DATAMORGUE

HESS; 1941

2011-10-16T19:23:00.001-07:00

St. Petersburg Times,
May 13, 1941

The Milwaukee Journal,

May 15, 1941

St. Petersburg Times,

May 16, 1941

The Age, May 14, 1941
THE CAREER OF RUDOLF HESS
BERLIN--Hess became Hitler's private secretary in 1923, and as such was nicknamed the "brown mouse." A faithful watchdog, slavishly following every step that Hitler made, he was without ambition for himself. Hitler called him "my brave Maurice." In the early brawling beer-hall stages, Hess served as bodyguard, interposing his powerful athletic frame into fights to defend his adopted Fuehrer. In one melee he had a beer-mug broken over his head, and he still bears a scar where no hair will grow.
Hess was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1896, his father being a merchant there. His family had come from Frankenland, the mother being Swiss. Until the age of 14 Hess went to school at Alexandria, then started studies at the high school of Godesburg. At 17 he took a commercial course, with the intention of going into his father's business. After spending a time in French Switzerland, he went to Hamburg, where at the outbreak of the 1914-18 war, he joined up as a volunteer. Wounded in 1916 at Verdun, he returned to the field six months later, this time in Roumania. He became a lieutenant in the infantry, but joined the air force just before the end of the war.
Hess had met Hitler when the latter was a dispatch rider, in 1917, but the two got to know each other only after May, 1921. In the abortive Munich putsch of March, 1923, Hess carried out a commission which showed how cruel he could be for the cause.
Hess was called to account for the kidnapping (of two Bavarian Ministers) and was sentenced to detention at the Landsberg fortress, where Hitler was also a prisoner. Here the two collaborated in producing the first part of "Mein Kampf." The greater part, still with Hess' co-operation, was written later, at Obersalzberg, near Berchtesgaden.

(CAPTION READS: Rudolf Hess (right), personal deputy to Adolf Hitler, is shown with the Fuehrer at the famous Buergerbrau beer cellar in 1938 in Munich at the celebration which marked the 15th anniversary of the beer cellar putsch. Wide World Photo via Canadian Colonial Airways.)

The Montreal Gazette, May 14, 1941
Press Hides Hess Act But All Italy Talking
(By Telephone to The New York Times and The Gazette)
ROME--One of the greatest stories of this war or in the history of journalism--the flight of Rudolf Hess to Britain--is buried away as inconspicuously as possible in the Italian press today in the form of the first German communique.
The Giornale d'Italia tacks the communique on to another item and does not mention Hess in the headline. One has to look carefully to find it in any newspaper, but it is there, and needless to say every thinking Italian is talking about it as excitedly as any other citizen anywhere else in the world.
Although the admission has not been made here, one may be quite sure that the Italian people know where he is and what he did. It is no longer possible to keep such news from people in these days of radio.

St. Petersburg Times, May 16, 1941
Hess, Under Suspicion, Learned Few Military Secrets
By DREW PEARSON and ROBERT S. ALLEN, United Feature Syndicate
WASHINGTON--According to best diplomatic advices available here, it seems probable that Rudolf Hess will be able to give the British almost no military secrets.
Inside explanation of his weird airplane flight to Scotland is that Hess had repeatedly warned Hitler against a policy of trying to conquer the whole world. This caused a break between him and der fuehrer, and Hess had been under suspicion for some time.
Hitler assigned eight or nine Gestapo men to watch him constantly. These were the "adjutants" or "aides" described as arrested in Berlin dispatches. Apparently Hitler made the mistake of telling the Gestapo merely that Hess was suffering from a mental breakdown, and did not tell them the real facts. That was why they let him go to an airplane factory where a friend lent him a Messerschmitt 110.

St. Petersburg Times, May 16, 1941
GLASGOW--David McLean, Scottish farmer who captured Rudolf Hess with a pitchfork as his only weapon, is pictured with his mother who offered Hess a cup of tea after he parachuted to earth on their farm. (Passed by censor, cabled to London-New York).

St. Petersburg Times, May 16, 1941
GLASGOW--The wreckage of the Messerschmitt-110 from which Rudolf Hess parachuted to earth in Scotland after his mysterious flight from Germany. (Photo cabled from London to New York).

The Mount Airy News, May 15, 1941
Flight By Rudolf Hess To Scotland Planned Ahead
GLASGOW, Scotland--Rudolf Hess told his captors how he secretly fitted an extra gasoline tank to a warplane and flew a beeline from Augsburg, Germany, to Scotland with the route marked in blue pencil on a map.
The story of the nazi chief deputy's coldly calculated flight from Adolf Hitler was related today by two home guardsmen, who took over Hess' custody late Saturday night after Hess parachuted onto a Scottish field with an impact felt 'round the world.
On him they found the map with the blue-pencilled Augsburg-to-Scotland route, and a quantity of compressed food.
The extra gasoline tank, fitted to the Messerschmitt 110 so that Hess could be certain he would have enough gasoline for the trip, was dropped in the sea as he crossed the Scottish coast, Hess related.
TRIED TO LAND
The home guardsmen, Jack Paterson and Robert Gibson, related also Hess' story of how he tried to land the plane--the first Messerschmitt he ever had flown.
"I circled over the spot where I finally parachuted for a long time," he said, "but in the darkness I could not see a suitable landing place."
"Then I climbed several thousand feet, threw the plane over on its back and switched off the engine. Just as I was falling out I righted the machine again, switched on the engine and sent the plane hurtling to earth while I fell clear."
He said nothing about the ten bullet holes found in the tail of the wrecked plane--indicating he was fired upon by German pursuers or caught in the gunsights of British fighters. No such action by British pilots has been reported.
Paterson said Hess was completely calm when he talked to him; that he seemed more impressed by the availability of a drink of milk than by his own achievement, and that he gave his drinking cup to his guards as a souvenir.
SURPRISED AT MILK
While Hess talked, Paterson said, "we offered him cigarettes, but he told us he didn't smoke. So when we asked him if he wanted a glass of milk he said, 'Have you got milk?' as if surprised that we had any.
"He drank half a glass and then remarked, 'I feel a bit cramped. My legs are stiff from being in the plane so long and my ankle is a bit painful.'
"He said, 'I've been in the air for four hours. I left Germany in a Messerschmitt 110 destroyer. Although I'm a skilled pilot, I am really a German army officer."

The News and Courier, May 13, 1941
Farmer Used His Pitchfork To Challenge Nazi' Chutist
GLASGOW (AP)--
This was (David) McLean's story.
"I was in the house and everyone else was in bed when I heard a plane roaring overhead. I ran out to the back of the farm. I heard a crash and saw the plane burst into flames about 200 yards away.
"I was amazed when I saw the parachute coming slowly downward. I could see a man swinging from the harness. I concluded it was a German airman bailing out and ran back to the house for help. They were all asleep. I looked around for a weapon and saw nothing except a hay fork.
"Fearing I might lose the airman I hurried 'round by myself again back of the house and in the field I saw a man lying down with his parachute nearby.
"He smiled and I helped him to his feet. He thanked me but I could see he'd injured his foot some way. I helped him into the house. By this time my mother and sister were out of bed and made tea. He declined the tea and smiled when we told him we were very fond of it. He asked for a glass of water.
"We sent word to the authorities and in the meantime he chatted freely with us and showed us pictures of his little boy, of whom he spoke very proudly."
"He told us he had left Germany and he understood every word we said to him.
"He was a very striking looking man wearing a magnificent flying suit. His watch and identity bracelet were gold.
"He wouldn't discuss his journey. He was most gentlemanly in his attitude to my mother and sister and thanked us for what we had done for him. He was most anxious about the parachute, which he said he'd like to keep because it saved his life. He wouldn't tell us who he was, and we thought he was just another German airman.
"When the officials came he greeted them with a smile and assured them he was unarmed and stood up and allowed them to search him. The he was taken away."

Berkeley Daily Gazette, May 13, 1941
Scottish Plowman "Captures" Rudolf Hess With Hay Fork
By George Milne, United Press Staff Correspondent
GLASGOW, Scotland (UP)--David McLean, Scottish plowman who "captured" Rudolf Hess with a hay fork, was a hero of the war today and his cottage on the moors a few miles from Glasgow became a center of wide interest.
It was only last night that the McLeans--David, his mother and his sister--knew the identity of the man who came down by parachute near their cottage.
I had heard of the landing of a mysterious German aviator at the McLean farm and I hastened there with pictures of Hess. I put them before a score of people who had talked with him. They identified him long before the London announcement that Hess was the flying visitor.
They also emphasized he seemed he seemd in his right mind and that he was glad to be out of Germany.
"Sure, that's the man," McLean said when I showed him Hess' picture.
"No doubt about it," said his mother. "So we had a distinguished visitor after all."
The McLeans and others at the farm were thrilled and excited at being the center of a world story.
"We knew when he came into the cottage and spoke to us in excellent English that he was a man of personality and was accustomed to command," Mrs. McLean said. "He had compelling eyes.
"When the Home Guards arrived to take him away in a truck he was the coolest man in the kitchen."
David McLean said that Hess' ankle was not broken but that it was bruised. He had a slight chafe on his neck from his parachute harness, McLean added.
Hess displayed many gold teeth when he smiled, McLean said. He and his mother pointed to Hess' gold wrist watch. On the other wrist, they said, he wore a gold compass. His clothing and flying equipment were of the finest quality, they emphasized.
"His boots were lovely," Mrs. McLean said. "They were made of fine leather and were just like gloves."
He said to Mrs. McLean
"I am lucky to be here alive. I would like to keep my parachute for I think it has saved my life."

St. Petersburg Times, May 13, 1941
RUDOLF HESS FLIES WARPLANE AND BAILS OUT OVER SCOTLAND
LONDON (U.P.)--Deputy Fuehrer Rudolf Hess, 47, Germany's No. 3 Nazi, parachuted from a Messerschmitt-110 fighter with unloaded guns over Scotland Saturday night, an official announcement said today, and there were rumors that he had fled Germany after a quarrel with Adolf Hitler.
Hess floated down from his twin-engined plane onto the estate of the Duke of Hamilton, first peer of Scotland, fracturing his ankle in the fall, and later was taken to a Glasgow hospital for treatment.
With him he carried photographs, which he established his identity, and medicines for treatment of heart and gall bladder ailments from which he was said to be suffering.
Hess' plane, with empty gas tanks and carrying neither bombs nor ammunition, crashed in the moorlands about ten miles from Glasgow. A plowman helped him to a farmhouse where the plowman's mother offered him a cup of tea. The Nazi deputy fuehrer declined, however, and asked for a glass of water.
"It's more refreshing," he said.
LEFT HOME SATURDAY
Hess left Augsburg, in southern Germany, where Messerschmitts are manufactured, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, it was learned. He reached the coast of Scotland five hours later.
Hess, a World war flier, was said to have been barred from flying by Hitler and that Hess' adjutants had been placed under arrest because they knew, and failed to report, that Hess had obtained an airplane.

PARAMOUNT SOUNDSTAGE: CAD#003

2011-09-22T16:22:00.001-07:00

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946//#006

2011-09-22T16:07:00.001-07:00

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 10, 1945

Economic Bill of Rights

By DAVID LAWRENCE

WASHINGTON--President Truman is essentially a fair man and, to be sure, nowadays he is a very busy man. So whoever helped him prepare his lengthy address to Congress didn't call his attention to the things which the late President Roosevelt omitted from his "economic bill of rights."

The most important omission--which may be understandable so far as Mr. Roosevelt was concerned but which hardly conforms to the Truman concept of fair play--is the one related to the right of the business man to earn a profit.

Nowhere in the so-called bill of rights is the right of the business man, large or small, conceded. Indeed, the only mention as to the right of a business man is in his relations with other business men in respect to fair or unfair competition.

Basic in any sound or stable system of national economy is the right of a business man to have a profit left after he deducts his labor and material costs and his taxes. Unless a business man can see some assurance in that direction, he cannot create more jobs or even preserve the jobs he has already created.

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946//#006

2011-09-22T16:07:00.000-07:00

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946//#005

2011-09-22T16:05:00.000-07:00

The Bulletin, Sept. 7, 1945

Jobs-for-All Bill Assailed in Committee

By ANN HICKS

WASHINGTON (UP)--One of President Truman's most important requests of congress--the jobs-for-all bill--is provoking a bitter battle in the senate banking committee, which is considering the bill.

At the moment most of the fray is being carried on through the medium of the press with the issuance of statements, counterstatements and rebuttals.

The line-up is Sen. Robert A. Taft., R., O., ranking minority member vs. Committee chairman Robert F. Wagner, D., N.Y., and Sen James E. Murray, D., Mont., who isn't even on the committee.

TAFT STARTS FRACAS

Taft began it by submitting a series of amendments which would practically rewrite the measure and, as Taft put it, "eliminate the Henry Wallace theory" of government spending to assure prosperity.

Wagner and Murray, two of the bill's sponsors, immediately leaped to their mimeograph machines and accused Taft of attempting to "cut the heart out" of their bill.

The measure states that Americans able and willing to work have the "right" to useful paying jobs. It sets up machinery whereby the government could plan for full-employment.

Wagner and Murray said Taft would "cripple" the bill if his amendments were accepted because they would:

POINTS ARE GIVEN

1."Strike out the right to work."

2. Eliminate the provision that "pledges" the government's full financial resources to "the cause of full-employment."

Taft replied, via a reporter, that his amendments "wouldn't do anything of the kind."

Taft said the Murray-Wagner way of stating the two aims would (1) mislead some people into believing they could demand the government give them a job and (2) lead to continuous deficit-spending on government public works to provide jobs.

As for the "right to work" dispute the administration bill puts it this way:

BILL IS QUOTED:

"All Americans able to work and seeking work have the right to useful, remunerative, regular and full-time employment, and it is the policy of the United States to assure the existence at all times of sufficient employment opportunities to enable all Americans who have finished schooling and who do not have full time housekeeping responsibilities freely to exercise this right."

Taft would amend it this way:

"All Americans have the right to have their government adopt policies which shall provide to those able to work and seeking work, useful, remunerative, regular and full-time employment if they desire it; and it is the policy of the United States government to assure the existence at all times of sufficient employment opportunities to enable such Americans to obtain employment."

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946//#004

2011-09-22T16:04:00.000-07:00

Lawrence Journal-World, Jan 22, 1945

Full Employment Bill Introduced

WASHINGTON--Senator James E. Murray of Montana laid the base for a potential new new-deal in the nation's domestic economy today by introducing a sweeping "full-employment bill."

Three other Democratic senators joined him in sponsoring the legislation--Wagner of New York, Thomas of Utah and O'Mahoney of Wyoming. All four are rated close to the White House and their views frequently coincide with or even foreshadow those of the administration.

The bill would establish the right to a job as a federal policy, for all Americans able to work and looking for work who have finished their schooling and who do not have full-time household responsibilities.

It states that if full employment cannot be achieved otherwise, it is the federal government's responsibility "to provide such volume of federal investment and expenditure as may be needed" to produce the jobs.

To set the machinery in motion, the President would transmit to congress each year a "national production and employment budget" which would show not only the contemplated regular expenditures of the federal government, but also the estimated expenditures of business, consumers, and state and local governments.

If the total estimated outgo was less than that adjudged necessary for full employment, (President Roosevelt has estimated the post-war need for 60,000,000 jobs) there would be deemed to be a prospective deficit in the national budget.

That's when the federal government would step in. The President would recommend "a general program for encouraging increased non-federal expenditures," and if he didn't consider that enough to cure the trouble, he could recommend a federal spending program, including construction of public works.

Henry A Wallace, while vice-president, recently endorsed the principle of the bill, declaring "the essential idea is that the federal government is ultimately responsible for full employment."

On the other hand, Republican Sen. Robert A. Taft of Ohio condemned the proposal in a speech last week, asserting that it eventually would lead to the assignment by the government of every man and woman to a job selected by the government.

That, he added, "is in contradiction of the whole American tradition" and is "exactly the same system pursued in Russia today."

Speaking for his bill, Murray himself declared:

"There are some in this country who have lost faith in capitalism. I am not one of those. I have a stubborn and abiding faith in the principle of private competitive enterprise and in the necessity of making our system work. I am stubborn enough to believe that we can so improve this system that we can eliminate its principle weakness--periodic mass unemployment."

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946/#003

2011-09-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

The Telegraph-Herald, Aug 22, 1945

MURRAY URGES NEW WORK BILL

WASHINGTON (UP)--CIO President Philip Murray, calling on congress to "match its performance to the atomic age," Wednesday demanded passage of the full employment bill in time for President Truman to submit the first "national production and budget" to congress next January.

"Right now, while I speak to you," Murray told the senate banking committee, "millions of wage earners--heads of families-- are being dismissed from their jobs."

Murray said the nation must be "mobilized for an attack upon poverty, ignorance and fear.," that will compare to its war effort.

Meanwhile, Sen. Charles W. Tobey, R., N.H., said congress would be "very weak and very blameful" if it failed to pass the administration's full employment bill, which would set a national policy that persons able and willing to work have a right to jobs.

INSURANCE MEASURE

Describing the measure as "insurance against disaster," Tobey said that it recognized the important principle that the government "is responsible for seeing that people have a chance to work." And, he said, it provides a mechanism for carrying out that responsibility.

GENERAL PLAN

The President would submit a "national production and employment budget" to congress each year, outlining the number of workers and available jobs. The government, through public works, would fill in any "job gap" left by private enterprise.

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946//#002

2011-09-22T16:00:00.000-07:00

The Pittsburgh Press,
Feb 20, 1946

The Employment Act of 1946

WASHINGTON (UP)--President Truman signed into law a compromise employment measure which he said was a start toward a healthy economy although he hoped for a stronger bill.

Mr. Truman signed the measure--the "Employment Act of 1946"--in a White House ceremony attended by members of the Senate Banking Committee and the House Committee on Executive Expenditures.

"The Employment Act of 1946 is not the end of the road, but rather the beginning," he said.

"It is the commitment by the Government to the people--a commitment to take any and all of the measures necessary for a healthy economy, one that provides opportunities for those able, willing and seeking to work. We will try to honor that commitment."

The bill was a House-Senate compromise which fell short of pledging the Government to strive for the "full-employment" goal sought by the President.

MAKES GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBLE

The act does, however, declare that it is the Federal Government's responsibility to utilize all governmental resources for creation and maintenance of work opportunities.

"It is not the government's duty to supplant the efforts of private enterprise to find markets or of individuals to find jobs," Mr. Truman siad.

"The people do expect the government, however, to create and maintain conditions in which the individual business man and the individual job-seeker have a chance to succeed by their own effort. That is the objective of the Employment Act of 1946."

TRUMAN//JOBS//1946//#001

2011-09-22T15:58:00.000-07:00

St. Petersburg Times, Sept. 8, 1947

Employment Act Test Due in 1948

By CHARLES O. HARDY

WASHINGTON--Today the employment act of 1946 is nearly forgotten. During the last session of congress the Taft-Hartley law captured the headlines. yet , just as soon as business shows a tendency to slip, just as soon as unemployment rises, then the employment act will become important again.

The purpose of the law is to eliminate the booms and busts that have characterized American economic development during the last 100 years. That means avoidance of extensive unemployment, the prevention of big changes in the general level of prices, maintenance of a steady flow of goods to consumers.

So far, the employment act has not functioned the way congress intended. The senate-house joint committee on the economic report did not become a going concern until well along the last session of congress. The joint committee did not get around to relating the president's economic findings in his January or midyear reports to pending legislation.

So the real test of the law has been postponed until 1948. In january when the president submits his report, the joint committee will have to face two questions, both of which are charged with political dynamite:

1. Can the members of the joint committee treat the president's report as a unified economic program--assuming that it does have unity--without regard for their particular political commitments on individual components?

2. Will the fact that the program was recommended by the president, presumably with the endorsement of the cabinet, place an obligation on the Democratic members of the committee to support it and on the Republican members to oppose it?

So long as the employment act deals with abstractions, every one is for it. Taking full employment out of politics--as an idea--finds no opponents. But in practice there are serious obstacles, not only in congress, but in the executive branch of the government itself.
For example, the Council of Economic Advisers is established as a policy-advisory body. It is a research agency, whose job is to advise the president, and the members of his cabinet.

The council is supposed to submit an economic program to the president, based on its research. But members of the cabinet--the heads of the departments of commerce, labor, interior, treasury, etc.--will be interested in seeing that the council's report does not conflict with party commitments or with their particular ideas of what the general legislative program ought to be. Their ideas may not be based on economic considerations at all. Not only that, but persons responsible for the aprty's program--the head of the Democratic national committee for example--may try to see that the report does not alienate large bodies of voters.

IN congress, the joint committee is only one among many committees. And each committee has its customary role in the formulation of legislation. The house ways and means committee originates tax legislation. Other committees are responsible for social security laws, for tariffs, and so on. Each of these may not readily bow to the joint committee recommendations, even if the joint committee agrees on legislation to carry out the president's report.

In addition to political difficulties, there is a psychological problem. Congress operates under pressure. Congressmen and congressional committees must decide in a short time--sometimes in days, sometimes in weeks--how to vote. So when questions arise, the professional research economist may be called in to give spot answers which he isn't prepared for. It's much easier for him to be for or against a priori, rather than to say that he doesn't know, that he'd have to make a two-t five-year study to find the answer.

The easiest way out for both the committee and the staff would be to concentrate on forecasting the short-run business outlook and work up special measures to accomplish short-run purposes. Yet that would not be in conformity with the chief objective of the law which was to provide for continuous studies of the long-run problem of maintaining economic stability and high level employment.

BZP015

2011-04-10T18:34:00.001-07:00

Saturday, April 9, 2011RAID ON AJDABIYA

ATTN.: NATO, US/DOD, UK/MOD, FR/MINGOUV
FROM: BZP007IIIMAFHQ
SUBJ.: LIBYAN COMMANDO FORCE RAID/AJDABIYA
CLASSIFIED:
On Saturday, 09 April 2011, a large Libyan government commando raid was executed against TNC opposition forward position; the city of Ajdabiya. The city itself is now nearly deserted as most of the residents have evacuated as the Libyan government forces are approaching from the west. Details of the raid are as follows:

TIME/LENGTH OF RAID: Mid-morning under rocket and artillery barrage; commenced most of the afternoon as pockets of commandos were eventually driven off by helicopter gunship supproit from Tobruk.

SIZE OF RAIDING PARTY: 50 SUV pickup trucks and GRAD mobile rocket launcher units; with 1-4 commandos in each vehicle; size est.: 60-100 regular Libyan government militia, special forces, commandos.

APPROACH: The vehicles came in abruptly from two western highways and across the southern desert, which was not under surveillance and thus the forces in the city were taken by surprise. The desert approach units crossed approx. 50 mi. unobserved.

TACTICS: The SUVs fanned out into the streets of the city and patrols dismounted, beginning door to door searches for opposition forces; most of whom had already fled to the northeast toward Benghazi. Snipers immediately positioned themselves on rooftops to act as cover fire for the street patrols.

COUNTERATTACK: Reinforced components arrived from Benghazi by midday and a pitched running battle through the deserted streets ensued until the government forces withdrew by dusk.

CASUALTIES: KIA-4 probable TNC opposition; government forces-3-5; foreign mercenaries with Chad, Algerian IDs reported.: WIA-currently undetermined.

PRISONERS: Unconfirmed reports of 3-4 Libyan government regular forces captured, including one officer, possibly field-grade rank.

STATUS QUO: Situation in the streets of Ajdabiya tonight appear settled, guards and patrols posted, raid assessment and debriefing in progress

END OF REPORT

DISTR> g2, g3, g4..

BZP014

2011-04-10T18:33:00.001-07:00

Wednesday, April 6, 2011AJDABIYA: DEFENSIVE PLAN

Ajdabiya is the rebel army's last line of defense before the heart of the opposition which is located in the port city of Benghazi. At present, it is poorly defended and with very little planning in setting up a defensive perimeter not just around the city, but to secure the roads as well.
The above map shows at least one plan for the defense of Ajdabiya which can be implemented with a concerted effort in a short amount of time; a week to ten days.

CHECKPOINTS: These vital points in the defensive plan need be monitored 24 hours a day; all vehicles passing through thorougly inspected, passengers need identification and questioned about their itinerary. In addition, all the checkpoints should not be open to traffic all the time, in order to better control the flow in and out of the city. The closure schedule need only be known to command and not posted to the general public; this will make it difficult for Libyan enemy snipers and infiltrators to enter and leave the city.

TOWERS: These can be hastily constructed and fortified; could also be any type of mobile unit that will allow an elevated view of road approaches; such as a lift truck or a fire vehicle with a boom ladder. Improvisation is the key here; the highest point in the city needs to be set up with adequate communications, especially of the western approaches.

GUN EMPLACEMENTS: Certainly, the core of the defensive weapons would need to be trained on the western approaches to the city, since those roads are the most likely direction the enemy will use to make its assault.

COMMAND: The large stadium on the western approach would make an ideal staging area for military organization and a field hospital setup as well.

CITY PATROLS: These should be run on a continuous basis but not to a strict route so as not to allow the enemy to predict military movements inside the city.

CURFEW: If the city comes under attack from rocket and mortar fire, a curfew may have to be put into place to keep curious onlookers in the safety of their homes, where injury may be minimized.

OBSERVERS: Mobile squads sent out on the highway to the west to observe enemy movement, but not engage and give away a position. These observers are extremely valuable as spotters for NATO aircraft. The problem now is the Allies have no clear picture on ground movement and need to be wary of firing on friendly forces. The rebels need to back off their campaign of haphazard engagement and set up a system to communicate enemy positions to NATO command.

The city of Ajdabiya needs to be the command and control center, where lines of communication can be established long before any rebel sorties and patrols are sent into the field beyond the city to the west. Otherwise, the status quo will remain unchanged, there will be more friendly fire casualties, and the opposition will make no headway at all.

BZP013

2011-04-10T18:32:00.001-07:00

AJDABIYA: THE RED LINE

INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: EYES ONLY

06APRIL20110000Z
TO: AFRICOM, NATO, OP UNIFIED PROTECTOR, UNSC, US/DOD, UK/MOD, FR/MINISTER GOUV
FROM: BZP007HQ/IIIMAF68

WITHOUT GROUND SUPPORT, THE REBEL ADVANCE WILL FALTER AND FAIL AND A NO-MAN'S LAND WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE "RED LINE"; EXTENDING 45 DEGREES SOUTHEAST FROM AJDABIYA. THIS IS THE END RESULT OF THE TACTICAL FAILURE OF THE REBELS TO PUSH FURTHER WEST. RAS-LANUF WILL REMAIN OUT OF REACH.
IF KHADAFFI'S FORCES HAVE QUESTIONABLE LINES OF COMMUNICATION BEYOND SIRTE, THE REBEL LINES OF COMMUNICATION ARE NON-EXISTENT BEYOND THE RED LINE. THE REBELS HAVE NO DISCIPLINE TO CARRY THE FIGHT TO SIRTE, VERY LITTLE HARDENED ARMOR AND NEARLY NO REAL TANK-FIGHTING CAPACITY.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE NO-FLY ZONE IS TO SUPPRESS LIBYAN AIRCRAFT; ANOTHER MISSION IS TO DEGRADE LIBYAN MECHANIZED UNITS. HOWEVER AFTER THAT, THERE IS NO GENUINE CAPABILITY TO PUSH FORWARD, MAINLY BECAUSE ASIDE FROM A FEW CHECKPOINTS, THE REBEL FORCES DO NOT HAVE THE MEANS TO HOLD THE GROUND.
WITHOUT GROUND SUPPORT FROM PROFESSIONAL COMPONENTS, POSSIBLY NATO MILITARY UNITS, THE ADVANCE WILL CONTINUALLY STALL AT THE RED LINE.

INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING: EYES ONLY

BZP012

2011-04-10T18:31:00.000-07:00

Sunday, April 3, 2011Revised Chain-of-Command

"Thanks to the Japanese, we now command a rabble," Colonel Nicholson, played by Alec Guinness, tells his subordinates in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957). This appears to be what has happened to the Libyan opposition rebel military under the command of the Transitional National Council, and its choice of defected Interior Minister Abdel Younis as commander of the forces in the field.

Following the inital Odyssey Dawn takedown of the Libyan air defenses, the opposition military gave up ground faster than it was taking it; probably prompting the appearance on the scene of the CIA operatives, and opposition defense ministry spokesman, Colonel Omar Bani, announcing that Khalifa Haftar was now in command of the forces in the field. Haftar has been linked to a CIA-backed paramilitary outfit that was set to ouster Khadaffi before the revolt, but has now returned and presumably assumed a role as a field commander. No doubt the Western alliance, and now NATO, was unhappy with Younis' dismal performance in the field, which included the friendly fire casualties on Friday; and welcomed the bad weather which allowed the air campaign to regroup and get better perspective of the situation on the ground.

As Col. Nicholson said, "Some of these crews are actually working against each other," in the building of the bridge across the river Kwai.

Above chain-of-command diagrammed from report in The Guardian UK, by Chris McGreal in Benghazi on Sunday, 03 April, 2011.

Ghoga has stated that Hariri is opposition defense minister and Younis is military commander of forces in the field. Bani has announced that Haftar is in command of field forces, not Younis.

BZP011

2011-04-10T18:30:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 2, 2011LIBYA: BOOTS ON THE GROUND

03APR20110000Z
TO: NATO; DOD/US; MOD/UK; DEFENSE/GOUV/FR; AFRICOM
FROM: BZP007/IIIMAF HQ
SUBJ: MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA
CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

"BOOTS ON THE GROUND": THERE HAS BEEN A GREAT DEAL OF SPECULATION IN THE MEDIA ABOUT THIS POSSIBLE SCENARIO IN THE NEAR FUTURE; THE UNITED STATES HAS MADE IT CLEAR IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS THERE WILL BE NO MILITARY UNITS DEPLOYED. HOWEVER, IF THE CONDITIONS DETERIORATE MUCH FURTHER, WHEREAS THE LIBYAN GOVERNMENT FORCES THAT ARE DESCENDING ON THE FRONT LINE OF DEFENSE AT AJDABIYA WERE TO BREAK THROUGH, THERE WOULD BE NOTHING TO STAND IN THE WAY OF THE LIBYAN BRIGADES CAPTURING THE OPPOSITION STRONGHOLD OF BENGHAZI. AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT WOULD BE: THIS IS INEVITABLE.

THE INEXPERIENCED REBEL MILITIAS HAVE PROVEN THEIR INABILITY TO HALT THE ADVANCE OF THE LIBYAN REGULAR BRIGADES UNDER COLONEL KHADDAFI. AS RECENTLY AS FRIDAY, THE REBELS ALLOWED LIBYAN FORCES TO INFILTRATE THEIR RANKS IN THE VICINITY OF MARSA BREGA, WHERE A NATO AIRCRAFT RESPONDED WITH A BOMB-STRAFE RUN IN RESPONSE TO WHAT THE REBELS CLAIMED WAS ANTI-AIRCRAFT FIRE FROM THEIR POSITION FROM THE INFILTRATORS.
THE RESULT WAS AT LEAST A DOZEN REBEL IRREGULARS KIA, WITH REPORTED NUMBER OF WIA UNKNOWN, THE RESULT OF "FRIENDLY FIRE."

THIS BRINGS TO BEAR TWO OBVIOUS CONCLUSIONS: FIRST, THE REBEL MILITIAS, WHICH SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, HAVE VIRTUALLY NO CONTROL OVER THEIR PERIMETERS. SECOND, NATO HAS INSUFFICIENT SPOTTERS ON THE GROUND AND ARE FORCED TO ATTACK INDISCRIMINATELY ANY TARGET THAT FIRES ON THE AIRCRAFT.

OTHER REPORTS INDICATE THAT THE SO-CALLED OPPOSITION REGULAR "LIBYAN NATIONAL ARMY" THAT HAS SET UP A DEFENSIVE LINE ON THE WESTERN APPROACH TO AJDABIYA, HAVE FEWER MEN THAN INITIALLY REPORTED (WHICH WAS "DIVISION" STRENGTH, BUT NOW APPEARS NOT EVEN A COMPANY CONTROLS THE APPROACH). IT WOULD BE OVERRUN WITHOUT A FIGHT. SO THE ARGUMENT OF "BOOTS ON THE GROUND" BECOMES A MOOT ONE, IT IS NOW A NECESSITY; IT IS JUST A MATTER OF WHOSE BOOTS WILL BE ON THE GROUND.
____________________________________________PAGE 1 OF 2

CURRENTLY, THERE IS ONLY ONE COMPLETE FIGHTING UNIT AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DEPLOYMENT ON THE GROUND IN LIBYA. THIS IS THE US 26TH MARINE EXPEDITIONARY UNIT (MEU) NOW ON BOARD THE USS KEARSARGE OFFSHORE OF LIBYA. FORWARD COMPONENTS AND RECONNAISSANCE TEAMS WOULD BE DISPATCHED IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE ORDER WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO SET UP COMMAND AND CONTROL FOR THE MAIN BODY; WHICH COULD BE AIRLIFTED BY HELICOPTER INTO AJDABIYA TO SECURE THE WESTERN APPROACH TO THE CITY.

AS A REMINDER, IT IS NEVER SOUND TACTICAL PROCEDURE TO HAVE A FULLY-EQUIPPED COMBAT UNIT SEQUESTERED AWAY ON A SHIP, FOR PLAIN COMMON SENSE, WHEN IT COULD BE JUST AS EASILY DEPLOYED INTO THE AREA OF OPERATIONS. ONE LUCKY SHOT FROM AN OUTDATED LIBYAN SUB, A TORPEDO FROM A FRIGATE OR A MISSILE FROM A COMBATTANTE II G CLASS FAST ATTACK CRAFT, COULD RESULT IN UNTOLD CASUALTIES, NOT TO MENTION THE TURMOIL CREATED IN THE COALITION/NATO FORCES. THIS IS NOT WORTH THE RISK. IF THE 26TH MEU IS NOT GOING TO DEPLOY, IT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE AREA OF OPERATIONS IN STANDOWN UNTIL THE MISSION TO USE THE UNIT IS MORE CLEARLY DEFINED.

RIGHT NOW, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE AS THE LIBYAN BRIGADES BEAR DOWN ON BENGHAZI; ACTION WILL NEED TO BE TAKEN.

END OF REPORT:
DISTR: CC, AC, G2, G3, G4..

CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

BZP10

2011-04-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

Friday, April 1, 2011AJDABIYA: ASSESSMENT; ORDER OF BATTLE

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

02APRIL20110000Z
TO: NATO, USDOD, UKMOD, UNSC, OP UNIFIED PROTECTOR
FROM: BZP007//IIIMAF HQ
SUBJ: AJDABIYA: ASSESSMENT; ORDER OF BATTLE

ADVANCE COLUMNS OF LIBYAN "BATTLEWAGONS" MOVING EAST ALONG COAST HIGHWAY UNDER ARTILLERY COVER FROM GUNBOATS ALONG THE SHORELINE; MOVING TOWARD AJDABIYA.

MAIN COLUMNS OF LIBYAN REGULARS, EST. 10,000, BEHIND THE ADVANCING BATTLEWAGON SPEARHEAD. BRINGING UP THE REAR, AN ADDITIONAL EST. 10,000 AFRICAN MERCENARIES, ALSO ON THE MARCH. NO INDICATIONS OF UNITS, DETACHMENTS, BRIGADE COMMAND STRUCTURE. RADIOS ARE SILENT, HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DETERMINE WHICH UNITS OF THE LIBYAN ARMY ARE IN THE COLUMNS.

IN OPPOSITION AND HUNKERED DOWN IN UNDERMANNED AND HASTILY CONSTRUCTED DEFENSIVE POSITIONS AT WESTERN ENTRANCE TO AJDABIYA, ONE SUMMARY "DIVISION" LIBYAN NATIONAL ARMY, STRENGTH UNDETERMINED. APPEAR TO BE BETTER ORGANIZED THAN PREVIOUS REBEL RAGTAG CONTINGENTS THAT HAVE BEEN ADVANCING AND RETREATING BACK AND FORTH FROM BREGA TO AJDABIYA ALL LAST WEEK. WEAPONS MARGINAL AND PROBABLY NO MATCH FOR SUPERIOR ADVANCING LIBYAN LOYAL FORCES FROM THE WEST.

END OF REPORT
DISTR.: DD, OD, G2, G3, G4, ET..

CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

BZP009

2011-04-10T18:28:00.002-07:00

Diagram of the Rebel Forces chain of command as of Friday, April 01, 2011

COMMAND:

Abdul Fatah Younis, Libyan interior minister, now commanding the rebel army (Source and photo above: BBC/Reuters)
Khalifa Haftar, the former head of the armed forces. (Source: BBC) Associated with the Libyan National Army, veteran of Chad campaign.
Major Mohammad Mufta, who had a 17-year career in the army: "The biggest thing we need is organisation and discipline. To us that is more important than weapons." (Source: Telegraph UK)
Air Force Major Jalid al-Libie,
"We are reorganising our ranks. We have formed our first brigade. It is entirely formed from ex-military defectors and people who’ve come back from retirement," (Source: Reuters, 03 April 2011)
Ali el-Assawi, TNC foreign policy director, "There’s a delay in reacting and lack of response to what’s going on on the ground," response to NATO assuming command of air ops. (Source: NY Times, 04 April 2011)

BZP008

2011-04-10T18:28:00.001-07:00

Thursday, March 31, 2011Libyan Military Using Serb Tactics
Reading Eagle, Mar 26, 1999
Showdown Over Kosovo
WASHINGTON (Knight Ridder)--While NATO's nightly air attacks are clearly damaging Yugoslavia's military establishment, experts say clever tactics by the Serbs could turn the assault into a long punishing slog for America and its allies.
In fact, by hiding anti-aircraft missiles, dispersing troops and attacking ethnic Albanians with small unit assaults, Yugoslav President Slobodon Milisevic could continue to pursue his bloody goals in Kosovo despite the airstrikes.
The Serbs are applying lessons gleaned from the Persian Gulf War and the 1995 American air assault on Bosnia.
By not turning on their air defense radars on the opening night of the airstrikes, the Serbs avoided giving away their positions and frequencies of their air defenses and preserved their deadliest surface-to-air missiles for later attacks on more vulnerable American planes.
American warplanes home in on enemy air defense radars and use them to guide anti-radiation missiles to their targets. By dispersing troops in Kosovo and elsewhere and maintaining radio silence, the Serbs also have provided fewer attractive targets for U.S. bombs and cruise missiles.

New York Times, April 11, 1999
THE LOST WARPLANE;
By ERIC SCHMITT
WASHINGTON-- Air Force investigators now believe that Yugoslavia jury-rigged its system of radars and communications to shoot down an F-117 stealth fighter two weeks ago, and as part of an accelerated air campaign Pentagon officials are sending forces that could help avoid a similar incident.
The culprit, they believe, is an SA-3 surface-to-air missile. But it probably was not used in the normal fashion, with its operators relying on their own local radars to detect the target, which leaves them vulnerable to NATO fighters that can home in on the radar beams.
Instead, Air Force and other military officials now believe that spotters in Serbia, and perhaps in Bosnia and along the Montenegrin coast, may have patched together enough quick glimpses of the warplane from scattered radars to track the elusive aircraft, however briefly, and to fire a missile at it from a battery near Belgrade.

BZP007

2011-04-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

BENGHAZI: AIRSTRIKE ASSESSMENT

01APRIL20110000Z
TO: AFRICOM, NATO, UNSC,
FROM:BGZP001/IIIMAF68 HQ

CLASSIFIED: SECRET --EYES ONLY

BENGHAZI: INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF RAID ON LIBYAN REGULAR FORCES SITUATED 35 KM (20 MI) SOUTH OF BENGHAZI ON 20MARCH2011; AT LEAST SEVEN T-72 TYPE RUSSIAN TANKS DESTROYED BY COALITION AIRSTRIKES; INCLUDING AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF SUPPORT VEHICLES, SMALL PICKUP TRUCKS, ARTILLERY PIECES. STRIKE LED BY COALITION AIRCRAFT, MAINLY FRENCH.
CASUALTIES UNKNOWN; NO EXACT NUMBERS OF KIA OR MIA REPORTED AS THE AREA, INSTEAD OF BEING CORDONED OFF BY REBEL MILITIA; BECAME A PHOTO SESSION FOR SIGHTSEERS AND BODIES WERE STACKED AND REMOVED; DOCUMENTS AND INSIGNIAS WERE NOT ACCOUNTED FOR, NO MAPS HAVE BEEN APPARENTLY RETRIEVED.
THERE IS ALSO NO INDICATION OF ANY PRISONERS TAKEN; ANY SURVIVORS OF THE APPARENT SURPRISE ATTACK ON THE ENCAMPMENT BLENDED INTO THE BACKGROUND OF SIGHTSEERS AND SOUVENIR HUNTERS THAT ENSUED.

IT IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IN THE FUTURE TO MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO SECURE A TACTICAL SITE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, KEEP ALL PHOTO SEEKERS, JOURNALISTS, LOCALS AND SIGHTSEERS CLEAR OF THE AREA UNTIL A COMPETENT MILITARY EVALUATION TEAM CAN ASSESS THE EXTENT OF THE MISSION, TO ACCOUNT FOR ALL ENEMY KIA AND WIA, AND TO TAKE ANY PRISONERS FOR INTERROGATION IF POSSIBLE. ALL SOUVENIRS, PATCHES, INSIGNIAS AND WEAPONS NEED BE CONFISCATED FROM SOUVENIR HUNTERS AND TURNED OVER TO INTELLIGENCE FOR EXAMINATION. THIS PARTICULAR INCIDENT IS A CLEAR INDICATION OF WHAT NOT TO DO FOLLOWING A TACTICAL STRIKE THAT MAY HAVE PROVIDED VALUABLE INFORMATION OF THE FUTURE BEHAVIOUR OF THE ENEMY.

END OF REPORT

DISTR. CHANNELS, ET, INCL. G-2, G-3, G4

CLASSIFIED: SECRET-- EYES ONLY

BZP006

2011-04-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

CIA-Libya Leak Investigation:
The news about the Central Intelligence Agency's current involvement in Libya can be traced to Iran's Press TV. A Google news search of the dates in the window 3/28/2011-3/29/2011 initially makes no mention at all of CIA operatives in Libya and news reports (McClatchy) only mentions Khalifa Hifter of the Libyan National Army AKA the Libyan National Salvation Front (LNSF). These reports followed stories in Al Jazeera and the UK Daily Mail; and looking back on previous headlines about the Libyan National Army and involvement in Chad, the articles are vague and unconvincing, with the same allegations about CIA involvement. Below is excerpt from the Press TV interview:

Press TV (Iranian), March 28, 2011
'West owns Libya opposition'

Interview with author and political commentator Ralph Schoenman.

SCHOENMAN: "Stratford (STRATFOR) Global Intelligence confirmed that 100 Egyptian commandos have been in control of opposition forces since early March at Washington's behest. The UK SAS, US Special Forces and CIA operatives have been there according to Stratford for months."

For lack of any better place to look for a brief bio of Ralph Schoenman, here is the Wikipedia capsule:

Ralph Schoenman (born 1935) is an American left-wing activist who was a personal secretary to Bertrand Russell and became general secretary of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. He was involved in a number of projects supported by Russell, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and an unofficial war crimes tribunal to try American leaders for their conduct in the Vietnam War. Russell broke with Schoenman not long before Russell's death.

Schoenman's credentials are dubious at best and it is not unusual for these types to surface when war breaks out, we saw this in the outbreak of hostilities in Iraq (Ramsey Clark). As for "STRATFOR Global Intelligence", its sources are as dubious as Schoenman's and it is no surprise that he quotes them; their articles are not always accurate and even tend to leave out critical details.

SCHOENMAN: "An Israeli news website confirmed that indeed these forces had been there at the request of the US intelligence services to dictate control over the opposition movement and to impose spokespeople on it."

Fielding a guess that would probably prove correct, Schoenman's "Israeli news website" would be DEBKAfile: "We start where the media stop"; more like a political tabloid rag with credentials a cut or two below STRATFOR.

The next Google news search range: 3/29/2011-3/30/2011, the CIA in Libya story breaks:

Washington Post, March 30, 2011
CIA gathering intelligence on rebels
By KAREN DE YOUNG and GREG MILLER
"The Obama administration has sent teams of CIA operatives into Libya in a rush to gather intelligence on the identities and capabilities of rebel forces opposed to Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi, according to U.S. officials."

New York Times, March 30, 2011
Agents in Libya Aid Airstrikes
By MARK MAZZETTI and ERIC SCHMITT
"WASHINGTON — The Central Intelligence Agency has inserted clandestine operatives into Libya to gather intelligence for military airstrikes and to contact and vet the beleaguered rebels battling Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi’s forces, according to American officials."

Most of the other mainstream news agencies report similar headings, with un-named American officials as their source. These un-named officials, for lack of a better description, are Ralph Schoenman, Iranian Press TV, DEBKAfile, and STRATFOR.
This does NOT rule out the possibility of CIA operatives in Libya; if indeed, the mainstream media found officials willing to verify the presence of the operatives, there is no telling where they got their information. There are dozens of these so-called experts on talk shows all day long, most of whom may have worked at one time for US intelligence but are no longer associated with them, so they speculate on past experience and it is taken for fact.

BZP005

2011-04-10T18:25:00.002-07:00

Wednesday, March 30, 2011The Libyan National Army
The Union Democrat, May 17, 1991

Libyans Given Refuge in U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP)--About 350 U.S. trained Libyan guerrillas have been brought to the United States to protect them from the wrath of Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, the State Department said today.
Confirming a report by The Associated Press, spokesman Richard Boucher said the members of an anti-Gadhafi organization he identified as the Libyan National Army were flown to New York yesterday from their temporary shelter in Kenya.
The spokesman said the former Libyan soldiers, who originally were taken prisoners in the African country of Chad and refused to return to their homeland, have been granted refugee status in the United States. The government provides education, training, health benefits and cash payments to help resettle those it classifies as refugees.
Boucher said the ex-soldiers have been dispatched "to various destinations around the United States." but he refused to say where where they were sent, nor would he identify the local sponsors the government has arranged to help.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Prescott Courier, May 19, 1991
Libyans Trained to Fight Ghadafi Now in U.S.

WASHINGTON (AP)--Some apparently were to be settled in New York City and in Phoenix, according to local groups working in conjunction with the State Department.
The Phoenix director of the Tolstoy Foundation, David Lockey, said the men being sent there were mainly mechanics and pilots, mostly high school graduates in their 30s.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sydney Morning Herald, April 18, 1986
CIA Role to Subvert Libyan Regime
By IAN BLACK, PETER MURTAGH and LESLIE GELB
WASHINGTON--Apart from opposition from within Colonel Gaddafi's armed forces--and no bid to overthrow him could succeed without tacit support from the army---the main groups plotting his downfall are based outside outside Libya, though one, the National Front for the Salvation of Libya, attempts to maintain a military wing inside the country.
The NFSL is believed to be favoured by the CIA, and is also supported by Saudi Arabia. It is led by Mr. Muhammad Magarieff, who was head of the Libyan State Controller's Commission from 1972 to 1977.
He plots against Colonel Gaddafi from a base in Iraq (where another anti-Gaddafi group, the Libyan National Movement headed by Mr. Omran Burweis, is also based), and maintains close links with the Numeiri regime in the Sudan.
The NFSL led an abortive coup near Colonel Gaddafi's barracks in May 1984.
Little is known of two other opposition groups inside Libya. One is named the April the Seventh Movement, in honour of rebels executed by Colonel Gaddafi in 1977. The other is the Revolutionary Council of the Prophet of God.
Some of those who continue to oppose Colonel Gaddafi are based in Britain. There is the Libyan Constitutional Union, which was founded in Manchester in 1981. It is led by Mr. Mohammed Bengalboum. Two years ago, Colonel Gaddafi's hit men bombed a house in Manchester they believe was occupied by Mr. Bengalboum.
There is also a pretender to the throne of King Sanussi, who died in Cairo in 1983. He is Prince Hassan Tida Sanussi, under house arrest in Tripoli.
Another man who could figure in the future is Mr. Mahmoud Magherbi, Colonel Gaddafi's first Prime Minister after the 1969 coup.

BZP004

2011-04-10T18:25:00.001-07:00

LIBYA: Senate Draft Resolution; Military Intervention
(NOTE: This draft is not associated with the US Senate but merely an example of what the resolution may look like:)

DRAFT RESOLUTION:

US Senate Resolution XX, April xx, 2011

AUTHORIZING MILITARY INTERVENTION IN LIBYA--
(Senate April xx, 2011)--{Page S0000} GPO's PDF

The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

S. Res. xx

Whereas the Libyan government has failed to abide by the primary directive of the UN Security Council resolution 1973 (2011); which calls for an immediate cease fire;

Whereas the Libyan government continues to launch military strikes at and against the people of Libya in particular the eastern provinces;

Whereas the Libyan government has repeatedly denied certain cities the necessities of food, shelter, water and other requirements for survival;

Whereas the President of the United States has made it exceedingly clear that Moammar Ghadaffi needs to step down from power and allow democracy to develop in Libya;

Resolved that the Senate--

(1) supports the people of Libya in their resolve to seek a democratic government to replace the autocratic dictatorship that has ruled Libya for 42 years;

(2) supports all actions of NATO for enforcement of a no-fly and weapons embargo zone, with respect to the UN Security Council mandate under Resolution 1973 (2011);

(3) fully supports the President of the United States in his duty to deploy American military assets in order to assist NATO in its mission to execute the mandate of the UN Security Council calling for a no-fly zone and weapons-embargo in Libya;

(4) suggests the possibility of providing rebel forces opposing the Ghadaffi regime with light weapons to better assist in the defense of their objectives on the ground, with full understanding that the forces will need to be trained by qualified military personnel either in-country or a suitable neutral area in the proper use of the weapons;

(5) requires the Libyan rebel forces to be held accountable for all weaponry provided them, in case of retreat in the face of overwhelming odds, to remove or destroy the provided weapons;

(6) to further consider the possibility of providing technical assistance in the form of military advisors in-country should the need arise and only under very strict criteria, for a limited time and under Congressional approval separate from this resolution;

(7) advises that the President of the United States keep Congress informed under the requirements of the War Powers Resolution as to the status quo of the military operations in Libya on a regular basis.

BZP003

2011-04-10T18:24:00.001-07:00

BZP002

2011-04-10T18:23:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, March 23, 2011Dustbin of History Revisited:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This isn't the first time Libyan leadership has relegated the United States and the West to the proverbial "Dustbin of History:, here is an article from the UK Telegraph, 1987:

The Telegraph, Feb 24, 1987
Libyan News Agency Says U.S Relegated to 'Dustbin of History'

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP)--Libya's official news agency said Monday that Libya has emerged victorious from last year's air raids while the U.S. government has been embroiled in political scandals and relegated to the "dustbin of history."

JANA agency ran a lengthy anti-American commentary by its domestic affairs editor in response to a report Sunday in The New York Times Magazine that said the April 1986 raids were intended to kill Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi.
The aritcle, by Seymour Hersh, said the attempt failed because guidance systems on some bombers did not work.
JANA said Hersh's article confirmed that U.S. policy-makers behave like "highwaymen and outlaws."
"Their efforts were in vain and the will of justice was victorious," the commentary said. "Moammar Ghadafi remained the leader of the great Libyan revolution..
"The great Libyan revolution and its leader came out victorious...and the enemies are crushed and end in the dustbin of history chased by curses and the smell of defeat."

BZP001

2011-04-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

Odyssey Dawn: Ground Operations Prelude

If history shows anything, it is that air operations are always a prelude to ground operations. In Vietnam this was especially true; the first aircraft were deployed in South Vietnam almost immediately following the Gulf of Tonkin Incident and subsequent resolution in 1964; followed in the coming months by massive troop deployments.

In the Balkans, there were already UN peacekeeping forces on the ground before the no-fly zone was established but this was followed later by NATO forces in Kosovo.

Also true in Iraq at the outset of the Gulf War, a major air assault was followed by ground troops in a shock and awe campaign that drove the Iraqi army from the border at Kuwait back to the streets of Baghdad in a matter of days.

Now again, we are faced with the same tactical maneuver; never mind who's in charge, be it the United States, Great Britain, France, the United Nations or NATO, the principle is still the same.

The war will expand when the humanitarian objective is not achieved by air superiority alone and eventually ground forces will be introduced. If anything, the Obama handoff of command will only facilitate the ground troop involvement either by UN peacekeepers or NATO in Libya.

DC005

2011-04-10T18:12:00.001-07:00

DECONFLICTION

GENERAL CARTER HAM, AFRICOM COMMANDER

The number one question tonight on everyone's mind is just who exactly is in charge of the campaign currently underway against the Libyan regime.

Earlier, on CNN's Wolf Blitzer, the AFRICOM commander, General Carter Ham, when asked of his mission, stated a threefold purpose: arms embargo, no-fly zone and protect civilians. Blitzer pressed the point that the Obama administration wants the end of the Khadaffi regime and asked General Ham how he was to go about reaching this goal. The General replied that it was not through military means and he has not been given the order to remove Khadaffi; it would have to be done through sanctions and by diplomatic efforts; as well as have the dictator's own people turn against him.

Today, NATO announced it will assume command of the no-fly operation, much to the disagreement of France. The United States, with Congress due to reconvene on Monday, is under pressure to be relieved of duty in its current leadership capacity, or the White House will face almost certain loud criticism of what the mission is in Libya.
There are three arguments from Congress here: how to pay for the mission, going into conflict without Congressional approval, and above all, taking orders from somebody else, not the U.S. command structure, the Pentagon.

France has been going its own way from the beginning, initially recognizing the so-called "Transitional National Council" as the new government of Libya, an ad-hoc self-elected committee made up of former regime loyalists and the Benghazi intellectually elite. Under its command are defected regular Libyan army units, teenagers and anybody else who went out to the front lines to throw stones at the advancing Libyan juggernaut. At first, great progress was made, the rebels took several cities before being strafed by Libyan jets and bracketed by Libyan artillery, forcing a rapid retreat.

This gave the UN Security Council just enough time to pass Resolution 1973 (2011), a more forceful document than Resolution 1970 (2011) which directed most of its rhetoric toward sanctions and condemnations. France paved the way with Lebanon to get the necessary votes that called for "necessary means" to halt civilian casualties; which ultimately meant the destruction of Libyan air-capability.

However, it went to such a radical degree on the very first day of enforcement, with the launch of over 120 cruise missiles, that even the Arab League, which called for a no-fly zone, stood up and criticized the "necessary means." In the end, it was Turkey that put on the most pressure, directed at France, using maritime leverage, with assets needed to enforce the arms-embargo, that forced NATO's hand, in combination to the desire of the United States to hand over leadership of Odyssey Dawn.

That's where it stands tonight. All of this means that there are now two separate commands; the Coalition, led by France; and NATO, led by NATO, France included, with Turkey shadowing French Mirage jets as they swoop down to blast more of Khadaffi's tanks into smoldering ruins.

If this command SNAFU continues, there is the possibility that standoffs in the sky between Coalition jets against NATO jets could well arise until the actual lines of battle are drawn on the aeronautical charts; the word used to describe the current mess: DECONFLICTION.

DC005

2011-04-10T18:11:00.002-07:00

Friday, March 25, 2011Deconfliction and the Vietnam Air Command

Generals Greene, Cushman and Westmoreland

General Momyer, USAF

Handoff of the Libyan No-Fly Zone command is far more complicated than what is being given to the press by NATO, the White House and the Allies. For example, the ongoing fight between the Marine Corps and the Air Force in Vietnam in 1968 as to who should control air operations is clearly seen in the below declassified document:

DECLASSIFIED FROM SECRET

200148Z FEB 68
FM CG III MAF
TO CG FMFPAC

SECRET MARINE CORPS EYES ONLY
FOLLOWING MESSAGE SENT TO GENERAL WESTMORELAND, INFO GEN MOMYER (USAF), FROM LTGEN CUSHMAN
REF (A) YOUR 191147Z FEB68

1. IN RESPONSE TO REF (A), GENERAL MOMYER AND I MET THIS DATE AT III MAF HQTRS. GENERAL MOMYER PRESENTED HIS PROPOSED I CORPS ORGANIZATION FOR AIR REQUEST AND CONTROL. AS A RESULT OF THIS BRIEFING, SEVERAL POINTS HAVE BEEN RAISED IN MY MIND:

A. FIRST, THE PROPOSED ORGANIZATION FOR COMBAT IN THE I CORPS TACTICAL ZONE. IN THE PRESENTATION OF GENERAL MOMYER'S, THERE WAS A PROVISIONAL CORPS B NORTH AND AN I CORPS SOUTH, WITH PARALLEL AIR REQUEST AND CONTROL ORGANIZATIONS. THERE WAS NO INDICATION AS TO WHETHER THERE WOULD BE A COMMON SUPERIOR TO PROVISIONAL B NORTH, AND I CORPS SOUTH, OR WHETHER, AS YOU HAVE STATED TO ME, I WOULD FUNCTION AT THE FIELD ARMY COMMANDER LEVEL AND THE PROVISIONAL CORPS WOULD BE UNDER MY OPCON. IN ORDER TO DETERMINE THE PROPER AIR REQUEST AND CONTROL ARRANGEMENTS, IT IS NECESSARY THAT THE EXACT ORGANIZATION FOR COMBAT BE ESTABLISHED.

B. UNDER THE PROPOSED ORGANIZATION, THE TACC AT SAIGON WOULD FRAG ALL AIRCRAFT OPERATING IN VIETNAM. UNDER EXISTING MARINE CORPS DOCTRINE, THE SENIOR MARINE CORPS COMMANDER POSSESS THE AUTHORITY TO FRAG ALL AIRCRAFT THAT ARE INTEGRAL TO THE MARINE CORPS COMBAT ELEMENTS. IT IS MY DESIRE THAT ANY SYSTEM ENSURE CONTINUANCE OF THIS HIGHLY DESIRABLE PRACTICE OF FRAGGING MARINE CORPS AIRCRAFT. UNDER THE PROPOSED SYSTEM, AT LEAST TWO LEVELS OF APPROVING AUTHORITY WOULD BE SUPERIMPOSED OVER MY PRESENT SYSTEM. NATURALLY, RESPONSIVENESS TO FRAGGING PRE-PLANNED MISSIONS WOULD SUFFER. DURING OUR DISCUSSION, IT WAS CONTENTED THAT THE MARINE CORPS REQUESTS FOR AIR SUPPORT WOULD RARELY BE CHANGED BY THE 7TH AF; IT WAS POSTULATED THAT THIS WOULD OCCUR ON THE ORDER OF ONCE A MONTH. ACCORDINGLY, TO INSIST UPON A MORE COMPLICATED REQUEST SYSTEM FOR THE EXCEPTION, RATHER THAN THE RULE, APPEARS TO BE NEITHER NOR DESIRABLE.

C. UNDER ANY ARRANGEMENTS, IT IS AXIOMATIC THAT THE GROUND COMMANDER BE THE DETERMINING INDIVIDUAL AS TO WHICH SUPPORTING ARM-ARTILLERY, AIR, OR NAVAL GUNFIRE, WILL BE DELIVERED IN HIS AREA. I, AS THE GROUND COMMANDER, MUST POSSESS THE FINAL CHOICE IN WHETHER I WANT TO SHUT OFF ARTILLERY, AIR, OR NAVAL GUNFIRE AT ANY PARTICULAR MOMENT DURING THE BATTLE.

D. THE MARINE CORPS, BY STATUTE, PROVIDES FLEET MARINE FORCES OF COMBINED ARMS, TOGETHER WITH SUPPORTING AIR COMPONENTS. OUR DIVISIONS AND AIR WINGS ARE ORGANIZED FOR COMBAT INTO AIR/GROUND TEAMS, AND THE FIXED-WING SQUADRONS ARE DESIGNED TO PROVIDE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF SORTIES FOR EACH MARINE BATTALION. TO FOLLOW THE SYSTEM PROPOSED BY GENERAL MOMYER WOULD, IN EFFECT, DILUTE THE NUMBER OF SORTIES REQUIRED FOR THE SUPPORT OF EACH MARINE BATTALION. ON THE OTHER HAND, THE INTEGRAL AIR SUPPORT OF THE U. S. ARMY IS UNTOUCHED. UNDER THE PROPOSAL, HELICOPTERS ARE NOT AFFECTED. AS YOU KNOW, THE ARMY ORGANIZATION INCLUDES HUEY GUNSHIPS, HUEYS ARMED WITH A.R.A., HUEY COBRAS, AND IN THE NEAR FUTURE, THE ADVANCED AERIAL FIRE SUPPORT SYSTEM. ACCORDINGLY, THE ARMY COMMANDER RETAINS THE CONSIDERABLE FIRE POWER OVER WHICH HE HAS DIRECT CONTROL, AND WITH WHICH HE CAN INFLUENCE THE TIDE OF BATTLE. UNDER THE PROPOSED SYSTEM, THESE ASSETS WOULD BE UNTOUCHED, WHEREAS THE FIXED-WING OF THE MARINE AIR/GROUND TEAM THAT PERFORMS SIMILAR MISSIONS IN SUPPORT OF MARINE GROUND SERVICES WOULD BE PLACED UNDER THE MISSION CONTROL OF ANOTHER SERVICE.

2. IN MY OPINION, THE PROCEDURES OUTLINED IN YOUR DIRECTIVE 95-4 PROVIDE YOU THE FLEXIBILITY NEEDED TO MARSHALL ALL AVAILABLE AIR ASSETS IN MACV, IN THE EVENT OF A MAJOR EMERGENCY OR DISASTER. IN QUESTIONING GENERAL MOMYER, I WAS UNABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THERE HAD BEEN DISSATISFACTION OF THE PART OF THE GROUND UNIT COMMANDERS WITH RESPECT TO THE AIR SUPPORT BEING PROVIDED IN I CORPS. CONSEQUENTLY, IT IS MY OPINION THAT THERE IS NO COMPELLING REASON FOR CHANGING A SYSTEM THAT IS PRESENTLY WORKING WELL. ALTHOUGH NOT ACTIVELY ADVOCATING THE FOLLOWING PROPOSAL, I BELIEVE IT COULD VERY WELL SATISFY YOUR DESIRE FOR HAVING A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL YOU COULD HOLD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE AIR EFFORT IN I CORPS. AS YOUR PRINCIPAL GROUND COMMANDER, I ALSO POSSESS CONSIDERABLE ASSETS, AND IN MY OPINION, THE FINEST AIR CONTROL SYSTEM EXISTING IN THE WORLD TODAY. IF YOU WISH, I COULD ASSUME THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR CONTROL AND COORDINATION OF THE ENTIRE AIR EFFORT IN THE I CORPS TACTICAL ZONE AND BE THE SINGLE INDIVIDUAL YOU COULD HOLD RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENTIRE U.S. MILITARY EFFORT IN THE I CORPS TACTICAL ZONE. IN THIS REGARD, THE MANY NAVY CARRIER SORTIES COULD EASILY BE ASSIMILIATED AND CONTROLLED BY MY AIR CONTROL SYSTEM, AS BOTH OUR SERVICES USE THE SAME SYSTEM THAT HAS BEEN PROVEN SO SUCCESSFUL IN PAST AMPHIBIOUS COMBAT OPERATIONS.

3. ALTHOUGH THE BRIEFING CONDUCTED BY GENERAL MOMYER WAS WELL DONE, SEVERAL POINTS OTHER THAN THOSE OUTLINED ABOVE WERE RAISED BY ME OR MY STAFF. AS A RESULT, I HAVE ASKED GENERAL MOMYER TO PROVIDE ME THE DRAFT PLAN THAT YOU INTEND SUBMITTING TO CINCPAC FOR APPROVAL, WHICH HE PROMISED TO DO. I CAN ASSURE YOU THAT UPON RECEIPT, IT WILL RECEIVE MY IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

4. WARM REGARDS.
GP-4
UNQUOTE

DECLASSIFIED FROM SECRET

DC004

2011-04-10T18:11:00.001-07:00

Libya and the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Congress Had No Vote on Going to War.

Congressional members certainly have an historic precedent to challenge the decision by the Obama administration to go ahead full-speed on the bombing campaign over Libya in order to secure a no-fly zone.

In late summer, 1964, two United States communications ships were attacked by North Vietnamese patrol boats in international waters off of North Vietnam. The ensuing events in the halls of Congress led to the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution of 1964 which paved the way for American involvement in the Vietnam War. The Resolution was passed with little debate and under enormous pressure from the LBJ White House.
It wasn't until Tet, 1968 and the city of Hue and the American outpost at Khe Sanh were under full siege, that Congress began an investigation into what prompted the US involvement in Vietnam; these were known as the Fulbright Hearings in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

With Secretary of Defense McNamara and Joint Chiefs General Wheeler in testimony, the committee explored every message, transmission, debriefing and conversation made leading up to the passage of the Resolution, which came just days after the actual incidents. The startling conclusion was that there may have never been a second attack on the USS Maddox and Turner Joy at all and even the commanders of the task force urged caution and time to sort out the details before making any rash decisions on how to proceed.

Forty three years later, the US Congress finds itself on the sidelines as the White House calls in airstrikes over Libya to dismantle the air defenses to secure the no-fly zone. Nobody knows how the command was given, at least not in Congress. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and John Kerry (D-MA) both on vital foreign military committees, took hawkish stands to act immediately. Both are decorated Vietnam veterans and should have done their homework on the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution before allowing the Obama administration a free hand in the airstrike decision process. Other Senators are now coming to the front, quite upset about the fact Congress was not consulted at all in the matter. In the meantime, the Obama team plans to pass off command of Odyssey Dawn to NATO; another extra-Congressional entity that somehow has the authority to make war without US Congressional approval. That is where we stand with the loss of one aircraft tonight.
(Photos of Senators McCain and Kerry during Vietnam Tour of Duty)

DC003

2011-04-10T18:10:00.002-07:00

Javits Introduces War Powers Bill

Senator Jacob Javits
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bonham Daily Favorite, Jan 18, 1973
Bill Would Limit President's Power
WASHINGTON (UPI)--Sen. Jacob K. Javits, R-N.Y., said today that a "majority of the Senate" is sponsoring his bill to limit presidential war powers by requiring congressional approval of any U.S. military action beyond 30 days.
Javits said the bill would permit the President to deploy troops for diplomatic purposes, but would require him to withdraw them within 30 days unless Congress approved deployment for a longer duration.
"The majority of the Senate is now sponsoring this bill." said Javits. The bill was introduced in the last Congress as the War Powers Act. It cleared the Senate last April, 68-16, but died in the House.
Sen. John Tower, R-Tex., said he opposed the bill because it would be "a serious proscription on the President in deployment of troops in the field of foreign policy."
But Javits in a television interview, NBC-Today, said Sen. John C. Stennis, D-Miss., was one of the sponsors and Stennis "certainly isn't trying to tie the hands of the President."
Javits said the measure may be Congress' last chance to reassert its constitutional power to declare war.
"Unless Congress succeeds in reasserting its war powers," Javits said in a prepared Senate speech, "...I do not see how it can prevent the further erosion of its powers and jeopardize freedom itself."
Javits said the proposal was designed "to end the practice of presidential war and thus to prevent future Vietnams."
(Photo courtesy museumplanet)

DC002

2011-04-10T18:10:00.001-07:00

Nixon Vetoes War Powers Bill

President Nixon
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anchorage Daily News, Oct 26, 1973
War Powers Bill Vetoed
WASHINGTON (AP)--President Nixon vetoed the war powers resolution Wednesday saying it was unconstitutional and "would seriously undermine this nation's ability to act decisively and convincingly in times of international crisis."
The measure would have barred the president from committing U.S. forces to combat for more than 60 days without specific approval from Congress.
Exercising his ninth veto of the year, Nixon said he would "welcome the establishment of a nonpartisan commission on the constitutional roles of the Congress and the president in the conduct of foreign affars."
And he labeled as constructive a proviso of the vetoed legislation that calls for consultation with Congress before and during the involvement of U.S. forces in hostilities abroad.
Nixon's objections, however, were overriding. He argued the measure "would purport to take away, by a mere legislative act, authorities which the president has properly exercised under the Constitution for almost 200 years."
"The only way in which constitutional powers of a branch of government can be altered is by amending the Constitution--and any attempt to make such alterations by legislation alone is clearly without force."
The President said a veto message would be warranted solely on constitutional grounds but added that "he was deeply disturbed by the practical consequences of this resolution."
He stated it would undermine the ability to act decisively in a time of crisis.
Nixon said "our recent actions to bring about a peaceful settlement of the hostilities in the Middle East would have been seriously impaired if this resolution had been in force."
(Photo courtesy visitingdc)

DC001

2011-04-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, March 29, 2011Congress Overrides War Powers Veto
The Toldeo Blade, Nov 8, 1973
Approves Bill Curbing Use of Combat Troops
WASHINGTON (AP)--Congress Wednesday enacted, over President Nixon's veto, a bill limiting the power of the president to wage undeclared war.
Backers of the war-powers measure, first introduced three years ago, attributed the vote to overwhelming support in the wake of the Vietnam War.
More Than Needed
The House voted 284 to 135, to override, four more than the two-thirds needed.
The Senate, completed the action by 75 to 18, or 13 more than required.
In the House, 86 Republicans voted to override and 103 were against. Among Democrats, 198 were for and 32 against overriding.
In the Senate, 25 Republicans voted against the President's position and 15 supported it. Fifty Democrats voted for overriding and three against.
Sen. Jacob Javits (R-N.Y.), leader of the Senate backers of the bill, denied that the bill changed the constitutional powers of either the president or the Congress, but simply provided "a methodology" by which the president and Congress can concur in war-making decisions.

UP003

2011-04-10T18:02:00.001-07:00

NATO task-force commanders have admitted it will be difficult to enforce an arms embargo across the coastal waters of Libya in part because of the length of the shoreline; secondly, because the ships will be confined to international waters. Libya's territorial waters extend out twelve miles and with over 500 miles of coastline, that is an area of 6000 square miles alone where no NATO ships will be present. The overall patrol area will extend much farther to the north and even with twenty ships and a number of reconnaissance aircraft, bad weather will dictate just how successful the interdiction operation will be.

Anatomy of a Blockade Runner:
From the diagram above, the contraband ship can either sail directly into and across the no-arms transport zone, or simply hug the coast from Tunisia until in a position in Libyan territorial waters where it is met by a flotilla of fishing trawlers that offload the weapons and ammunition and transport the cargo to truck convoys located at secret harbors and ports along the Libyan coastline; not under the control of rebel forces or considered targets for no-fly zone aircraft from above.

UP002

2011-04-10T18:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday, March 31, 2011ODYSSEY DOWN

01APRIL2011
TO: NATO, AFRICOM, CENTCOM, DOD, UKMI6
FROM: BZP007/IIIMAF68 HQ:
SUBJ: ODYSSEY DAWN ASSESSMENT
CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

For whatever it was worth, the March 19-20 "shock and awe" campaign to knock down so-called "Libyan Air Defenses" was considered a success to the point that a few days later, British Vice-Air Marshall Greg Bagwell stated the coalition could fly with "impunity" over Libyan airspace, and the Libyan Air Force no longer existed as a fighting force. However, when compared to the superior strength of the Coalition, AKA NATO, the Libyan Air Force never did exist, except as a tool to strafe and bomb civilians in the rebel-held eastern cities.

In fact, during the Chad intervention by Libya, Libyan pilots refused to fly against the superior French Air Force; so to make this look like some big, impossible task that required the expenditure of top-dollar cruise missiles, almost all from the United States, seemed like overkill and probably was.
With no current photographic proof of actual bomb damage, a clear assessment as to the degree of degradation of the air defense system is generally taking the word of commanders involved in the campaign. The Odyssey Dawn command has released very little actual bomb damage information, other than the number of sorties flown and some of the ordnance expended.

Quite abruptly, the air campaign came to a standown while the deconfliction of command between the Coalition and NATO worked itself out; this beset by what has been described as inclement weather, has brought the sortie total to hardly any missions at all.
In fact, the command strategy from the outset was mandated by the UN Resolution 1973 (2011) that allowed for an establishment of a no-fly zone. The purpose was to protect civilians, not to become engaged in an air-war dogfight with the Libyan Air Force over Benghazi. To protect civilians, not to supply air cover for the rebels' misguided, half-witted, ill-conceived offensives that had them moving to the rear more than moving forward.
The Libyan army has now adapted itself to lightweight armor and vehicles that make them impossible to distinguish from the rebels in the field and along the coastal highways. To provide close air support for the rebels now would be inviting disaster since the Libyan army still has small-SAM capabilities and mobile radar units, just as deadly, and even more so now that the Libyan Air Force does not have to engage NATO aircraft.

That is the bottom line why NATO will not risk air cover: The mission is not to provide air cover for the rebels misadventures but to protect civilians; and the threat of SAM assaults remains dangerously high.

END OF REPORT
CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY
DISTR.: CC, DD, OD, G2, G3, G4..

UP001

2011-04-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

07APRIL20111200Z
ATTN: NATO, US/DOD, UK/MOD, FR/MINGOUV, AFRICOM
FROM: BZP007/IIIMAF68HQ
SUBJ: LIBYAN AIRSTRIKE

CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY

Initially thought to be another friendly fire incident on rebel irregulars in the
field at the western approach to Ajdabiya, it is now believed the attack, which destroyed two Russian T-72 and one T-55 tank, parked on the western outskirts (30 miles SW Ajdabiya), which had been deployed by rebel command; was in fact, carried out by an enemy Libyan air force warplane. Also attacked was a bus carrying rebel irregulars, Casualties: KIA: 4 confirmed, 13 possible; WIA: undetermined, approx. 20.
(NOTE: Contrary to media reports which state the tank column was on the outskirts of Ajdabiya, other reports show it was 30 miles southwest of the city, which placed the column on eastern approach to Marsa Brega, possibly near the Technical University. See Map Above)

Intelligence regarding the armoured column is dubious at best. Some reports indicate that NATO had ordered a halt to the movement of the tanks and vehicles, which means that the rebel forces had either been in contact with no-fly command apparatus, or that it was reported by other operatives on the ground. How the Libyan government forces obtained information on the armoured column is also under scrutiny; either done by infiltrators or by intercept of radio communications. It is apparent that the intruder aircraft was aware of the location of the tanks.

Aircraft first thought to be NATO no-fly patrol; but later confirmed by TNC military spokesman Ahmad Bani to be Libyan SIAI-Marchetti SF-260 type; prop-driven single aircraft firing rockets; (NOTE: Libyan AF believed to have 120 Marchetti trainers converted to attack craft) apparently had penetrated NATO no-fly defenses because of bad weather and sandstorms, keeping NATO patrols grounded. It may have been a result of Libyan AF monitoring NATO aircraft patrol patterns and utilized this information to plan the attack; which would also indicate that Libyan radar may still be operational. Note that the takeoff-landing distance of the Marchetti is 1300-1600 feet; a very short runway; the plane may have been flown and staged at any nearby oilfield runway; and small enough (wingspan 27 feet) to be hidden in a warehouse. Marsa Brega has just such an airfield with hangers; the plane may have even been trucked in and assembled. (See Photo Below) Which means, theoretically, the SF-260 could have been in the air, over the target and completed its mission in less than half an hour.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uwgfcZ9-nyM/TZ5rzJe-EVI/AAAAAAAAAaM/wJ8bUJOTJo0/s400/tank002.bmp

Flight Global report dated 08 August 2007 indicates Libyan AF has SF-260 trainer converted to tactical aircraft; total from 1978, 240 SIAI Marchetti, original military model, supplied 60 complete aircraft and 180 kits to be assembled at Sebha AFB facility, southern Libya. SF-260ML later fitted with 660 lb. wing pylons for OP use in Chad.
__________________________PAGE 1 OF 2

The aircraft that attacked the opposition TNC tank column on the western approach to Ajdabiya was a Marchetti SF-260, according to TNC spokesman Bani. The aircraft, had it flown from Sebha AFB in southern Libya, a distance of approximately 500 miles, would, even at its top speed under 250 mph, have been in the air for over two hours before commencing the air strike. It is now a question of whether NATO AWACS planes detected the aircraft on its radar at all; or whether the plane was in the air for just a few minutes, probably taking off from a short nearby oilfield runway.

In order to deceive the AWACS radar in the zone, the aircraft might have used an IFF transponder that would alert the AWACS monitor of the aircraft type and origin; either that or the AWACS system was inadequate to carry out the coverage necessary.

TNC military commander Gen. Younes stated that a total of 20 tanks were in the column and that NATO had been apprised of the column's position all morning before the attack commenced approx. 10:30 AM local time. Younes also claims NATO has offered an apology when all the alliance offered was the guarantee of a complete investigation. In addition, NATO issued a rather vague statement that it will continue to strike targets that pose a threat to the civilian population; which might possibly include a rebel led column of 20 tanks.

Investigation ongoing:

END OF REPORT
DISTR.: CC, AB, G2, G3, G4, ET...

CLASSIFIED: EYES ONLY
______________________________________PAGE 2 OF 2

Oscar Night

2011-01-21T19:16:00.000-08:00

Before looking at the details of this latest twist to the case, back in March, the Academy Awards were held at the Kodak Theater
in Hollywood. The Boulevard was barricaded, there were chain link fences, concrete barriers, plainclothes security and about
500 LAPD patrol officers on standby in their bivouac at Hollywood High. Helicopters were on aerial patrols above the entire
midtown area of Hollywood. Everybody had a badge, cellphone or a walkie talkie; even some with legitimate badges couldn't
get past their own security.

There were tents for the celebrities since the weather called for rain. The streets behind the theater had at least one patrol
car and two LAPD officers at each intersection from La Brea down to Highland and beyond. It would have taken a team of Navy
SEALS to spot Ronni Chasen in the vicinity, someone would have had to know beforehand her itinerary.

After the Awards, there were afterparties on every corner in Hollywood, also patrolled heavily by the police and security.
Now to examine the claim of being "followed".

Reports are now circulating that the victim was being followed as far back as Oscar night in March.

1.) Some of the reports say "a source" reported it, other news stories say "sources"; so either one person heard Ms. Chasen
say she was being followed, or she announced it to a crowd.

2.) At least one report speculates whether she reported it to the police; she either did or she didn't.

3.) The police either took action or took no action; the police probably receive reports on a daily basis about celebrities
being followed all over town. It would be prudent to see if the Beverly Hills police, or Hollywood police have records of
celebrities who report being followed.

4.) Had she only reported it once? Was there any evidence; photos, harassing phone calls, odd e-mails or strange letters in
her mailbox?

5.) If Ms. Chasen did report it, and the police have a record, they would be searching through her phone records and e-mails
for corroborating evidence of being followed and harassed.

6.) Being followed and fear of being followed are two entirely different things; did all these people who claimed to be her
close friends advise her to go to the police or hire a private detective to verify her fear? Or did any of them bother to
notify the police of what Ms. Chasen told them?

To what degree Ms. Chasen held influence in the voting by the Academy for the Awards is undetermined. If she had a great deal
of power and was able to unofficially twist the arms of actors, editors, cinematographers to vote for Best Picture or Best
Actor, then somebody would certainly want her out of the way before the 2011 Awards.

Case Hierarchy

2011-01-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

Update: 12/01/10--To what degree the LA District Attorney's office is involved is unclear. There are reports that friends
of the deceased are not talking; this could be for fear of their own well-being if the crime is personally related, or because
a "gag-order" was issued by the DA in order not to compromise possible evidence from witnesses related to Ms. Chasen.

Even at these early stages of the investigation, the struggle over some kind of hegemony or control
over the evolution of the investigation appears to be surfacing.

Initially, the Beverly Hills Police Department was the sole entity involved; the LA Coroner's office made early statements
that an autopsy would be performed immediately but the results probably not available for several weeks.

That meant, although the BHPD probably had access to Cedar-Sinai reports and initial results from the coroner, the police
were soon at the mercy of speculation, the media, rumor, gossip and criticism.

With the BHPD not giving even one press briefing, the Mayor's office, constantly under political pressure, issued statements
that were immediately countered by the BHPD. Whether the Mayor drew his own conclusions or was prompted by the BHPD is not
fully understood; the result was the BHPD came out and said the SUV theory belonged to the Mayor, adding that the Chasen murder
was "isolated" and rare, and the streets of Beverly Hills are safe.

It remains to be seen if the case will spiral out of control from the BHPD, not helping itself against criticism by announcing
it has "no leads" and the case is "wide open". In fact, the BHPD appeared desperate for any lead at all, calling for security
camera footage from the multi-million dollar mansion owners along Whittier Drive.

Theories

2011-01-21T19:14:00.001-08:00

A Study of Assassination:

The Submachine Gun.

Unlike the rifle and machine gun, this is a short range weapon and since it fires pistol ammunition, much less powerful. To
be reliable, it should deliver at least 5 rounds into the subject's chest, though the .45 caliber U.S. weapons have
a much larger margin of killing efficiency than the 9 mm European arms. The assassination range of the sub-machine gun is
point (blank)...

The second theory comes from a retired Florida police chief:

Radar Online, Nov 18, 2010

EXCLUSIVE:

Andrew J. Scott III, retired police chief of the Boca Raton, Florida Police Department:
"Clearly, this crime does not fit the MO of Beverly Hills ,which suggests to me that this is not a random killing. If this
were a random act of violence, usually it's going to be one or two shots -- definitely not five," he said. "Normally a
contract killing involves multiple shot to the head. She was shot in the chest ... and to me, clearly the individual did
not want to damage her face. This could be a lead and it's interesting to me she was not shot in the head."

Two opposing theories on assassination. In the second theory, a deer hunter would disagree on where to place the shots; as
the head moves around too much while the body stays still.

The Mayor's Theory

2011-01-21T19:13:00.001-08:00

Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad suddenly finds himself at the center of a controversy over a theory
he postulated to the press earlier about the crime. The Mayor believes the crime occurred when a vehicle, possibly an SUV,
pulled alongside the victim's Mercedes while it sat at the traffic light at Sunset and Whittier. The assassin then fired the
fatal shots from the window of the SUV, which, according to the Mayor, would explain the high angle of the shots and the
lack of shell casings.

Inquest Discussion

2011-01-20T18:53:00.001-08:00

Coroner's Inquest
Updated: Jan 18, 2011

Now comes the matter of a coroner's inquest, not into the death of Ronni Chasen, but of the accused, Harold Martin Smith.
There is enough lingering doubt, not just in the way the case was handled, but also in how it was abruptly ended, to bring the matter into a court of law where the public would have full access to all of the suppressed material in the case:

1.) Chasen autopsy report.
2.) Smith autopsy report.
3.) Undisclosed crime scene details.
4.) The Harvey Apartments suicide report.
5.) Witnesses to the Harvey Apartments suicide.
6.) So-called surveillance tape of the suicide.
7.) Information on the "tipster".
8.) Ballistics evidence, weapon serial number and registration information.
9.) All unrelated data that may have nothing to do with the case.
10.) Contents of the tapes and files removed from the victim's condominium.
11.) Any information the District Attorney's office may have related to the case.
12.) Contributing evidence from external sources.
13.) All information not mentioned in the above.

It is clear that he BHPD acted hastily to whitewash the investigation and place the blame on the "person of interest" found with the weapon, after the fact; after he shot himself.
A number of investigation ground rules were completely disregarded, including a coroner's inquest, which, even now, would shed a great deal of light on just how convinced the BHPD is that the case is indeed closed.

Current Salaries:
Coroner Anthony T. Hernandez $127,922
Coroner -Chief Medical Examiner Dr.Lakshmanan Satyavageswaran $295,000

Grand Jury Discussion

2011-01-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

A Look At The Grand Jury Evidence:
Updated Jan 06, 2011

1.) "Person of Interest" apparently identified by unknown tipster who did not report directly to the police but instead went to "America's Most Wanted."
2.) There was no eye-witness to see the crime actually committed.
3.) There is no proof that the "person of interest" actually had possession of the so-called "murder weapon" on the date the crime was committed. He bragged about having a weapon, however, nobody has come forward and said they had seen it; and could identify it as the weapon he bragged about.
4.) The "person of interest" bragged about being the killer to his easily-impressed and gullible friends at the apartment building. However, there was no formal statement or actual confession to the police.
5.) The "person of interest" had no connection to the victim other than, as the police have stated, a target of opportunity for a robbery.

"Preliminary" Conclusion: Not enough evidence to indict the "person of interest" for the crime.

Additional Notes: Investigators have only themselves to blame for the hype generated around the case. From the beginning, secrecy prevailed. On the morning following the crime, police removed computers and files from the victim's home, creating the impression of a connection and/or conspiracy.
The lack of press briefings on the progress of the case only allowed speculation to spread like a wildfire in the Santa Ana winds. In a city full of professional investigators such as Los Angeles, the media, having an indirect connection to the victim, took charge of the case.
The Beverly Hills Mayor then threw his hat into the ring with the SUV theory, followed by an unidentified private investigator with a surveillance tape. There was also the smuggled art scenario, one that had professional reporters at mainstream networks pondering.
In the end, the truth was lost in the hysteria and confusion, and for that matter, still is. Had the "person of interest" been arrested, there would not have been enough evidence for a grand jury to indict him, and considering his prior record and mental state, even a confession may not have been admissable in court.
The case may be closed, but that's about all it is.

Shell Casings and Bicycle

2011-01-20T18:50:00.000-08:00

The police have explained the reason there were no shell casings at the scene of the crime is because the weapon used was a revolver. The conclusion drawn here is a revolver doesn't have shell casings; the slugs are simply fired from the chambers of the revolver.
That is absurd, there are shell casings, somewhere, possibly at the Harvey Apartments, possibly on a garbage barge enroute to the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean. But there are shell casings, and any crimp marks and residual powder on and in them would match those on the slugs found in the victim.

As for the bicycle. it makes no sense at all that Harold would ride up to the passenger side of the Mercedes when he could just as easily have pedalled up to the driver's side and confronted Ronni Chasen directly, was this two-time petty hoodlum loser really that dumb?

The Four Videotapes

2011-01-20T18:49:00.000-08:00

#1.) The Hackett Estate CCTV Tape: On November 18, the Hollywood Reporter published an article stating BHPD had obtained this videotape from the residence on Whittier Drive. Apparently this tape led nowhere and the public never saw any of the footage related to the case.
#2.) The Zayon/Schaeffer CCTV Tape: The public was not even aware of this tape until its owner, Rob Schaeffer, went public on its existence on December 3rd. The BHPD had picked up the tape on November 17 and it features the mysterious "Town Car" that was never tracked down.
#3.) The Harold "self-inflicted gunshot wound" at the Harvey Apartments: Another tape yet unseen by the public, from the night of December 01, when "person of interest" took his own life with, what police later described, as the weapon used in the Chasen crime.
#4.) The mystery car at the Regency Wilshire: First reported by TMZ on Nov 24, this video was the only one made available to the public; later the video was taken down by the news source. Some of Ronni's friends claimed she never got up and went somewhere that early in the morning; others claimed she was not even in L.A. on October 28th, the day the private investigator made the video, in a so-called "unrelated case." None of these leads were ever tracked down, including the claim Ronni was not in Los Angeles on October 28.

Harvey Apartments

2011-01-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

The Harvey Apartments Revisited:

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Forbes, Dec 02, 2010
Man sought in LA publicist's death kills himself

By THOMAS WATKINS
LOS ANGELES (AP)--The people who knew him at the dreary four-story apartment building called him "Harold." The man moved in sometime this year and was friendly and well-known in the building, said resident Robin Lyle, 44, who lived next door to him. "He always told me how much he liked me," he said.
Lyle said the man had been in prison and was concerned about how hard it would be to find work. He told him about a lawsuit that he filed against his former employer and the settlement he was expecting for wrongful termination.
The money ended up being less than he expected, Lyle said. The man told Lyle he had spent it all.
Terri Gilpin, 46, said the man always seemed paranoid, would ask if police were looking for him, and "had a screw loose." She said she once called police on him because he wandered into her apartment.
Asked why she didn't call police after hearing his comments, Gilpin said she and her husband didn't believe him.
Sammy Zamorano, who works in a nearby music studio, was in the building shortly after the suicide. He said the body was slumped against a wall with arms on either side. He said he did not see a gun.

In fact, nobody ever saw the weapon, not when Harold bragged about owning one, not when the tipster called America's Most Wanted, and not the night he shot himself. Zamorano also saw Harold moments before he shot himself:

KABC-TV/Los Angeles, Dec 02, 2010
Person of interest dead

By John Gregory, Carlos Granda, Miriam Hernandez and Robert Holguin
HOLLYWOOD--Sammy Zamorano says he saw the man a minute before police arrived. They passed each other on the sidewalk.
"I looked at him straight in the eye," said Zamorano, who owns a music studio nearby. "And I walked in my studio and five minutes after I hear 'Boom.' I walk out and in front of the door, I see him through the door, and a cop is trying to shut the door on me, says 'Get out of here!'"

Some media reports indicate Zamarano's "music studio" is actually located in the Harvey Apartments.

Harold

2011-01-20T18:47:00.000-08:00

Beverly Hills Patch, Dec 03, 2010
Police Looking at Suicide Tape of 'Person of Interest' in Chasen Slaying

By Marie Cunningham
The suicide of a "person of interest" in the killing of veteran Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen remains under investigation, with Los Angeles police reviewing a surveillance video of the suicide and conducting ballistics tests on the gun the man used to shoot himself, according to wire reports.

There have been a number of reports of tapes related to the case. The first to surface was the CCTV tape from the Buddy Hackett estate on Whittier Drive. This proved to be of no value.
The existence of the second tape, the Zayon/Schaeffer tape with the elusive "Town Car" passing by the scene of the crime just after the Mercedes hit the light pole, was not revealed to the public until December 03, more than two weeks after the BHPD picked up the tape from the Whittier Drive residents.
The third tape is the so-called Harvey Apartments tape of the Harold suicide, as reported in The Patch above. It's now apparent that the suicide tape may not show Harold actually pulling the trigger, and at the same time, the Forbes article cites at least one immediate witness stating he did not even see the weapon.
LA Times, Dec 02, 2010
Suicide Caught On Tape

The suicide of a suspect in the slaying of Beverly Hills publicist Ronni Chasen was captured on a security videotape at the Hollywood apartment where police confronted the man.
According to law enforcement sources, police are reviewing the tape and also interviewing several witnesses who were in the lobby at the time.

A summary of the above: Zamarano sees Harold moments before the shooting, hears the shot, goes into the lobby, the police chase him away, Zamorano does not see the weapon. Police claim of existence of tape and then state they interview witnesses who were in the lobby. No "witnesses" have since come forward to the media for an interview; no media report has indicated anybody who actually saw the "self-inflicted gunshot wound." Zamorano never mentioned seeing others in the lobby at the time of the shooting.

.38 Caliber Revolver

2011-01-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

.38 Caliber Police Service Revolver:
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There was never a report anywhere, by any "tipster", or anybody else at the Harvey Apartments, all of whom heard Harold brag about the weapon, that any of them actually saw the handgun.
As of yet unreleased to the public are the coroner's and toxicology reports for Ronni Chasen and for Harold Martin Smith. Yet unreleased is the Zayon/Schaeffer videotape and any other videos the BHPD may have.
There is also no ballistics report forthcoming from the L.A. Sheriff's Crime Lab. This would indicate that the investigation is indeed not complete and if others were involved, all evidence related to the case will remain sealed. The reason the ballistics test may be kept under wraps, it might prove to be a stolen police service revolver. Smith may have taken it out of a parked police car; or he might have stolen it out of the room of one of the dubious characters that live at the Harvey Apartments.
There is also no indication the so-called "tipster" has been paid the reward money.
If the BHPD felt confident the case was solved, all of the above would be released for public scrutiny. As it stands, the speculation and doubt will continue until investigators offer conclusive evidence of their claim that Harold "acted alone".

Harvey Apts., Incident Report

2011-01-20T18:43:00.001-08:00

Reconpresseusa: For Immediate Release:

INCIDENT REPORT:

DATE/TIME: December 01, 2010/ approx. 6:00PM PST
LOCATION:Harvey Apartments, 5640 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038
INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED: African-American male, age 40, name only "Harold".
Beverly Hills Police Dept., Los Angeles Police Dept.
INCIDENT REVIEW: BHPD arrived on scene and confronted "Harold" in the lobby of the hotel with intention of serving him a search warrant as "person of interest" in recent murder (Nov 16), Ronni Sue Chasen, 64, in Beverly Hills.
Without any exchange of words, Harold produced a pistol and shot himself in the head. LA Coroner's called in and Harold pronounced dead at the scene.

INCIDENT REVIEW: Police acted on information from informant(s) at the apartment where Harold had been residing for a short time before being evicted. Harold bragged to said residents of having "offed" an important Hollywood publicist, was waiting for some sort of payoff, and possessed a weapon. The last detail is currently the only one that has been corroborated.
Harold also professed to be an ex-con sent to state prison for weapons violations and drugs. It is unknown at this time if any of this information is accurate.
As for police procedure in this incident, it would have been far more appropriate for investigators to wait for Harold to be isolated in a more remote spot other than a hotel lobby, where innocent bystanders may have been injured or taken hostage. There is also no evidence that Harold had anything to do whatever with the Chasen homicide, his delusions readily accepted by gullible residents of the apartment complex. Police failed to investigate further if Harold had been bragging about other incredulous exploits prior to this incident, such as a recent date with Lady Gaga.
It is the opinion of this review that the police acted prematurely, causing a mentally unstable peron to take his own life and in the process, endangering anyone who may have happened into the scenario.
Final review is withheld until a coroner's report is issued on Harold, including toxicology results.

The "Tipster"

2011-01-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

The "Tipster"

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There is no indication when Harold Martin Smith first began to brag about the killing. The America's Most Wanted show highlighting the case aired on November 20, four days after the killing. The story had been all over the news for several days with the telephone number of the Beverly Hills Police Dept. [(310) 288-2656] clearly posted on most reports. The tipster, "fearful for his life", would have been better served going directly to the police, even in Hollywood, with information. As it turned out, nearly two weeks passed and the "tipster" had "phone problems" instead of going directly to the police.

LA Times, Dec 11, 2010
And they (the police) have said little about the "America's Most Wanted" tipster who prompted them to approach the 43-year-old in the lobby of a Hollywood apartment building.

Deadline.com, Dec 10, 2010
Is it possible that this tipster knows more about the crime than he's told police? Have police really had sufficient time to investigate the tipster and whether he had a connection to Smith?

LA Now, Dec 10, 2010
The tipster said in the statement that phone problems prevented him from making contact with the show but he finally did.

A Google news custom search between the dates 11/20/2010 and 11/30/2010 using search terms "america's most wanted chasen" (without parentheses) returns no results, the media may not have even been aware of the segment and it appears it was not reported in any publications.

A Google search for the earliest reports of the America's Most Wanted tip shows up on December 02, 2010 with 5 results:

ET Online, Dec 02, 2010 By RAPHAEL CHESTANG
"Americas's Most Wanted"'s John Walsh told the newspaper that a staff member from the show shared a tip from the public with the Beverly Hills Police Department, leading them to question Smith, who committed suicide during the inquiry on Wednesday.

Hollywood Reporter, Dec 03, 2010 By Kimberly Nordyke
"I believe they responded to a tip that we had passed on," Walsh told the Times. "BHPD reached out to us. We have been working closely with Beverly Hills [police]."

LA Times, Dec 02, 2010
Beverly Hills police had no immediate comment on Walsh's statement. It's unclear whether there was other evidence that pointed detectives to the man.

Then, on December 03, Google shows 1800 results for the above search terms:
istockanalyst.com, Dec 03, 2010
Police officials told the Los Angeles Times they received several tips in the Chasen case, including one from the TV show "America's Most Wanted" that involved Smith.

LA Times, Dec 03, 2010
Police confirmed that the "Americas Most Wanted" tip prompted them to attempt to question Smith. The show aired a segment on the case Nov. 20, and, three days later, a man phoned the shows hotline, Walsh said. He told an operator that he was too frightened to provide Smiths address.
"We begged the guy to call back," Walsh said.
A week later, on Tuesday, he phoned back and said Smith was expected to visit the apartment building, where he had once lived, the next evening. "We gave it to Beverly Hills [police] right away and they rolled on it quite quickly," Walsh said.

Chasen Case Chronolgy

2011-01-20T18:31:00.000-08:00

Case Chronology:

Jan 20: BHPD announces case nearly complete and officially closed.
Jan 18: Coroner's Inquest Discussion
Jan 06: A Look At The Grand Jury Evidence , Discussion
Dec 27: The Shell Casings and the Bicycle, Discussion
Dec 20: The Missing Timeline, Discussion
Dec 16: E! Online reports Reverend June Gatlin, spiritual advisor, visits crime scene.
Dec 14: Golden Globe nominations
Dec 13: LA Times article notes use of .38 caliber revolver in crime as explanation for no shell casings at scene.
Dec 12: Hollywood Wrap article by "Flackback" criticizes BHPD public relations effort in the Chasen case.
Dec 11: LA Times reports " preliminary ballistic tests showing that the weapon Smith used to shoot himself Dec. 1 a .38-caliber revolver, according to two law enforcement sources matched the gun that killed Chasen Nov. 16."
Dec 10: America's Most Wanted offers new insight into "tipster" who made the call that identified Harold as initially a "person of interest". Tipster apparently went against the advice of friends and acquaintances; and had trouble getting through to the program. (Reported by LA Times and CBS).
Dec 09: News sources attempt to make sense out of BHPD sudden announcement that Harold "acted alone" amid overwhelming opinion from experts that this was a "contract killing".
Dec 08: Multiple news sources (see above) reporting preliminary ballistics results from LA Sheriff's Crime Lab confirm Harold Martin Smith weapon used in Ronni Chasen homicide. Case still ongoing but considered 75 percent complete by BHPD.
Dec 07: CNN reports BHPD has requested assistance from LA Sheriff's ballistics lab for "person of interest" weapon. BHPD dismisses Daily Beast email story.
Dec 06: Bill Zwecker of the Chicago Sun-Times reports on police "two-person" theory. (see below)
Dec 06: Daily Beast report on Beverly Hills email warning of driver waving pistol out window of vehicle.
Dec 06: Hollywood Wrap reports Jill Gatsby, dissed in Chasen will, won't reveal "family secret".
Dec 05: Ronni Chasen's brother, Lawrence G. Cohen, opts for the "road rage" scenario.
Dec 04: Test negative on Harold Martin Smith ballistics.
Dec 03: Zayon/Schaeffer at Radar Online and others; first report BHPD had the "town car" CCTV tape.
Dec 03: BHPD doubts Harold Martin Smith's involvement in crime.
Dec 02: Chasen estate will revealed.
Dec 02: Showbiz411 reports Ms Chasen's brother denies family "gambling debts" as motive.
Dec 01: LAPD homicide detective Gil Carrillo and the "expert shot" theory; LA Coroner's Ed Winter denies authenticity of Fox News coroner's report. Official release of report placed on hold.
Dec 01; 600PM (approx.): BHPD approaches Harold Martin Smith in lobby of Harvey Apts. at 5640 Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood; "person of interest" in case produces handgun, shoots himself in the head, pronounced dead at the scene. Weapon turned over to forensics for ballistics tests.
Nov 30: A week passes before the anonymous caller returns to AMW with location details for so-called gunman. AMW passes info on to the BHPD.
Nov 25: KTTV Fox 11 News reporter Tony Valdez does broadcast of the 3-page "Coroner's Report" on victim.
Nov 23: Anonymous caller to America's Most Wanted with tip on killer.
Nov 22, Report of November 7 threat to "5 casting directors".
Nov 22: Michael Sands reports hearing the "motorcycle" cruising Whittier Drive the day before the killing.
Nov 21: Funeral at Hillside Memorial, Culver City.
Nov 20: "America's Most Wanted" features the crime on a broadcast segment.
Nov 20: Beverly Hills Mayor Jimmy Delshad weighs in with the "shot from SUV" theory. Also, no shell casings reported.
Nov 18: Hackett estate camera footage obtained by BHPD.
Nov 18: Former LAPD chief William Bratton discussed his take on the mysterious murder
Nov 18: Andrew J. Scott III, retired Florida police chief, comes up with the assassination theory.
Nov 18: 911 calls examined by BHPD.
Nov 17: Deadline.com reports Palm Springs Film Festival Issues $100,000 Reward For Ronni Chasen Information .
Nov 17: Zayon/Schaeffer CCTV tape retrieved by BHPD showing car crash and Lincoln Town Car passing by.
Nov 16: Police search Chasen's Wilshire Regency condo, remove computers and other materials relevant to the case.
Nov 16: 1230AM; Beverly Hills; Ronni Chasen shot, possibly at street corner, Sunset/Whittier.