Does It Make Sense to Aid Former Enemies?--UPDATE

Are we out of our minds? As time goes by, we are finding out that many of the rebels in Libya who are fighting against Gaddafi are members of al-Qaeda.

How is that in America's best interest? Gaddafi is a monster, but is al-Qaeda a better alternative? I don't think so.

Read from the American Thinker:

Good news: Libyan rebel commander fought against US in Afghanistan
Rick Moran

"I wonder how many more of these little surprises are in store for us as we assist our gallant Libyan allies in throwing off the yoke of Gaddafi's rule while fastening the harness of al-Qaeda around their necks.

John Rosenthal writing at Pajamas Media:


'Shortly after unrest broke out in eastern Libya in mid-February, reports emerged that an "Islamic Emirate" had been declared in the eastern Libyan town of Darnah and that, furthermore, the alleged head of that Emirate, Abdul-Hakim al-Hasadi, was a former detainee at the American prison camp in Guantánamo. The reports, which originated from Libyan government sources, were largely ignored or dismissed in the Western media.

Now, however, al-Hasadi has admitted in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that he fought against American forces in Afghanistan. (Hat-tip: Thomas Joscelyn at the Weekly Standard.) Al-Hasadi says that he is the person responsible for the defense of Darnah - not the town's "Emir." In a previous interview with Canada's Globe and Mail, he claimed to have a force of about 1,000 men and to have commanded rebel units in battles around the town of Bin Jawad.

"I have never been at Guantánamo," al-Hasadi explained to Il Sole 24 Ore. "I was captured in 2002 in Peshawar in Pakistan, while I was returning from Afghanistan where I fought against the foreign invasion. I was turned over to the Americans, detained for a few months in Islamabad, then turned over to Libya and released from prison in 2008."

Al-Hasadi's account is largely confirmed by investigations conducted by Praveen Swami, the diplomatic editor of the British daily The Telegraph. Swami originally wrote about al-Hasadi's background in the Afghan jihad in a March 21 column. In response to a query from the present author, Swami was able to obtain confirmation of al-Hasadi's arrest and transfer to Libya from what he describes as a "senior source" in the Afghan government.'


Now isn't that special? I wonder if it matters to those American pilots - some of whom may have fought in Afghanistan - that they are assisting and protecting a guy that a few years ago they were trying to kill.

Irony is a cruel mistress, no?"


More from Jihad Watch:

[...]

"In an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, Mr al-Hasidi admitted that he had recruited 'around 25' men from the Derna area in eastern Libya to fight against coalition troops in Iraq. Some of them, he said, are 'today are on the front lines in Adjabiya'.

Mr al-Hasidi insisted his fighters 'are patriots and good Muslims, not terrorists,' but added that the 'members of al-Qaeda are also good Muslims and are fighting against the invader'.

His revelations came even as Idriss Deby Itno, Chad's president, said al-Qaeda had managed to pillage military arsenals in the Libyan rebel zone and acquired arms, 'including surface-to-air missiles, which were then smuggled into their sanctuaries'."


And that is not all. Muslim Brotherhood rising in Libya, envisions government on "Qur'anic principles"

Obama's foreign policy moves are strengthening the Islamists. Whose side is he on anyway? Inquiring minds want to know.

BTW, I got this great email:


"Solution to the problem in Libya :


They want a new Muslim leader.

I say, give them ours.


Solves 2 problems."


UPDATE: More here:

Jihadis who killed Americans get U.S. support in Libya