US ‘Concerned’ Over Militant Activities in Libya

US Officials Looking Into Backgrounds of Rebel Leaders

According to officials cited by Reuters, the Obama Administration is growing concerned about the Islamic militant activity inside Libya, fearing they might gain strength in the wake of the ouster of Moammar Gadhafi.

So, in a move that one might’ve thought would come before insinuating themselves into the Libyan Civil War, the US is starting to conduct investigations into the background of many of the rebel leaders.

Of course, a large number of the rebel leaders are Islamist militants who have been fighting against the Gadhafi regime for decades. Abdulhakim Belhaj, the closest thing Libya has to a military leader right now, was even kidnapped and tortured by the CIA for his opposition to the regime.

The administration’s sudden concern about handing the nation over to a collection of defectors and Islamists is noteworthy, but the real story that we’ll undoubtedly be looking at for years as that they jumped on the bandwagon for this war before considering that.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.