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[[File:Gaddafi and Mandela 1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Nelson Mandela]] greets an old friend and ally, Muammar Gaddafi, who supported the [[ANC]] during their struggle against [[apartheid]]. ''[[Reuters]]'' reports President Obama secretly ordered support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorists seeking Gaddafi's ouster.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umgMDJIpkn0</ref>.]]

[[File:Gaddafi and Mandela 1.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Nelson Mandela]] greets an old friend and ally, Muammar Gaddafi, who supported the [[ANC]] during their struggle against [[apartheid]]. ''[[Reuters]]'' reports President Obama secretly ordered support for [[al Qaeda]] terrorists seeking Gaddafi's ouster.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umgMDJIpkn0</ref>.]]

The '''Libyan War of 2011''' originally began as the '''Benghazi rebellion''', a series of protests in eastern [[Libya]], which began on February 16, 2011, and which took their lead from previously successful uprisings in [[Tunisia]] and [[Egypt]]. However, the scale of the violence contrasts markedly with the more peaceful uprisings that topples the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes. The [[Islamist]] terror group [[Al-Qaeda]] in North Africa has vowed to do everything in its power to help the uprising against the Libyan [[secular]] strongman leader [[Muammar Gaddafi]].<ref> [http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/24/al-qaeda-in-n-africa-backs-libya-uprising-site.html Al Qaeda in N. Africa backs Libya uprising: SITE] </ref><ref> [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/07/libya-uprising-live-updates Libya uprising.] </ref> Journalist David Wood has reported,  

The '''Libyan War of 2011''' started as the '''Benghazi rebellion''', a series of protests in eastern [[Libya]] on February 16, 2011 after the successful uprisings in [[Tunisia]] and [[Egypt]]. The scale of violence contrasts markedly with the more peaceful uprisings that toppled the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes. The [[Islamist]] terror group [[Al-Qaeda]] in North Africa has vowed to do everything in its power to help the uprising against the Libyan [[secular]] strongman [[Muammar Gaddafi]].<ref> [http://www.dawn.com/2011/02/24/al-qaeda-in-n-africa-backs-libya-uprising-site.html Al Qaeda in N. Africa backs Libya uprising: SITE] </ref><ref> [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/mar/07/libya-uprising-live-updates Libya uprising.] </ref> Journalist David Wood has reported,  

{{Cquote|Eastern Libya has been described by U.S. diplomats as a breeding ground for Islamist [[extremism]]. In diplomatic cables released by [[Wikileaks]], the region’s young men were said to have "nothing to lose" by resorting to violence. Sermons in the local [[mosque]]s are "laced with phraseology urging worshippers to support [[jihad]]," one diplomat reported.<ref>http://91.214.23.156/cablegate/wire.php?id=08TRIPOLI120&search=</ref>}}

{{Cquote|Eastern Libya has been described by U.S. diplomats as a breeding ground for Islamist [[extremism]]. In diplomatic cables released by [[Wikileaks]], the region’s young men were said to have "nothing to lose" by resorting to violence. Sermons in the local [[mosque]]s are "laced with phraseology urging worshippers to support [[jihad]]," one diplomat reported.<ref>http://91.214.23.156/cablegate/wire.php?id=08TRIPOLI120&search=</ref>}}

Wood added,

Wood added,

{{Cquote|extremist elements make up only a portion of the resistance to Gaddafi and have been present in every popular uprising in the region stretching from the [[Iran]]ian revolution to the [[Egypt]]ian people’s overthrow of [[Hosni Mubarak]].<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html</ref>}}

{{Cquote|extremist elements make up only a portion of the resistance to Gaddafi and have been present in every popular uprising in the region stretching from the [[Iran]]ian revolution to the [[Egypt]]ian people’s overthrow of [[Hosni Mubarak]].<ref>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/19/extremists-among-libya-rebels_n_837894.html</ref>}}

Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said jihadists who fought against allied troops in [[Iraq]] are on the front lines of the battle against Muammar Gaddafi's regime. <ref> [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links.] </ref> <ref> [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/world/guantanamo-files-libyan-detainee-now-us-ally-of-sorts.html Libyan, Once a Detainee, Is Now a U.S. Ally of Sorts.]</ref>

Abdel-Hakim al-Hasidi, the Libyan rebel leader, has said [[jihad]]ists who fought against American troops in [[Iraq]] are on the front lines of the battle against Gaddafi's regime. <ref> [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links.] </ref> <ref> [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/25/world/guantanamo-files-libyan-detainee-now-us-ally-of-sorts.html Libyan, Once a Detainee, Is Now a U.S. Ally of Sorts.]</ref>

An international coalition has intervened in what many describe as an "illegal war"<ref>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/01/obamas_illegal_war</ref> led by the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), whose own leaders have publicly questioned what the value, purpose, and reason for existence of the NATO organization is. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/world/europe/14iht-letter14.html</ref><ref>http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/article_58ebd6cf-0558-5ee2-bd8d-cf27c1af7630.html</ref><ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/12/nato-usa</ref>

An international coalition intervened in what many describe as an "illegal war"<ref>http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/06/01/obamas_illegal_war</ref> led by the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]] (NATO), whose own leaders have openly questioned what the value, purpose, and reason for existence of NATO is. <ref>http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/world/europe/14iht-letter14.html</ref><ref>http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/article_58ebd6cf-0558-5ee2-bd8d-cf27c1af7630.html</ref><ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/jun/12/nato-usa</ref>

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