Counter-terrorism and imperial hypocrisy

The information that Abu Anas al-Liby is now facing trial on charges of terrorism in New York enlarges the story of the terrorism and hypocrisy of the Global War on Terror that is being fought by the United States along with its pliant allies in Europe and the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC). Abu Anas al-Liby also known as Nazih Abdul Hamed al Ruqai was snatched from the streets of Tripoli on 5 October. The western media made much ado about the capture of the so called ‘high value target,’ but the history of the collaboration between the organizations represented by this person and the intelligence services of the NATO militarists exposes the ways in which the selective use of counter-terror activities has been used by the western military forces to maintain the so called War on Terror. In our submission this week we again reflect on the destruction of Libya by the NATO forces and restate the call for the Security Council of the United Nations to carry out a thorough audit of the NATO operations in Libya and the aftermath that has brought destruction and 1700 militias making life unbearable for ordinary Libyans.

WHO IS ABU ANAS AL-LIBY?

From the major news outlets such as CNN, Abu Anas al-Liby is an alleged al Qaeda operative who is now accused before the Federal Court of New York of playing a role in the 1998 US al-Liby Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday 22 October, 2013 to terrorism charges. Peace activists from all parts of the world will be following this case very closely because what the media has not disclosed to the majority of US citizens is the fact that for more than two decades this so called terrorists had been known to the British to the point of being part of elements supported by British intelligence forces to assassinate Col. Muamar Gaddafi. It is from the conservative British newspaper, ‘The Telegraph’, where we can read the details of how al-Libywas a member of a Catastrophic failure of NATO in Libya">, we joined with the peace forces around the world that called for a full investigation of the NATO operations and the aftermath in Libya. Two years after NATO announced that they had completed a ‘successful’ mission, the kidnapping and abduction of the Prime Minister exposed the reality that the ‘elected government’ does not really control much of the country. The armed groups that had been financed by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and western intelligence agencies to destroy Libya still operate with impunity.

The so called government of Libya has been incapable of mediating the contending rivalries between the West and the proxies of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in Libya. With financial and other forms of support from outside, the so called government of Libya has been unable to disarm the more than 1700 militias.

It is in Benghazi where the mischief by internal and external forces is most intense. In that part of the country, imperial forces are bent on maintaining insecurity in anticipation of the moment when the Egyptian revolution changes course and there is need for another base for counter revolution. This alliance with external intelligence forces has emboldened the militias in Benghazi who have blockaded the ports and oil terminals over the past month, severely restricting exports of Libya's major foreign currency earner, which mostly comes from the region.War on Terror must cease and the links between extremists and the western intelligence services must be exposed.

The Kidnapping of al-Liby from Libya has brought back attention to the world that was created by the western intelligence agencies to fight in the Reagan era. Details of the ‘Forbidden Truth’ should become every day knowledge so that never again the intelligence agencies can manipulate groups to create as much destruction as they have done over the past thirty years. The machinations of the west in their dealing with these extremists are clearly exposed in the full history of al-Liby who we now know belonged to elements in the pay of the British intelligence services. These elements have now used massive resources from conservative forces in the Gulf to spread mayhem in Africa. Whatever their origins, these extremists have created havoc in Northern Nigeria and in Somalia. Peace activists must intensify their efforts to expose the history of al-Liby and equally to unearth and expose the forces in the West, Qatar and Saudi Arabia who are financing extremists in Africa.

*Horace Campbell is the Special Invited Professor of International Relations at Tsinghua University, Beijing. His permanent position is as Professor of African American Studies and Political Science, Syracuse University. He is the author of ‘Global NATO and the Catastrophic Failure in Libya: Lessons for Africa in the Forging of African Unity,’ Monthly Review Press, New York 2013

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