Qaddafi: Bin Laden behind Libya unrest

Osama bin Laden and Libya's leader Muammar Qaddafi / Getty Images

BENGHAZI, Libya - Leader Muammar Qaddafi says al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden is behind the uprising in Libya, claiming al Qaeda followers give young Libyans hallucinogenic pills in their coffee to get them to revolt.

Qaddafi made the comments in a phone call to Libyan state TV Thursday, expressing condolences for deaths in the city of Zawiya but chiding its residents for joining the rebellion.

Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab World

He said al Qaeda militants are "exploiting" teenagers, giving them "hallucinogenic pills in their coffee with milk, like Nescafe."

While Qaddafi blamed al Qaeda, foreign mercenaries and Libyan militiamen loyal to Qaddafi tried to roll back the uprising against his rule that has advanced closer to his stronghold in Tripoli, attacking two nearby cities in battles that killed at least 17 people. But rebels made new gains, seizing a military air base.

The assaults aimed to push back a rebellion that has grown larger and bolder. As much as 90 percent of the country may now be in protesters' hands, writes Middle East expert Juan Cole on his blog. The revolt has already broken away nearly all of the eastern half of Libya and unraveled many parts of Qaddafi's regime.

In response to widespread reports of attacks on civilians, the Obama administration will throw its weight behind a European effort to expel Libya from the U.N.'s top human rights body and name a special investigator to look into alleged atrocities committed by Qaddafi's regime, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Amid the turmoil, foreigners are struggling to flee the country by the thousands, while governments from Beijing to London scramble to secure their citizens. The Obama administration is playing a careful diplomatic game in fear that U.S. citizens still trapped in the country may become Qaddafi's next target.

In the latest blow to the Libyan leader, Switzerland ordered the immediate freeze late Thursday of any Swiss assets belonging to Qaddafi or his entourage, saying it wanted to prevent the possible misuse of state funds.

Switzerland recently froze the Swiss assets of Tunisia's Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali and Egypt's Hosni Mubarak - but only after they had been deposed.

Earlier Thursday, a cousin who is one of his closest aides, Ahmed Gadhaf al-Dam, announced that he has defected to Egypt in protest against the regime's bloody crackdown against the uprising, denouncing what he called "grave violations to human rights and human and international laws."

Libyan officials have also invoked al Qaeda's name in a warning to foreign journalists.

Senior Libyan officials said journalists who have entered Libya without proper government accreditation to cover the violent unrest sweeping the country that they will be considered al Qaeda collaborators and subject to immediate arrest, the State Department said Thursday.

In meetings with U.S. diplomats, Libyan officials said their government would not be responsible for the safety of those journalists, the department said in a statement. The officials said all journalists now in the country must be part of government approved teams and will be prosecuted on immigration charges if they are working independently, according to the department.

"Be advised, entering Libya to report on the events unfolding there is additionally hazardous with the government labeling unauthorized media as terrorist collaborators and claiming they will be arrested if caught," the department said in a notice to news organizations.

The Libyan officials told the U.S. diplomats that some journalists from CNN, BBC Arabic and Al Arabiya television would be allowed into the country to cover the situation.

The warning comes as the Libyan government appears to have lost control of much of the eastern part of the nation, where some reporters are crossing the border from Egypt.

[olbabee]

What a f*****g idiot!

[tafhdyd]

I wish someone would interview Sarah Palin and see what cure she has for the situation (I need something to lighten up all this bad news). And while I think about it, where is Jesse Jackson? He always stuck is nose where it didn't belong.

[myopinionpal]

It looks like the U.S. better start fast tracking electric cars. Its just a matter of time that the only ones that will be able to afford gas will be the rich.

[mrjustice1]

SUDDENLY, *QADDAFI, *KADDAFI[OR IS IT *GADAFFI?] GOES MAINSTREAM
[AMENDED VERSION]

After some 41 years of iron-fisted tyrannical rule,
not to mention his mercurial behavior, his anti-establishMENTALITY,
and his support for terrorism the world over...

...Muammar Qaddafi says:

"Hey, they can't rebel against me and my fully-perfected idea of running Libya.
It's those wild outsiders deviating from the(my) norm, who cause all the trouble."


*By the way, it must be 'QuiteDaffy'.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
Un autre qui prend les gens pour des idiots.
vous ?tes le seul responsable Khadafi.
===========
Another that takes people for idiots.
You are the only responsible Khadafi.
you led the country with an iron fist, here is the result

"au revoir"

[JavMD]

bin ladin ! ha.. go back to the last administration and give credit where credit is due.

Spread democracy through the world (Middle East), are Historians forgettful. I seriously want to thank George BUsh for starting this (with Iraq getting their 'freedom', too bad the Arab world has no idea WHAT TO DO WITH IT.

heres what they can do. elect stupid people to congress like Barney Fife Franks in charge of Finance.. telling just few years ago Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were fine, go look up the committee public meetings,

congress reforming banks and credit cards... ha.. interest rates have tripled since then !

The junior senator from Illinois gets elected and politically friend to harry reid withdraws funding to Yucca Mountain after billions spent to SECURE the USA nuclear SPENT Fuel rods from over 100 commerical nuke plants. Now the stuff sits outside in caskets (like that word BTW?), ready for any Mid Eastern descent kid on a student visa, ordering chemicals ...to attack them, (causing a mini Chernoble?) can AMericans think back to 1986?

We're fools... I feel terrible leaving the USA this way for my kids and grandkids... more banks in trouble, 1 million more home foreclosures, schools lay offs, towns, counties and states billions of dollars in debt.. Wisconsin trying to do something about it, while Illinois and California is the worst, Ohio is 9 BILLION in debt.

SAD.. just SAD

[eiddam]

The Bush Regime deliberately illegally invaded Arab countries forced his beliefs on them, and when the people refused to obey were called terrorist. You don't seem to understand it is not Democracy when you use force but a dictatorship. Do as we do, or else.Bush became what he said was against. You will also find out in due time it was not Arabs who did 9/11. Take off the rose colored glasses and do your ""RESEARCH"".--Go back to Bush and follow though.

[choiceshaveconsequences]

Who would have thought that a little acid, a little coffee and a little milk would get such quick, enthusiastic behavior from teenagers. Parents all over the world are paying close attention.

[mrjustice1]

SUDDENLY, *QADDAFI, *KADDAFI[OR IS IT *GADAFFI?] GOES MAINSTREAM

After some 41 years of iron-fisted tyrannical rule, Muammar Kaddafi says:

"Hey, they can't rebel against me and my fully-perfected idea of running Libya.
It's those wild outsiders deviating from the(my) norm, who cause all the trouble."


*By the way, it must be 'QuiteDaffy'.

[Turbidite]

Al Qaeda Latte! The next Starbuck's hit. Seems like Muammar has been drinking some of this stuff already.

[democracy5]

Not to overstate the obvious, but Qaddafi is a lunatic. I doubt that Al Queda has any part to play in this. Just more paranoid delusions on the part of Qaddafi.