weapons in the air.

Comments (14).

written by StevenO, September 03, 2011 02:24:07

The imminent downfall of Gadaffi is due to his idea of selling oil price in his yet to be implemented new currency, the new Gold backed Libyan Dinar. Why would America want to pay him in Gold when they can just print up a stack of green coloured paper? The same mistake Sadam Hussien made when he tried to switch to accepting the Euro for oil. Nobody fool around with the Petro Dollar and get away with it! ...

written by strawberrymilkshake, September 03, 2011 01:33:19

The History of the House of Rothschild:-

http://rense.com/general88/hist.htm ..

written by strawberrymilkshake, September 03, 2011 01:31:49

If we talk about propaganda and conspiracy theory, who can miss the most powerful banker in the world?

http://rense.com/general88/his...Hitchc**k

No one person is perfect in the world. Instead of reading reports of the person alone, how about taking a look at the book he came up with and think about his ideas? What does it tell us about this person? The Green book:

http://futurefastforward.com/feature-articles/5945-by-muammar-al-qaddafi .

written by strawberrymilkshake, September 03, 2011 01:29:17

No one person is perfect in the world. Instead of reading reports of the person alone, how about taking a look at the book he came up with and think about his ideas? What does it tell us about this person? The Green book:

http://futurefastforward.com/f...l-qaddafi

Shouldn't the sins he allegedly committed be read together with his contribution to his country and its people? What kind of contribution has he made to the people that many still remain loyal to him and caused over 200 prominent Africans wrote to NATO to criticise NATO's actions? They are the neighbours and friends of Libya, and has more stake on hold than most of us here do:

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=26200#.TlbiyezdZ6E

http://rense.com/general94/kir_whatwhy.htm
From all accounts, NATO's actions are illegal and has breached the rules it has made to date:

"Resolutions 1970 and 1973 (2011) of the UN Security Council were very clear in their terms: No foreign military personnel, no mercenaries, no weapons to the parties in conflict and inspection of vessels ferrying arms and soldiers. NATO has breached all four counts and now is liable for prosecution under international law."

The rest can be found here: http://english.pravda.ru/opini...lZ7lf4FGsQ

What NATO is doing is illegal. Their actions tells us their true intentions. Amidst all the propagandas that each side threw at each other, which is advocating for peace? Only the side that advocates for peace has the people's well being at heart. Who is advocating for peace in name only, while their actions brought only bullets, bombs, deaths and destructions to the country? Peace can never be brought on by violence. The moment we pick up arms against each other, the bloodshed, destruction and hatred is exacerbated. War and violence brings only death and destruction.
"I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality.…I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn down men other-centered can build up." - Martin Luther King

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=26180

And since all sides are biased, which one should we advocate? War? Or peace? ..

written by strawberrymilkshake, September 03, 2011 01:25:19

Perhaps a background look at the publisher will provide us with an understanding on where the writer is coming from. As noted at the bottom of the article, the FP is published by the Slate Group which is a division of the Washington Post company, which according to wikipedia has a history for its pro-war stance on Iraq, which, to date no WMD has been found which was the original reason for the invasion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Washington_Post

In the years since 9/11 Al-Qaeda has been branded the international terrorist that must be destroyed at all cost, and hence the wars being fought by US has been ever-expanding. Now we have confirmed Al-Qaeda rebels in Libya working hand in hand with NATO to overthrow Qaddafi. What does their actions tells us?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=26307

It is noted in the article that a group of political activists made up of doctors, engineers and businessman planned to issue a document to call for greater freedom. Issuing a document is a peaceful manner and we may compare it with BERSIH. Drawing up arms is terrorizing people and creating discords and destruction. It is violent and totally in opposition of the peace everyone works for and believes in. Where does the ordinary citizens get the kalashnikovs and AK47s for the purpose of overthrowing the government? Is it normal? More importantly, where does the money trail lead to? What is their true motive? What has happened to exercising the people's rights via votes? ..

written by strawberrymilkshake, September 03, 2011 01:22:39

If we talk about propaganda and conspiracy theory, who can miss the most powerful banker in the world?

http://rense.com/general88/his...Hitchc**k
Only the people of Libya should decide their future. Democracy is about people having choices. It is not about bombing people into submission or killing all opposition/dissent. How many more people will have to die in the endless wars? To date, which country that has fallen into civil war has seen their lives improved? How do the Iraqis and the Afghans and all other innocent people caught in the war rebuild their lives when everything they build are subjected to bombs and bullets? They have gain nothing but poverty, hunger, destruction, loss of loved ones, daily violence and living in fear. Is this democracy? How long does the 'peacekeepers' intends to stay in their country? 20 years? 50 years? 100 years and beyond? When will they ever taste freedom again? How many years of painful and diligent nation building, the labour of love are destroyed in the blink of an eye?
In all wars, the people are the victims and the biggest losers. Everyone can say that they want peace but watch their actions. It will tell us who are the liars and its victims. ...

written by JustJobe, September 02, 2011 21:56:41

Lol, im not saying there are no greater powers, im saying that people can only align with whose help they can garner at the moment. What are you saying tho? That we should side with Gadaffi?

Like i said, there are always going to be fai weather friends in politics. In many cases, money is spent in speculation and manipulation which is expected when power comes into the picture.

But by going around yelling propaganda propaganda all we do is belittle the lives of those rebels in tripoli who are obviously putting their lives n the line for what they believe in.
Also, about that 'truth in libya' video, u do know that it was on SEO channels to magically increase its ratings right? Or are you looking at this from one side of the coin only?

I say all sides are biased in their reporting. ..

written by StevenO, September 02, 2011 20:01:35

Kudos to you flyer168.

This is the first time I come across a M-t forumnite tht can separate the trees from the forest! The world is not what we think it is. The people that brought countries down are also the same people who brought you globalisation! And globalisation is a competition for being the best slave for the global elites who can print money at will and pocket the profit of most enterprises and saddle you with their losses through government bailout. ...

written by flyer168, September 02, 2011 12:03:37

Hello JustJobe,

As you said there is always many versions to any situation.

In Politics nothing happens by chance, rather it is by design.

So please don't get too uptight about the issue.

I was merely sharing the other side of the situation...because of Libya's oil & gas.

Is it the truth?

As I had said, you be the judge.

Shalom. ..

written by JustJobe, September 02, 2011 10:10:59

Good lord... more propaganda lovers crawling out from the woodwork in the comment below....

Can we just pause for a god damned second.

flyer168...you do know that there were people saying that BERSIH was an NWO/religious/western/communist/etc propaganda supported event as well, right? To those of us pouring our emotion and support behind BERSIH, it was truly an insult. To those against it, was a blessing to be used against us. To those indifferent, when they stuck their nose in claiming propaganda, how did we feel?

Now that the shoe is on the other foot and we are instead the observers looking in on the politics of another nation, we then dare take up the loudspeaker and shout 'Propaganda Propaganda' at their revolutions instead? taking the credit away from those putting their lives in the front line and FIGHTING FOR SOMETHING THEY BELIEVE IN. This is not something we should be doing with half-past-six information of the situation.
As an observer, we must be aware we will never see 100% of the story. The differences in the quality of observers are the ones willing to admit they will never know 100%, and those who cannot. The propaganda fanboys that unquestionably jump on mined quotes a some dubious uncritical videos as their source for knowing 100% what is happening in another country that they do not even have a clue what the average day is like is practically a sin...

...But to then promote the propaganda as truth with no evidence except those mined sources and unsupported assertive videos with bad music, is just F**king insulting.

Yes there are big powers and interests that exist in global politics and national alignments of enemies and alliances will happen based on your resources, like oil, whether you like it or not. Fair weather friends are part and parcel of politics of any scale, domestic and global. Sometimes it is just the outcome of circumstance and needs that countries find themselves in favor of one another.

Please don't forget...In hindsight, everything is 20/20

Peace. ..

written by flyer168, September 02, 2011 08:43:15

Hello Taikohtai,

It is just a matter of time...when the citizens cannot take it anymore...
Bankruptcy now firmly in sight: Are political games being played to hide this - http://www.malaysia-chronicle....entsAnchor

Just to share this...
"Give me the control of the credit of a nation, and I care not who makes the laws" - Nathaniel Meyer

The famous boastful statement of Nathaniel Meyer Rothschild, speaking to a group of international bankers, 1912:

"The few who could understand the system will either be so interested in its profits,

or so dependent on its favours, that there will be no opposition from that class,

while on the other hand, the great body of people, mentally incapable of comprehending the tremendous advantage that capital derives from the system,

will bear its burdens without complaint, and perhaps without even suspecting that the system is inimical to their interests"

Finally to share this...

John Perkins, a former employee of the American National Securities Agency, wrote a book "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" in the 1980s.

Perkins' role as described in Wikipedia was "to convince the political and financial leadership of underdeveloped countries to accept enormous development loans from institutions like the World Bank and USAID.

Saddled with debts they could not hope to pay, those countries were forced to acquiesce to political pressure from the United States on a variety of issues

Perkins argues in his book that developing nations were effectively neutralized politically, had their wealth gaps driven wider and economies crippled in the long run..."

"Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly-paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars.
They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign "aid" organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources.

Their tools included fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex, and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization."

When a country is indebted, it is dependent and subject to the whims and fancies of the various International lender and essentially loses authority over it's own affair.
That's recolonisation and loss of independence...."

Guess who are the International PR Con-sultans employed by Putrajaya to advise our Local Think-Tank con-sultans as advisors to Jibby & Co...

The Pemandu national key economic area lab series & Co...
Leading Bolehland to the present state of Political, Economic & Social Collapse...
Malaysia has effortlessly succumbed into the hands of the global Economic Hitman (EHMS)...

You be the judge.
Shalom. .

written by Taikohtai, September 02, 2011 08:21:58

The problem with the Middle East revolution is not clearing the deck but replacing it. Tunisia, Egypt and now Libya are all grappling with new set-ups.

But in Malaysia, clearing the deck is much harder. Corruption is entrenched but the Pakatan states are showing how it should be done. ..

written by flyer168, September 02, 2011 07:31:38

Just to share this...

Libya Truth (DnB Soundtrack) – YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...embedded#!

[PDF]

Muammar Al Qaddafi - The Green Book

911-truth.net/other-books/Muammar-Qaddafi-Green-Book-Eng.pdf

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View

by M Al Qaddafi - Cited by 6 - Related articles

The Real Reason for NATO Attacking Libya EXPOSED – YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...re=related

The real reason Libya was attacked, 2011 – YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...re=related

Malaysian Mainstream Media Coverage of Libya: Lies, Damned Lies ...

www.futurefastforward.com/component/content/article/5909 - Cached

Scumbag Malaysia "Recognises" Fascist Rebel Government In Libya - http://www.malaysia-today.net/...t-in-libya

You be the judge.

Shalom. ...

written by Nunudada, September 02, 2011 07:02:55

Libya has not been liberated ! Instead it is now in the clutches of the new world order demons.They will now appoint through trumped up elections of course a puppet,as they have done in Iraq and Afghanistan.NATO is a gangster organization that is being used to steal the wealth and freedom of the Libyan people.

The true demons of our world today are the off shore bankers,and the political heads of the U.S.and Europe.