Aisha Gaddafi speaks to the human chain surrounding her father’s compound before they split.

Weak links.

(LA Times) — It was to be a human shield, a massive gathering of Moammar Kadafi’s supporters at his Bab Azizia compound, and the Libyan leader was to give a late-night speech of defiance against the international forces arrayed against him.

They would stand by their beloved Brother Leader at the same compound destroyed by President Reagan’s airstrikes in 1986. Even if the bombs came sailing down. Even if the entire place went up in flames.

“I’m here to support Moammar Kadafi and to oppose the threats of the West,” said Ghazal Muftah, a 52-year-old grandmother in a camouflage army jacket and hijab, or head scarf, among about 400 or so gathered around the ruler’s vast and well-protected residence. “If they want to hit Moammar Kadafi, they have to hit us. We are all Moammar Kadafi.”

Rap music slamming Al Jazeera’s and BBC’s coverage of Libyan events blared from loudspeakers. Men and women danced and swayed to African and Arabian rhythms. A line of security officials formed to hold back the crowd as it pressed forward. Young men waved green flags denoting support for Kadafi’s Libya. A banner showed a crowd of men wearing green bandannas spraying pesticide on rats, the term Kadafi uses to describe rebels in the east. . . .

Cellphones began to ring. A hush fell over the crowd. People began to whisper to one another: Cruise missiles were being fired at Tripoli. Those sitting in a grassy area quickly got up and began heading for the exit. More followed, until the human chain thinned to a few dozen people standing in the chill before the balcony where Kadafi was supposed to address them.

But the Brother Leader was nowhere to be seen. He would address Libyans later by telephone, from an undisclosed location.

Too bad they don’t all have Safecastle Royal Bug Out Trailers . . . (shameless plug).