₦airaland Forum

enyojo:
THE FRESH AIR IS BLOWING PDP AWAY!

DeeJay20:
YOOOOOO DUDE!, U hit a home run!!!! The Bolded Comments are Priceless!!!

ROFLMAO !!!

caribchic:
really? i think she looks pretty, beautiful skin i'm jealous.

tlops:
the guy tried, no difference between him and his fellow queue members, the guy blend no be small,

Former President Laurent Gbagbo has lost political power and now seeks the power of martyrdom. Skillful diplomacy, backed by military muscle, is required to deny his death wish intended to destroy President Alassane Ouattara's chances to govern, and Ivory Coast's prospects for peace. How can the end game for Gbagbo be shaped to offer a brighter future for all Ivorians?



The diplomacy following Ouattara's November 2010 election victory and Gbagbo's refusal to relinquish power was text book. Gbagbo was first offered incentives to do the right thing, and then isolated via a travel ban and suspension from regional and international fora for continued intransigence. Several envoys from West Africa and the African Union tried negotiations to resolve the impasse but met with failure. Pressure escalated to deny him an economic lifeline with the freezing of the assets of Gbagbo, his family, and entourage both bilaterally and eventually multilaterally under UN Security Council Resolution 1975. The same resolution authorized the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) to use force to protect civilians as originally mandated in 2004 under UN Security Council Resolution 1528. Finally force -- UNOCI backed by French forces as well as forces loyal to Ouattara -- was necessary to shake Gbagbo's grip on power.



Now that Gbagbo is dug into the presidential residence refusing to leave, what next?



First, the Obama Administration needs to step up and show leadership. France's forceful backing of the close to 10,000 UNOCI troops was a necessary game changer. Still, a more neutral country than France is needed to facilitate Gbagbo's exit to end the conflict. The United States should urge and support South Africa providing refuge to Gbagbo, including either or both countries convincing him to swap his martyr's wish for their providing secure escort out of Abidjan. Gbagbo can take up ousted Haitian President Jean Bertrand Aristide's former residence in Pretoria and position as a research fellow at the University of South Africa. The condition of his exile should be that leaving South Africa will land him at The Hague or before a court of judgment in Ivory Coast. The United States should speak directly to Gbagbo to provide clarity on his diminishing options, including a reality check about precision "bunker-busting" munitions.



Second, President Ouattara should maintain a military siege around the presidential residence but should stop assaults that threaten innocent civilians. It is time for Ouattara to lead, to appear presidential, and to take up the reigns of governing. Forget about Gbagbo, acknowledging his defeat in writing. The only legitimacy needed to govern is the people's vote. Leave Gbagbo in his hole. Over time, he may be treated to the same fate as besieged Ivorians, out of food and sustenance. Most importantly, Ouattara must quickly and decisively reach out to Gbagbo's supporters and deserting troops. Make clear that there will be no witch hunt. Start now to dialogue with potential cabinet ministers and government officials. Bring onboard those necessary for real national reconciliation and healing as well as those capable of delivering accountable and competent governance.



Third, UNOCI, backed by French forces, must maintain its resolve to end the conditions in Abidjan and throughout the country, that continue to threaten civilian lives. Any militia, paid or partisan, should be engaged with lethal intent before they can move into position to threaten or attack civilians. Already, it took too long before UNOCI exercised its Chapter Seven peace enforcement mandate to protect civilians and promote and protect human rights, especially of children and women. While the international community dithered, more than 1,000 Ivorians lost their lives and hundreds of thousands have been displaced and made refugees.



It is especially time for the Obama Administration to use the "unique diplomatic capabilities" of the United States to end the crisis. The George W. Bush Administration never armed a rebel in Africa, yet, helped end six "intractable" wars and many crises, including the 2002 Ivory Coast conflict, by relying on skilled diplomacy working with African leaders. South Africa and the United States must take the stage now to stop Gbagbo's last stance trying to take all of Ivory Coast down with him. Now is the time to move beyond talk to make the United States-South Africa Strategic Dialogue a meaningful tool of multilateral diplomacy.

chic2pimp:
So You watch that Glorified Por, n.o called Ghollywood? . . . . . Nollywood sef I am yet to get my head around that one.

Dolemite:
Naija must go? never!! we run west Africa!! they watch our movies, listen to our music and we support them economically. . .come on. . .

Firearm:
^^^^

When are u coming to my kitchen?

pleep:
im sure nigeria is Number 11.

A moral impulse to help save someone doesn’t always go as planned – which is just the type of plot twist that makes fiction writers wealthy. The protagonist often ends up on shaky moral ground.

In Libya, the reality of war may be heading for such a plot-twisting moment.

President Obama justifies the US military role there as necessary to avoid “a massacre that would have reverberated across the region and stained the conscience of the world.” And, he says, only air power is needed to save civilians – with no military boots on the ground. The goals and means are limited.

But as the conflict drags on, and the forces of Muammar Qaddafi infiltrate various cities to kill more civilian opponents, the lines of fighting are becoming blurred.

And so, too, is the morality of the foreign intervention. A “responsibility to protect” could easily become a necessity for military victory.

The US and other members of the UN-backed coalition may face a moral dilemma soon: Will foreign forces ultimately need to use ground forces to capture or kill Qaddafi – an act that Obama and others now find repugnant – in order to achieve the goal of protecting civilians?

That type of question is already being addressed in another conflict on the African continent, one that is fast nearing its own dramatic denouement. It may serve as a lesson in Libya.

In Ivory Coast, a former French colony that has been the world’s top cocoa producer and was once the jewel of West Africa, French and United Nations forces have shifted tactics in recent days. They are no longer simply protecting civilians in a violent conflict that arose over who won a presidential election last November.

Now they are actually helping the forces of the widely recognized election winner, Alassane Ouattara, win the military fight.

In fact, with the direct aid of some 1,700 French soldiers and 2,250 UN “peacekeepers,” Mr. Ouattara’s forces have surrounded the presidential compound of the incumbent leader, Laurent Gbagbo, in the commercial capital of Abidjan.

Mr. Gbagbo refuses to surrender. Some 200 fighters with him inside his well-armed redoubt are still shooting up the area. And another 800 Gbagbo forces are still killing civilians in the city and may continue to do so until he is captured or killed.

The French have all but obliterated Gbago’s heavy armaments that protect him. Negotiations appear stalled, and now the question is whether Ouattara-loyal forces will make the final blow. Their ability to do so will only be possible with the aid of French or UN forces nearby.

Might the Libyan conflict end up like this, with the need to violently end Qaddafi’s total control for the sake of ending further harm to civilians?

“If Qaddafi stays behind, not only will the Libyans be victimized; all of us will be victims,” says Ali Aujali, Libya’s former ambassador to Washington and a representative of the rebels. “It is time for us now to get rid of this man.”

Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d’Ivoire, shows how mission creep can lead to morality muddle.

In Libya, NATO’s air-only campaign has tried to hit the tanks and artillery of Qaddafi forces hidden inside cities, but without an end to the slaughter of civilians. Only a third of Qaddafi’s ground forces have been destroyed. “We should be taking the fight to Tripoli,” says one US senator, Republican Lindsey Graham.

Like quicksand, this war may yet drag the US in deeper. The entry to the war could end up being so much simpler than the exit.

A limited humanitarian mission, sanctioned by the UN just as the foreign fighting in Ivory Coast also is, may yet compel the West to send in foreign ground forces or, at least, arm Libyan rebels, if that humanitarian impulse is to remain genuine.

The “fog of war” can sometime fog up the original reasons for a war. Regime change and civilian protection may end up being two sides of the same coin.

jobadmin:
this game sounds great with the likes of mourinho and adebayo performances

JeSoul:
3 - To spice up your drinks a little bit, if you have a blender, try making a large batch of smoothie (or else just buy in the store or use wine or a mixture of the two) and serving in chilled, brown sugar or chocolate rimmed glasses like this (drop in strawberry or cherry for added effect) - [img]http://www.fotobank.ru/img/SF14-6824.jpg?size=l[/img]

fstranger3:
Did you see how well loved you are?