Gadhafi Son Claims Secret Islamist Deal in Interview

Insists Libya Will 'Look Like Saudi Arabia' After War

Yesterday’s comments by Saif al-Islam al-Gadhafi, the son of dictator Moammar Gadhafi, were perplexing. He insisted, after all, that the Gadhafi regime was not interested in a ceasefire despite repeated claims to the contrary from a number of top officials.

But Saif was apparently just getting warmed up, as today he claimed in an hourlong interview that the regime is making secret alliances with Islamist factions across the nation to wipe out all of Libya’s liberals.

“The liberals will escape or be killed,” insisted Saif, who appeared to be trying to play up his own Islamist bona fides with a newly grown beard and a handful of prayer beads. He went on to predict that “Libya will look like Saudi Arabia” after the civil war.

Saif also went on to claim that the assassination of East Libyan rebel general Abdel Younes was carried out by Islamists, saying that the Islamists would also soon take over the rebel movement from within. Already this has spawned speculation that the comments were more an effort to fuel dissent among rebels than an actual statement of regime policy, but it remains as ever to be seen.

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.