The Central Role of Al Qaeda Operatives in the "Liberation of Tripoli"
According to CNN, in a twisted logic, the terrorists have repented: "former terrorists" are no longer "terrorists".
The LIFG is said to have been disbanded.
Following their disavowal of violence, these former LIFG leaders created a new political organization called the Islamic Movement for Change, which according to CNN "is committed to working within a future democratic process". "The Libyan Islamic Movement for Change (Al-Haraka Al-Islamiya Al Libiya Lit-Tahghir), is made up of former members of the now defunct [CIA supported] Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)" (Reuters, August 26, 2011)
In a contradictory about turn, former "bad guys" (terrorists) are heralded as "good guys" committed to "combating terrorism". The "former" members of the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) are now portrayed as "pro-democracy activists" who "have assumed leadership positions in several rebel brigades".
Labels have been switched: the CIA supported Al Qaeda affiliated LIFG has been transformed into the CIA sponsored Islamic Movement for Change (IMC), which supports the pro-democracy rebellion.
When was the LIFG disbanded?
In a bitter irony, the Libya Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) was listed until June 2011 by the United Nations Security Council as a bona fide terrorist organization. On June 21 2011, The Listing of Terrorist Organizations, conveniently vanished from the UN Security Council website pending the revamping of the website. (See annex below)
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The LIFG entry was included in the (updated March 24, 2011, accessed April 3, 2011) United Nations Security Council "terror list" as follows
QE.L.11.01. Name: LIBYAN ISLAMIC FIGHTING GROUP
Name (original script):
A.k.a.: LIFG F.k.a.: na Address: na Listed on: 6 Oct. 2001 (amended on 5 Mar. 2009)
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Recent reports confirm what was known and documented from the outset of the "rebellion" in mid-March: The key military command positions of the rebellion are held by the "former" commanders of the Libya Islamic fighting Group (LIFG)".
The commander of the assault on Tripoli is Abdel Hakim Belhadj, (also known as Abu Abdullah al-Sadeeq, Hakim al-Hasidi). He has been entrusted, with NATO's approval, of "one of the most powerful rebel brigades in Tripoli [which] took charge of successful rebel efforts earlier this week to storm Gadhafi's Bab al-Azziziyah compound, further bolstering his prominent position in rebel ranks." (CNN, op cit)
"Sadeeq was a well-known figure in the jihadist movement. He fought the Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan and helped found [with the support of the CIA] the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group there." (Ibidt)
But Saddeeq, according to CNN has repented. He is no longer a terrorist (i.e. a bad guy)(
HAPA UNAWEZA KUONA UZANDIKI WA 'NATO' NA 'UN') "but a powerful voice against Al Qaeda's terrorism". (Ibid, emphasis added)
"In 2009, Sadeeq and other senior LIFG leaders formally repudiated al Qaeda style terrorism and disbanded their campaign to overthrow the Libyan regime.
The breakthrough was the result of a two-year dialogue with the regime brokered by Benotman [a former LIFG commander now in the employ of the London based Quilliam Foundation with a mandate in conflict resolution. CNN interviewed leading figures of the LIFG in Abu Salim prison in Tripoli in September 2009, shortly before the group's leaders were released. Although they were then behind prison bars, the leaders' disavowal of violence appeared genuine. (Ibid)
According to DebkaFile (Israeli intelligence online report), the "pro-Al Qaeda brigades "led by LIFG Commander Abdel Hakim Belhadj constitute the dominant force of the rebellion, overriding the authority of the Transitional Council. They are in control of strategic buildings including Gadhafi's compound.
"The LIFG chief [Abdel Hakim Belhadj] now styles himself "Commander of the Tripoli Military Council." Asked by our sources whether they plan to hand control of the Libyan capital to the National Transitional Council, which has been recognized in the West, the jihadi fighters made a gesture of dismissal without answering. (Debka, Pro-Al Qaeda brigades control Qaddafi Tripoli strongholds seized by rebels, August 28, 2011 )
Abdul Hakim Belhhadj received military training in CIA sponsored guerrilla camp in Afghanistan. He constitutes a CIA "intelligence asset" in the Lybian war theater. An earlier report suggests that he has some 1,000 men under his command. (
Libyan rebels at pains to distance themselves from extremists - The Globe and Mail, March 12, 2011)
The US-NATO coaltion is arming the Jihadists. Weapons are being channelled to the LIFG from Saudi Arabia, which historically, since the outset of the Soviet-Afghan war, has covertly supported Al Qaeda. The Saudis are now providing the rebels, in liaison with Washington and Brussels, with anti-tank rockets and ground-to-air missiles. (See Michel Chossudovsky "Our Man in Tripoli": US-NATO Sponsored Islamic Terrorists Integrate Libya's Pro-Democracy Opposition, Global Research, 3 April 2011)
The "Liberation" of Libya: NATO Special Forces and Al Qaeda Join Hands
