But ……. Obama says it was YouTube.
During the dying days of his four decade rule, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi cast an ominous prophecy. If his regime fell, jihadists would subjugate northern Africa, inflicting widespread violence and terror.
“Al-Qaeda considers all the people to be infidels,” Mr. Gaddafi declared in a speech weeks before NATO began its military intervention in Libya. “They deem all people their enemies. They know nothing but killing.”
The Islamists would pour in from Afghanistan, Algeria, and Egypt, he warned, saying, “These are beasts with turbans.”
Now, with France locked in a battle with extremists in Mali; with al-Qaeda-linked groups carrying out a massive hostage taking in Algeria, and with Britain, Germany, and France telling their citizens to leave Libya because of an unspecified threat, the man many considered mad may not have been so crazy after all.
Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi warned jihadists would conquer Africa | World | News | National Post
h/t to Dave G
Mubarak, Gaddafi, Saddam – they were bad but the alternatives are far worse.
In North Africa, we should look to where the funding arises, purposefully these groups are given money to cause havoc and death in and across the Sahel.
Sunni salafist driven ideologues: desire permanent guerrilla war in the North African theatre – all planned towards aiding the formation of the greater Caliphate.
They play the long game, some jerks in the West thought getting rid of Saddam in Iraq and Gaddafi in Libya would somehow – lead to the ‘miracle’ of pluralistic modern and westernized democracy flourishing across the Middle East and North Africa – they thought wrong.
Muslims don’t want democracy, most of them do not want the Salafist murderers either but if it comes to a choice between Islam or the West – the Mosque always wins – it’s time Western political leaders got it through their thick skulls and realised that Realpolitik is the only option – pull up the drawbridge.
And……………… btw – Western Europe is finished, the gates have been wide open for too long, we caused the rot and commenced our own downfall in – AD 1204.
The solution is to develop North American oil and end European dependence on Middle East oil.
Obama wants to kill Keystone. I wonder why?
You are missing the whole point…control.
As you point out, Europe depends on N Africa and the Gulf for its oil…China, Japan, and India depend almost entirely on the Gulf for their oil.
And we have our hands on the spigot, and the delivery routes…turmoil in these regions works to our advantage.
Why is “al Qaeda” our enemy in one nation, our ally in another??? Why do we support them in Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Dagestan, Libya, Syria??? How is it that our deepest allies, Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies, (and Turkey) are the direct sources of funding, arms, and support for “al Qaeda”???? How is it that everytime “al Qaeda” turns up it harms or drives out Russian and Chinese business interests????
Now look at Mali…the same guys we helped take over Libya are supposedly our enemies in Mali. But what proof have you seen of Salafist extremists in Mali?? Libya, yes. Algeria, sure. Egypt….someone is shooting at both the protesters and the security troops. But mali? if you look at Mali, it is the Tuareg, not Islamic Salafists who licked the government…and this was even before the fall of Qadaffi. And the Tuareg sit nicely across 3 national borders, square over Europe’s primary Uranium supply, and a substantial number of very productive gold mines. Oh, yes, and they are long allies of Qaddafi.
In the interests of balance it’s worth remembering that Bush started these policies of reshaping the Middle East.
Will , there were serious problems there long before bush senior became president . Have you forgotten the crisis under carter ? A long line of presidents have been involved in these faulty decisions .
Clinton starved half a million Iraqi children over WMDs. Bush put an end to that madness,
So are US presidents criminals for not invading North Korea? A lot of people starving there now.
Big O may not have taken that as a warning, it may have been a confirmation of hope!
Regarding …”Clinton starved half a million Iraqi children over WMDs. Bush put an end to that madness,”
I think you are referring to the failure of containment and sanctions which began in 1990. Sadam’s malinvestment of oil profits into weapons had resulted in Iraq importing 2 million tons of wheat each year, four times their domestic production, whereas in the 1960s they were self sufficient. The sanctions actually forced some sanity in their economy as by 1995 Iraq had managed a 50% increase in wheat production. Intially there was no large scale famine. Problems primarily involved breakdowns in sanitation and power, leading to disease.
Overtime however these problems increased and the central government was unable to effectively respond. Sadam threatened Kuwait in 1994 and the Arbil attack in 1995. UNSCR 986 was passed in 1996, and the oil for food program was accepted by Iraq. Government corruption as well as near hyperinflation created as much if not more problems then the food shortages.
Saddam considered himself al-qa’id ad-darura, the “indispensable leader” the new Nebuchadnezzar and al-Mansur, the caliph who built Baghdad. He was also Salidin, the Islamic general who defeated the Crusaders and retook Jerusalem for Islam. He even placed his image on school books as a representation of Saladin. These and other appellations show that Saddam considered himself to be the leader of the Arab nation, the restorer of past glory. He stated this goal often and did not hesitate to explain his desire to lead a new super power, and he intended to use the military to achieve his goals. His intention to liberate Jerusalem was also often stated. Saddam’s actions time and again showed that his megalomania resulted in radical choices, and if he achieved control of the gulf oil fields he would use this wealth for his political ambitions and war machine, and he would use both oil and WMDs as a tool to bend the world to his will.