Since the attack in Benghazi, tensions have grown between U.S. intelligence and elements of the Syrian opposition, as have concerns expressed that foreign fighters, many of them from Libya, may pose a long-term danger to the United States.
Concerns are rising due to the presence in Syria of increasing numbers of Libyans and Jihadis armed with heavy weapons, including shoulder-launched SAM missiles, known as MANPADs, looted from the vast arms stockpiles of the deposed Gadhaffi regime. Shipments of these have been observed being moved into Syria in recent months, and recently seen being distributed elsewhere across the region.
During the seven weeks since the September attack that took the life of the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, it has become evident that Eastern Libya has become a base for al Qaeda militants who have seized a growing military and political role in western-supported regime change operations in Syria.
In addition, concerns are rising that Libyan MANPADs are a prize that al-Qaeda seeks, and the US appears to have lost control over thousands of these missiles. Of the estimated 20,000 once held by the Libyan armed forces, only about a quarter have been accounted for or destroyed, despite efforts of the U.S. and several countries to buy back or seize them after the revolution.
CNN confirmed yesterday that US intelligence has for the first time publicly acknowledged that some of the attackers belonged to the same al-Qaeda groups that the US fought in Iraq, now a growing part of the Syrian opposition. http://security.blogs.cnn.com/...
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