.
Is the Obama administration playing semantics not calling the suspected brain behind the Benghazi deaths Al-Qaeda?
Libyan Guantanamo Bay prisoner Sufyan Ben Qumu – Report JTF GTMO Detainee Assessment [pdf]
4 a. Prior History: Detainee served as a tank driver in the Libyan armed forces as a private.The Libyan Govemment states he was addicted to illegal drugs/narcotics and had been accused of a number of crimes including: murder, physical assault, armed assault, and distributingn arcotics. He was sentencedto 10 years in prison. In 1993, he escaped from prison and fled to Egypt. He traveled to Afghanistan (AF) and trained at Usama Bin Laden’s (UBL) Torkham Camp.
After participating in the Soviet jihad, he moved to Sudan (SU). Detaineew orked as a truck driver for Wadi Al-‘Aqiq, one of UBL’s companiesin Suba, SU. The Libyan Govemment funher stated detainee joined LIFG and was assigned to the military committee. Under pressuref rom the Libyan and Sudanese govemments, he left Sudan sometime in 1997, using a false Mauritanian passport. He traveled to Pakistan (PK), where he resided in the area near the Al-Atariyah University/mosque (variants Al Yassir Al Khayria, Athariya and Atharia) in Peshawar.
4 b. Training and Activities: In 1998, he withdrew from the LIFG and joined the Taliban movement (this is likely a reference to Al-Qaida support to the Taliban). He moved to Peshawar here he lived with Abu Zayd Al-Tunisi (assessetdo be US9LY-000721). In 2000, he lived in the tribal region of Peshawar PK (This is an area under tribal control, not government control. UBL was known to have spent time in this area). He communicated with likely extremist elements in Afghanistan via radio during this period, indicating a position of leadership. Around August to November 2001, detainee worked for Al-Wafa in Kabul, AF. Detainee fought with the Taliban against the Northem Alliance and was wounded in the leg. He left Kabul around mid-November 2001. Etc., etc.
Gitmo detainee released for retention in Libya
The Embassy worked over time through the Qaddafi Development Foundation and Moussa Koussa to get access to the two former Gitmo detainees. Chris Stevens, both as Deputy Chief of Mission and the Charge d’Affaires, played a role throughout this period of observation, repeatedly interceding with Libyans to ensure they upheld humanitarian standards for the two repatriated detainees. After US intervention, Hamouda got his first familial visit in December 2007. And as Hamouda was charged, tried, and (apparently) declared innocent, the Embassy (and Stevens personally) tracked his status.
Libyan Dissident Accepts $3.5m from UK Government in Settlement to Rendition Claim
From Guatanamo Detainee to Ansar al-Sharia leader in Benghazi
Hamouda bin Qumu was returned to Libya in 2007, where Chris Stevens helped him get settled in. Stevens was DCM (Deputy Chief of Mission) from 2007 to 2009. There are two WikiLeaks wires mentioning Stevens’ help for bin Qumu.
In March 2011 Christopher Stevens attended a meeting in Paris between Clinton, Sarkozy and Jabril, set up by Bernard-Henri Lévy. Stevens was among those who urged Clinton to describe to President Obama the call for help that he had just heard. From March 2011 to November 2011 Stevens was Special Representative to the National Transitional Council in Benghazi.
During this time, Abu Sufian Ibrahim Ahmed Hamuda bin Qumu was a notable figure in the Libyan rebels’ fight to oust Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. Bin Qumu was a leader of a ragtag band of fighters known as the Darnah Brigade— a remarkable turnabout resulting from shifting American policies.
Outside Intervention or War by Any Means in Syria
(Oui’s diary) July 6, 2012 – The Western powers have made it clear from the outset, even before the daily bloodshed grabbed headlines, the Assad regime must go. Problem is, the West needs an opposition group they can hand over the executive power of Syria while claiming it’s about democracy and the will of the Syrian people. So after trying for more than a year to unite the opposition …
Scuffles and fistfights break out at Syrian opposition meeting in Cairo
CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters/Al-Akhbar) July 3, 2012 – A meeting of Syria’s splintered opposition in Cairo descended into scuffles and fistfights that dealt another blow to Western leaders seeking a unified front against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The meeting also failed to resolve many of the differences between the rival Syrian opposition groups, further complicating efforts to find a viable alternative to rule by Assad, whose forces have killed thousands of Syrian civilians and combatants.
“This is so sad. It will have a bad implications for all parties. It will make the Syrian opposition look bad and demoralise the protesters on the ground,” opposition activist Gawad al-Khatib, 27, said.
A Syrian Kurdish group quit the meeting, provoking mayhem and cries of “scandal, scandal” from delegates. Women wept as men traded blows, and staff of the hotel used for the meeting hurriedly removed tables and chairs as the scuffles spread.