Al Qaeda's North African wing says it backs Libya uprising

[jakeXT]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Al Qaeda's North African wing has said "it will do whatever we can to help" the uprising in Libya, according to a statement the militant group posted on jihadist websites

The statement by Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was posted Thursday, said SITE, a terrorist-tracking organization based outside Washington.

In the statement, the group said Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's decision to hire mercenaries and use planes to fire on protesters invalidates claims that the group is killing innocent civilians.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb started as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat with aspirations to overthrow the Algerian government.

Read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/02/24/libya.qaeda.statement/

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Al Qaeda sets up 'Islamic emirate'

AL-QAEDA has set up an Islamic emirate in Derna, in eastern Libya, headed by a former US prisoner at Guantanamo Bay.

However, residents in the city have told reporters there is no substance to these rumours, which they claim the Libyan government is sowing to "scare Europe".

"Al-Qaeda has established an emirate in Derna led by Abdelkarim al-Hasadi, a former Guantanamo detainee," Khaled Khaim said.

"They have an FM radio station and have begun to impose the burqa" (head-to-toe covering for women) and have "executed people who refuse to cooperate with them."

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/ipad/al-qaeda-sets-up-islamic-emirate/story-fn6s850w-1226011076258

This could get interesting

[dipsydoodle]

1. This could get interesting ?

Why wouldn't they support it ?

[EFerrari]

8. Just noticed that Jamal Elshayyal is the AJ English reporter

working the Egyptian border.

Last time I saw him, he was on the Mavi Marmara. This could be all the proof the US media needs of AQ in Libya. :)

[dipsydoodle]

9. The US Media

aka Paranoia Inc.

In actual fact almost everything that Al Jazz has shown from Libya has carried the rider that they cannot confirm the accuracy of the report. :shrug:

[mainer]

2. I'm sorry to say, this is what I predicted

"They have an FM radio station and have begun to impose the burqa" (head-to-toe covering for women) and have "executed people who refuse to cooperate with them."


With Qaddafi's departure, there will be horrible destruction of women's rights. I mentioned this possibility on DU and was told to fuck off.

[pampango]

4. So "Support Qaddafi to Prevent Terrorism" or "...to Promote Gender Equality".

Couldn't have predicted those headlines a few years ago.

And just because Al Queda belatedly can read the handwriting on Qaddafi's wall, doesn't mean that they are destined to rule. Getting rid of dictators is not a win for terrorists unless you see a world of rich Western countries and dictators controlling the rest of the world to protect the rich West from the evil terrorists.

[Robb]

5. True enough. Al Qaeda also issued missives supporting the Egyptian uprising

....Thirwat Salah Shehata supported ousting Mubarak.

Of course, it was couched in "once he's gone we can get down to a hardcore theocratic state, right?" sort of language. I think Al Qaeda's still playing catch-up on all this.

[David__77]

10. It is indeed pretty clear.

It is like the old Soviet-backed government in Afghanistan. They were fuckers, but they did actually provide a relatively open space for women and for those rebelling against backward traditions.

Right now, women take part in affairs of state (such that they are) and the armed forces. Gaddafi himself postulates an essentialist feminist view emphasizing sexual biological differences, which I actually find backward. In any event, as bad as things may have been, I fear that darker times lie ahead, and not just for women, but for the non-religious, non-observant, homosexuals, and intellectuals. It is of course up to Libyans to decide their destiny, but I hope that the principles of humanism guide their choice.

[Phoonzang]

3. Oh for fuck's sake.

Now we should back uprising even more...and send every rebel a crisp 100 dollar bill. Take THAT Al-Qaeda!.

[redixdoragon]

6. I'm not sure on the validity of this.

Seems to me like the seeds for a new conflict that we will become involved in, all for the wrong reasons.

Look at oil right now, spiking in prices that will hurt, maybe send us towards depression if they go high enough.

If we have the excuse that Al-Qaeda is there and involved, we'll use it as a right to go in and start dropping bombs, then occupying the region. We'll say we'll do it for democracy and stopping terrorists, but we'll go in to re-secure the oil supply.

Just a theory right now, I've no evidence to back it up, save for past experiences.

And how come we never hear of another arab terrorist organization making any public statements of siding with one faction or another. Always we hear of one group, Al-Qaeda. Seems like it was made for the audiance of Europe and the US.

[robcon]

7. Of course they do.

The more instability, the better for Al Qaeda. A toppled government could be ripe for being replaced by a new, more "friendly to al Qaeda" government.