WASHINGTON, D.C., March 26, 1996 -- Today, the Washington Post reported
unrest in Libya which the Libyans believe is led by a Col. Khalifa
Haftar based in the U.S. On May 17, 1991 the Washington Times reported
that three hundred and fifty Libyans would arrive soon in the United
States. So what's the connection?
It turns out that the Libyans who arrived in the U.S. in 1991 were
not the Libyan President Ghaddafi's terrorists. They were our folks,
trained by our CIA. These terrorists, which our government (ever mindful
of our sensitivities) prefers to call guerillas, were trained by our CIA
to topple President Ghaddafi. Last December 1990 when a new government
less sympathetic to our mission was formed in Chad, we tried to find
another home for our folks. It seemed that no one wanted our recruits,
and so they were flown to the United States from Kenya where they were
being temporarily housed. Col. Haftar was part of this group.
Col. Haftar is now reported to be the leader of a contra-style group
based in the U.S. called the Libyan National Army. This group is
supported by the U.S., and has been given training facilities in the
U.S. It's a good presumption that Col. Haftar's group operates in Libya
with the blessings of our government.
The question is, "Is Libya terrorizing the U.S., or is the U.S.
terrorizing Libya?"
---
[A small group of U.S. troops quietly helped Chad's military in a
running battle this week against an Algerian Islamic group, U.S. sources
said Thursday.--Barbara Starr, U.S. backs
Chad against extremists, CNN Washington, March 11, 2004]
["Chad is ready to co-operate with neighbouring countries to combat the
Salafist group - especially Niger, because the Salafists came through
Niger, so we are ready to co-operate with Niger to fight the Salafists."
But the real problem with US's Pan-Sahel Initiative is that it could
release monsters never dreamed of by Washington planners.
Al-Qaeda was, after all, a product of US strategy to arm the Mujahedeen
and tear Afghanistan from the grasp of the Soviet Union.
The Chadian government is hardly a squeaky-clean democracy.--Martin Plaut,
Battling
terrorism in Chad, BBC News, August 6, 2004]
