Changes

{{Cquote|"It’s almost a certitude that at least part” of the Libyan opposition includes members of al-Qaeda, said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA analyst and adviser to President Obama. Riedel said that anti-Gaddafi elements in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi have had “very close associations with al-Qaeda” dating back years....I would hope that we now have a good sense of the opposition in Libya and can say that this is 2 percent, not 20 percent,” Riedel said. “If we don’t, then we are running the risk of helping to bring to power a regime that could be very dangerous.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-opposition-includes-a-small-number-of-al-qaeda-fighters-us-officials-say/2011/03/29/AFRlXWyB_story.html</ref>}}

{{Cquote|"It’s almost a certitude that at least part” of the Libyan opposition includes members of al-Qaeda, said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA analyst and adviser to President Obama. Riedel said that anti-Gaddafi elements in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi have had “very close associations with al-Qaeda” dating back years....I would hope that we now have a good sense of the opposition in Libya and can say that this is 2 percent, not 20 percent,” Riedel said. “If we don’t, then we are running the risk of helping to bring to power a regime that could be very dangerous.<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-opposition-includes-a-small-number-of-al-qaeda-fighters-us-officials-say/2011/03/29/AFRlXWyB_story.html</ref>}}

A document published by the U.S. [[West Point]] Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center  revealed that jihadi rebels between 2005 and 2007 exited Libya to join the [[Operation Iraqi Freedom#Insurgency|Islamic insurgency]] in Iraq in greater numbers than any other country.<ref>[http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/pdf/CTCForeignFighter.19.Dec07.pdf A First Look at the Sinjar Documents]</ref><ref>The Sinjar Documents are a collection of al Qaeda computer data captured by Americans in 2007 in a predawn raid near Sinjar, Iraq, six miles from the Syrian border.</ref>  Many of those jihadi rebels that came from Libya to Iraq to kill American soldiers came from among the very people Obama pledged to protect in the name of "humanitarianism". One group—the Libyan Fighting Group (''jamaʹah al‐libiyah al‐muqatilah'')—claimed to have [[War on Terror|Afghan]] veterans in its ranks. The Combating Terrorism Center document concludes,

A document published by the U.S. [[West Point]] Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center  revealed that jihadi rebels between 2005 and 2007 exited Libya to join the [[Iraq insurgency]] in greater numbers than any other country.<ref>[http://www.ctc.usma.edu/harmony/pdf/CTCForeignFighter.19.Dec07.pdf A First Look at the Sinjar Documents]</ref><ref>The Sinjar Documents are a collection of al Qaeda computer data captured by Americans in 2007 in a predawn raid near Sinjar, Iraq, six miles from the Syrian border.</ref>  Many of those jihadi rebels that came from Libya to Iraq to kill American soldiers came from among the very people Obama pledged to protect in the name of "humanitarianism". One group—the Libyan Fighting Group (''jamaʹah al‐libiyah al‐muqatilah'')—claimed to have [[War on Terror|Afghan]] veterans in its ranks. The Combating Terrorism Center document concludes,

{{Cquote|The [[Syria]]n [ [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]] regime] and Libyan [Gaddafi] governments share the United States’ concerns about violent salafi‐jihadi ideology and the violence perpetrated by its adherents. These governments [Syria, Gaddafi, and the US] like others in the Middle East, fear violence inside their borders and would much rather radical elements go to Iraq rather than cause unrest at home. U.S. and Coalition efforts to stem the flow of fighters into Iraq will be enhanced if they address the entire logistical chain that supports the movement of these individuals—beginning in their home countries – rather than just their Syrian entry points.}}

{{Cquote|The [[Syria]]n [ [[Bashar al-Assad|Assad]] regime] and Libyan [Gaddafi] governments share the United States’ concerns about violent salafi‐jihadi ideology and the violence perpetrated by its adherents. These governments [Syria, Gaddafi, and the US] like others in the Middle East, fear violence inside their borders and would much rather radical elements go to Iraq rather than cause unrest at home. U.S. and Coalition efforts to stem the flow of fighters into Iraq will be enhanced if they address the entire logistical chain that supports the movement of these individuals—beginning in their home countries – rather than just their Syrian entry points.}}