Former Gitmo Detainees, Mujahedeen Leading Libyan Rebels

Perhaps the only thing worse than Gadhafi running Libya would be the Muslim Brotherhood running it. Unfortunately for Americans, our military effort over there is aiding in the latter becoming a reality. The more involved we get, the more obvious it becomes. Now it's learned that an Islamic preacher who trained in eastern Afghanistan; a former fighter with the Libyan Mujahedeen; and a guy who spent six years in Gitmo are all leading in the rebels' effort to topple Gadhafi.

Via the Wall Street Journal:

DARNA, Libya—Two former Afghan Mujahedeen and a six-year detainee at Guantanamo Bay have stepped to the fore of this city's military campaign, training new recruits for the front and to protect the city from infiltrators loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi.

The presence of Islamists like these amid the opposition has raised concerns, among some fellow rebels as well as their Western allies, that the goal of some Libyan fighters in battling Col. Gadhafi is to propagate Islamist extremism.

Abdel Hakim al-Hasady, an influential Islamic preacher and high-school teacher who spent five years at a training camp in eastern Afghanistan, oversees the recruitment, training and deployment of about 300 rebel fighters from Darna.

Mr. Hasady's field commander on the front lines is Salah al-Barrani, a former fighter from the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, or LIFG, which was formed in the 1990s by Libyan mujahedeen returning home after helping to drive the Soviets from Afghanistan and dedicated to ousting Mr. Gadhafi from power.

Sufyan Ben Qumu, a Libyan army veteran who worked for Osama bin Laden's holding company in Sudan and later for an al Qaeda-linked charity in Afghanistan, is training many of the city's rebel recruits.

Both Messrs. Hasady and Ben Qumu were picked up by Pakistani authorities after the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and were turned over to the U.S. Mr. Hasady was released to Libyan custody two months later. Mr. Ben Qumu spent six years at Guantanamo Bay before he was turned over to Libyan custody in 2007.

It's a widely held belief that if Gadhafi stays in power, Barack Obama will suffer grave political damage. If Gadhafi is removed from power, the United States could be placed in more actual danger as the Muslim Brotherhood is almost certain to fill the void. As the Brotherhood consolidates power in Egypt, control of Libya, which borders Egypt to the west is critical to the Brotherhood. The question that continues to dog clear-thinking people is: Why does this administration continue to implement policies that favor the Muslim Brotherhood?

Read it all.

h/t Gateway Pundit

Video: Howard Dean is Back; Uses Propaganda to Decry Propaganda

On March 31st, Howard Dean spoke to an audience at Carnegie Mellon University and accused the Tea Party of being exclusively over 55 and white (racist). He then went on a rant about how the right wing - Fox in particular - engages in propagandistic lies it refuses to correct. He cites death panels as an example. Lost on Dr. Dean is that death panels were proven to be true by none other than the New York Times when they - perhaps inadvertently - reported that Medicare czar Donald Berwick put them back in Obamacare during the Christmas break in 2010.

Perhaps the most egregious words from Dean at Carnegie Mellon involved his contention that the right falsely accuses Obama of being a socialist. Lost on him - and evidence that it is Dean who is using propaganda - are the multiple instances in which Dean himself cheered Obama for his socialist policies and beliefs. Another notable quote comes at the very beginning in which Dean says of the Tea Party: 'This is a shrinking minority, ever shrinking, and the shrinkier they get, the madder they get.'

When you translate a socialist's words, that means just the opposite. The Tea Party isn't shrinking at all. It's growing exponentially.

Via The Blaze:



Here is Dean in France on April 5, 2009 extolling the virtues of socialism, er, I mean 'communitarianism' and Obama's role in furthering it.

Qur'an Burning Pastor may put Muhammad on Trial Next

Florida pastor Terry Jones was pressured into not carrying through with his pledge last September 11th to burn a pile of Qur'ans. Ever since, he's been relegated to virtual obscurity. Then, two weeks ago, he donned a black judge's robe and put the Qur'an on trial; the book was found 'guilty' and sentenced to burning. That act in Florida is being blamed for a slew of murders in Afghanistan. Jones is not only maintaining he is not responsible, he is now threatening to put Islam's prophet on trial.

Via The Telegraph:

"It is definitely a consideration to stage a trial on the life of Mohammed in the future," he said in interview on Saturday.

Such an inflammatory move would almost certainly trigger further violent protests in the Muslim world. But Mr Jones struck an unapologetic stance, insisting that his actions bore no responsibility for the murders in Mazar-i-Sharif.

The pastor had first threatened to burn a pile of Korans on last year's ninth anniversary of the Sept 11 terror atrocities.

The article also quotes Jones thusly:

"We find it very tragic any time that someone is murdered but we do not feel any responsibility for that. It definitely does indicate that there is a very radical element of Islam," he said.

"We'd like to see the President of the United States not only condemn these actions but to call on the UN for these people and Muslim-dominated countries to be held accountable."

Using the logic of those who want to hold Jones accountable for murder, shouldn't Hamid Karzai be held accountable as well? Until Karzai gave a speech in which he denounced Jones's actions, the incident had gone practically unnoticed.

Via New York Times:

Both Afghan and international news media had initially played down or ignored the actions of Mr. Jones, the Florida pastor. On Thursday, however, President Karzai made a speech and issued statements condemning the Koran burning and calling for the arrest of Mr. Jones for his actions. On Friday, that theme was picked up in mosques throughout Afghanistan.

“Karzai brought this issue back to life, and he has to take some responsibility for starting this up,” said a prominent Afghan businessman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retribution if he was identified as a critic of the president.

“Karzai’s speech itself provoked people to take such actions,” said Qayum Baabak, a political analyst in Mazar-i-Sharif. “Karzai should have called on people to be patient rather than making people more angry.”

Go HERE for more on Terry Jones.

h/t Weasel Zippers