Posted on 11/16/2013 6:35:40 PM PST by markomalley
The U.S. military is preparing to conduct military and special operations training for Libya’s military and the training will risk including Islamist terrorists among the trainees, according to the commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command.
Adm. William McRaven, the commander who helped lead the covert raid to kill al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, said in a brief interview Saturday that the counterterrorism training operation has not begun. “We’re in the early stages,” he told the Free Beacon.
McRaven said a major gun battle erupted in Tripoli last week among opposing militias, a sign of instability in the North African country. The training is needed to stabilize Libya, an oil-rich country beset by mounting terrorism and Islamist militias.
During a panel discussion on the war on terrorism at the Reagan National Defense Forum, McRaven disclosed that the Libyan military training would include both conventional forces training and special operations training and that there will be risks.
“We are going to have to assume some risks,” McRaven said. “Right now we have the authorities to do that training, and I think as a country we have to say there is probably some risk that some of the people we will be training with do not have the most clean records, but at the end of the day it is the best solution we can find to train them to deal with their own problems.”
McRaven disclosed the plans for Libyan training when asked about problems encountered in training foreign special operations forces.
McRaven said the training would include a “very, very thorough review” of the Libyans who will take part.
Since the ouster of Muammar Gadhafi in 2011, Libya has become a weakly government region dominated by Islamist militias ranging from al Qaeda affiliates to Islamists that do not support al Qaeda.
A weak central government has resulted in the spread of militias throughout the country. Weak border controls also have made the country a safe haven for jihadists.
Intelligence reports from earlier this year said some of the Islamists are engaged in training jihadists fighters who are then dispatched to Syria to join Islamist rebels there fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashir Assad.
The four-star admiral said the risks have been explained to senior leaders, including Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, and the regional combatant commanders.
The U.S. covert raid to capture al Qaeda leader Anas al Libi also has led to a backlash by Islamist militias operating in Libya.
The terrorists who attacked the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, killing Ambassador Christopher Stephens and three other Americans, were linked to al Qaeda.
The group, Ansar al Sharia, continues to operate openly, despite promises by President Barack Obama to bring those who carried out the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks to justice.
Additionally, Ansar al Sharia has grown more belligerent in recent months, apparently abandoning propaganda efforts to rebrand itself as a nonviolent militia.
Libyan militias also have seized some oil production facilities and have been selling oil to fund their activities.
Recently, al Qaeda terrorists reportedly infiltrated into Libya through the poorly protected southern border, according to a U.S. official.
McRaven said the military and special forces training will be carried out through the U.S. Africa Command, the military command in charge of Africa, and that negotiations with the Libyans are still underway.
Between 5,000 and 7,000 Libyans will receive conventional military training from the United States.
“And we have a complementary effort on the special operations side to train a certain number of their forces to do counterterrorism,” McRaven said.
Special operations training for the Libyans raises the prospect that some of the most advanced military tactics and operations could be compromised to Islamists.
Both training programs are being developed with Africom and supported by the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli.
Keep THE HELL out of Libya.
Good grief, Obama is drawn to the Middle-Eastern hell holes like bugs are drawn to a light on a warm summer evening.
Wow, such US military perks, now you get to train your own executioners.
“....Obama is drawn to the Middle-Eastern hell holes....”
::::::::::::
Obama is drawn to pandering to Muslim/Islamic interests anywhere he can...at our expense with no remorse.
Ping
Getting rid of ALL the witnesses would have been “optimal”.
What can possibly go wrong? Adding yet another firey ring to this “get rid of Assad” circus. They (the americans) wont even know who is who over there. Remember John McCain posing and smiing with a group of young Syrian Terrorists, some accused of ripping out (and eating) the hearts of their opponents? Keep smiling John. Now we have John Kerry over there bloviating at the drop of a dinner fork for all to hear and ignore.
He sure is. I am reminded daily that he has had four Muslim Brotherhood advisers. It’s a fricken terrorist organization.
The guy’s team looks more like a terrorist cell than a team trying to protect the United States.
“Testimony discredits Benghazi ARB Board in Full”
http://shoebat.com/2013/11/16/testimony-discredits-benghazi-arb-board-full/
“The guy’s team looks more like a terrorist cell than a team trying to protect the United States.”
This rings true.
Well, I take no pride in saying it. It just seems the honest truth of it doesn’t it. Thanks.
So, now, we’ll train the types or even the people who went after Stevens to be even more adept?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3092180/posts
The Chinese have been invited to Hawaii to help with a grid exercise...
Russians are setting up GPS monitoring sites in the US... Obama’s not just training AlQaeda...
How long ‘til Obama has joint exercises with Iran and North Korea?
Like His Royal Idiocy tried to do to Seal Team Six.
The list, Ping
Let me know if you would like to be on or off the ping list
That's why they are delaying lessons in flying loaded jetliners into skyscrapers until the third week.
Cover for a cleanup?
Obama, not only arms our enemies but trains them too! Who could ask for anything more, if you are a muslim terrorist that is. obamaramadingdong selling out America since 2005.
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