Libya in Turmoil as Top Military Rebel Leader is Assassinated

Rebel military leader Abdul Fatah Younis has been killed, possibly by his own soldiers. Younis was called before a tribunal, after rumours circulated that he had maintained his connections with Gadhafi.

However, he was shot dead before he had a chance for a hearing.

Some are now saying that his murder was at the hands of one of the militia forces, that has ties to Al Qaeda.

After 24 hours of confusion, rebel minister Ali Tarhouni has declared that Gen Younes was killed by members of the Obaida Ibn Jarrah Brigade, a militia allied to the rebels and named after one of the companions of the Prophet Mohammad, suggesting that Islamist elements were involved.

The assassination of Gen Younes, apparently by his own side, has hurt the opposition just as it was winning broader international recognition and launching an offensive against Gaddafi forces in the west of the country.

The revelation that the militia responsible has Islamist leanings, and had been allowed to operate in the east of the country with apparent impunity, is a serious blow to the credibility of the rebel government, based in Benghazi, which Britain formally recognised last week as the legitimate leadership of Libya.

Their ties with Al Qaeda is not news.

Westpoint had made those connections several years ago.

According to the UK Telegraph:

The result of the present inquiry is that the Libyan branch of Al Qaeda represents a continuum with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group centered in Darnah and Benghazi. The ethnic base of the Libyan Islamic fighting group is apparently to be found in the anti-Qaddafi Harabi tribe, the tribe which makes up the vast majority of the rebel council including the two dominant rebel leaders, Abdul Fatah Younis [my emphasis] and Mustafa Abdul Jalil. The evidence thus suggests that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, the elite of the Harabi tribe, and the rebel council supported by Obama all overlap for all practical purposes.

According to journalist and peace activist, Dr. Webster Griffin Tarpley:

The specific institutional basis for the recruitment of guerrilla fighters in northeastern Libya is associated with an organization which previously called itself the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). During the course of 2007, the LIFG declared itself an official subsidiary of al Qaeda, later assuming the name of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). As a result of this 2007 merger, an increased number of guerrilla fighters arrived in Iraq from Libya. According to Felter and Fishman, “The apparent surge in Libyan recruits traveling to Iraq may be linked the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group’s (LIFG) increasingly cooperative relationship with al-Qaeda, which culminated in the LIFG officially joining al-Qaeda on November 3, 2007.”8 This merger is confirmed by other sources: A 2008 statement attributed to Ayman al-Zawahiri claimed that the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group has joined al-Qaeda

MacKay and Harper are so out of their league, but unfortunately, now have permission to continue the "mission" until there is a "regime change".

It would appear that we are getting involved in another tribal war, choosing our side poorly, by supporting a branch of Al Qaeda.

What a mess.

Why is Canada Building a Detention Centre in Lybia????!!!!

In September of 2009, Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was supposed to visit Canada. But when the media got wind of it, he cancelled his plans and the uproar died down.

With his usual empty rhetoric, Harper denounced the brutal dictator.

"We understand Mr Gadhafi won't be refueling in Canada," a foreign affairs official said this afternoon. Canada had been planning an icy reception for the African dictator. While the stop-over was not deemed an official visit, Prime Minister Stephen Harper had asked Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to deliver a tongue-lashing to the Libyan leader, who for many years was an international pariah for his support of terrorism.

If that's the case, why is a Canadian firm building a detention centre in Libya? A country guilty of some of the worst human rights abuses in the world. And who are they building it for?

SNC-Lavalin has confirmed it has a contract to build a detention centre in Libya, a country currently gripped by violence as pro-democracy protesters clash with hardline government forces. The Montreal-based engineering giant has said the facility will be the "first to be built according to international human rights standards."

"We think this is an important step forward for this country and an opportunity for us as a company to share values that we think are essential to all citizens of the world," Leslie Quinton, the company's vice-president of global communications said in an email Thursday. Quinton denied reports that SNC-Lavalin was concealing the project. "It is one of the thousands of projects we work on yearly, not all of which are announced by press release."

And the Harper government gave this firm a contract, even after they were involved in corruption.

The Canadian unit of General Dynamics Corp., the world's biggest defence contractor, said Monday it will supply a fully digital communications system to the Canadian Army, ensuring troops will continue to have access to critical communications services in combat zones. The contract, awarded by the Department of Public Works and Government Services Canada, is worth $341 million over the five initial years and can be extended for up to five more years, bringing the total tab to $682 million.

And they were given another contract by the Harper government to provide security.

Officials from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) have told Canwest News Service that work on the Arghandab irrigation project — Canada's biggest foreign aid project in a generation — is only just getting started and will continue well into 2012, long after Canadian troops have left the province. Canadian civilian workers from Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin and irrigation consultant Hydrosult Inc. will soon start arriving to begin their work on the project, Canwest was told.

What is Harper getting us mixed up in now?