Posted on 09/04/2011 4:59:06 AM PDT by IbJensen
Finally, we have evidence that Islamists and even al-Qaeda supporters will play a central role in Libya’s new regime. Up to now there has been reasonable speculation that the U.S. government and NATO might be installing an anti-Western, Islamist government in Libya. Now there’s proof that this is so.
The actual government remains in the hands of non-Islamists, technocrats, ex-regime officials, and moderates. But the armed rebels who actually made the revolution have voted and their idol is…an al-Qaeda guy. Political power, said Mao Zedong, grows out of the barrel of a gun and in Libya’s case this seems a very reasonable expectation.
According to Al Jazeera, the network recommended by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as fair and balanced, Abdul al-Hakim al-Hasadi, also known as Abdelhakim Belhaj, has been named commander of the Tripoli Military Council. He was formerly head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, an al-Qaeda affiliate. Moderates are understandably nervous.
In 1999, the group’s spokesman praised Osama bin Laden (remember him?) and said: “The United States no longer relies on its agents to constrict the Islamic tide; it has taken this role upon itself.” One of its former leaders worked to plan the attacks on the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, resulting in massive loss of life. In 2003, members were involved in an al-Qaeda terror attack in Morocco.
In November 2007, al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced that the two groups were merging. True, a number of the group’s activists in prison denounced terrorism and made a deal with the Gaddafi regime in order to be set free. But since the organization broke its pledge to Gaddafi in order to overthrow him, presumably that deal no longer stands.
At any rate, the group was still designated as terrorist by the U.S. government. Here it is on the terrorism list (number 26, in alphabetical order) released by the State Department last May.
Of course, the appointment of one leader in an al-Qaeda affiliated group does not an Islamist regime make. But it is an omen and, again, the people who control the guns are more important than those who control the desks. We will have to see how things develop.
But another indication is that there’s more. Who put him in this post? The armed rebels chose al-Hasadi as their commander, not leaving that selection to the NATO-backed Transitional National Council government. Remember, I pointed out that the guys with guns don’t care what the guys in suits say. Some council members complained that al-Hasadi is sponsored by Qatar, which gave a lot of the money and whose rulers like to play radical sheikhs who often align themselves with Iran.
In fact, we can quote on this point Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who told a U.S. official in 2007 — as we now know thanks to Wikileaks– “He was extremely worried about Qatar and its continued support for Hamas and other Islamist organizations in the West Bank and Gaza…claiming that they provide ‘more support to fundamentalists than Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.’”
U.S. policy has given no sense that it is aware of this problem.
Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, chairman of the council, said he introduced al-Hasadi to his group’s NATO allies to show that he poses “no danger to international peace and stability.” Well, that’s reassuring.
We can assume that al-Hasadi said that he was merely young and impulsive, was driven to extremes by Gaddafi’s undeniably horrible dictatorship, and is now mature. But that argument would miss the point. Even if he has outgrown al-Qaeda, does he favor the transformation of Libya into an anti-Western Islamist state? Or perhaps he’s been “bought off” by the Western aid money. What do you think?
But let me explain to President Barack Obama, the U.S. government, and NATO how this thing is supposed to work. Your key liaison, be it the CIA or State Department, goes to see Jalil and says:
“As you know our soldiers, supplies, advisors, and warplanes have put you into power. Therefore, you either get rid of all of the al-Qaeda types—at least in positions of any authority—or we stop all of our support and find someone else to head the Transitional National Council. No, TLC [Tender Loving Care] for our interests; no TNC.”
Now, you could call that bullying or imperialistic if you want, but the TNC doesn’t have a right to being supported. NATO backing is not an entitlement. The purpose of U.S. and European policy is supposed to be to protect those countries’ legitimate interests. When you give the money, diplomatic support, and air strikes, that entitles you to some say in the outcome. For example, on the eve of the tenth anniversary of the killing of 3000 Americans by al-Qaeda, you don’t accept the appointment of an al-Qaeda supporter to run the new Libyan military.
True, in Turkey the Obama administration has supported an elected anti-American Islamist regime; in the Gaza Strip it saved an anti-American Islamist regime; in Syria, it did everything possible to avoid condemning an anti-American pro-Islamist regime; in Lebanon, it stood by and didn’t help the real moderates as an anti-American Islamist-dominated regime came to power; in Iran, it engaged an anti-American Islamist regime; and in Egypt, it said that it had no problem with an anti-American Islamist regime coming to power.
But actually installing an Islamist regime with Western weapons? That’s crossing the line.
The Obama administration sees things through a New Left prism. This means that any and all “revolutionary movements” are praiseworthy and noble, and any “establishment regimes” are perforce evil and reactionary.
This is why the Obama administration treats Israel at best as persona non grata and at worst as it’s Middle East bete noir.
The greatest triumph of Islam was to suck a trillion plus dollars of American investment and blood, achieve the Islamic Republic or Iraq… and then we have ‘Taliban in the plans Afghanistan’.
What’s really interesting today is how the ascendant Caliphate clan no longer bother to hide their true intentions and are ably assisted by dark,evil forces in the West.
It’s worse than stupidity,its their evil agenda as pappy GHW Bush proclaimed ‘a new world order is upon us’
At the risk of upsetting people here, I think the MB’s influence/potential influence has been and is being overplayed.
They have a strong presence in Egypt socially and politically, and an active gun-running franchise in Syria. Beyond that its minimal.
The north of Africa doesn’t have the arab influence throughout, many ethnic Italians, Berbers, French. Too much of a tribal melting pot for the MB to get established beyond Egypt.
There is certainly an element to be concerned about, but the idea that the whole of North Africa is now going to be one giant AQ state is hysteria.
Obama is sweeping away military strongmen who are impediments to the establishment of the Greater Caliphate that will span from Iran to Morocco. The caliphate will also move against Israel, and Obama and his kapos will do all they can to further weaken Israel and promote its destruction IMO.
There are FReepers who claim Hillary would have been better than Obama.
Her evil is only cloaked and occasionally surfaces in stories such as this.
Make no mistake, the lliberals and islamists are colluding to destroy the west while they carve up the rest of the world.
Both Europe and the US stand on the brink of economic oblivion that has been engineered by people like Obama. Events in the middle east are equally engineered by people like Hillary.
“As you know our soldiers, supplies, advisors, and warplanes have put you into power. Therefore, you either get rid of all of the al-Qaeda types—at least in positions of any authority—or we stop all of our support and find someone else to head the Transitional National Council. No, TLC [Tender Loving Care] for our interests; no TNC.”
And they laugh in that diplomats face. How pathetic to even think that is an option at this point.
“”Up to now there has been reasonable speculation that the U.S. government and NATO might be installing an anti-Western, Islamist government in Libya. Now there’s proof that this is so””
Goody! Now we can all feel good that we are unfreezing $1,000,000,000 in Lybian assets to give to them. Other countries are doing the same it’s been reported.
Who are the fools?
I’m sure I didn’t see this coming.
Wait . . . I did see this coming, from the very beginning.
but the idea that the whole of North Africa is now going to be one giant AQ state is hysteria.
///
respectfully, your post is simplistic at best.
and you have apples and oranges totally confused.
MB is NOT AQ.
i suggest you do more research, including Sun Tzu.
underestimating people who have declared war on you,
isn’t wise.
MB is MUCH more dangerous than AQ, because they are covert.
Like the Gulen movement, right here in the USA!
(and the US Sec of State has a chief assistant with MB ties...)
and the idea of a giant state, a caliphate, is a “hysteria” that millions desire.
0bama’s stewardship of American influence during the so-called “Arab Spring” will result in consequences FAR worse than Jimmy Carter’s leadership enabled the Ayatollah’s ascension to Power in Iran.
0bama’s incompetent handling of this region will end up in a Radical Islamic Caliphate with Al Qaeda at the seat of Power in many Capitol City’s
And American blood will spill when the urgent call comes for people to be saved from the “Religious Ethnic Cleansing” that will come from all of this.
bump
Piece by piece, puzzle piece by puzzle piece those watching Libya are in awe of how quickly progress is being made toward caliphate for Africa. al-qaeda has acquired oil fields (in Libya) and will soon have oil revenue. Anyone thinking al-qaeda will use the revenue for purposes of good is probably not thinking. Off we go into the great unknown, and if it does not go well (which it will probably not) pointing at zer0 and this administration will do nothing to lessen the probable pain which oil money will grant al-qaeda a means and a way to inflict, but zer0 and his administration will be to blame.
1998 : (LIBYA : LIBYAN ISLAMIC FIGHTING GROUP ATTEMPTS TO ASSASSINATE KADHAFI; WHO REPORTEDLY ISSUES AN ARREST WARRANT FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN) A 1998 attempt by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group to assassinate Kadhafi led Libya to crack down on Islamist opposition and reportedly issue an arrest warrant for bin Laden. Kadhafi has shared intelligence on AQ for many years and he and his son understand that the logical consequence of our mutual interest to get rid of the islamists is to cooperate 100 % with the West. The threat to his throne is fundamentalist islam. - Source ? via FreRepublic at 47 posted on 12/25/2003 2:05:12 AM PST by AdmSmith
I am fully aware that AQ is not MB and vice versa.
I am an ex-paratrooper who studied terrorism and counterintelligence at Sandhurst, as well as a history graduate who studied terrorism, as well as being a person with a long interest in terrorism. I probably studied Sun Tzu before you did, and The Art of War is sitting on my bookshelf as I reply to you.
My reference to a giant AQ state was a turn of phrase, I could have used the words terrorist state and the point would be the same.
One of the key questions to keep in mind is how extensive and penetrating is the Muslim Brotherhood geographically in Africa, and then vertically into the government, religion, and society of each infected nation.
If their influence is less than thought (i.e. the comments of “the scotsman”), then this will be good news. If, however, the MB has covertly inserted themselves into key positions and organizations that we don’t know about, then “Houston, we have a problem.”
As one who helped expose both Soviet/KGB propaganda operations in the US (in both the Hanoi Lobby and Anti-Defense Lobby), and am working on an potentially unknown Soviet spy operation dating back to WW2, I have learned to go with the concept that the enemy has penetrated more deeply than suspected, and that we should work on that premise until proven otherwise.
The Venona Papers and the British equivalents, plus the Mitrohkan documents and those from the few opened Soviet archives, have all shown that the US and Britain greatly UNDERESTIMATED the degree of penetration that both the Soviet KGB (NKVD, MVD) and the GRU (Soviet military intelligence) were actually able to do.
The same applies today to Red Chinese intelligence operations.
Might I add that we probably don’t know much about Al Qaeda and MB penetrations of U.S. society as well. Our intelligence penetration of Moslem, Arab/Arab-American societies in the US, has been abysmal.
The key operational truism that I always lived and worked by was “NEVER UNDERESTIMATE YOUR ENEMY BECAUSE THEY WILL SURPRISE YOU AND HURT YOU, BADLY”.
IIRC, back in Feb or March, Obi said it was a “humanitarian mission”, then he had trouble articulating why the US got involved & changed his tune a few times (kinda like that confused & ever changing story about how OBL was terminated... BAD PR..). Anyway, since Gaddafi’s regime isn’t sufficiently “Islamic”, I guess Obi wants him to go! (that’s Obi’s policy). So that the West can further spread “Islamic democracy & freedoms” in the ME & N. Africa, for starters. Maybe then AQ or MB or “the rebels” will split oil revenue w/ their “liberators”. It’s all complicated you know.. we certainly have some visionary leaders in the West! /s
Yeap, we should have learned our lesson after our intelligence underestimating Mao and by doing so gave china over to him and lost Chiang Kai-shek whom was a strong ally of ours.
As a result of our poor intelligence hundreds of millions of people died in the years after and still we might see even worse ahead from that one mistake decades ago.
We should never underestimate our enemy again.
In any event my thinking is the post would have stood with or without the tag, and would have been accurate, but what does anyone know as accurate anymore after two plus years of zer0 and his crowd?
Please excuse my thought if this was offensive. Have been thinking of something we all know, yet have not posted (will post next sentence) because the thought would overwhelm too many of the blind. Thinking maybe there is a false flag being set. Do not know where or what form though with the zer0 and his crowd the possibility grows ... imho
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