"Some Americans have fretted that Islamic extremists will take over Libya, but very few of the rebel leaders have been associated with Islamic fundamentalism. One exception is Abdel Hakim Belhaj, a military commander in Tripoli, who says he was tortured by the C.I.A. in 2004. Yet he told my Times colleague Rod Nordland that all is forgiven and that he appreciates the American role in the Libyan revolution.
Frankly, any representative Libyan government needs to include fundamentalists like Mr. Belhaj, who were particularly brave in standing up to the Qaddafi regime."
What is Kristof not telling you? From a very recent BBC article entitled "Profile: Libyan rebel commander Abdel Hakim Belhaj" (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14786753):
"Mr Belhaj - known in the jihadi world as Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq - commanded the now defunct Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).
The group was formed in 1990 by Mr Belhaj and other Islamist Libyans who had fought in Afghanistan against the Soviets in the 1980s.
. . . .
By 1998, the group was crushed. Most of its leaders fled to Afghanistan and joined forces with the Taliban. There, Mr Belhaj is alleged to have developed 'close relationships' with al-Qaeda leaders and Taliban chief Mullah Omar, according to an arrest warrant issued by the Libyan government in 2002.
The warrant says that he was based in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, from where he ran and financed training camps for Arab mujahideen fighters.
. . . .
The warrant says Mr Belhaj travelled widely, spending time in Sudan, Pakistan, Syria and Iran. He is also said to have visited Turkey, London and Denmark.
After the 11 September attacks and the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, he and most of the LIFG leaders fled that country as well, only for Mr Belhaj to be arrested in 2004 in Thailand by the CIA and then handed over to Col Gaddafi's government."
Captured by the CIA and flown back to Libya, Belhaj was allegedly tortured in the presence of CIA agents:
"'What happened to me was illegal and deserves an apology,' he told the BBC's Jeremy Bowen in Tripoli.
. . . .
For his part, Mr Belhaj has said that the revelations would not stop Libya's new rebel leadership - the National Transitional Council - from having 'orderly relations' with the US and Britain.
. . . .
According to Arabic press reports, Mr Belhaj has two wives, one Moroccan and one Sudanese."
So which is it? According to Kristof's account, Belhaj has no score to settle with the CIA, whereas the BBC tells us that he is waiting for an apology. Note also how the sanguine Kristof account never once mentions Belhaj's past ties to the Taliban or his two wives.
What exactly does Belhaj mean when he says that he is willing to have "orderly relations" with the US and Britian? Excuse me, but there is a wide gulf separating "orderly" and "friendly."
What else does Kristof fail to observe? No mention in his jolly rendition that advanced Russian-made heat-seeking missiles are now missing from Libyan warehouses (see, from Kristof's own newspaper: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/08/world/africa/08missile.html?_r=1&hp). Some of these missiles, which can be used to down airliners, will reappear soon enough in Gaza and along Afghanistan's border with Pakistan. Sorry to spoil the party, but this amounts to a security lapse by the Obama administration.
"Any representative Libyan government needs to include fundamentalists"? Yeah, right, and maybe there should also be radical Islamists in the US Congress. But never mind any of this: We wouldn't want to ruin Nicholas's perfect storybook ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment