Thursday, March 31, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Islamists have had a marginal role in these revolutions – but that could be changing, writes Peter Bergen.
As the fortunes of Colonel Gaddafi's forces and the Libyan rebels continue to see-saw, many commentators are calling for the West to arm the opposition forces. Yet the disclosure on Tuesday that US intelligence agencies have picked up "flickers" of an al-Qaeda presence among the rebels has set off a fierce debate within the Obama administration – and the wider coalition – about whether giving them weapons may inadvertently help the enemies of the West.
Part of the problem, according to a senior US intelligence official, is that the American government is largely flying blind when it comes to the exact make-up of rebel forces. So how legitimate are the worries about al-Qaeda opportunistically inserting itself into the civil war?
Much of the concern centres around the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a jihadist organisation founded in the mid-1990s that waged a low-level guerrilla war against Gaddafi. In recent years, it had publicly rejected al-Qaeda's ideology and entered into a ceasefire with the government, as a result of which 700 militants have been released from jail over the past four years.
Some of these have since joined the rebels, meaning that Islamist militants certainly make up some unknown percentage of their forces. Yet Noman Benotman, a former LIFG leader based in London, points out that the LIFG "never carried out attacks against the West nor against civilians", suggesting that its members are more interested in regime change in their own country than a global holy war.
Weighed against this, however, is the fact that al-Qaeda's overall number three is a Libyan known as Abu Yahya al-Libi, who has recently appeared on a half-hour videotape on jihadist forums claiming that the West is propping up Arab dictators and exhorting his countrymen to take up arms against Gaddafi. Also, there is the cache of al-Qaeda documents recovered in Iraq in 2007, containing information about some 700 foreign fighters, many of whom had volunteered to be suicide bombers. Around 20 per cent were from Libya – one of the smaller Arab countries in terms of population – and of these, most were from the east, the heartland of the opposition to Gaddafi. Continue reading and comment » | Peter Bergen | Thursday, March 31, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Bahrain is facing renewed turmoil after regime hardliners began preparations to put on trial Shia legislators accused of backing protests.
The kingdom’s parliament effectively stripped 11 MPs from the Wefaq party – a quarter of the legislature’s sitting members – of their immunity from prosecution, signalling a further hardening of the ruling family’s position.
Western human rights activists also accused the regime of torturing wounded protesters being held in a hospital in the capital Manama. » | Adrian Blomfield, Middle East Correspondent | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Anwar al-Awlaki uses online magazine to explain why the Middle East revolts are not a setback for al-QaidaSenior al-Qaida leaders have welcomed the uprisings in the Arab world in their first comprehensive statement on recent events, published in an internet magazine earlier this week. Anwar al-Awlaki – the radical preacher who grew up in America but is now a fugitive in Yemen – used a lengthy article in an English-language magazine called Inspire to explain why the revolts sweeping the Middle East were not a setback for al-Qaida.
"Our mujahideen brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and the rest of the Muslim world will get a chance to breathe again after three decades of suffocation," Awlaki wrote in an article entitled The Tsunami of Change.
The magazine also featured translated excerpts of earlier statements by senior figures in al-Qaida, such as deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri which had previously only been posted in obscure extremist forums.
Zawahiri calls on the "people of freedom and honour in Tunisia, Egypt and in each of the Islamic lands" not to let their recent efforts go to waste. His statement appears to have been written before the fall of President Hosni Mubarak nearly two months ago. » | Jason Burke | Thursday, March 31, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama signed a secret order authorising covert US government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, according to government officials.Mr Obama reportedly signed the order, known as a presidential "finding", within the last two or three weeks.
Such findings are a principal form of presidential directive used to authorise secret operations by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA and the White House declined immediate comment.
The New York Times reported that the CIA has had clandestine operatives who have been gathering intelligence for air strikes and making contact with the rebels for several weeks.
News that Mr Obama had given the authorisation surfaced as the president and other US and allied officials spoke openly about the possibility of sending arms supplies to Col Gaddafi's opponents, who are fighting better-equipped government forces.
In interviews with American TV networks on Tuesday, Mr Obama said the objective was for Col Gaddafi to "ultimately step down" from power. » | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Moussa Koussa, the Libyan foreign minister who defected from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime, was one of the architects of its rehabilitation in the international community but a deeply controversial figure who is likely to pose David Cameron a particularly thorny political problem.
As the highest-profile defection from the ranks of Col Gaddafi's loyalists, he is a plum prize who is likely to be of great value in helping to dismantle his dictatorship.
The former spy chief's resignation also comes at a critical time in the coalition's attempts to dislodge Col Gaddafi, as the rebels are retreating under fresh onslaughts and Whitehall sources suggested they were unlikely to win without arms or training from outside.
So his information and contacts among Col Gaddafi's generals will be all the more valuable.
However, the former head of Libya's external intelligence, was the mastermind accused of planning the Lockerbie bombing and any attempts to rehabilitate him are likely to be an exceedingly hot potato.
Mr Koussa has been a close confidant of Col Gaddafi's for 30 years and helped secure the release of the Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi. Continue reading and comment » | Andy Bloxham, and Damien McElroy | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya: Moussa Koussa resigns – factbox: Libyan foreign minister Moussa Koussa arrived in Britain on Wednesday and has quit Muammar Gaddafi's government, according to the Government » | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Libya's foreign minister will be questioned by the Foreign Office today after defecting to Britain from Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's government.Moussa Koussa flew into Britain yesterday and told officials "no longer willing" to serve the regime, in a significant blow to the dictator.
The move was welcomed in Whitehall where fears have been growing that poorly organised Libyan rebels cannot defeat Gaddafi without being given arms or training on the ground.
"We encourage those around Gaddafi to abandon him and embrace a better future for Libya that allows political transition and real reform that meets the aspirations of the Libyan people," a Foreign Office spokesman said.
David Cameron had earlier admitted that the Government was considering arming the rebels following talks in London with Libyan opposition leaders.
Rebel forces were forced to retreat again and surrendered several towns in the face of heavy resistance from troops loyal to the regime. » | Thomas Harding, and Robert Winnett | Thursday, March 31, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Libya: Moussa Koussa, Gaddafi's foreign minister, defects to UK – Moussa Koussa says he is no longer willing to represent the regime in a morale boost for the rebels » | Patrick Wintour , Richard Norton-Taylor , Nick Hopkins , and Chris McGreal in Ajdabiya | Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The latest swing of the pendulum saw panicked rebel fighters fleeing their fleetingly-held gains in the west of Libya.
"Back to Benghazi!, defend Benghazi!" yelled one young man from the back of his pickup as it tried to force its way through a traffic jam at a squalid checkpoint strewn with rubbish.
Only five days earlier rebels had burst out of their eastern base of Benghazi following a storm of Nato air strikes that had left Col Muammar Gaddafi's tanks and armour as smoking wrecks.
That five-day Libyan rebel offensive ended yesterday in desperate flight as the rebels hour-by-hour deserted all their gains to fall back once again to their stronghold. The total reverse was the latest tilt of the see-saw: eastern rebels have twice approached Col Muammar Gaddafi's home town of Sirte and twice fled back. They are starved of weapons and unprotected by more attacks from British, French and American warplanes. » | Ben Farmer, Ajdabiya | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE GUARDIAN: Libya rebels flee as Gaddafi retakes Brega: Government tank and artillery fire forces opposition fighters to abandon ground won since Nato air strikes began » | Chris McGreal in Ajdabiya and James Meikle | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
BBC: The UK has taken steps to expel five Libyan diplomats, Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.
Updating MPs, Mr Hague said the five - which include the military attache - "could pose a threat" to UK security.
Meanwhile, David Cameron said the UK was not ruling out providing arms to rebels in "certain circumstances" but no decision had yet been taken.
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander questioned the legality and "advisability" of such a move.
The rebels are continuing to lose ground to forces loyal to Colonel Gaddafi and are retreating from their former strongholds along the eastern coast of Libya.
Earlier, the prime minister's official spokesman rejected suggestions the UK's stance on the possibility of supplying weapons to them had shifted in recent weeks.
'Grave concern'
The coalition military action is aimed at enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya and protecting civilians from attacks by forces loyal to its leader Col Gaddafi. It has denied air strikes are meant to provide cover for a rebel advance.
The foreign secretary's statement came after the allies held a summit in London on Tuesday to discuss Libya's future.
Mr Hague said: "To underline our grave concern at the [Gaddafi] regime's behaviour, I can announce to the House that we have today taken steps to expel five diplomats at the Libyan embassy in London, including the military attache.
"The government also judged that, were these individuals to remain in Britain, they could pose a threat to our security." (+ video) » | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
RUSSIA TODAY: As Washington considers arming the Libyan opposition against the government of Muammar Gaddafi, Russia fears it might be putting weapons into the hands of the world’s most notorious terrorist group.Moscow officials on Wednesday expressed alarm that al-Qaeda may be working inside the ranks of the Libyan opposition. “Quite alarming reports are coming, which say that al-Qaeda elements could very likely be present among the opposition forces,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters at a news conference. “This certainly alarms us.” Lavrov added that the “plague” in the form of al-Qaeda terrorism could “spread all over the region and not only there."
The Russian foreign minister was certainly referring to the possibility that any arms delivered to the Libyan opposition could all-too-easily slip into the hands of fundamentalists and extremists. » | Robert Bridge, RT | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE INDEPENDENT: Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday that Bahrain authorities were harassing and isolating hospital patients wounded in anti-government protests when security forces began a crackdown in the kingdom two weeks ago.
Bahrain's Sunni rulers this month imposed martial law and brought in troops from Sunni-led Gulf neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, to quell weeks of unrest during pro-democracy demonstrations led mostly by the state's Shi'ite majority.
Twenty-four people were killed in the ensuing clashes, the government said on Tuesday. The opposition Wefaq party says 250 people have been detained and another 44 have gone missing since the crackdown.
The security measures were condemned by Iran, the main Shi'ite power in a region dominated by Sunni Muslim rulers, which said they could lead to a wider conflict.
Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled al-Khalifa said Iran should stop its "offensive" against Bahrain, telling pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that political dialogue could only start once security had been restored in the island kingdom. Opposition parties reiterated denials of any foreign backing on Wednesday.
US-based Human Rights Watch said it was concerned Bahrain forces were targeting hospital patients who were protesters or bystanders in scattered demonstrations that broke out last Friday in a planned "Day of Rage" that police quickly quashed.
"Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented several cases in which patients with protest-related injuries were transferred to or sought treatment at Salmaniya and were then severely harassed or beaten," it said in a statement. » | Erika Solomon, Reuters | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
THE INDEPENDENT: A bid to impose a total ban on alcohol advertising on television has been launched in Parliament.
The legislation, proposed by GP and Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, would also prevent alcohol brands being used to sponsor sporting and cultural events.
Under her plan to limit children's exposure to alcohol marketing, tightly controlled advertising would only be permitted in certain circumstances with a blanket ban on all other promotion.
Dr Wollaston (Totnes) has cross-party backing for her move, but critics labelled it an extension of the "nanny state". » | David Hughes, PA | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
FOCUS ONLINE: Assad – Verschwörer versuchen Syrien zu zerstören: Syriens Staatspräsident Baschar al Assad hat in seiner Rede an die Nation Verschwörer für die Proteste in Syrien verantwortlich gemacht. Die Verschwörer – Satellitensender und andere Medien – versuchten, Syrien zu zerstören, erklärte Assad in seiner Rede vor dem syrischen Parlament. Wider Erwarten hob Assad den seit fast 50 Jahren geltenden Ausnahmezustand in Syrien nicht auf. » | gxs/dapd | Mittwoch, 30. März 2011
FRANKFURTER ALLGEMEINE: Altbekanntes aus Syrien: Der Gehalt der Rede Assads, auf welche Syrer wie der Rest der Welt seit Tagen mit großer Spannung gewartet hatten, war ein Dokument der Selbsttäuschung. Assad repräsentiert die Welt von gestern. Einfach kapitulieren wird er nicht. » | Von Wolfgang Günter Lerch | Mittwoch, 30. März 2011
MONTREAL GAZETTE: Saudi Arabia has been added to the list of countries whose one-time residents are not allowed to donate blood in Canada.
Canadian Blood Services said this week it is imposing the ban after learning of a "probable case" of a rare and fatal degenerative brain disease — variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease — in a Canadian resident who lived in Saudi Arabia between 1980 and 1996.
The Canadian blood agency said it's believed the person picked up the disease several years ago, likely from imported British beef. The person was not a blood donor or recipient.
There have also been two other suspected cases of the disease outside Canada linked to current or former residents of Saudi Arabia, the release said. » | © Postmedia News | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY: Bahrain's Shi'ite opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salem today urged Iran to keep out of his country's internal affairs.
Salem also demanded the withdrawal of foreign troops deployed in Bahrain, warning against the kingdom being turned into a "conflict zone" between Saudi Arabia and Iran. » | Compiled from agency reports | Wednesday, March 30, 2011
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