‘In the same time news channels were choking with new victories of the insurgency. It looked like it took rebels a couple of hours to occupy a city, making poor Moussa Ibrahim steam from his ears, proving to journalists that it is virtually impossible. All this show was a careful preparation for the main course – the taking of Tripoli. But in spite of mercenaries parachuted from Misurata to the south, despite attempts to cut the road from Tunisia, despite the insurgents’ zerg rush on all fronts, much of the rebel success remained on the screen. And cities cannot be taken by illusion. Therefore, NATO decided to pursue the most risky way: beginning the ground operation.
To cover it up and in the same time spread chaos and panic among Libyans, a set of Tripoli’s Green Square, Bab al-Azizya and several streets was constructed in Doha, Qatar, and videos of successful uprising in Tripoli and its takeover by the rebels were being made. The directors used the same stratagem that their civilian counterparts in Vietnam War movies: to draw their supposed victories. On the 20th of August, Twitter, the major supplier of nonexistent witnesses came to life, like a shelled hornet nest. Rebels reported about fights in the city center – with smartphones in the free hand, no doubt. Some have gone further and managed alone to fully capture the west of the city. With the blessings of the almighty Photoshop pictures of rebels against Tripoli and Zawya were shown.’
Read more: Qatari Hollywood And The Mercenary Invasion of Tripoli
