http://news.antiwar.com/2013/03/11/afghan-war-falling-apart-at-the-seams/
But even putting aside that rhetorical issue, Hagel’s visit has coincided with a series of incidents that suggest the US occupation, nearing its 12th full year, is flying apart at the seams, with insider attacks and popular opposition once again on the rise.
http://www.infowars.com/why-doesnt-obama-drone-strike-this-terrorist/
( Good Al -Qaeda get weapons , training , logistical and financial support ..... Bad Al Qaeda get bombs from Drones..... )
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/2013/03/12/UK-mulls-arming-Syrian-rebels-Assad-s-regime-vows-to-fight-for-years-.html
and.....
Posted By Josh Rogin
Pakistan items of note......
“If this project actually goes forward, that the Iran Sanctions Act would be triggered,” Nuland noted, insisting that they have been “straight up with the Pakistanis” about that fact.
Afghan War Falling Apart at the Seams
Hagel, Karzai Meet in Private, as Anger Grows at Occupation Forces
by Jason Ditz, March 11, 2013
After their press conference was cancelled yesterday over “security concerns,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai finally met with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel today, albeit in private. Hagel put a brave face on the situation after the meeting, downplaying differences with Karzai, who has accused the US of “colluding” with the Taliban.
But even putting aside that rhetorical issue, Hagel’s visit has coincided with a series of incidents that suggest the US occupation, nearing its 12th full year, is flying apart at the seams, with insider attacks and popular opposition once again on the rise.
Yesterday, Afghan university student Abdul Qayum detailed his kidnapping and tortured at the hands of an apparent CIA strike force, while protesters in the Wardak Province today blasted US special forces for ignoring a deadline to withdraw from the province after being caught in a series of “disappearances” and murders of their own. Some villagers are threatening an outright revolt if the troops remain, while the US seems opposed to removing them.
The dirty war behind the Afghan occupation has always been smoldering just under the surface, but is becoming more and more obvious and ugly, with US commanders openly refusing to ever hand over detainees held without charges unless the Karzai government promises never to give them trials. Officials maintain the detainees are “dangerous,” but concede they don’t have the evidence to ensure them being convicted in an actual court of law.
Death tolls also seem on the rise today too, with a pair of US soldiers killed in an insider attack in Wardak, and then another five killed in a helicopter crash.
Each of the issues and many more have been brewing for a long time, but with so many coming to a head at once, it seems that official claims of “progress” in the war are getting more and more farcical, and the sustainability of the war in serious doubt.
A Roundup of today’s Afghan stories
- Afghan Villagers Threaten Uprising if US Special Forces Don’t Leave
- 2 US Troops, 3 Afghans Killed in Insider Attack
- US Troops Attack Truck, Kill Two Afghan Civilians
- Despite Pledges of ‘Handover,’ US Troops Still in Afghan Province
- SOF Troops Still in Wardak as Joint US-Afghan Probe Continues
- Afghan Commander Blames Air Strike Ban for High Troop Casualties
- Five Coalition Troops Killed in Afghanistan Helicopter Crash
- Afghanistan a Minefield for the Innocent
Syria updates......
( Good Al -Qaeda get weapons , training , logistical and financial support ..... Bad Al Qaeda get bombs from Drones..... )
Why Doesn’t Obama Drone Strike This Terrorist?
Because the administration is backing terrorists in Syria
Paul Joseph Watson
Infowars.com
March 12, 2013
Infowars.com
March 12, 2013
Since the Obama administration seems so keen to entrench its authority to kill Americans deemed “terrorists” on foreign soil, why has it failed to drone strike former US Army soldier Eric Harroun, who is now fighting with the Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria?
Eric Harroun. Image: YouTube
The question is rhetorical because the answer is already known. Harroun will not be targeted because he is fighting on the same side as the terrorist-led FSA insurgents which the Obama administration has backed to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars.
“He’s a U.S.-trained soldier turned Muslim warrior who moves between America and countries where the winds of the Arab spring blow, fighting alongside jihadists and America-hating terrorists while celebrating his bloody exploits on YouTube videos,” reports Fox News.
When questioned as to how he feels about fighting alongside Al-Qaeda terrorists, Harroun responded, “the U.S. plays both sides, too.”
30-year-old Phoenix-born Harroun aided in the toppling of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before traveling to Syria to join an organization – Jabhat al-Nusra – that has been listed by the State Department as a terrorist group as a result of its involvement in numerous bloody attacks that have killed civilians.
Back in December, 29 different US-backed Syrian opposition groups pledged their allegiance to Al Nusra, an Al-Qaeda-affiliated group which, as the New York Times reported, “killed numerous American troops in Iraq.”
Numerous reports confirm that Al Nusra is the leading front line fighting force in Syria and is commanding other rebel groups. Al Nusra is also closely tied with Al Qaeda in Iraq, recently responsible for the slaughter of US-trained troops in Iraq.
If the Obama administration really believes in the necessity of killing Americans who are working alongside America’s enemies abroad, then why has there been no discussion whatsoever of targeting Harroun with a drone strike? Why is the US Army still providing a known terrorist with disability payments?
Another American who fought alongside Al-Qaeda terrorists in both Libya and Syria, Matthew VanDyke, recently returned to the United States and is set to give lectures in Washington DC this weekend. VanDyke admitted that he originally wanted to join the CIA but later became a self-described “freedom fighter”.
VanDyke fought with Libyan militants under the banner of the LIFG, a terrorist group which killed US troops in Iraq, yet he will not even be questioned by authorities when he visits the nation’s capital. On the other hand, the federal government is on the lookout for potential American terrorists who buy food in bulk or pay for a cup of coffee with cash.
American citizen Anwar Al-Awlaki was killed by a drone strike simply for producing propaganda videos and communicating with accused terrorists. His 16-year-old son was similarly slaughtered for merely sharing his father’s surname. Other American citizens like John Walker Lindh were imprisoned and tortured in Guantanamo Bay for fighting with the Taliban.
Meanwhile, Harroun and VanDyke are free to fly around the world and re-enter the United States as and when they please despite committing the exact same crimes as the likes of fellow US citizens Lindh and Al-Awlaki.
Eric Harroun’s presence in Syria serves as yet another reminder that US taxpayer dollars are being used to fund an insurrection led by Al-Qaeda terrorists who openly espouse their hatred for America as they ransack Christian churches, burn US flags, chant anti-American slogans and sing the praises of Osama Bin Laden while glorifying the 9/11 attacks.
While Obama’s drone strikes will continue to kill 98% innocent people not even suspected of being “terrorists,” including hundreds of children, real terrorists like Harroun and his ilk will continue to be given free reign because their motive is directly in line with the west’s ongoing neo-colonial campaign to replace non-cooperative Middle Eastern leaders like Bashar Al-Assad with easy to manipulate extremist sock puppets.
Last Update: Tuesday, 12 March 2013 KSA 22:17 - GMT 19:17
UK mulls arming Syrian rebels, Assad’s regime vows to fight ‘for years’
Al Arabiya With Agencies -
Britain said on Tuesday it could break with a European Union arms embargo on Syria to allow for arming opposition fighters as the regime of President Bashar al-Assad vowed to fight “for years.”
The arms embargo is part of a package of EU sanctions on Syria that currently roll over every three months, with the last extension achieved with the agreement of all 27 EU members on March 1.
Britain pushed for and won an agreement to amend the embargo to allow the supply of non-lethal equipment such as body armored vehicles to rebels, but warned that in future it might act alone.
Without unanimous agreement between all EU members to either renew or amend the ban in three months’ time, the embargo becomes void.
“I hope that we can persuade our European partners, if and when a further change becomes necessary, they will agree with us,” Prime Minister David Cameron told a parliamentary committee when asked whether Britain could “veto” the embargo.
“But if we can’t, then it’s not out of the question we might have to do things in our own way. It’s possible,” he added.
On Monday, France urged the European Union to look again at lifting the arms embargo, putting it at odds with Germany which said such a step could spread conflict in the region.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said ending the embargo would help level the playing field in the two-year-old conflict in which 70,000 people have died. His German counterpart Guido Westerwelle said that could lead to a proliferation of weapons in the region and spark a proxy war.
Britain pushed for and won an agreement to amend the embargo to allow the supply of non-lethal equipment such as body armored vehicles to rebels, but warned that in future it might act alone.
Without unanimous agreement between all EU members to either renew or amend the ban in three months’ time, the embargo becomes void.
“I hope that we can persuade our European partners, if and when a further change becomes necessary, they will agree with us,” Prime Minister David Cameron told a parliamentary committee when asked whether Britain could “veto” the embargo.
“But if we can’t, then it’s not out of the question we might have to do things in our own way. It’s possible,” he added.
On Monday, France urged the European Union to look again at lifting the arms embargo, putting it at odds with Germany which said such a step could spread conflict in the region.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said ending the embargo would help level the playing field in the two-year-old conflict in which 70,000 people have died. His German counterpart Guido Westerwelle said that could lead to a proliferation of weapons in the region and spark a proxy war.
Fighting for years
Meanwhile, Syria said it is ready to fight “for years” against rebels trying to topple President Bashar al-Assad, as the U.N. warned a generation of children risked being lost in the spiraling violence.
As the conflict which the U.N. says has killed more than 70,000 people approached its third year without a solution in sight, President Shimon Peres of neighboring Israel urged Arab intervention to end the “massacre.”
On the battlefield, rebels and troops fought fierce battles over the contested district of Baba Amr in third city Homs, and clashed on the road linking Damascus to the international airport.
Pro-government daily Al-Watan said the army was “in perfect condition” to defend Syria, but stressed citizens could also join in the battle, echoing a call made by the country’s top religious authority.
“Soldiers and officers have been fighting for two years with a courage and bravery unparalleled in world history, in the fiercest of battles,” the newspaper said.
“The Syrian army has at its disposal enough men and weapons to fight for years to defend Syria.”
The pro-regime High Islamic Council had on Monday stressed that “the defense of a united Syria and the Syrian people is an obligation which all (citizens)... must fulfill.”
Syria “is in a state of war”, said al-Watan, adding the council’s appeal aimed to encourage citizens to get involved in defending the nation which is “facing a real invasion” from its neighbors Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
Assad’s regime, which has consistently blamed foreign powers for the violence in Syria, also sent letters to the U.N. urging “pressure on certain Arab and Western countries that supply aid to terrorism.”
In Homs, which the insurgents have dubbed the “capital” of their two-year uprising, fighting focused on Khaldiyeh, with regime forces backed by tanks pounding the northern district, activists said.
The fighting comes one week into a massive army and pro-regime militia assault to reclaim Homs’s Baba Amr district that has become a symbol of resistance before the army overran it a year ago.
“Troops launched rockets from the Baath university into parts of Baba Amr,” said the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reporting.
Battles also raged on the road linking Damascus to the airport, southeast of the capital, said the watchdog. Rebels have for months being trying to seize control of the road.
As the conflict which the U.N. says has killed more than 70,000 people approached its third year without a solution in sight, President Shimon Peres of neighboring Israel urged Arab intervention to end the “massacre.”
On the battlefield, rebels and troops fought fierce battles over the contested district of Baba Amr in third city Homs, and clashed on the road linking Damascus to the international airport.
Pro-government daily Al-Watan said the army was “in perfect condition” to defend Syria, but stressed citizens could also join in the battle, echoing a call made by the country’s top religious authority.
“Soldiers and officers have been fighting for two years with a courage and bravery unparalleled in world history, in the fiercest of battles,” the newspaper said.
“The Syrian army has at its disposal enough men and weapons to fight for years to defend Syria.”
The pro-regime High Islamic Council had on Monday stressed that “the defense of a united Syria and the Syrian people is an obligation which all (citizens)... must fulfill.”
Syria “is in a state of war”, said al-Watan, adding the council’s appeal aimed to encourage citizens to get involved in defending the nation which is “facing a real invasion” from its neighbors Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
Assad’s regime, which has consistently blamed foreign powers for the violence in Syria, also sent letters to the U.N. urging “pressure on certain Arab and Western countries that supply aid to terrorism.”
In Homs, which the insurgents have dubbed the “capital” of their two-year uprising, fighting focused on Khaldiyeh, with regime forces backed by tanks pounding the northern district, activists said.
The fighting comes one week into a massive army and pro-regime militia assault to reclaim Homs’s Baba Amr district that has become a symbol of resistance before the army overran it a year ago.
“Troops launched rockets from the Baath university into parts of Baba Amr,” said the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists, doctors and lawyers for its reporting.
Battles also raged on the road linking Damascus to the airport, southeast of the capital, said the watchdog. Rebels have for months being trying to seize control of the road.
and......
Al Qaeda forms volatile 1,000-km chain from Baghdad to Damascus
DEBKAfile Exclusive Analysis March 12, 2013, 8:30 AM (GMT+02:00)
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz on Golan
Israel’s Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz rated war as a “low risk” for the foreseeable future, but credited the risk of escalation as “very high,” in a lecture he delivered Monday, March 11 at the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Institute for policy and strategy. “Almost every week, some incident occurs that could drag the region into a conflagration,” he warned.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: Gen. Gantz’s distinction between “war” and “conflagration” stems from the differentiation Israel’s senior policy-making and military circles have begun making of late to support a misconception that a full-blown war is no longer on the cards at present. They support this rationale by arguing that full-scale war can only be fought by large regular armies, while a “conflagration” or “escalation” entails smaller units and less terrain.
The Egyptian army, which would be the key to a major conflict, is held up in this regard as being in no state to go to war, given their country’s disastrous political and economic plight. The generals, according to this theory, wouldl take into account the low state of their units and lack of logistical preparedness and simply decline to issue any order to embark on war against Israel.
So when Gantz talked about a conflagration, he was thinking in terms of the Islamist militias in Syria, Hizballah in Lebanon and the Salafists allied with al Qaeda cells in Sinai – none of which are capable of launching war on the classical dimensions of the past.
DEBKAfile’s military sources: Gen. Gantz’s distinction between “war” and “conflagration” stems from the differentiation Israel’s senior policy-making and military circles have begun making of late to support a misconception that a full-blown war is no longer on the cards at present. They support this rationale by arguing that full-scale war can only be fought by large regular armies, while a “conflagration” or “escalation” entails smaller units and less terrain.
The Egyptian army, which would be the key to a major conflict, is held up in this regard as being in no state to go to war, given their country’s disastrous political and economic plight. The generals, according to this theory, wouldl take into account the low state of their units and lack of logistical preparedness and simply decline to issue any order to embark on war against Israel.
So when Gantz talked about a conflagration, he was thinking in terms of the Islamist militias in Syria, Hizballah in Lebanon and the Salafists allied with al Qaeda cells in Sinai – none of which are capable of launching war on the classical dimensions of the past.
What this kind of thinking omits to take into account is that, while the regular Arab national armies which attacked Israel in the past are indeed crumbling, the militias in their countries are mushrooming dangerously. They are bursting out of their national boundaries, nourished with arms, manpower and funding from distant sources in and beyond the Middle East.
DEBKAfile’s military sources point to the example of the Syrian army’s 17th Reserve Division, whose recent defeat in the battle for the Euphrates River in eastern Syria established a regional landmark. It removed the last gap in the 1,000-kilometer long chain of command formed by Islamist forces identified or associated with al Qaeda, which now runs contiguously from the northern outskirts of Baghdad to the eastern fringes of Damascus. The Syrian Golan, since it fell to the Islamist militias fighting with Syrian rebels, forms part of that chain. The Battle for the Euphrates was a landmark event in that it opened the way for al Qaeda to conduct itself as a transnational force in combat. And indeed, in a recent encounter, al Qaeda in Iraq claimed victory over Syrian military units which, having crossed the border into that country, lost the battle at the cost of 48 soldiers and 9 agents dead.
DEBKAfile’s military sources point to the example of the Syrian army’s 17th Reserve Division, whose recent defeat in the battle for the Euphrates River in eastern Syria established a regional landmark. It removed the last gap in the 1,000-kilometer long chain of command formed by Islamist forces identified or associated with al Qaeda, which now runs contiguously from the northern outskirts of Baghdad to the eastern fringes of Damascus. The Syrian Golan, since it fell to the Islamist militias fighting with Syrian rebels, forms part of that chain. The Battle for the Euphrates was a landmark event in that it opened the way for al Qaeda to conduct itself as a transnational force in combat. And indeed, in a recent encounter, al Qaeda in Iraq claimed victory over Syrian military units which, having crossed the border into that country, lost the battle at the cost of 48 soldiers and 9 agents dead.
Therefore, any “conflagration” in Syria, for instance, could quickly spread to Lebanon, Iraq or the Golan; and a violent incident in Egypt may emanate from or spill over into Libya, Israel or Algeria.
This eventuality was intimated in another part of the Gantz lecture: “The only permanent factor we are seeing in the last two years is that nothing is permanent. Egypt, too, which underwent a revolutionary process, has not achieved permanence; old and familiar arenas are changing and are being replaced by newer, weightier, ones,” said the chief of staff. “The threats have not gone, only assumed new shapes and when we encounter them in the future, will demand of us enhanced strength.”
Gantz went on to say: “True, we aren’t preparing to fight a regular army, but when next challenged, we shall still have to crawl through the burrows of Gaza and reach every building in Judea and Samaria.”
The general omitted reference to Iran. This may have been because a nuclear Iran represents the prospect of all-out war with a national army and is therefore the exception to the theory embodied in his lecture.
Regarding Syria, he said: “The situation in Syria has become exceptionally dangerous and unstable. Although the probability of a conventional war against the Syrian army is low, the terrorist organizations fighting Assad may next set their sights on us. The Syrian army’s tremendous strategic resources may well fall into terrorist hands.”
This eventuality was intimated in another part of the Gantz lecture: “The only permanent factor we are seeing in the last two years is that nothing is permanent. Egypt, too, which underwent a revolutionary process, has not achieved permanence; old and familiar arenas are changing and are being replaced by newer, weightier, ones,” said the chief of staff. “The threats have not gone, only assumed new shapes and when we encounter them in the future, will demand of us enhanced strength.”
Gantz went on to say: “True, we aren’t preparing to fight a regular army, but when next challenged, we shall still have to crawl through the burrows of Gaza and reach every building in Judea and Samaria.”
The general omitted reference to Iran. This may have been because a nuclear Iran represents the prospect of all-out war with a national army and is therefore the exception to the theory embodied in his lecture.
Regarding Syria, he said: “The situation in Syria has become exceptionally dangerous and unstable. Although the probability of a conventional war against the Syrian army is low, the terrorist organizations fighting Assad may next set their sights on us. The Syrian army’s tremendous strategic resources may well fall into terrorist hands.”
and.....
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/03/11/state_department_calls_rebel_attack_on_syrian_army_troops_terrorism
Posted By Josh Rogin 
Monday, March 11, 2013 - 2:11 PM 
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The rebel attack last week on a convoy of Syrian regime troops in Iraq was an act of "terrorism" because the Syrian troops were "non-combatants," the State Department said Monday.
An al Qaeda affiliated group has claimed responsibility for the attack on a Syrian military convoy in Iraq last week that resulted in the death of 48 Syrian soldiers and nine Iraqi guards. At Monday's State Department press briefing, outgoing spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the attack was an act of terrorism because the Syrian troops were not actively engaged in a firefight when they were attacked and because the attackers used "terrorist tactics."
"Well, let me first condemn the attack on the convoy. Any kind of attack like this, any kind of terrorism like this is something that we should condemn," Nuland said.
While there is no single agreed-upon definition of the word "terrorism," the U.S. government's owncode of federal regulations defines terrorism as "the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."
Reporters in the briefing noted that no civilians were targeted and that the rebels are engaged in all-out war with the Syrian regime, but Nuland held firm.
"Again, any time you attack noncombatants in this way -- and the techniques were obviously terrorist tactics -- we're going to call it what it is," she said.
Last December, the State Department designated the al-Nusra Front, a conglomeration of rebel groups with some ties to al Qaeda, as a foreign terrorist organization. But Nuland said that it was the circumstances of the attack, not the identity of the attackers, that made it an act of terrorism.
"Well, it obviously depends on the circumstances -- whether they were trying to defend themselves against enemy fire -- but we've been pretty clear about calling out attacks against folks who are not in the middle of a firefight all the way through this from both sides," she said.
Nuland said the State Department believes the Syrian troops had fled the fighting and sought medical treatment in Iraq. They were being returned to Syria when their convoy was ambushed using "terrorist tactics."
"So, it was not the same circumstance that the rebels have confronted when they are trying to defend the population from Syrian regime attack," she said.
One reporter pointed out that the United States routinely targets and kills members of various groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan who are not physically engaged in the fight at the time they are targeted. Nuland declined to comment on the perceived double standard.
"Again, it depends on the circumstances," she said.
Nuland also declined to confirm or deny a report by the German magazine Der Spiegel that Americans are training Syrian anti-regime forces in Jordan.
"I have nothing for you on that," she said.
State Dept Reiterates Sanctions Threat Against Pakistan Over Iran Pipeline
Gas Pipeline Seen as Vital to Pakistan's Economy
by Jason Ditz, March 11, 2013
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland has reiterated US threats to impose economic sanctions on Pakistan if it dares to follow through on the oft-delayed plans to build a gas pipeline to neighboring Iran.
“If this project actually goes forward, that the Iran Sanctions Act would be triggered,” Nuland noted, insisting that they have been “straight up with the Pakistanis” about that fact.
Nuland has regularly presented Pakistanis with a choice between sanctions and US help in overcoming its energy crisis, which is choking the nation’s economy and is the prime mover behind the pipeline. The US pledges never seem to materialize, however, though they have caused several delays to the pipeline.
In the end, Pakistan may find itself in a position to call the administration’s bluff on sanctions, as the US almost certainly will not risk tit-for-tat sanctions that could close the Pakistani supply route into occupied Afghanistan. The final decision may hinge on the results of Pakistan’s upcoming election, however, and whether forces calling for economy independence through trade and industry can top the factions hoping for US handouts to finally materialize.
Iraq horror show rolls on....
http://original.antiwar.com/updates/2013/03/11/iraq-horror-27-killed-166-wounded/
Iraq Horror: 27 Killed, 166 Wounded
by Margaret Griffis, March 11, 2013
A major bomb attack struck near Kirkuk in the town of Dibis, while gunmen killed more people across the country. At least 27 people were killed and 166 more were wounded.
A suicide car bomber drove into a Dibis police station, where as many as eight people were killed in the ensuing blast. About 65 of the 165 wounded were students at a Kurdish secondary girls school nearby. Another government building suffered effectsof the blast.
In Baghdad, gunmen stormed a Shula home where they killed a man and a woman. A storeowner was shot dead in Sabi al-Boor. A policeman was killed in a drive-by shooting in Ghazaliya. A civilian was killed in the Saidiya district, while a Sahwa member was gunned down in Amil. Three ministry employees were also killed.
Gunmen killed two policemen in Baaj.
In Muqdadiya, a dumped body was found. A roadside bomb wounded a policeman.
Motorcycle-riding gunmen killed a blacksmith in Baquba.
In Mosul, a political candidate was shot dead. Gunmen killed a soldier.
The Rutba‘s council head died of his injuries while on his way to a hospital in Ramadi.
The body of young man whose head had been smashed in was found in Kirkuk a day after he was kidnapped.
Gunmen killed a civilian in Abu Saida.
A bomb targeted soldiers in Amiriyat al-Saidiya, but no casualties were reported.
No casualties were reported after a bomb exploded at a lieutenant’s home in Shirqat.
A bomb at a political party’s offices in Balad were bombed but no casualties were reported.
Libya ball of confusion rolls on......
Libyan Gov’t Aiding and Abetting Ansar al-Sharia
John Glaser, March 11, 2013
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Libyan rebels gathered in Ajdabiya, March 2011. Credit: Al Jazeera English
The new Libyan government – which exists thanks to the NATO intervention in 2011 – is providing aid and comfort to al-Qaeda linked groups.
Mohamed Eljarh at Foreign Policy reports, “Ansar al-Sharia returns to Benghazi“:
On Sunday, March 3, four pickup trucks filled with Ansar al-Sharia militiamen pulled up at the European School in Benghazi. The men jumped out and stormed the school, saying that they were searching for teaching materials that they viewed as contradicting sharia law or the values of Libyan society. The incident at the school continued for about two hours and caused mixed reactions among Libyans as they followed the story.
Eljarh reminds us that Ansar al-Sharia is a radical, al-Qaeda-linked group – “linked to the attack on the United States consulate in Benghazi back in September of last year, which led to the death of four Americans” – that “advocates the implementation of strict sharia law across Libya.”
Aided by the West in NATO’s war of regime change, Ansar al-Sharia “fought with other Libyans to topple the Qaddafi regime in 2011.”
“Since the fall of Qaddafi,” Eljarh reports, ”the heavily armed group has declared itself to be an independent paramilitary body that does not fall under the government’s direct command and control.”
During the US-NATO war in Libya, Antiwar.com took up the rather lonely task of warning against intervention. Among the many, many reasons to stay out was the fact that it was known that many of the Libyan rebels had ties to al-Qaeda linked groups or were otherwise unscrupulous Islamists, heavily armed from the outside.
And now, the shaky Libyan government is “cooperating” with Ansar al-Sharia, even though “they remain firmly opposed to the idea of democracy, which, they contend, contradicts sharia law.”
“The basis for Ansar’s reappearance seems to be an arrangement with the Libyan Ministry of Defense,” Eljarh reports. ”At the time of the attack on the consulate, the government promised to do everything in its power to bring the perpetrators to justice — but now we see the Libyan authorities actually cooperating with the militia.”
The reason, according to the Foreign Policy report, is that the Libyan government is having a hard time achieving the central enterprise of a state: maintaining a monopoly on the legitimized use of force. Ansar al-Sharia has the guns. The Libyan government wants in on some of that.
And what better way to do that than to ally with thuggish armed militias that hold democracy in contempt?
Prophesies of blowback – and doom – that could be read at this site at the time of our heroic, humanitarian intervention in Libya were readily dismissed by most of official Washington and their obedient news media. Again and again, the predictions are being realized.
http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/03/04/belhaj-gives-uk-7-days-to-say-sorry-and-pay-six-dinars-damages/
Belhaj gives UK 7 days to say “Sorry” and pay six dinars damages
By Nigel Ash
Abdul Hakim Belhaj
London 4 March, 2013:
Abdul Hakim Belhaj, the former leader of Tripoli Military Council, has given the British government a week to admit his claims the UK was involved in his 2004 CIA rendition and the apologise. In return he is prepared to drop a major civil action in London and settle for token damages equivalent to six Libyan dinars.
Belhaj and his wife Fatima, then five months pregnant, were seized in Bangkok by the CIA and flown to Libya, via the British Indian Ocean territory of Diego Garcia. Documents discovered after the revolution are alleged to show UK government involvement at high levels. Belhaj spent four years in Abu Selim jail.
In a letter sent last Thursday to UK premier David Cameron, to Tony Blair’s former foreign secretary, Jack Straw and a former top MI6 officer, Sir Mark Allen, Belhaj offered to abandon his claim against Straw and Allen, as well as the British state, but he said that he wanted a reply within seven days.
His London solicitor, Sapna Malik of human rights law firm Leigh Day & Co, told the LIbya Herald this evening that the offer had come directly from Belhaj himself, and she did not think the short deadline was unreasonable.
“We feel it is realistic. The government can make quick decisions when it wants to. It is not as if the allegations or the details of the case or the issues involved are unknown or a real surprise. So we don’t think the timing is unrealistic This is a relatively cheap, if not easy way for the government to get out of the case.”
Malik went on to say that if the British government demonstrated that it was seriously considering the deal, the deadline could be extended “if we thought that that was genuine and it [the delay] was not totally open-ended.”
In his letter Belhaj wrote: “Today I write to offer a swift resolution. As I have said before, I will forever be grateful to Britain for helping the Libyan people end Qaddafi’s rule. I believe it is essential to Libya’s future that relations between Libya and Britain remain warm.
“For this reason, I am making an open offer to settle our litigation. My wife and I are willing to end our case against the UK Government and Messrs Straw and Allen in exchange for a token compensation of a British pound from each defendant, an apology and an admission of liability for what was done to us.”
Belhaj went on to say that contrary to reports, his action against the British government was not for financial gain, hence his readiness to accept token damages.
It is however certain that if pursued, the action against the British government, Straw and Allen is going to prove highly expensive. At the moment the proceedings are in relatively early stages.
“If the offer is not accepted, the case will carry on” said Malik, “ We have already served a claim and had a defence. The next step would be a court hearing on or about 16 April , where directions will be set for the next step”.
Belhaj also noted in his letter the British government’s moves with a Security and Justice bill, which would introduce secret hearings for cases such as his. If passed, said his lawyer Malik this evening, the legislation was almost certain to effect her client’s case.
UK government sources confirmed that the Belhaj letter had been received. However it was pointed out that since police were looking into allegations by former Libyan detainees of rendition into the hands of the Qaddafi regime, they were unable to make further comment.
In a similar case last December, Sami Al-Saadi dropped his action in return for a £2 million (LD 4 million) payment. The UK government paid the money without admitting any guilt or responsibility and Saadi signed an agreement that ended all further actions. A like offer is thought to have been made to Belhaj, but he refused to sign it, because he wanted admissions of guilt and apologies.
and.....
http://www.libyaherald.com/2013/03/09/congress-suspends-full-sessions-in-reaction-to-tassault/
Congress suspends full sessions following attack
GNC President Mohamed Magarief
Tripoli, 9 March 2013:
The General National Congress is to temporarily suspend its official meetings. The decision follows Tuesday’s assault when hundreds of armed gunmen threatened members and held them hostage for several hours in an attempt to force them to immediately pass the controversial Political Isolation Law banning Qaddafi era officials from office for 10 years.
It was the latest in number of attacks, but the most violent and most serious assault on Libya’s newfound democracy. Some members were assaulted in the attack.
At a press conference this evening, Saturday, Congress President Mohamed Magarief said that members would not meet under pressure or while threatened with weapons by people trying to terrorise them into action.
The decision had also been taken, he said, because of the lack of adequate secure premises following the earlier trashing of the Congress chamber by injured revolutionaries. The latter had taken it over on 3 February and remained in occupation for a month. They finally quit just a couple of hours before the assault on Congress members who had moved to temporary accommodation at the Meteorological Institute in south Tripoli’s Crimea district.
The move had earlier been canvassed by prominent Congressman Salah Jouda.
Magarief this evening stressed that the Congress was nonetheless determined to continue carrying out the responsibilities entrusted to it in the elections last July. Work would be undertaken to restore and secure the chamber. Meanwhile Congress committees would continue to meet to prepare draft laws, in particularly the budget.
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