Posted on 10/16/2012 6:30:57 AM PDT by reaganaut1
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and State Department are speeding up efforts to help the Libyan government create a commando force to combat Islamic extremists like the ones who killed the American ambassador in Libya last month and to help counter the country’s fractious militias, according to internal government documents.
The Obama administration quietly won Congress’s approval last month to shift about $8 million from Pentagon operations and counterterrorism aid budgeted for Pakistan to begin building an elite Libyan force over the next year that could ultimately number about 500 troops. American Special Operations forces could conduct much of the training, as they have with counterterrorism forces in Pakistan and Yemen, American officials said.
The effort to establish the new unit was already under way before the assault that killed Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans at the United States Mission in Benghazi, Libya. But the plan has taken on new urgency as the new government in Tripoli tries to assert control over the country’s militant factions.
According to an unclassified internal State Department memo sent to Congress on Sept. 4, the plan’s goal is to enhance “Libya’s ability to combat and defend against threats from Al Qaeda and its affiliates.” A companion Pentagon document envisions that the Libyan commando force will “counter and defeat terrorist and violent extremist organizations.” Right now, Libya has no such capability, American officials said.
A final decision on the program has not been made, and many details, like the size, composition and mission of the force, are still to be determined. But American government officials say they have discussed the plan’s broad outlines with senior Libyan military and civilian officials as part of a broader package of American security assistance.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Who is surprised our muzzy admin is training and arming our enemies?
History is repeating itself. More than 30 years, we began funneling arms via Saudi Arabia to the Afghan mujaheddin. After kicking out the strung-out Soviet conscript Army, the “mu” then had all the nifty American arms ultimately turned on us.
Well that plan won’t go anywhere, since in three weeks the Kenyan will know he is OUT OF A JOB. GO ROMNEY/RYAN!!!!
Ummhhh - aren’t they doing essentially that in Afghanistan?
And how exactly has that been working out? Anybody notice a trend in green-on-blue attacks since the regime replaced Bush’s policy with their own?
Training Muslims in the art of war. What possibly could go wrong?
> U.S. to Help Create an Elite Libyan Force to Combat Islamic Extremists
Yes. that’s always worked out so well in the past.
/SARC
yes,and Qaddafi had turned in his WMD programs,
and was actually HELPING us against Islamict extremeists,
especially in Benghazi, who were going to kill Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan.
-
...until Obama used NATO to bomb and destroy him,
and replace Quaddafi with...
ISLAMISTS !
It worked for William Eaton.
“to the shores of Tripoli...”
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.