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stockholmer

(3,751 posts)
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 01:54 AM Feb 2012

‘US thinks it can use Al-Qaeda temporarily in Syria’

http://rt.com/news/us-al-qaeda-syria-otrakji-635/

The US and Al-Qaeda are using each other to topple President Assad, believes Camille Otrakji, editor of online magazine Syria Comment. ­US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has said Al-Qaeda is working alongside Syria’s armed opposition http://rt.com/news/syria-opposition-al-qaeda-us-567/ , while Washington considers extending support to the rebels.

Otrakji told RT that both sides think they are using the other, hoping to control them later. “For example, the Islamists and Al-Qaeda think, 'We can have an alliance with the Americans or with any secular opposition forces, but later we will be in power,' and the Americans think they can use Al-Qaeda temporarily, if they have to, to get rid of the Syrian regime, and they will somehow manage to get rid of them. So, unfortunately they are apparently working together.”

The journalist added that it is important to understand how decision-making takes place in Washington D.C. “Some people really do not care about what will happen in Syria after. For example, there are factions that just want to punish the Syrian regime – I’ve heard this from someone in Washington – for their help in 1982, when Hezbollah attacked US troops in Lebanon.” And others, Otrakji said, are optimistic, thinking that there will be elections and that Syria is secular enough that Al-Qaeda factions or other Islamists will not win. “So, they just want to be hopeful for now, all they want to focus on now is to get rid of the regime – then, they think, they will manage somehow.”

And journalist and peace activist Don Debar said the US have already become some allies with Al-Qaeda in Libya. “First of all, the US is bedfellows with Al-Qaeda in Libya already. Secondly, if you look at the history of al-Qaeda, actually they are a successive group to the allies the US had in Afghanistan when it was fighting the Soviet Union in the late 1970s and early 1980s.” Debar also remembered a recent comment by Al-Qaeda that they were backing the Syrian rebels, which he said is “the same group the US is not only backing, but has been arming and training.” “So it’s not whether it will happen or not – it’s really been happening,” the activist concluded.

snip

--------------------------------------------------------

Further background:

The Road To Tehran Goes Through Damascus

http://nilebowie.blogspot.com/2012/02/road-to-tehran-goes-through-damascus.html

Between the chaos and artillery fire unfolding in Homs and Damascus, the current siege against the Ba’athist State of Bashar al-Assad parallels events of nearly a century ago. In efforts to maintain its protectorate, the French government employed the use of foreign soldiers to smother those seeking to abolish the French mandated, Fédération Syrienne. While former Prime Minister Faris al-Khoury argued the case for Syrian independence before UN in 1945, French planes bombed Damascus http://mideastviews.com/articleview.php?art=122 into submission. Today, the same government http://euobserver.com/13/114380 – in addition to the United States http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-06/middleeast/world_meast_clinton-syrian-opposition_1_assad-syrian-opposition-syrian-national-council?_s=PM:MIDDLEEAST and its client regimes in Libya and Tunisia http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2012/02/us-funded-tunisian-president-prepares.html – enthusiastically recognize the Syrian National Council as the legitimate leadership of Syria. Although recent polls funded by the Qatar Foundation claim 55% of Syrians support the Assad regime http://www.thedohadebates.com/news/item/index.asp?n=14312 , the former colonial powers have made a mockery of the very democratic principles they tout.


Irrespective to the views of the Syrian people, their fate has long been decided by forces operating beyond their borders. In a speech given to the Commonwealth Club of California in 2007 http://fora.tv/2007/10/03/Wesley_Clark_A_Time_to_Lead retired US Military General Wesley Clark speaks of a policy coup initiated by members of the Project for a New American Century (PNAC) http://www.newamericancentury.org/statementofprinciples.htm . Clark cites a confidential document handed down from the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2001 stipulating the entire restructuring of the Middle East and North Africa. Portentously, the document allegedly revealed campaigns to systematically destabilize the governments of Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Syria, Lebanon and Iran.Under the familiar scenario of an authoritarian regime systematically suppressing peaceful dissent and purging large swaths of its population, the mechanisms of geopolitical stratagem have freely taken course.


Syria is but a chess piece being used as a platform by larger powers. Regime change is the unwavering interest of the US-led NATO block in collaboration with the feudal Persian Gulf Monarchies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This is being accomplished by using Qatar-owned media outlets such as Al-Jazeera to project their version of the narrative to the world and by arming radical factions of the regions Sunni-majority population against the minority Alawi-Shia leadership of Assad. Since 2005, the Bush administration began funding Syrian opposition groups http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/us-secretly-backed-syrian-opposition-groups-cables-released-by-wikileaks-show/2011/04/14/AF1p9hwD_story.html that lean toward the Muslim Brotherhood and their aspirations to build a Sunni-Islamic State. The Muslim Brotherhood has long condemned the Alawi-Shia as heretics and historically attempted multiple uprising in the 1960’s. By arming radical Sunni factions and importing Iraqi Salafi-jihadists and Libyan mercenaries, the NATOGCC plans to topple Assad and install an illegitimate exiled opposition leader such as Burhan Ghaliun (leader of the Syrian National Council) to be the face of the new regime.



The recent example of implementing foreign policy by arming Al-Qaeda fighters in Libya has proved disastrous - as the rule of law passes from the NATO-backed Libyan Transitional Council to hundreds of warring guerilla militias. At a meeting between Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Hillary Clinton, Davutoglu pledged http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57374741/turkey-to-propose-syria-strategy-to-clinton/ to find ways outside the United Nations Security Council to pressure Assad. In addition to bolstering longstanding sectarian divides in Syria, the US is smuggling arms into Syria from Incirlik military base in Turkey and providing financial support for Syrian rebels. Syrian opposition forces led by defected Syrian colonel Riad al-Assad have been trained on Turkish soil since May 2011. Exclusive military and intelligence sources have reported to Israel’s DEBKAfile that British and Qatari special operations units are assisting rebel forces in Homs http://www.debka.com/article/21718/ by providing body armor, laptops, satellite phones and managing rebel communications lines that request logistical aid, arms and mercenaries from outside suppliers.

snip
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gen Wesley Clark Reveals US Plan To Invade Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, And Iran




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Case Study - the Libya invasion and US/UK/NATO support of al-Qaeda :


Abdel Hakim Belhaj is a ranking al-Qaeda affiliated leader (emir of the Islamic Fighting Group of Libya)

http://www.pvtr.org/pdf/Report/RSIS_Libya.pdf (page 18 has interview with Belhaj)

Belhaj is now helping lead the Free Syrian Army

http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2011/12/cias-belhaj-on-syria-border.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8919057/Leading-Libyan-Islamist-met-Free-Syrian-Army-opposition-group.html

One of Belhaj's underlings is Nasser Tailamoun, who was Osama bin Laden's driver. Qadaffi released these 2, plus dozens of other radicals, in September of 2010.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/libya-releases-islamists-including-bin-ladens-driver-48737

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US and NATO use and support of al-Qaeda in the Libya coup d' etat

Abdel Hakim Belhaj, Tripoli's newly installed military governor (also a key official within Libya's National Transitional Council), is linked to Al Qaeda, reports Liberátion (Leftist French newspaper).

http://www.liberation.fr/monde/01012356209-abdelhakim-belhaj-le-retour-d-al-qaeda

http://translate.google.se/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.liberation.fr%2Fmonde%2F01012356209-abdelhakim-belhaj-le-retour-d-al-qaeda

Belhaj is the former head of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (an affiliate group of Al Qaeda). In 2003, Belhaj was arrested in Malaysia in 2003, later being interrogated by CIA in 2004 in Thailand. He was set free in Libya in 2008.


It's important to note Belhaj is supported by NATO, as Le Parisien and MSN France report:

http://news.fr.msn.com/m6-actualite/monde/libye-calme-relatif-%c3%a0-tripoli-avanc%c3%a9es-dans-louest-statu-quo-dans-lest-2


http://translate.google.se/translate?sl=fr&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.fr.msn.com%2Fm6-actualite%2Fmonde%2Flibye-calme-relatif-%25c3%25a0-tripoli-avanc%25c3%25a9es-dans-louest-statu-quo-dans-lest-2


10 h 20. Un islamiste à la tête du commandement militaire de la rébellion à Tripoli. Abdelhakim Belhadj a été le chef militaire qui a préparé, avec l'aide de l'Otan, la prise du QG de Kadhafi, à Bab Al-Azizya. Al-Jazeera lui a consacré un long entretien en direct du QG à l'issue des combats. Ancien dirigeant du Groupe islamique des combattants libyens (GICL), lié à Al-Qaida, Abdelhakim Belhadj, a été arrêté en 2004 par les Américains en Asie et livré par la suite à la Libye, selon la presse arabe. Il aurait bénéficié de l'amnistie de centaines d'islamistes libyens en mars 2010 ordonnée par Saif Al-Islam, fils préféré de Kadhafi.



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Karel Abderrahim, a researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations (Institut de relations internationales et stratégiques, a French think tank) said in an interview to La Croix, a Catholic French newspaper, that he is skeptical about the dissolution of Al Qaeda-Libyan Islamic Fighting Group:

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=n&prev=_t&hl=pt-BR&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.la-croix.com%2FActualite%2FS-informer%2FMonde%2FKader-Abderrahim-chercheur-a-l-Iris-Je-ne-vois-pas-qui-pourrait-federer-la-Libye-_EG_-2011-08-24-702836


Further background:

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/libyan-fighting-factions-to-unite-under-single-military-command-1.380955?localLinksEnabled=false

http://www.roadstoiraq.com/2011/08/27/al-qaeda-in-libya-started-to-act-killing-friends-and-foes/

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html


"Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in Iraq are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Mr al-Hasidi admitted that he had recruited "around 25" men from the Derna area in eastern Libya to fight against coalition troops in Iraq. Some of them, he said, are "today are on the front lines in Adjabiya".

Mr al-Hasidi insisted his fighters "are patriots and good Muslims, not terrorists," but added that the "members of al-Qaeda are also good Muslims and are fighting against the invader".

His revelations came even as Idriss Deby Itno, Chad's president, said al-Qaeda had managed to pillage military arsenals in the Libyan rebel zone and acquired arms, "including surface-to-air missiles, which were then smuggled into their sanctuaries"....................


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flashback 2 years (including Young Turks video) more US support of terrorist groups

Saudis and CIA back Khalid Sheikh Mohammad’s Jundullah in Pakistan and Iran?

http://aangirfan.blogspot.com/2008/12/saudis-and-cia-back-khalid-sheikh.html

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flashhback to 2007 (BBC)

Libyan Islamists 'join al-Qaeda'


Zawahri called for North African leaders to be overthrown
A Libyan Islamist group has joined al-Qaeda, according to an audio message on the internet attributed to the radical network's second-in-command.
Ayman al-Zawahri purportedly said the Fighting Islamic Group in Libya was becoming part of al-Qaeda.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7076604.stm

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

flasback to 2002 (Guardian UK) French intelligence experts revealed how western intelligence agencies bankrolled a Libyan Al-Qaeda cell

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2002/nov/10/uk.davidshayler

MI6 'halted bid to arrest bin Laden'Startling revelations by French intelligence experts back David Shayler's alleged 'fantasy'about Gadaffi plot

British intelligence paid large sums of money to an al-Qaeda cell in Libya in a doomed attempt to assassinate Colonel Gadaffi in 1996 and thwarted early attempts to bring Osama bin Laden to justice.
The latest claims of MI6 involvement with Libya's fearsome Islamic Fighting Group, which is connected to one of bin Laden's trusted lieutenants, will be embarrassing to the Government, which described similar claims by renegade MI5 officer David Shayler as 'pure fantasy'


---------------------------------------------------------------------

Lies, War, and Empire: NATO’s “Humanitarian Imperialism” in Libya (Video + Article)

http://andrewgavinmarshall.com/2011/08/26/lies-war-and-empire-nato%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%9Chumanitarian-imperialism%E2%80%9D-in-libya


snip

It has been said, “In war, truth is the first casualty.” Libya is no exception. From the lies that started the war, to the rebels linked to al-Qaeda, ethnically cleansing black Libyans, killing civilians, propaganda, PR firms, intelligence agents, and possible occupation; Libya is a more complex story than the fairy tale we have been sold. Reality always is.

What Were the ‘Reasons’ for ‘Intervention’?

We were sold the case for war in Libya as a “humanitarian intervention.” We were told, of course, that we “needed” to intervene in Libya because Muammar Gaddafi was killing his own people in large numbers; those people, on the same token, were presented as peaceful protesters resisting the 40-plus year reign of a brutal dictator.

In early March of 2011, news headlines in Western nations reported that Gaddafi would kill half a million people.<1> On March 18, as the UN agreed to launch air strikes on Libya, it was reported that Gaddafi had begun an assault against the rebel-held town of Benghazi. The Daily Mail reported that Gaddafi had threatened to send in his African mercenaries to crush the rebellion.<2> Reports of Libyan government tanks sitting outside Benghazi poised for an invasion were propagated in the Western media.<3> In the lead-up to the United Nations imposing a no-fly zone, reports spread rapidly through the media of Libyan government jets bombing the rebels.<4> Even in February, the New York Times – the sacred temple for the ‘stenographers of power’ we call “journalists” – reported that Gaddafi was amassing “thousands of mercenaries” to defend Tripoli and crush the rebels.<5> Italy’s Foreign Minister declared that over 1,000 people were killed in the fighting in February, citing the number as “credible.”<6> Even a top official with Human Rights Watch declared the rebels to be “peaceful protesters” who “are nice, sincere people who want a better future for Libya.”<7> The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights declared that “thousands” of people were likely killed by Gaddafi, “and called for international intervention to protect civilians.”<8> In April, reports spread near and far at lightning speed of Gaddafi’s forces using rape as a weapon of war, with the first sentence in a Daily Mail article declaring, “Children as young as eight are being raped in front of their families by Gaddafi’s forces in Libya,” with Gaddafi handing out Viagra to his troops in a planned and organized effort to promote rape.<9>

As it turned out, these claims – as posterity notes – turned out to be largely false and contrived. Doctors Without Borders and Amnesty International both investigated the claims of rape, and “have found no first-hand evidence in Libya that rapes are systematic and being used as part of war strategy,” and their investigations in Eastern Libya “have not turned up significant hard evidence supporting allegations of rapes by Qaddafi’s forces.” Yet, just as these reports came out, Hillary Clinton declared that the U.S. is “deeply concerned by reports of wide-scale rape” in Libya.<10> Even U.S. military and intelligence officials had to admit that, “there is no evidence that Libyan military forces are being given Viagra and engaging in systematic rape against women in rebel areas”; at the same time Susan Rice, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, “told a closed-door meeting of officials at the UN that the Libyan military is using rape as a weapon in the war with the rebels and some had been issued the anti-impotency drug. She reportedly offered no evidence to backup the claim.”<11>

snip

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article is heavily footnoted and sourced (127 total footnotes) with hyperlinks as well

--------------------------------------------------------------
22 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
‘US thinks it can use Al-Qaeda temporarily in Syria’ (Original Post) stockholmer Feb 2012 OP
Step 1: Get nuclear grenade pistol. Step 2: Put foot in mouth. Step 3: Shoot self in foot. saras Feb 2012 #1
wow, when will they learn? Vehl Feb 2012 #2
I think its more that some people haven't the capacity to do otherwise bhikkhu Feb 2012 #3
Recced and bookmarked. Luminous Animal Feb 2012 #4
Recommended. mmonk Feb 2012 #5
I believe I had read a report from a source in Israeli intelligence JCMach1 Feb 2012 #6
What could possibly go wrong? Scuba Feb 2012 #7
Imperialism gone mad malaise Feb 2012 #8
Thats like releasing rattle snakes in your house to deal with a mouse problem. DCBob Feb 2012 #9
Once they're done in Syria, CIA will give them visas so they can come here and start the next war leveymg Feb 2012 #10
Clark certainly spelled it all out... Mr_Jefferson_24 Feb 2012 #11
Can we admit our foreign policy is profit driven and morally bankrupt now? woo me with science Feb 2012 #12
A few problems with the article agentS Feb 2012 #13
Thanks for this OP, especiall the links on Libya. bvar22 Feb 2012 #14
Predatory banking, again. You have nailed it. woo me with science Feb 2012 #15
Kick and thank you once again. nt. polly7 Feb 2012 #16
*** THERE IS NO AL QAEDA IN SYRIA THERE WAS NO AL QAEDA IN LIBYA *** tabatha Feb 2012 #17
Washington Post: "Al Qaeda Infiltrating Syrian Opposition, US Offiicials Say" Comrade Grumpy Feb 2012 #18
***YOU CAN SHOUT THAT ALL YOU WANT TO**** bvar22 Feb 2012 #19
McClatchy Newspapers - U.S. officials: AQ bombings behind Syria bombings leveymg Feb 2012 #21
Very good post. dixiegrrrrl Feb 2012 #20
American foreign policy has become an endless series of "dog chasing tail". Tierra_y_Libertad Feb 2012 #22

Vehl

(1,915 posts)
2. wow, when will they learn?
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 03:10 AM
Feb 2012

One would think that they would have learned their lesson after seeing how their "lets create Mujahadin to fight the soviets" turned out.


bhikkhu

(10,707 posts)
3. I think its more that some people haven't the capacity to do otherwise
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 03:25 AM
Feb 2012

...than grand global schemes, back-handed alliances and conspiracies.

At some point it does become more like an addled old-timer sitting on a bench in the yard, buggy-whip in hand, imagining he's driving the team along.

JCMach1

(27,540 posts)
6. I believe I had read a report from a source in Israeli intelligence
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 07:10 AM
Feb 2012

that Saudi intelligence was paying a $10K bonus for every Iraqi Al Quaeda member who managed to make it across the border into Syria to join the resistance.

It seems to fit in with premise of the OP.

malaise

(267,455 posts)
8. Imperialism gone mad
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 08:04 AM
Feb 2012

then turn around and blame those you are attacking. What a complete inversion of reality.

leveymg

(36,418 posts)
10. Once they're done in Syria, CIA will give them visas so they can come here and start the next war
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 09:54 AM
Feb 2012

Blame it on Iran.

Mr_Jefferson_24

(8,559 posts)
11. Clark certainly spelled it all out...
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 10:09 AM
Feb 2012

... in that interview. I don't think I'm exaggerating to say that was really quite brave -- he couldn't possibly be naive enough not to know he'd be pissing off some very dangerous and powerful behind-the-scenes string pullers to make those remarks publicly.

It's nice to know there are actually some sane people in the military who want this madness stopped.

agentS

(1,325 posts)
13. A few problems with the article
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 10:27 AM
Feb 2012

1. Gaddafi forces did commit systemic rapes, as found out by Amnesty International.
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/gaddafi-guards-raped-kids-amnesty_100559604.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/world/africa/20rape.html?pagewanted=all

2. Gaddafi forces were killing civilians before the rebellion.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/201122116042447579.html
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2011/02/201121755057219793.html
and more info here, if you trust it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Libyan_civil_war_before_military_intervention
I know you don't like Al-Jazeera, but you are quoting Russia Today which like Al-Jazeera is a government mouthpiece for a country whose hands in the Middle East are just as dirty as ours, if not more (if you count the Soviet days).

3.

Under the familiar scenario of an authoritarian regime systematically suppressing peaceful dissent and purging large swaths of its population, the mechanisms of geopolitical stratagem have freely taken course.

It sounds like the writer doesn't think the Syrian government is killing civilians.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/06/syria-war-crimes-icc_n_891076.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/18/syria-crisis-funeral_n_1286266.html?ref=syria
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/05/10/syrias-war-crimes-put-bashar-al-assad-on-trial.html
It's familiar because these crazy tinpot dictators never change and never give up power.

4. Iran has its hands in this conflict, providing snipers and military assistance to the Syrian government. Gee, why didn't the writer talk about that? Does he think Iran is run by angels?
http://www.islamist.com/index.php/revolution/1420-syrians-capture-iranian-revolutionary-guard-sniping-at-demonstrators
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/8699077/Iran-agrees-to-fund-Syrian-military-base.html

5. Syrian, meanwhile, is no innocent as well. Assad, like Gaddafi in Libya, funded terrorist groups. In particular, Hezbollah, which has killed numerous civilians in Israel and around the middle east. For Assad and his butcher squad to complain about foreign interference and regime change when they themselves fund and support such activities is hypocritical.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah#Military_activities

Despite these errors, the writer makes a firm case for direct military intervention by Western powers. Since things are so out of hand that 4 or 5 Al-Qaeda guys, including Bin Laden's taxi driver, have a shot at taking over the country (at least that's what RT is saying), then we should invade now. Isn't that the real point?

bvar22

(39,909 posts)
14. Thanks for this OP, especiall the links on Libya.
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 10:58 AM
Feb 2012

I have found it impossible to find a credible source of information about WHAT is going on in Libya.
The only info I have found is a September report from Amnesty International published in The Guardian.

Revenge Killings, Torture, and Cleansing continue according to Amnesty International

"Amnesty also found more recent unlawful killings "perpetrated by organised groups who operate freely, openly and with impunity". Victims' families were generally unwilling to protest for fear of reprisals and to avoid the stigma of being labelled Gaddafi loyalists or "anti-revolutionary". In addition, opposition groups have detained hundreds of people in areas they control since the end of February, Amnesty says. These include people accused of "subverting the revolution," who say they were never shown an arrest warrant or any other document.

"In most cases, the manner of detention is better described as abduction rather than arrest," the report argues. "They were seized by groups of heavily-armed men, some of them masked, who did not identify themselves. They were then taken away in unmarked vehicles, usually pick-up trucks with anti-aircraft machine-guns mounted at the back."

<snip>

"No independent or credible investigations are known to have been carried out by the NTC (The Rebel Government) , nor effective measures taken to hold to account those responsible for these abuses."


<snip>

"The findings are largely based on Amnesty's visit to Libya between 26 February and 28 May, including to the cities of al-Bayda, Ajdabiya, Brega, Benghazi, Misrata and Ras Lanouf. The report claims foreigners have been targeted by both sides, particularly individuals with dark skin. But the report adds: The report says people with dark skin were targeted by both sides, but "the allegations about the use of mercenaries proved to be largely unfounded".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/12/murder-torture-both-sides-libyan-regime


Even more interesting is WHAT if going to happen to Sub Sarahan Africa
now that the main roadblock (Gaddafi) to the IMF and Western Banks & "Investment" Corporations
has been removed.

I fear that predatory Investment "Loans" (CASH) to shady, unstable governments collateralized by African Natural Resources are now proceeding Full Speed Ahead.

” For all his dictatorial megalomania, Gaddafi is a committed pan-African - a fierce defender of African unity. Libya was not in debt to international bankers. It did not borrow cash from the International Monetary Fund for any "structural adjustment". It used oil money for social services - including the Great Man Made River project, and investment/aid to sub-Saharan countries. Its independent central bank was not manipulated by the Western financial system. All in all a very bad example for the developing world.”

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MD27Ak01.html

woo me with science

(32,139 posts)
15. Predatory banking, again. You have nailed it.
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 11:13 AM
Feb 2012

You wrote:

"Even more interesting is WHAT if going to happen to Sub Sarahan Africa now that the main roadblock (Gaddafi) to the IMF and Western Banks & "Investment" Corporations has been removed.

I fear that predatory Investment 'Loans' (CASH) to shady, unstable governments collateralized by African Natural Resources are now proceeding Full Speed Ahead."


Follow the money, as always. We need more OP's pointing this out.



tabatha

(18,795 posts)
17. *** THERE IS NO AL QAEDA IN SYRIA THERE WAS NO AL QAEDA IN LIBYA ***
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 12:46 PM
Feb 2012

I am distressed to read such godawful nonsense here.

A lot of links to disparate articles meaning nothing.

The "Al Qaeda" threat is something the right wing like to bandy about.

If there were Al Qaeda in LIbya, where are they now ?

You are also implying that Obama is the same as PNAC. He is NOT. And I resent that.

bvar22

(39,909 posts)
19. ***YOU CAN SHOUT THAT ALL YOU WANT TO****
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 02:11 PM
Feb 2012

....but you can NOT make the truth go away.

All anyone has to do is Google "Libyan Rebels ties to Al Qaeda",
and then pick whatever source they trust.


You ask:
[font color=red]"If there were Al Qaeda in LIbya, where are they now ? "[/font]


The Answer:
"Benghazi: A Sea of Al-Qaeda Flags"


The National Review

"This is to say, in effect, that one can wave the al-Qaeda flag in the noses of Western journalists in broad daylight in Libya, and they will either not recognize it, or if they do, not deign to inform their readers. The episode could serve as a parable for the virtual entirety of Western reporting on the Libyan war."

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/282353/benghazi-sea-al-qaeda-flags-john-rosenthal


As recently as November, The Al Qaeda flag was flying over the Court House in Benghazi.
"Libya: Al Qaeda flag flown above Benghazi courthouse"

Flying high: The Al Qaeda flag, with Arabic writing and a moon design, can be seen flying alongside a Libyan national flag above Benghazi's courthouse

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2055630/Flying-proudly-birthplace-Libyas-revolution-flag-Al-Qaeda.html




You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.
[font size=5 color=green]Solidarity99![/font][font size=2 color=green]
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leveymg

(36,418 posts)
21. McClatchy Newspapers - U.S. officials: AQ bombings behind Syria bombings
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 04:21 PM
Feb 2012

Deny reality, much?

U.S. officials: Al-Qaida behind Syria bombings
By JONATHAN S. LANDAY

By JONATHAN S. LANDAY
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON -- The Iraqi branch of al-Qaida, seeking to exploit the bloody turmoil in Syria to reassert its potency, carried out two recent bombings in the Syrian capital, Damascus, and likely was behind suicide bombings Friday that killed at least 28 people in the largest city, Aleppo, U.S. officials told McClatchy Newspapers.

The officials cited U.S. intelligence reports on the incidents, which appear to verify Syrian President Bashar Assad's charges of al-Qaida involvement in the 11-month uprising against his rule. The Syrian opposition has claimed that Assad's regime, which has responded with massive force against the uprising, staged the bombings to discredit the pro-democracy movement calling for his ouster.

The international terrorist network's presence in Syria also raises the possibility that Islamic extremists will try to hijack the uprising, which would seriously complicate efforts by the United States and its European and Arab partners to force Assad's regime from power. On Friday, President Barack Obama repeated his call for Assad to step down, accusing his forces of "outrageous bloodshed."

The U.S. intelligence reports indicate that the bombings came on the orders of Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian extremist who assumed leadership of al-Qaida's Pakistan-based central command after the May 2011 death of Osama bin Laden. They suggest that Zawahiri still wields considerable influence over the network's affiliates despite the losses the Pakistan-based core group has suffered from missile-firing CIA drones and other intensified U.S. counterterrorism operations.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/10/2635537/us-officials-al-qaida-behind-syria.html#storylink=cpy
 

Tierra_y_Libertad

(50,414 posts)
22. American foreign policy has become an endless series of "dog chasing tail".
Sun Feb 19, 2012, 04:33 PM
Feb 2012

Fruitless and self defeating.

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