Gadhafi Supporters Rally Amid Rubble At Tripoli Base

With U.S. and allied forces using missiles and bombs to strike at the heart of Moammar Gadhafi's military defenses, the Libyan leader finds himself standing alone against the world once more.(toshiba pa3399u-1bas battery) But in Libya's capital, where part of Gadhafi's compound was hit Sunday, his supporters celebrated his continued defiance.
From a roof in Tripoli on Sunday night, we saw a plume of smoke rise near Bab Al Azizia, the sprawling military base where Gadhafi has a home. (Toshiba PA3285U-1BRS battery)A couple of hours later, the government opened the doors of the compound and invited foreign journalists in.

Jerome Delay/AP Libyan soldiers survey the damage to an administrative building hit by a missile late Sunday in the heart of Moammar Gadhafi's Bab Al Azizia compound in Tripoli early Monday.( Sony Vgp-bps5 battery )

Jerome Delay/AP

Libyan soldiers survey the damage to an administrative building hit by a missile late Sunday in the heart of Moammar Gadhafi's Bab Al Azizia compound in Tripoli early Monday.

We were led through a party of people — apparently to show us that people are still celebrating and standing by their leader.( Acer Aspire 5920G Battery) And then we walked through a lot of rubble and came to a building that has totally collapsed. The government says this administrative building was hit by a missile earlier Sunday.
"Hundreds of civilians are here in this place to protect it as a voluntary human shield," said Ibrahim Moussa, a government spokesman. (HP Pavilion dv2000 battery)"So the danger of harming people was real, was there, and we are really thankful to God, not to the Americans, that no one was hurt today — none of the children, none of the families, none of the civilians."
He said someone working there had handed him part of the rocket that hit the building, but that he couldn't confirm it.( dell inspiron 1545 battery)
At the Pentagon, Vice Admiral Bill Gortney was asked Sunday night if Gadhafi himself is a target, and he said no. But Gortney did say the allied forces are going after "command and control" structures in Gadhafi's air defense system. And it's certainly possible a building on this base played such a role.(IBM ThinkPad R40 Battery)
Gadhafi loyalists have been sleeping and partying at Bab Al Azizia, the downtown compound, since the attacks began, to show support for their leader. The base has long been a symbol of Gadhafi's defiance and ability to survive. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan ordered airstrikes here, reportedly killing one of Gadhafi's daughters. ( Hp pavilion dv4 Battery )There's still a statue here — a large golden fist crushing the model of a U.S. fighter jet.
The statue was shown on Libyan state television Sunday as Gadhafi delivered a 12-minute rant.
"You can't do anything in Afghanistan. Bin Laden defeated you. This week, man, you've used all your resources, and now you've accepted defeat and you're ready to leave. ( HP Pavilion DV1000 battery )And the same in Libya. You're not going to leave victorious," he said.
To defend the country, Gadhafi has said he is putting weapons in the hands of the Libyan people.
Shots were fired into the sky Sunday afternoon along the shore of the Mediterranean. (Dell Inspiron 1501 AC Adapter)It was part celebration, part funeral at a place known as the "cemetery for martyrs." Twenty-six graves were dug and prepared, we were told, for Libyan soldiers and civilians killed in airstrikes Saturday.
One man watching on the sidelines spoke quietly to a few journalists. Police were watching his every move. The funeral, he whispered, was all lies. (Dell Inspiron 1545 AC Adapter)No civilians were killed. He said there are many people in Tripoli who don't like Gadhafi. But right now, they're living in fear. Give the military strikes a week, he said. People in Tripoli will rise up again.
At one gravesite, Ibrahim Dao said a 3-month-old girl, his distant cousin, was among those killed in a missile strike and was being buried. As reporters asked details about the girl, Dao began to get upset. "From your questions, I feel like you think that we killed her," he said. "I don't know why."( acer aspire 7535 battery )
Anger at the media has been stoked by the government, with state TV saying journalists from around the world are ganging up on Gadhafi, telling lies about what's been happening here. People sought journalists out to make sure they got the real story.( acer aspire 8930 battery)
"You know, I love Moammar Gadhafi like my father," said one young man, a 15-year-old who gave his first name, Ahmed.( acer aspire 5730 battery)
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