Libya Allying With Islamists, Qaddafi Son Says

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

TRIPOLI—After six months battling a rebellion his family portrayed as an Islamist conspiracy, Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi’s son and one-time heir apparent said Wednesday that he was reversing course to forge a secret alliance with radical Islamist elements among the Libyan rebels to drive out their more liberal-minded confederates.

“The liberals will escape or be killed,” the son, Seif el-Islam el-Qaddafi, vowed in an hour-long interview that stretched past midnight. “We will do it together,” he added, wearing a newly grown beard and fingering Islamic prayer beads as he reclined on a love seat in a spare office tucked in a nearly deserted downtown hotel. “Libya will look like Saudi Arabia, like Iran. So what?”

The leading Islamist Mr. Qaddafi identified as his main counterpart in the talks, Ali Sallabi, acknowledged their conversations but dismissed any suggestion of an alliance. He said the Libyan Islamists supported the rebel leaders’ calls for a pluralistic democracy without the Qaddafis.

But the interview nonetheless offered a rare glimpse into the defiant, some say delusional, mindset of the Qaddafi family at a time when they have all but completely retreated from public view under the threat of a NATO bombing campaign now five months old and a six-month-old rebellion.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/world/africa/04seif.html?pagewanted=all

[Hubert Flottz]

1. So should the world take the word of Qaddafi's Son?

Are the Qaddafi family to be trusted?

[joshcryer]

3. Saif and Gaddafi are liars, this is just hilarious spin.

If I were to believe anything they ever spouted I could use this against the islamist scare mongers here, but I'm above that.

[joshcryer]

2. lol

:rofl:

[BNJMN]

4. Well, there certainly seems to be division inside the rebellion. 'lol'? Hmm. nt

[Turborama]

5. So, there it is from the horses mouth. Supporters of Gaddafi are not liberals.

In fact, the Gaddafis see liberals as their mortal enemy.

[florida08]

6. NATO: Signs of Qaeda presence in Libyan rebels

WASHINGTON - As the United States and other nations build ties with Libyan rebels and leaders of the political opposition trying to oust Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi, intelligence suggests al Qaeda and other terrorists have a small presence within the opposition group, a top military commander said Tuesday.

Adm. James Stavridis, the NATO Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, told Congress that officials have seen "flickers" of possible al Qaeda and Hezbollah among the rebel forces, but at this point no evidence there are significant numbers within the group's leadership.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/03/29/501364/main20048350.shtml

I thought Al Qaeda were our enemies..guess we made friends with them and Hezbollah. Wonder how much we're paying them..

[Turborama]

7. That report on "flickers" was in March.

Any reports of the flickers turning into flames since then?

[florida08]

8. I just found out about it..guess I missed it here

'Millions in Harlem March' aims to stop US, NATO warmaking in Libya

Activists representing a broad coalition of anti-war organizations, the Nation of Islam, the political left, Islamic organizations and a plethora of grassroots community organizations recently stood together on the stage of the Assembly Hall at the Riverside Church, proclaiming that “all roads lead to Harlem” for the Aug. 13 “Millions in Harlem March” to stop the bombing of Libya.

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/National_News_2/article_8057.shtml

[PurityOfEssence]

9. Boy, it just gets weirder and weirder, doesn't it?

The idea of the LIFG or other Islamists allying themselves with a Qaddafi stretches the imagination.

What the hell is happening? I guess I'll have to wait for the interventionists to have the obvious answer; they always do...

I wonder what the tribal councils are doing at the moment...?