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Posted on 01/05/2012 9:28:16 AM PST by Hunton Peck
The Arab Spring may quickly become an Islamist Winter in Libya, reads a new report circulated among federal law enforcement and written for policymakers on Capitol Hill.
An advance copy of the report entitled "A View to Extremist Currents In Libya" and obtained by Fox News, states that extremist views are gaining ground in the north African country and suggests a key figure emerging in Libya formerly tied to al Qaeda has not changed his stripes.
"Despite early indications that the Libyan revolution might be a largely secular undertaking ... the very extremist currents that shaped the philosophies of Libya Salafists and jihadis like (Abd al-Hakim) Belhadj appear to be coalescing to define the future of Libya," wrote Michael S. Smith II, a principal and counterterrorism adviser for Kronos LLC, the strategic advisory firm that prepared the report.
Belhadj is considered one of the most powerful militia commanders in Libya as head of the Tripoli Military Council. As Fox News reported earlier this year, Belhadj is reported to be a former emir of an al Qaeda affiliate known as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group or LIFG. Founded in 1995 to set up an Islamic state or emirate inside Libya, it waged jihad against the regime of former Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi.
On Nov. 3, 2007, senior al Qaeda leaders announced that LIFG had officially joined Usama bin Laden's network, according to the State Department which designated LIFG as a terrorist organization.
Belhadj, who joined the group at its inception, had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the late 1980s. He was arrested in Malaysia in February 2004, reportedly interrogated by the CIA, before he was sent home to Libya. He was released from prison in 2009 as part of a rehabilitation program.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Shocked, I tell you.
The guy who hired Anwar Awlaki at the 9/11 mosque was going around D.C. last spring trying to get people behind the Libyan rebels.
I was at a discussion group recently. A Libyan who spoke very good English and has lived here a long time was of the opinion that there would be a surge in Islamic presence in governments, but that then it would fade again. Time will tell.
As the situation deteriorates it will become more and more difficult for the Obama media to ignore events in the Middle East. The President proclaimed, “After four decades of darkness, they (the Libyan people) can walk the streets, free from a tyrant.” Fouad Ajami, a senior fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institute wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “Who, today, does not thrill to the spectacle of freedom in Tripoli.” You did not have to have a doctorate from an Ivy League university in Middle East studies to see that this situation would turn sour. See “Vox populi, vox Mohammad?”
Islamist Winter... good one, I hope it catches on.
I’m trying to think of a case in which Islam has simply “faded” once it had a hold of something...
Maybe he shouldn’t hold his breath.
Islamism doesn’t “fade”. It just entrenches itself deeper as time goes by. The Libyan panelist was telling the crowd what it wanted to hear to that we wouldn’t prevent the Islamists from taking over. Classic Muslim Brotherhood move.
Good job, Barack!
Obama and Hillary have gone out of their way to create more nations that will be dedicated to the destruction of Israel and the U.S. Will they ever be asked why?
I am not sure what Libyan panelist you are referring to. The fellow I spoke of was part of a general discussion among a group, mostly WASP, of Maryland residents.
An interesting point was made in the continuation of the article. Al Qaida made a point of advancing activity in Libya because of its proximity to Egypt. Also since Egypt had one million workers there (Libya population 6 million), it made sense to infiltrate. I will be watching the career of the Tripoli commander, Belhadj, who is connected with interest. I can finally get Al Jazeera English on TV, and reading between the lines learn a lot.
This is why I like your pings, you always are looking to read between the lines. Good for you!
Great point ... cannot disagree.
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