In the
bloody terror-fueled conflicts that have been waged by the U.S. and
NATO in Libya and Syria, one man has helped to recruit so-called
“freedom fighters” and unleash them on those countries’
innocent civilians. But he has yet to be brought to justice.
by
Steven Sahiounie
Part
1
Interpol may
be on the hunt for the former mayor of Libya’s capital of Tripoli –
an Irish-Libyan man who has been named as an international terrorist
by Saudi Arabia.
Mahdi
al-Harati has lived in Malta on-and-off since 2014. In January 2017,
he was arrested due to his involvement in a knife attack in Malta
that occurred between two Libyans, as all three had gotten into a
political argument that grew out of control.
It is odd
that al-Harati would seek safe harbor in Malta, which is a small
island in the Mediterranean Sea. However, it is this very sea in
which al-Harati first sailed into the international spotlight due to
his associations with al-Qaeda and other terror groups. His
relatively recent arrest has brought renewed attention to his past,
including his history of recruiting terrorists – with the help of
the CIA – for the purpose of aiding in Western-backed regime change
efforts.
His support
of such efforts was uncovered in July 2011, when he was questioned by
Irish police regarding the source of a sum of money totaling 200,000
euros that had been stolen from his home in Ireland. Al-Harati told
the police that the money had been given to him by the CIA in order
to fund efforts to overthrow the government of former Libyan leader
Muammar Gaddafi.
At the time,
he was the commander of the “Tripoli Brigade,” a military unit
that was formed in April of that same year for the purpose of
bringing down Gaddafi. Al-Harati started assembling the unit after
visiting Benghazi in the wake of mass anti-Gaddafi protests that
erupted in February. The brigade was formed with the support of the
CIA.
By August
2011, the brigade had over 1,000 fighters trained by Qatari Special
Forces, equipped with light modern weaponry, uniforms, body armor and
communications equipment. The brigade also boasted an eight-man
sniper unit. Throughout the assault on Gaddafi’s Libya, Qatar had
functioned as a U.S. proxy, channeling vast sums of cash and military
resources.
By September
2011, al-Harati had been appointed to assist of infamous al-Qaeda
chief Abdel Hakim Belhaj. His appointment coincided with a visit by
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Tripoli’s Green Square.
By that
point, it had become widely known that U.S. and NATO officials were
working with al-Qaeda, rebranding them as “freedom fighters” to
accomplish their goal of removing Gaddafi from power. Despite
Belhaj’s high-ranking position within al-Qaeda, he was still named
the military governor of Tripoli by NATO.
The
U.S.-NATO plan for Libya was allegedly supposed to be restrained:
there were to be no troops on the ground and military operations were
supposed to protect civilians, primarily in Benghazi. However, the
plan would still need troops, and the U.S. and NATO simply used what
assets were available: al-Qaeda and radical Salafi jihadists.
Source,
links:
http://www.mintpressnews.com/al-qaeda-terrorist-cia-freedom-fighter-one-mans-journey-europe-libya/228842/
[2] [3] [4]
[2] [3] [4]
Comments
Post a Comment