During the 70's and 80's, Libya under Qaddaffi, ordered, sanctioned, and supported just about any terrorist or rebel they could find to oppose the US, Europe, or their allies. Libya was directly responsible for bombing the La Belle discoteque in West Berlin and Pan Am Flight 103. Qaddaffi had dreams of empire and supported atrocious dictators as varied as Charles Taylor in Liberia & Sierra Leone, Daniel Ortega's Communist Sandinistas in Nicarauga, the Red Army Faction in Europe, and Abu Sayyaf in the Philipines.
But in 2003, Qaddaffi had an epiphany. His attempts at fomenting foreign revolutions had failed and he had witnessed the new American resolve to deal with tyrants, terrorists, and misbehavers developing weapons of mass destruction. In December of 2003, he voluntarily gave up his WMD program. As he began conforming to UN and International court orders to compensate the families of his prior victims, the International Community welcomed him back into the world of normalized relations. In 2010, with the support of at least 97 Nations, Libya was elected to the UN Human Rights Council.
Today, we learn that Qaddaffi was fighting as a secret ally against Islamist Terrorists, that he had not only committed his forces in the Sahara Desert against Al-Qaeda, but also that he had directed his intelligence services to cooperate with the Central Intelligence Agency and Britain's MI-6. And we find out that his claims of Al-Qaeda led rebels against him hold water. The military leader of the rebel forces was previously captured in the War on Terror and transferred to Libya, after demanding assurances that he would be treated humanely. Of course, that's not the spin the MSM is putting on the information.
"Please be advised that we must be assured that al-Sadiq will be treated humanely and that his human rights will be respected," the document states. UK Guardian
Sadiq remained in Libyan prison system until freed by Moammar's son Saif al-Islam Qaddaffi, in a "deradicalization" program in 2008 or 2010. He has changed the name from "Libyan Islamic Fighting Group" (LIFG), a jihadist organisation with historical links to al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the al-Jihad organisation in Egypt to "Islamic Group for Change." He was interviewed as the leader of LIFG as early as March 2011, fought in Afghanistan, and was captured in Thailand in 2004. He has stated that 170-600 members of LIFG are currently fighting Qaddaffi, under his command.
It seems that the politicians who cited Al-Qaeda leadership of the rebellion in Libya had a point. The CIA is not denying that Qaddaffi's Libya provided them information, nor that Libya was fighting against Al-Qaeda. The current government in Britain is denying knowledge of what Tony Blair's government was doing, though not that Blair met Qaddaffi in a tent in March of 2004, after Libya had begun to make amends with the international community.
"On the subject of these apparent disclosures, first of all they relate to a period under the previous government so I have no knowledge of those, of what was happening behind the scenes at that time." William Hague, UK Foreign Secretary
Do these revelations, that Qaddaffi was fighting Al-Qaeda, that Al-Qaeda terrorists are involved in the rebellion against him, and the historical facts that he had attempted to reform from his Mad Dog days, given up his weapons of mass destruction, and begun compensation to victims relieve him of the repercussions of his brutal attacks on his own people, civilians, in helicopter attacks on protests? NO. It was an atrocious and stupid slaughter that steeled the people to rebellion.
But the prosecution of the UN resolution has been fraught with transparently false claims. Politicians have justified the attacks on tanks with UNR 1970's authority to establish a no-fly zone by saying the tanks were (or could be) killing civilians, though the reality was that the tanks were fighting armed rebels. They justified the bombing of satellite dishes and TV stations as those being used to broadcast Qaddaffi's "dangerous" messages.
What have we wrought? We've turned on old allies, Mubarrak in Egypt, Saleh in Yemen, and reformed enemies, Qaddaffi, while directly supporting our current enemy, remaining mute against the slaughter of freedom loving protestors by enemies, Iran 2009, and stand on the sidelines as another enemy Syria, slaughters twice as many of its citizens as did Qaddaffi. Meanwhile, the current administration continues to alienate the duly elected leaders of allies in Pakistan and Afghanistan, while Iran finds inroads to influence.
Al-Qaeda connections with LIFG include duel members: Abu Yahya al-Libi, Abu Laith al-Libi, and the recently deceased #2 of Al-Qaeda: Ayiyah abd al-Rahman. LIFG, along with 14 other terrorist groups, was banned from operations in the United Kingdom on October 10, 2005, where membership is punishable by 10 years in prinson. After being crushed by Qaddaffi in 1998, many members of LIFG fled to Afghanistan and pledged allegiance to the Taliban and Mullah Omar.
Stumble It!
