Foreign Policy Success: Rising Al-Qaida's Flag
[W]ith longtime U.S. nemesis Moammar Gaddafi dead and Libya’s onetime rebels now in charge, the coalition air campaign has emerged as a foreign policy success for the Obama administration and its most famous Cabinet member, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Clinton credited with key role in success of NATO airstrikes, Libyan rebels, WaPo
"Foreign policy success"? Like Al Qaida's flag flying above the courthouse in Benghazi, Libya?
via vice
Or maybe this?
The cycle of retribution appears already to have started. The town of al Jemel, a scattering of sandy homes in the palm-studded desert southwest of Tripoli, is one example.Residents said brigades from faraway Misrata had appeared at their doorstep a week ago, breaking into people's homes and looking for Gaddafi loyalists.
Dozens of young men have disappeared and four have been killed in detention, said Al Koni Salem Mohammed, the uncle of one of those killed.
Speaking at a mourning ceremony on the edge of town, he shook with grief as he showed the death certificate listing "electric shocks" as a cause of death. He said the body had been dumped outside the detention centre with its tongue and genitals cut off.
Cycle of revenge hangs over Libya's fragile peace, Reuters
As Clinton is now, through that sycophantic WaPo piece, taking full credit for what happened with Libya, we should never forget her responsibilty as that country falls further apart.
Posted by b on October 31, 2011 at 7:25 UTC | Permalink
She's taking credit because this is precisely what they intended. As they say, "it's a feature, not a bug." And if the AQ types in Libya ever launch an attack, that's icing on the cake. It gives them the excuse they need and saves them from the trouble of having to plan their own false flag.
Posted by: Lysander | Oct 31 2011 13:24 utc | 2
@2, yep, and the brainless, gullible public doesn't even notice the searing surface contradiction. Either Al Qaeda's the enemy, or they're not. Of course, for many of us here at MOA, we know what Al Qaeda really is, but you can't broach that topic with many in the West because of the Cognitive Dissonance. Al Qaeda is whatever "they" want it to be at any given moment, because, afterall, it's "their" little baby.
Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 31 2011 13:55 utc | 3
http://japanfocus.org/-Peter_Dale-Scott/3578
Bosnia, Kosovo, and Now Libya: The Human Costs of Washington’s On-Going Collusion with Terrorists [Peter Dale Scott]
"Twice in the last two decades, significant cuts in U.S. and western military spending were foreseen: first after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and then in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. But both times military spending soon increased, and among the factors contributing to the increase were America’s interventions in new areas: the Balkans in the 1990s, and Libya today.1 Hidden from public view in both cases was the extent to which al-Qaeda was a covert U.S. ally in both interventions, rather than its foe."
Posted by: david montoute | Oct 31 2011 14:25 utc | 4
Edward G Robinson would have described Shrillary as "a real piece o' woik!"
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 31 2011 14:39 utc | 5
Al Queda has a flag??? That black flag isn't the Taliban flag is it? I'm not being confrontational -- just a genuine curiosity.
Posted by: e buzz miller | Oct 31 2011 15:16 utc | 6
Al Queda has a flag???
If it does, you can be assured it's a False Flag (drum roll, please).
Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 31 2011 15:25 utc | 7
The Taliban flag is white same as the official Afghan flag during the Taliban rule 1997-2001. Written on it is the Shahada (the Islamic creed) that says "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God."
Wikipedia link to the White Taliban flag: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Taliban.svg
Al Qaeda's flag is black and is known as "the flag of Jihad" or "the flag of the Khilafah" meaning the Caliphate. Both white and black flags are linked with the white Taliban flag being a flag of individual Islamic nations and the black flag being for the general Caliphate. In a way like the differeance between EU nation flags and the EU as a whole.
Wikipedia link to the Black Al Qaeda flag: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Jihad.svg
Posted by: Colm O' Toole | Oct 31 2011 15:44 utc | 8
Is there an Al Qaeda Anthem to go with the flag? If there is, it ought to be rich, don't ya know.....like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi37tyv7F64
Posted by: Morocco Bama | Oct 31 2011 15:57 utc | 9
It is supposed to be the flag of al queida in iraq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_al-Qaeda_in_Iraq.svg
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 15:59 utc | 10
US government plans to use Al Qaeda to destabilize African countries.
Posted by: nikon | Oct 31 2011 16:13 utc | 11
actually the interesting point in the flag link is this:
"According to a Libyan who didn't want to be named, a special military group inside the NTC is calling on Salafi fighters with military backgrounds to join a special group fighting in the rebellion. "There will be special benefits if you join whether you die in battle, or when you return home,” including monthly salaries. (One NTC source told me that Belhaj’s fighters are the only rebel fighters who receive a monthly salary.)"
and this
"It isn’t uncommon to discover rebels with radical backgrounds. In an off-the-record interview, one NTC member spoke casually of his past, explaining that the Gaddafi regime blacklisted him from the country for his ties to LIFG. He told me of his close association with Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman, the infamous “blind cleric” jailed for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, who he helped ferry across the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan during the mujahedeen fight against the Soviet Union."
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 16:27 utc | 12
more flags here
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/30/world/africa/libyan-leaders-remark-favoring-polygamy-stirs-anger.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 16:42 utc | 13
yeah and Bosnia was such a success, too
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/30/us-bosnia-usa-gunman-idUSTRE79T2VD20111030?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&rpc=71
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 18:42 utc | 15
so of course, now the US have to fight it, guess with whom?
Serbia
http://www.isria.com/pages/31_October_2011_182.php
US embassies in Vienna are not safe either:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2667210/posts
and no, Wahhabism is not a Bosnian Muslim idea, it was imported
http://www.bosnia.org.uk/news/news_body.cfm?newsid=2468
however, US foreign policy is so clever, isn't it, as embassy staff can be easily replaced, and the World Trade Center rebuilt, so what? But guess what, Takfir's ennemies are mainly other Muslims, so black or white cats catch mice, never mind?
Afghanistan was a great place for travellers in the 1960's, guess who spoilt that (it wasn't the Soviet Union).
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 18:57 utc | 16
and this is terror (sorry security) in Tripoli
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/31/libya-gaddafi-revolution-tripoli?CMP=twt_gu
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 19:23 utc | 17
and Libya got a new prime minister now :-))
oabushagur ousama abushagur
Dr. El Kieb is a man of strong morals and was fundamental in the founding of Islamic community in Tuscaloosa istuscaloosa.org
vor 19 Minuten
ousama abushagur
oabushagur ousama abushagur
Dr. El Kieb was previously in the USA as a professor of EE in Univ Ala #RollTide was very instrumental community leader of Tuscaloosa, AL
vor 21 Minuten
ousama abushagur
oabushagur ousama abushagur
Dr. El Kieb has been a life long friend he will do very good for Libya during this crucial time.
vor 26 Minuten
ousama abushagur
oabushagur ousama abushagur
Both #NTC PM canidates are solid individuals. Dr Elkieb is a Prof of EE and has good leadership experience.Rujbani ex IBM but amazing record
1. now, because Germany is often quoted as an example of successful rehabilitation after dictatorship:
It took us more than twenty years to vote for an emigrant, and he still had problems because of his emigration ...
2. obviously, they were looking for a technocrat. forget it, he will not last ...
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 19:32 utc | 18
this here sums up the demented policy of feeding tigers so they catch mice nicely
http://markcurtis.wordpress.com/2011/08/17/britain-qadafi-and-the-libyan-islamic-fighting-group
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 20:26 utc | 19
Personally, I think the world would be a better place if America was annihilated. I know it sounds heartless, given that the majority of Americans aren't nasty people, but people too gullible, unimaginative and frightened to rein in the criminals in charge no longer qualify as benign.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Nov 1 2011 4:19 utc | 21
Libya Council Elects Former Alabama Professor as Prime Minister
Libya’s National Transitional Council elected Abdurrahim el-Keib, a former electrical engineering professor at the University of Alabama, as the country’s interim prime minister.El-Keib was appointed to head the NTC’s executive council after gaining 26 out of 51 votes yesterday in the capital, Tripoli, Al Jazeera reported.
...
El-Keib “left everything” to join the NTC, formed shortly after Qaddafi put down anti-government protests that erupted in the eastern city of Benghazi in February,
The guy lived the last 36 years in the U.S. and now gets a one voice majority from the mostly still anonymous NTC. This smells of a CIA plant ...
Not that he'll survive for long.
I am sure these people have never heard of him
Libya: revolutionaries turn on each other as fears grow for law and order
Hundreds of revolutionaries fought each other at a hospital in Tripoli early on Monday, in the biggest armed clash between allies since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8860684/Libya-revolutionaries-turn-on-each-other-as-fears-grow-for-law-and-order.html
Translating it into business speak: Libyan oil will be very expensive, as now there are not only bribes to pay but huge amounts for security also. I do not see any firm operating in Libya for a long time.
Posted by: somebody | Nov 1 2011 5:49 utc | 23
this here are the politics of it
http://gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/political-islam-will-have-to-deal-with-clashing-interests-1.921436
"Given Libya's extremely complex political situation, Abdul Jalil's statement was timely and very smart. He referred intentionally to concepts seen as very controversial in the West to make it clear to the Libyan people he was not a western puppet. In a way that seemed weird to a western ear, he spoke of Sharia and polygamy, knowing that for the emotionally wrought Libyan Muslims he was offering proof of his complete independence (such references are of course demonised in the West). For France, Britain and the US it was a way to show the world that Libya was now "on its own;" time for Nato to allow the new Libya to build its future by relying on its own traditions. The religious and political reference to Islam thus serves to appease the Muslims and lend traditional and religious legitimacy to the NTC while concealing the West's tri-dimensional — military, geopolitical and economic — penetration of Libya."
Posted by: somebody | Nov 1 2011 9:47 utc | 24
Forget AlQ - that mythical entity.
According to Jeune Afrique, on 13 oct., a large delegation of French biz/ corps arrived in Lybia, to obtain reconstruction contracts. That Sirte was destroyed is a boon. 80 companies sent reps. All these cos., in energy, agri biz, telecoms, health, banking, environment, and construction, etc. were active in Lybia under Kadhafi.
Pierre Lellouche, secr. of state for external commerce, was with them.
The German counterpart, Philipp Roesler, was expected the next day.
The French were on the qui vive - nervous, because competition from the Turks and Chinese is expected to be lively or vicious.
In Lybia, there are more than 100 Turko-Lybian registered cos. And of course the Chinese invested massively, and employed many tens of thousands of ppl.
yes.
The article also states, that the Lybian market (whatever that is) was held previous for 6% by France, 19% by Italy and 11% by China. So there is no ‘real reason’ why France could not return. The next meet is in mid-november, for ‘pre-signatures’ of ‘accords’ for ‘future contracts’...
http://tinyurl.com/6anbq8b (in fr)
This meet was amply reported in the MSM, e.g. Le Figaro: http://tinyurl.com/64du4p5
The Independent, 21 oct: British firms urged to secure Libya contracts.
quote: Mr Hammond said sales directors should be "packing their suitcases" for Libya. (..) Trade minister Lord Green has met British businesses to discuss potential opportunities in Libya in the wake of the conflict. (..) There are expectations that the NTC will look favourably on UK firms after Britain's strong military commitment in support of the anti-Gaddafi rebels.
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 1 2011 16:18 utc | 25
Forget AlQ - that mythical entity.
Some folks put up some fight under that name in Iraq. Otherwise, yes, it is mythical.
In Bani Walid, Kadhafi loyalists thirst for revenge
Jubilant NTC fighters entered Bani Walid on October 17, after weeks of fierce resistance, astonished by the sudden capitulation and disappearance of the pro-Kadhafi fighters. The town was virtually empty."When the thwar (revolutionary fighters) failed to find the Kadhafi brigades they had been expecting, they were furious. They shot at dogs, at houses, they looted and burned apartments and public buildings," said Suleiman.
"Now the whole town is angry. The thwar punished everyone, by destroying their homes, stealing their cars and killing their relatives," he added, in a voice full of hatred and sadness.
"Bani Walid is a tribal society. We don't have foreigners here. There is only the Warfalla tribe and no one can govern us... We will act sooner or later, here and even in Tripoli," he warned.
'Libya’s National Transitional Council elected Abdurrahim el-Keib, a former electrical engineering professor at the University of Alabama, as the country’s interim prime minister.'
not elected ..selected..Notice how the Libyan people have had no say in this process at all. yet the western politicians who preach 'democracy' support a very UNdemocractic autocracy
Posted by: brian | Nov 1 2011 20:33 utc | 27
this is a channel 4 production on the Libyan embassy, Reagan, Libyan opposition, the LIFG and the Berlin underworld.
http://www.sott.net/articles/show/236576-Murder-in-St-James-Square-The-Death-of-Yvonne-Fletcher.
It is a reminder of what has been played all those years. It is good entertainment, too.
Posted by: somebody | Nov 1 2011 20:43 utc | 28
Noirette, in their dreams. no business invests in an insecure environment. they lost a year's income already.
I do not see UN peacekeepers go in, they only go in after some kind of ceasefire. I do not see how NATO countries can get the political will for boots on the ground. It will have to be contractors and they are some type of militia themselves. They would have to be accepted or they will quickly be part of the fight.
So either they pay those guys well, or nothing will get done. These guys have a strong position in any negotiation - remember, they have guns. And as they are many groups, negotiations will be complex and the payout immense. Security contractors will be hiring, too.
They do not control all the areas either. I don't see any reports from South of Bani Walid, and Bani Walid seems to be difficult for them. Anyway, pro- and anti-Ghaddafi has become meaningless now, definitions now will be tribal and local.
And, I guess, not everybody is in the fight yet. Most people will wait and see. Lots of weapons got looted but not used. Some people will have a plan what to do.
Also, the Tripoli headquater of these people was seized
http://publicintelligence.net/libyan-intelligence-service-cia-mi6-extraordinary-rendition-documents/
but what happened to them - I suggest being intelligent, they switched sides. Where to?
Who bought them?
Posted by: somebody | Nov 2 2011 8:12 utc | 29
ok. Al Qeida is a Chimera. However, Islamic fundamentalism is an ideology that makes people act:
http://twitter.com/#!/peterallenparis/status/131641747817246721/photo/1
Can you guess why offices of #CharlieHebdo were burnt down this morning? Clue in their image of the Prophet Mohammed. http://pic.twitter.com/rOcSGXeh
To have western secret services support them for stupid gains, that will backfire anyways, is not in our interest. Americans, British and French citizens should wake up to it.
Posted by: somebody | Nov 2 2011 8:27 utc | 30
Serbia tells it like it is
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuCC2GA9RHc&feature=youtu.be
Posted by: somebody | Nov 2 2011 16:34 utc | 32
somebody wrote: Noirette, in their dreams. no business invests in an insecure environment. they lost a year's income already.
(Maybe more.) But they hope for the future, and they mean to try. NATO support for the rebels is a coin to be cashed in. They took sides in a 'civil war' and now want a part of the pie. Back the winner, or better, create the winner. The illusory idea was bomb and reconstruct, and Lybians will sit down and negotiate. They were known for that, under K, and as expats.
So, everyone will de disappointed. Rebels. Lybians as a whole. Foreign powers. Companies. Everyone.
“Trash and burn, baby, Trash and burn.” (from Tom Wolfe, novel, A man in Full.) Some winners will nevertheless emerge.
So either they pay those guys well, or nothing will get done.
They will do that.
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 2 2011 17:40 utc | 33
Charlie Hebdo was already blamed for publishing the Mohammed Cartoons in 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons_controversy
They can be seen here, in part (1st from goog)
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=12146
This new flap is more of the same (see the similarity in images.)
C Hebdo is anti-clerical of any kind in a big way. Anti royalist. Anti elite. Anti-catholic, as well. It is also anti-semitic.
And it is satirical - kind of. The anti - muslim stance gets readers.
That some nutters - perhaps some muslim group? - who knows - object with violent action to what they consider offends their sensibilities in an unbearable way, or that they (?) want to gather young adherents with violent discourse and action, or perhaps it is false flag (who knows), has absolutely nothing to do with Al Quaida, whatever that is.
Unless AlQ is read as ‘any stance or action’ that can be attributed to muslims, islamist, jihadists.
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 2 2011 18:03 utc | 34
Deutsche Welle tells it like it is
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,15505381,00.html
seems propaganda lost any use now ...
Posted by: somebody | Nov 2 2011 18:03 utc | 35
Possibly far worse than Afgh.
Afgh being a very ‘rural’ country, with mountainous and in part impenetrable terrain, a subdued and submissive population, very poor, and in a war situation since forever (recent times with a few respites...), low expectations, etc.
Lybia has factions jockeying for power, is now an ex-modern country (education, health care, etc.), allegiances of various kinds that are much stronger and more split than in Afgh, influence as well, and it is cursed with black gold, it has swag to sell. Its tribal makeup is also completely different. Lastly, it is awash in arms. The potential for disaster is much greater.
I can't believe that I just posted that some place could be worse than Afgh.
Posted by: Noirette | Nov 2 2011 18:26 utc | 36
Noirette, why I am so fascinated about this, is that it is a situation where any player can get something only if all cooperate, however, this has been played by all sides completely zero sum, I win or I die ...
Posted by: somebody | Nov 2 2011 18:32 utc | 37
@Noriette I can't believe that I just posted that some place could be worse than Afgh.
Mogadishu - and Libya will play in that class.
Sheer incompetence? NTC is loosing its own clientele
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hpeRLuXm3Ta0ou5hVJzQ2MCa38RQ?docId=CNG.7d2b4a98d964b2797a1705c20a3e7c04.191
Republicans are waking up for the campaing
http://washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/2011/11/obama-becomes-silent-cal-libya-sharia
Stranded Libyan hajj pilgrims block Benghazi runway
By Jay Deshmukh (AFP) – 10 hours ago
BENGHAZI, Libya — About 120 hajj pilgrims from Benghazi blocked the city airport's runway after a Saudi Arabian plane due to take them for the annual Muslim pilgrimage failed to arrive.
The angry men and women, after waiting for nearly 18 hours for the Saudi plane to arrive, marched to the runaway and stopped a Tripoli-bound domestic flight from taking off from Benghazi's Benina airport, an AFP correspondent reported from the runway.
All the pilgrims were relatives of fighters killed in battles against Moamer Kadhafi's forces since the uprising against him erupted in Benghazi, in February and ended with his death on October 20.
"We have been waiting since 5:00 am for the plane to arrive but there is no news. Nobody is telling us what is happening," Hafed Al-Jilali, coordinator for the hajj pilgrims in Benghazi told AFP.
Posted by: somebody | Nov 3 2011 10:47 utc | 39
and now Quatar finds out that Ghaddafi might have been just a typical Libyan:
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/11/04/libyan_diplomat_unloads_on_qatar
Shalgam: We don't need America or Qatar, we have officers and everything. | Question from anchor - "Was Qatar forced on the Libyans?"
Shalgam: This is unacceptable. There was no document. They gathered in meeting in Doha. Qatar forced Qatar (on Libya)
Shalgam: Sheikh Mustafa Abdul Jalil (NTC head) went to Qatar with apolitical people who don't know the background & didn't read the document
Shalgam: They accepted the document. I warn our brothers in Qatar, if they continue this path to dominate Libya they would be delusional.
Shalgam: We will resist the Qataris by all means. We will not accept to be used by Qatar.
Shalgam: We will not accept to be a new emirate that belongs to the new "Emir of the Believers" in Qatar.
Shalgam: I do not rule out Qatar setting up a Hezbollah party in Libya. We don't want a foreign country to interfere.
Posted by: somebody | Nov 4 2011 18:19 utc | 40
The comments to this entry are closed.
Well she shredded the responsibility to protect, as obviously Nato enabled to be done to Sirte what was not supposed to be done to Benghazi ...
Libya will be in the news for a long time I suppose ...
http://twitpic.com/78g9jo
#Ramadan was head of #gaddafi office for 40 years. He looked & dressed like #gaddafi b4 his fall from grace. #libya
Posted by: somebody | Oct 31 2011 8:51 utc | 1