The United States has a long and mixed record of supporting rebels in internal conflicts, so it should know that helping out anti-government forces can sometimes backfire. However, history may be about to repeat itself.
The international community permitted intervention in Libya to protect civilians from Colonel Gaddafi, but Washington wants to go further than that and is considering arming the rebels.
While officially denying that toppling Gaddafi is the objective of its involvement in Libya, President Obama has reportedly signed a secret order authorizing covert American support for rebel forces seeking to oust the Libyan leader.
“Broadening our military mission to include regime change would be a mistake,” Obama said just hours ago.
Reports emerged on Wednesday stating that the US is sending special CIA teams into Libya to gather intelligence and set up links with rebels.
The Associated Press quoted intelligence experts as saying that the CIA may have sent its officials to estimate the real strength and needs of the rebels in case the Obama administration decides to arm them.
The New York Times newspaper also reported that the CIA had sent small groups of its operatives to the country.
Reuters news agency quoted US Defense Secretary Robert Gates as saying that he cannot comment on CIA actions. However, Gates added that there would be no US ground troops deployed in Libya.
"I can't speak on any CIA activities but I will tell you that the president has been quite clear that in terms of the United States military there will be no boots on the ground," Gates told Congress at a hearing on Libya operations.
Critics of the US taking sides in a civil war warn of the consequences.
“We help to accelerate the chaos and in creating more chaos, which we think somehow we are going to be able to direct the outcome, it is the same hubris that has visited the United States in Iraq. The same hubris that keeps us pinioned in Afghanistan, causes us to believe that somehow we are going to direct the events and the outcome in Libya. We cannot do that, nor do we have the right to determine who the leader of Libya should be,” said Dennis Kucinich, US Representative (D-Ohio).
Many fear radical forces could take advantage of the chaos in Libya.
Former jihadist Noman Benotman, who renounced his Al-Qaeda affiliation in 2000, says he estimates 1,000 jihadists are among the rebels in Libya.
One Libyan rebel commander has openly admitted his fighters have Al-Qaeda links.
Other reports say terrorists seized Libyan surface-to-air missiles when arsenals were looted.
You may be interested in the following articles: Sexy Fashion Show 1 www Xinsiders com
No comments:
Post a Comment