Posted on 03/28/2011 3:30:59 PM PDT by jazusamo
Washington (CNSNews.com) – The Obama administration has not expressed concern about terrorist infiltration of the rebellion against Muammar Gaddafi, administration officials said Monday, hours before President Obama was to deliver an address to the nation explaining the U.S. mission in Libya.
A 2007 West Point study (PDF, 6.5 MB) found that Libya accounted for one of the largest per capita contributions to the foreign insurgency in Iraq.
The United States joined France and Britain in air strikes against Libya to enforce a no-fly zone over the country, authorized by the United Nations Security Council. NATO is set to take control of the operations, with responsibility both for enforcing the no-fly zone now in place and what is being called a “civilian protection mission.”
Some critics have raised doubts about the wisdom of helping an opposition whose makeup, ideology and goals are not well understood.
At a White House press briefing Monday Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough addressed a question about the administration’s comfort level regarding allied air strikes helping the Libyan rebels.
He voiced reluctance to characterize the Libyan opposition, but said it was “quite a broad movement of people.”
“You had the people – shopkeepers and others – and even in Tripoli, those first several days who were protesting and saying that the mistreatment that they’d been under for so long was – needed to end. I think they’re part of the opposition,” McDonough said.
“I think those people in Misurata right now who are pinned down by government forces are part of the opposition.”
McDonough said the opposition comprised not only of rebel forces heading westward from the opposition stronghold in Benghazi.
“It’s not just those individuals, but I think it’s individuals that we saw in those first several days – shopkeepers, students and others.”
McDonough did not take a question specifically about the 2007 West Point report, although the issue was put to White House press secretary Jay Carney later in the briefing.
“There was a report out of West Point in 2007 about the people going through Syria to get into Iraq to fight U.S. troops, and that report had about a fifth of those going in to fight U.S. troops from Libya,” a reporter said.
“There was also a Libyan opposition group that was affiliated with al-Qaeda. And my question is, how concerned is the administration about the possible presence within this broad group of Libyan opposition figures that there are those who fought jihad against the United States in Iraq, or are affiliated with al-Qaeda or affiliated groups?”
Carney replied that the administration had “obviously spent a lot of time looking at the opposition in Libya and speaking with opposition leaders.”
“What we have seen in Libya is something that’s national and organic, where, as we’ve seen in other countries, the people of Libya have expressed their desire for greater participation, greater voice in their government, more representation,” he said. “But beyond that, I don’t have anything specific on elements of the opposition that would be of concern.”
Asked how confident Obama was that a post-Gaddafi government would be better for the U.S., Carney acknowledged that the situation involved “a lot of unpredictability.”
“But the President believes strongly that it serves the U.S. national interest and national security interests to be on the right side of history and to – as he did with regard to Egypt and as he has with regard to situations across the region – to support the democratic aspirations of the people, to support political dialogue between governments and their people, and that an outcome that results in greater pluralistic, democratic representative governments in the region will increase prosperity, stability and … also be good for the United States of America.”
Citing Italian press reports, the Daily Telegraph of London reported on March 26 that Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, described as “a key leader of the Libyan rebels,” said he had recruited men from eastern Libya to fight against coalition forces in Iraq.
The paper said al-Hasidi was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a group identified in the West Point report as having an “increasingly co-operative relationship” with al-Qaeda.
The West Point information was based on documents captured in the Iraqi town of Sinjar, which reportedly showed that LIFG members made up the second largest group of foreign fighters in Iraq, after Saudis.
According to the State Department, al-Qaeda announced in November 2007 that the LIFG had officially joined the terrorist network.
The Los Angeles Times, citing unnamed U.S. counterterrorism officials, reported on March 24 that there was no evidence that terrorists were playing a hidden role in the Libyan rebellion.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who take part in a multilateral meeting in London on Tuesday with allied governments and opposition leaders from Libya.
I don't believe that for a second, Obama didn't even talk to Congress.
The list, ping
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Of course they do. The rebels are AQ and the muslime bruthahud, two of the Muslime in Chief’s BFF’s.
Yeh...they shared a couple of beers in a foxhole....Obama brought it from the Whitehouse along with a few vegies for the field commanders.
If this half ass administration looked at them it was camera footage from a predator fly over.
No terrorists.....97% Muslim population!!! Right!!
His policies have been pro-Islamist since he became president.
Funny thing is, while Obama has acted outraged anytime someone in America called him a muslim, he never once had the state department correct Qadaffi when HE called Obama (repeatedly) a muslim.
When you live in a muslim dominated nation, you quite often don’t have a FREEDOM OF RELIGION to be anything BUT muslim.
When the muslim PR groups like CAIR talk of how many muslims there are in the world, they never discuss how many HAVE NO LEGAL CHOICE IN THE MATTER.
You’re right, a predator fly over at at best.
Obama is obviously Muslim.
“Concern About Potential Libyan Rebel Terror Links”
Just think of all the money that will flow to AQ now! Oh boy! Zero knows how to help a brother!
I believe it.
Plenty of Muslims in non-Muslim countries including the US. They CHOOSE to be part of this murderous cult.
Al Qaeda's Foreign Fighters in Iraq (2007 U.S. Military Academy Report)
MI6 'halted bid to arrest bin Laden' (UK pays Al Qaeda in Libya, 1996)
Libyan Islamists 'join al-Qaeda' (November 2007)
Gaddafi regime fed names of jihadists to the CIA and to Britain
Libya frees 214 Islamists (March 23, 2010)
Libya frees 37 Islamist prisoners (September 1, 2010)
Libya frees 12 more political prisoners (February 4, 2011)
Libya Islamists 'seize arms, take hostages' (February 20, 2011)
Al Qaeda sets up 'Islamic emirate' (February 24, 2011)
Al-Qaeda commander calls for overthrow of Gaddafi and introduction of Sharia Law (March 14, 2011)
Libya: the West and al-Qaeda on the same side
The goal of Muslims is kill all the Christians and Jews and world domination...not goodness. Nothing religious about this political scheme.
One need only look at his response to the FT Hood massacre to see that. “Let’s not jump to conclusions........”
Of course they’re playing it down. The quick spread of the “rebellions” through the muslim world are to replace the secular totalitarian governments with a united caliphate, and Obama wants to see that. It doesn’t matter whether or not he’s a muslim, he was raised in muslim societies and sees “the muslim way” as the right path for the world.
There’s also quite a bit of self-deception there... The “I hope they’ll kill us last” victim mentality.
Mark
( White House Plays Down Concern About Potential Libyan Rebel/al-Qaeda Terror Links who are on the verge of capturing important oils fields ).
Spot on! No one is talking about the radical Islamo-fascists who are embedding themselves in the political systems around the Middle East with these "democratic" coup d'etats. Once they get established, they will be new bedding grounds for terrorism, the oil will be going to China and the Free World will have to do it on electric cars (we'll be ripe for an EMP attack then). Instead of a few radical countries, we will have many. And Israel and Saudi Arabia will be vulnerable to them. I hope to God Zer0's damage does not initiate World War III before we can give him the boot.
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