Yes, CNN had this report, Energized Muslim Brotherhood in Libya Eyes A Prize.
Oh, great. Well that's just jake. And this is no joke. It is far, far from funny. It has been a plan long in the making:
Dr. Abdulmonem Hresha knows first hand how Moammar Gadhafi's regime works. He says the seeds of his opposition were sown when he was age 10.
[...]
The prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood now lives in London, and anticipates the group could become an important player in a post-Gadhafi environment.
As in Egypt and Tunisia, the Brotherhood in Libya has been energized by the sudden upheaval sweeping the Arab world.
Oh, yay. Just what the world needs - more countries run by Sharia Law Imposing Jihad Waging Islamist extremists.
Oh, but wait - this is just the very beginning:
[snip] Islamist opposition to the Libyan regime gathered force in the late 1980s, as part of a wider Islamic awakening or "Sahwa" in the region and in reaction to what many saw as an attempt by Gadhafi to hijack and interpret Islam for his own purposes.
While jihadists launched a brief but unsuccessful campaign to overthrow Gadhafi in the 1990s, the Brotherhood focused much of its efforts on clandestine preaching and social welfare efforts in Libya.0
In 1998, Gadhafi's security services launched a crackdown against the group that saw more than 200 members imprisoned and hundreds more forced into exile, including Hresha.
Despite years of repression, Hresha claims the Brotherhood still has thousands of members scattered across Libya, with chapters in almost every single town, including Sirte, Gadhafi's birthplace on the coast west of Tripoli.
In 2006, its leaders were released after reconciling with the Libyan regime. But now the Brotherhood is siding with the rebellion.
In February, as protests in Libya began, Yusuf al Qaradawi -- an Egyptian preacher in Qatar widely viewed as the Muslim Brotherhood's chief spiritual guide -- issued a fatwa or religious ruling obliging any Libyan soldier who had the opportunity to do so to assassinate the leader. [snip]
Well, don't mince any words there! How is it possible that anyone thinks the Muslim Brotherhood is a kind, and peaceful, organization? They clearly have intentions to take over, and their rhetoric notwithstanding, it would be a mistake to not look deeper into the Brotherhood:
Al-Amin Bilhaj, a leading figure in the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood and the President of the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) recently traveled to Benghazi, the headquarters of the rebel movement, according to Hresha.
[...]
But in the longer term, in a country where the political space has been dominated by Gadhafi for more than 40 years, the Brotherhood's organization and nationwide presence may afford it an advantage.
The West has nothing to fear from the Muslim Brotherhood in Libya, according to Hresha.
Like their counterparts in Egypt, they would embrace multiparty democracy.
"I've lived for many years in Canada and the UK, and that's exactly the political system that we want," Hresha said.
Hresha says that if his organization forms a political party, it would seek to legislate according to Koranic principles, which would include, for example, a continued ban on the sale of alcohol.
"Why shouldn't we be able to press our point of view -- we are humans too," he said.
And there you have it. On the one hand, oh, it is all about democracy and democratic principles, and in the next breath, the reality slips out.
But wait - this is really good:
Hresha said the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood welcomes airstrikes in Libya, a startling turnaround for a movement that previously supported jihad by Iraqis against U.S. forces occupying Iraq.
"I salute and am very grateful to the Americans, French and British governments for stopping the killing," he said. "I will never forget this."
Hresha said he hopes a post-Gadhafi Libya will be a close friend to the West.
Oh, yeah, I am so sure about that. The Muslim Brotherhood has nothing but the fondest wishes for the United States of America. Ahahahahaha. I could hardly type that out falling off my sofa laughing. Ahem. Just in case you are starting to buy this crap, here is a statement from a sermon just last year: The Brotherhood wants America to fall. It tells followers to be “patient” because America “is heading towards its demise.” The U.S. is an infidel that “does not champion moral and human values and cannot lead humanity.” —Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammed Badi, Sept. 2010[3] (Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Muhammad Badi, "How Islam Confronts the Oppression and Tyranny,” Sermon, Sept. 2010, translated at MEMRI.)
The following raises other questions, like just who some of these rebels are:
A more prominent role for the Brotherhood in Libya could dent support for al Qaeda and other jihadist groups, especially in eastern provinces that have witnessed significant radicalization in recent years.
But Libya's deeply tribal structures -- unlike Egypt and Tunisia -- may complicate its efforts to build a national base.
And hardline "Salafi" preachers have gained influence in neglected towns like Derna -- on the coast near the border with Egypt.
"Conservative imams (in Derna)," a U.S. diplomat wrote in 2008, "deliberately sought to eliminate the few social activities on offer for young people to monopolize the social and cultural environment." [snip]
And this should scare the crap out of you. At least it did me:
[snip] Hresha, the long-time Brotherhood member, expects that to change.
"We've been working secretly till this moment," he said. (Emphasis mine.)
Meanwhile, the Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates, stated on Sunday that Libya was not a "vital interest" or an imminent threat to the US:
[snip] “No I don’t think it’s a vital interest for the United States,” said Gates in a pre-taped interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired on Sunday. “But we clearly have interests there and it’s a part of the region which is a vital interest for the United States.” [snip]
Huh. Then what the hell are we doing there? Secretary of State Clinton defended the US participation:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed that the airstrikes and the no-fly zone established by U.S.-led forces had “prevented a great humanitarian disaster” and that the consequences could have been catastrophic if President Obama had not engaged the U.S. military.
“The cries would be, ‘Why did the United States not do anything?’” said Clinton on ABC’s “This Week.” “How could you stand by when, you know, France and the United Kingdom and other Europeans and the Arab League and your Arab partners were saying, ‘you've got to do something?’” [snip] (Click here to read the rest.)
Well, we could "stand by" like we have been doing with Iran, Tunisia, and a host of other countries, and because we are already involved in two major wars, are broke, and we do not know who the hell these rebels are! Hech, even Dennis Kucinich, about as liberal a person as there is in Congress, said we are not the world's police force, and we cannot insert ourselves into every single civil conflict around the world. He went so far as to say that Obama involving us in this conflict without going to the Congress was an "impeachable offense." Wow.
So one question - what are we, the US (and NATO) doing in Libya exactly? When a prominent member of the Muslim Brotherhood is thanking us for our air strikes on Libya, after making it abundantly clear their true sentiments about the U.S. (and they are not warm, fuzzy feelings),it would seem we are playing right into their hands.
And that should scare the shit out of anyone.
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