Now that the election is long over, the NY Times decides to do a little real reporting
The Obama administration secretly gave its blessing to arms shipments to Libyan rebels from Qatar last year, but American officials later grew alarmed as evidence grew that Qatar was turning some of the weapons over to Islamic militants, according to United States officials and foreign diplomats.
Gee, who would have thought this would happen, what with all the hardcore Islamists streaming into Libya as the civil war raged, something that was well known even before the US/British/French airstrikes occurred? Back on November 28th, the Washington Post reported on how Qatar (where the UN IPCC is being held this year, BTW) is using vast amounts of its oil revenue to fund Islamist groups.
No evidence has emerged linking the weapons provided by the Qataris during the uprising against Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to the attack that killed four Americans at the United States diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in September.
But, that could be a rationale as to why Team Obama spun their web of lies and deceit about it being a spontaneous film review that got out of hand.
But in the months before, the Obama administration clearly was worried about the consequences of its hidden hand in helping arm Libyan militants, concerns that have not previously been reported. The weapons and money from Qatar strengthened militant groups in Libya, allowing them to become a destabilizing force since the fall of the Qaddafi government.
The Obama administration did not initially raise objections when Qatar began shipping arms to opposition groups in Syria, even if it did not offer encouragement, according to current and former administration officials. But they said the United States has growing concerns that, just as in Libya, the Qataris are equipping some of the wrong militants.
The transitional government of Libya has complained to the Obama administration regarding these arms transfers, saying it is concerned that they are ending up in the hands of “the wrong militants”, which would mean groups linked to al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. It gets better
The administration has never determined where all of the weapons, paid for by Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, went inside Libya, officials said. Qatar is believed to have shipped by air and sea small arms, including machine guns, automatic rifles, and ammunition, for which it has demanded reimbursement from Libya’s new government. Some of the arms since have been moved from Libya to militants with ties to Al Qaeda in Mali, where radical jihadi factions have imposed Shariah law in the northern part of the country, the former Defense Department official said. Others have gone to Syria, according to several American and foreign officials and arms traders.
Smart Power!
Read: Surprise! Obama Admin Approved Weapons Transfers End Up In Jihadi Hands In Libya »
