We've Just Put the Taliban in Power in Libya

Despite being ignored by almost everyone, an extraordinary development occurred this week in Libya. This excellent piece of NY Times journalism lays bare what is really going on in there. It ain't pretty - but wholly expected.

To put it short, Libya is well on its way to turning into Saudi Arabia or Iran - an Islamic Republic. The once hidden split between the radical Islamists and the more secular liberals has become became very public and already it seems clear who will be calling shots very soon (hint: if you were US educated and a secularist, it ain't good).

In the emerging post-Qaddafi Libya, the most influential politician may well be Ali Sallabi (Muslim Brotherhood cleric linked to the LIFG)...The most powerful military leader is now Abdel Hakim Belhaj, the former leader of a hard-line group once believed to be aligned with Al Qaeda...a Muslim Brotherhood figure, Abel al-Rajazk Abu Hajar, leads the Tripoli Municipal Governing Council, where Islamists are reportedly in the majority...

Mr. Belhaj has become so much an insider lately that he is seeking to unseat Mahmoud Jibril, the American-trained economist who is the nominal prime minister of the interim government, after Mr. Jibril obliquely criticized the Islamists...“Jibril will be gone soon,” one aide to Mr. Belhaj said.

Fathi Ben Issa, a former Etilaf (powerful Islamist grouping issuing directives now) member who became an early representative on the Tripoli council, said he quit his position after learning that the Muslim Brotherhood members who dominate that body wanted to ban theater, cinema and arts like sculpture of the human form. “They were like the Taliban,” he said...The final straw, he said, came when Etilaf began circulating a proposed fatwa, or decree, to bar women from driving.

So the people in charge of the most important "council" in this new Libya are nuts like the Taliban and the most important military man is the leader of an Al-Qaeda affiliate/terrorist group? Since Islamists are predicted to win a majority in elections, "liberals" are already calling for a delay before any vote.

Job well done NATO. Die to kill Taliban-like Muslim fundamentalists in Afghanistan. Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, etc - and also die to put them in power in Libya. It's about to get confusing. How long before you have to begin "operations" against these "partners in arms" - NATO and Libyan Islamists.

Different Fates for Two Libyan Freedom Fighters

It's been about 24 hours since it was announced that the United States killed Al-Qaeda's number 2 in Pakistan, Atiyah Abn Al-Rahman. Not much about Al-Rahman is publicly known, except that he is Libyan (from Misratah) and got his start in terrorism in the banned group Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which officially merged with Al-Qaeda in 2004.

Meanwhile in Libya, in a striking bit of irony, it has been confirmed that the leader of the rebel force who took the capital is none other than the head of the LIFG, Abdel Hakim Belhadj (aka Abu Abdallah Assadaq). That's right, the commander of the Tripoli Military Council that led the invasion and is acting as head-honcho in Tripoli right now was called the "Emir of the Mujahideen" in Libya by none other than (AQ's new leader) Ayman Al-Zawahiri just 4 years ago.

Yesterday, The Independent on Sunday learned that the rebel military commander behind the successful assault on Tripoli had fought in Afghanistan alongside the Taliban and was an Islamist terror suspect interrogated by the CIA. Abdelhakim Belhadj, the newly appointed commander of the Tripoli Military Council is a former emir of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) – banned by Britain and the US as a terrorist organisation after the 9/11 attacks.

The 45-year-old first went to Afghanistan in the late 1980s, where he fought against occupying Soviet forces. Arrested in Malaysia in 2004, he was interrogated by the CIA in Thailand before being extradited to Libya, where he was released from prison last year...

You would think this would be sort of big news. Or at least that some good journalists would start asking some serious questions, such as how this LIFG commander got in this strong position (who backed him) and whether this puts a damper on the whole Libyan freedom narrative? Maybe some reporter would go a step further and ask how one LIFG commander gets assassinated by our Government without trial (Al-Rahman), and another coordinates war and regime change plans together with NATO (Belhadj).

Instead, after more than a week to investigate this guy, I can count on one hand the number of Western media reports that have even mentioned the commander's connection to the LIFG and terrorism. And each of the reports seem to go out of their way to assure us that there is no problem.

The Independent (UK) goes as far as to try assure us that Belhadj has "renounced violence," despite the small detail that he is head of an armed insurgency that is currently toppling a government. In fact some basic research would find that the LIFG only renounced violence against Muslim leaders, deciding to concentrate on Western enemies instead. I guess Gaddafi's regime was not sufficiently Islamic (many of the rebels regard him as a Jew due to some obscure family history).

The other reports do not even call him Belhadj the leader of the rebels in Tripoli. They just say he's one of the leaders, "according to Arab reports" (they could just quote the rebel command, but that looks bad).

It is certainly a good thing for Mr. Hakim that the government he is overthrowing is one that the West agrees should go, not a shining light worthy of protection like Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan - where anyone would be liable to be killed by a drone for what he is doing.

Similarly, there is not one article in the world right now mentioning the different fates of these two LIFG brothers in arms, both dedicated to jihad against the West. it appears the Libyan rebel story is too good to tarnish with things like human rights abuses (particularly against dark skinned persons), Islamic fundamentalism and terrorist leaders taking the lead.

Today's Reuters report comes the closest to making a connection. It says:

"The killing is likely to be particularly highly prized by Washington as U.S. strategists would have been concerned about Rahman's potential influence in Libya's turmoil following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, analysts say.

But they could not go that one extra step and say exactly why Al-Qaeda might have a potential influence in the new "free" Libya. Abdel Hakim Belhadj's name does not appear.