By Kareem Fahim and Rick Gladstone
New York Times
September 21, 2011
MISURATA, Libya — As world leaders at the United Nations were embracing the rebels who overthrew him, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi broke nearly two weeks of silence on Tuesday, denouncing Libya’s new interim government and predicting its quick demise once NATO warplanes end their attacks on his forces.
“What is happening in Libya is a charade which can only take place thanks to the air raids, which will not last forever,” Colonel Qaddafi said in the message on Arrai television, a station in Syria that has broadcast a number of his statements since his opponents stormed Tripoli, Libya’s capital, nearly a month ago.
He has been in hiding ever since, and while the authenticity of his latest message could not be confirmed, it appeared to be the first broadcast in his own voice since Sept. 8. There was no indication of whether it had been prerecorded and no hint of his location.
“Do not rejoice, and do not believe that one regime has been overthrown and another imposed with the help of air and maritime strikes,” Colonel Qaddafi said in the broadcast.
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