Deadly Attack in Libya Was Major Blow to C.I.A. Efforts

[leveymg]

28. BS - What do you think the Administration means by "technical assistance" to the Syrian opposition?

Last edited Tue Sep 25, 2012, 04:07 PM - Edit history (4)

Do you think Reuters, the NYT, and the CSM and the VOA are engaging in "conspiracy theory"?

C.I.A. Said to Aid in Steering Arms to Syrian ... - The New York Times
www.nytimes.com/.../cia-said-to-aid-in-steering-arms-to-syrian-rebels...
Jun 21, 2012 – WASHINGTON — A small number of C.I.A. officers are operating secretly in southern Turkey, helping allies decide which Syrian opposition ...

Exclusive: Obama authorizes secret U.S. support for Syrian rebels ...
www.reuters.com/.../us-usa-syria-obama-order-idUSBRE8701OK201...
Aug 1, 2012 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has signed a ... Syrian rebel fighters pose for a picture in Hama July 20, 2012. ... the CIA and other U.S. agencies to provide support that could help the rebels oust Assad.

Tripoli Files Show CIA Working With Libya - WSJ.com
online.wsj.com/.../SB1000142405311190389590457654710115915...
Sep 3, 2011 – The Central Intelligence Agency and Libyan intelligence services developed such a tight relationship during the George W. Bush administration ...

CIA Secretly at Work Inside Libya
www.voanews.com/content/article/137541.html
Apr 4, 2011 – But just what they are doing not clear and, in keeping with practice, CIA would not comment on reports.

David Bromwich: The CIA, the Libyan Rebellion, and the President
www.huffingtonpost.com/david.../cia-libya-obama-_b_843166.html
Mar 31, 2011 – The appeal against armed violence, by the leader of a superpower who either has just approved or is about to approve the shipment of arms to ...

No sooner was Gadhaffi gone, and the US-backed regime in place in Tripoli, did the new "President" of Libya dispatch the top militant commander to Turkey for a meeting with the Syrian opposition.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8919057/Leading-Libyan-Islamist-met-Free-Syrian-Army-opposition-group.html


Leading Libyan Islamist met Free Syrian Army opposition group

Libyan authorities this week dispatched the country's most renowned Islamist militia leader to meet senior figures of the Free Syrian Army, The Daily Telegraph has learned.

By Ruth Sherlock in Tripoli

9:00PM GMT 27 Nov 2011

Comments44 Comments

Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, "met with Free Syrian Army leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey," said a military official working with Mr Belhadj. "Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the interim Libyan president) sent him there."

The "covert operation" was immediately laid bare when a rival Libyan rebel brigade detained Belhaj at Tripoli airport, accused him of travelling on a fake passport, and declared they would jail the senior military leader.

Only a letter from the country's interim president was enough to persuade them to let him leave the country.

The meetings came as a sign of a growing ties between Libya's fledgling government and the Syrian opposition. The Daily Telegraph on Saturday revealed that the new Libyan authorities had offered money and weapons to the growing insurgency against Bashar al-Assad.

Mr Belhaj also discussed sending Libyan fighters to train troops, the source said. Having ousted one dictator, triumphant young men, still filled with revolutionary fervour, are keen to topple the next. The commanders of armed gangs still roaming Tripoli's streets said yesterday that "hundreds" of fighters wanted to wage war against the Assad regime.

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SNIP

Newspapers reported on Saturday that four Libyan men had been caught on the Turkish border trying to infiltrate into the country. The grand design envisioned by Mr Belhaj and the Libyan authorities is still in its nascent stage.

The US and UK have actually been bankrolling the Syrian opposition a lot longer than that, way before this article was printed as the active phase of the Sunni uprising was ignited in April, 2011: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2011/04/18/syria-united-states-backing-wikileaks.html

U.S. admits funding Syrian opposition
CBC News
Posted: Apr 18, 2011 3:14 AM ET


The U.S. State Department acknowledged Monday it has been funding opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad, following the release of secret diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks that document the funding.

The files show that up to $6.3 million US was funnelled to the Movement for Justice and Development, a London-based dissident organization that operates the Barada TV satellite channel, which broadcasts anti-government news into Syria. Another $6 million went to support a variety of initiatives, including training for journalists and activists, between 2006 and 2010.

Asked point-blank by reporters whether the United States is funding Syrian opposition groups, State Department spokesman Mark Toner told a news conference Monday, "We are — we're working with a variety of civil society actors in Syria with the goal here of strengthening freedom of expression."

Then pressed to specify whether the U.S. provides satellite bandwidth for Barada TV's broadcasts, Toner said: "I'd have to get details of what exactly technical assistance we're providing them."

Toner insisted the financing is not aimed at overthrowing Assad's rule. "We are not working to undermine that government."

However, an April 2009 diplomatic cable from the U.S. mission in Damascus recognizes the risky optics of the funding.

"Some programs may be perceived, were they made public, as an attempt to undermine the Assad regime.… The Syrian Arab Republic government would undoubtedly view any U.S. funds going to illegal political groups as tantamount to supporting regime change."

Whistleblower website WikiLeaks provided the cables to the Washington Post newspaper, which first reported on them. The files are part of a haul of 251,000 secret U.S. diplomatic documents the website says it has obtained. It began disclosing them in November through partner media outlets and so far has released nearly 7,000.