Five
months ago, radical Islamists in Libya murdered four American
officials. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
warned that the Obama Administration would not rest until those
responsible were caught.
Yet
it seems as if nothing has been done. Indeed, just as the White House
did nothing on September 11, 2012, when the U.S. consulate was under
attack it has done nothing
serious since and is doing nothing now.
At
least, the militia that all witnesses identified as being responsible
had to cease activities in Benghazi for a while though leaders still
hung out at cafes there with no one bothering them.
The
Ansar al-Sharia (Helpers of the Sharia) now control Benghazi’s western
entrance, a southern checkpoint, and security at a hospital. One passing
car honks to greet the Ansar al-Sharia guards and waves the al-Qaida
flag out the window at them.
As
Reuters puts it, this and other such radical Islamist groups “are also
held up as heroes of the Libyan uprising by some locals who say they are
doing a better job of the protecting them than the government in
distant Tripoli.”
"These
men are also people who fought on the front lines, care about their
city and provide services. We can't shun them,"
said Benghazi University professor Iman Bugaighis, referring to several
militias. "We had to ask them to come back and protect our hospital
and streets."
Yes,
they fought on the front lines with courage—Islamists often speak of
sacrificing their lives in jihad and martyrdom—but the victory was
handed to them by NATO, a NATO led by the United States, and a United
States whose officials the Ansar al-Sharia killed perhaps because they
were trying to get some of the weapons back.
But
wait a minute! The current Libyan government is a client of the United
States. Can’t the White House pressure the Libyan government to push
forward the investigation? To detain those identified by witnesses as
the attackers?
Or
isn’t it trying? Perhaps it isn’t trying because it knows the Libyan
government isn’t eager or isn’t able to confront the terrorists.
And the U.S. government doesn’t want to take direct action since that would
presumably be too bullying and unilateral.
At the Ansar al-Sharia's western checkpoint one of the cars honks at the men in greeting and a passenger waves the black and white flag of al Qaeda.
"The
[Libyan] government lost a very good opportunity after our 'Rescue
Benghazi' event to control these militias, break them apart and absorb
them into legitimate bodies," Younes Najim, an organizer of the campaign
to push Ansar al-Sharia out.
"It will take time, but the longer the government takes to organize its security here, the stronger
some groups will make themselves to become parallel forces to the government."
Right.
But why didn't the U.S. government follow up on the momentum built by
the Rescue Benghazi (that is, force the terrorists to leave) movement?
As for the Libyan government, it cannot and will not control them for a
very good reason. The government is relatively weak—especially in
Benghazi—and its “regular” military forces are made up of ex-militiamen
who might be very sympathetic to Ansar al-Sharia.
In
other words, the U.S. government has poured in weapons and money and
diplomatic support to create and sustain a regime which may be made up
of relatively decent people but cannot lift a finger to catch, punish,
or outlaw al-Qaida supporters and those who have murdered Americans in
cold blood. Again, remember this is not a hostile country which provides
a safe haven to anti-American terrorists, like Iran or Lebanon, but a
U.S. client state established largely with U.S. military aid and direct
assistance. They're not hiding out in caves or in the depths of jungles
but strolling the streets in a country that is supposedly a U.S. ally.
Today,
Libya; tomorrow, Tunisia, Egypt, and Syria, not necessarily in terms of
al-Qaida itself (except in Syria) but in terms of anti-American
Islamist groups that are quite willing to attack U.S. targets in the
Middle East.
Here’s what Obama said in his State of the Union message—which didn’t mention his alleged pursuit of the Benghazi terrorists:
“Today,
the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former
self. Different al Qaeda affiliates and extremist groups have emerged –
from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. The
threat these groups pose is evolving.”
In other words, al-Qaida is weakened to the point of collapse but then again…it isn’t.
“But
to meet this threat, we don’t need to send tens
of thousands of our sons and daughters abroad, or occupy other nations.
Instead, we will need to help countries like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia
provide for their own security….And, where necessary, through a range of
capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those
terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans.”
Now
that is a perfect model of what should be done: cooperation with
American allies when possible; direct action when necessary. But that
hasn’t happened. The allies are too weak or are even in bed with the
terrorists themselves. The
“ally” that the U.S. government is depending on to take care of the
terrorists for it is the Muslim Brotherhood. Incidentally, the Libyan
government is also the biggest single financial donor--presumably with
behind-the-scenes U.S. encouragement or even pressure--to the Muslim
Brotherhood-dominated group in Syria.
That’s
why Obama didn’t mention Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, or Syria in his
speech about counter-terrorism. CIA director John Brennan is directing
such a policy but it isn’t good to say that too publicly or in front of a
joint session of
Congress.
And
elsewhere—here’s where Yemen, Libya, and Somalia come in--regimes
cannot provide for their own security. Or, to reframe the issue, what if
they can only provide for their own security by ignoring or even
undermining U.S. interests?
Yes, it's much easier to throw some California-based video-maker into prison than to do anything effective.
The
night of September 11, 2012, was the perfect time to “continue to take
direct action against those terrorists.” Instead, Obama went to sleep
and he has yet to wake up. And there's graphic proof for that assertion
in the streets of Benghazi today.
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Note, advanced course: The Scoreboard
But Libya is far from the worst situation. A mere description of what’s going on is shocking enough.
Egypt:
The Muslim Brotherhood rules and leaders of “former” terrorist
organizations now hold high offices. Christian churches and institutions
are regularly attacked; women who demonstrate against the regime are
regularly raped and brutalized while the government takes no action.
Gaza Strip: Ruled by the still openly terrorist Hamas.
Lebanon:
Ruled by the still openly terrorist Hizballah which has defeated the
United States regarding American promises to stop it from smuggling in
arms and keep it from refortifying southern Lebanon.
Pakistan: A government which had received billions of dollars in U.S.
aid but helps the Afghan Taliban and hides out al-Qaida leaders.
Syria: Moving from the Arab nationalist skillet into the Islamist fire.
Tunisia:
It is
now clear, after the assassination of the leading anti-Islamist
politician that his murder was freely discussed as desirable beforehand
at the highest levels of the “moderate” Islamist ruling party.
Turkey:
Secular military officers are resigning in droves, in part because they
are being forced to take back officers thrown out of the army in the
past for radical Islamist activity. Dozens of officers are being
arrested, imprisoned, and tried for alleged subversion though no real
proof has been offered that a single such plot existed. The Turkish
regime cooperates with the terrorist IHH which tried to launch at least
one operation on U.S. soil.
All
of the above countries have or will soon have regimes that hate America
and all except Turkey and Tunisia have at their highest levels people
who openly advocated or engaged in anti-American terrorism and the
killing of Americans.
Is
there any Middle Eastern Muslim-majority country where Islamism is
being defeated? Well, there's the United Arab Emirates and also Jordan
and Bahrain, in the latter two it is being undemocratically repressed.
And one could make an argument on Yemen. As for Somalia, it is the
Ethiopian army that has been defeating al-Qaida. That's about all the
good news.
Barry
Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs
(GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International
Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest book, Israel: An Introduction, has just been published by Yale University Press. Other recent books include The
Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center and of his blog, Rubin Reports. His original articles are published at PJMedia.
Professor Barry Rubin, Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center http://www.gloria-center.org
The Rubin Report blog http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/
He is a featured columnist at PJM http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/.
Editor, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal http://www.gloria-center.org
Editor Turkish Studies,http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=t713636933%22
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