From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: TS: Libyan "Contras" Train Near Washington
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 09:15:49 GMT

/** headlines: 630.0 **/
** Topic: National Libyan Army against Qadafi **
** Written 12:45 pm  Jan  7, 1993 by newsdesk in cdp:headlines **
/* Written  1:20 am  Jan  6, 1993 by geheim@link-k.comlink.apc.org in igc:mideast.gulf */
/* ---------- "National Libyan Army against Qadafi" ---------- */
Copyright GEHEIM / TOP SECRET MAGAZINE
Mr. Michael Opperskalski
P.O. Box 270324
5000 Koeln (Cologne) 1
Germany
Mail: GEHEIM@LINK-K.ZER

"National Libyan Army" Trains near Washington to Overthrow
Qaddafi: "Al-Hayat" Enters Opposition's Barracks, Roams Inside
Them, and Meets Its Leader 

by Bashara Nassar, Washington

A reporter from the newspaper "Al-Hayat" entered barracks near the
US capital which are held by the "National Front for the Salvation
of Libya". It was the first time a journalist from an Arabic or
other foreign newspaper had been able to see the inside of the
barracks of an Arab opposition group within American territory.
These barracks are being used as a training position with the aim
of toppling the Libyan government system ever since the front
troops were transferred from Chad via Nigeria and Zaire to the US.


This "Al-Hayat" reporter surveyed the barracks, roamed over most
of its grounds, met some officers and soldiers, and had extended
talks with the leader of the "National Libyan Army", Col. Khalifa
Hafter (the full text will be published tomorrow). Col. Hafter
told me that the front has 400 fighters in the US and gave me an
account of their training and the types of weapons being used, as
well as the group's finances. He told me the story of his arrest
in Chad, how he joined the opposition, and how he and his men were
brought in American planes of the "Hercules" type to the US, via
three African capitals.

Situated four hours by car from Washington, these members of the
Libyan opposition, gathered around a map of Libya labeled with
several military markers, are waiting for the right moment to
return to Tripoli - a moment which is tied up with the departure
of the present system, as they describe it.

Libya seems far away from the barracks of the National Libyan
Army, but this army's presence in the US strengthens it more than
does the number of its fighters. This may be because the US now
holds the keys of the "new world order", or it may be that the
Libyan opposition has for the time being found a powerful ally,
while the Libyan government has lost its own powerful partner.
Nothing in the barracks suggests that military action is imminent,
but the men gathered around the map speak of the "fatal crisis"
the Libyan government has faced in its power struggle with the
United States ever since the results of the investigation of the
Lockerbie incident were published.


The Trip

My trip started in Washington with the ringing of the telephone in
my hotel room. At the other end of the line was a leading figure
of the "National Front for the Salvation of Libya". He informed me
that my seemingly impossible negotiations with the Front for
permission to visit one of its barracks had in fact been
successful, and that two persons would be waiting for me in half
an hour's time at the entrance of the hotel. It promised to be a
sensational trip. I asked my silent companions, who seemed to be
security men, whether we were going to the airport to take a plane
to another city - I expected to be brought to another city which
would be warmer and more suitable for a training camp - but they
replied that we were going drive to another town.

On the road I realized that we were crossing Virginia. Throughout
the drive, my companions engaged in a long talk about personal
things and did not answer any of my questions about the place or
the route to it. They did not even apologize for their secrecy.
After driving for about two hours on a highway, the car turned
into a narrow back road. One hour later, the car turned into
another, curving road. The region was hilly and covered with dense
forest, which increased my feeling of rising cold.

Finally, although we were now driving in darkness, I realized that
we had arrived at our destination. The car stopped and the driver
went to have a talk with the guard. When he came back, he removed
the barricade and we went in.

In the barracks we were received by the leader of the National
Libyan Army, Col. Khalifa Hafter. After drinking tea and asking
some questions, I was given a tour of the barracks, accompanied by
Col. Salih Al-Habbony and Major Abdullah Al-Shaikhy. At this time,
a troop of soldiers came running in from outside and scattered in
front of a big tent situated between two buildings. They had come
in to receive their final orders after an exhausting evening
training session. One officer made a speech to them, but they were
clearly in a state of collapse and were listening impatiently for
his final instructions. When I walked in with Col. Hafter, they
all jumped to their feet to make the military salute. Then the
whole group performed their evening prayers. I made some photos
before being sternly informed that for several reasons permission
to make photographs would be limited. Then the exhausted soldiers
went to rest.

We paid a visit to two tents located 200 meters to the south,
which were used for sleeping and entertainment. In one of these
tents, four soldiers were training with a radio.

The soldiers were awakened at six in the morning. Dozens of
soldiers wearing track suits or informal military uniform were
running and doing calisthenics. The Army's banner was raised, and
the song of the Front was sung, without music and with the
soldiers stumbling over some of the lines. It was obvious that the
soldiers had received strict orders not to talk to the "outsider";
some of the officers seemed to be exempt from this. 

The place looks like an official military base. It has two gates,
one being used as an entrance and the other as an exit. There are
three buildings, two of them close together and the third located
at the other end of the grounds, which have the area of two
football fields. At one end of the camp are barricades and
trenches for training purposes. Some are filled with water and in
others material is burned so as to be jumped over by the soldiers.
There are ropes to be climbed and walls to be scaled. Major
Al-Habbony described this as an "arena for heavy training".

There are no ranks and no complete military uniforms in the
barracks; complete military uniform is an exception, for the
purpose of photographs. Nonetheless, everybody behaved in a
professional manner. The soldiers' movements were coordinated, and
their language and mode of address was 100% military. No weapons
were visible in the barracks except for personal pistols, which
were of American make. How did they train without weapons? Col.
Hafter replied, "Everybody is well-trained, so they do not need
permanent training with weapons. They are professionals and have
all the necessary training. They have had severe military training
in Chad for three years, and they are considered to be militarily
highly qualified. Furthermore, the aim of this operation is not
military training, because these are not permanent barracks. This
is an operation which will last for one week only, with the aim of
reorganization and preparation for the next stage."


Four Hundred Men

When I asked him about the number of men participating, he
replied, "There are 400 men on American territory, distributed in
25 states. They are regularly called in for military training and
lessons in moral orientation, and to listen to political lectures
explaining the targets of our Front and our future missions. We
have operations rooms that enable us to alarm all of our men in a
very short period of time." In one of these rooms there were
various US-made communication systems and big military maps. In
one corner was a relief map of Libya with some places labeled with
markers. In the other building there was a big dining hall and a
kitchen run by the soldiers themselves. Nex to this was a library
containing books in Arabic and English on the history of Libya,
literature including some books of poetry and novels, and issues
of "Al-Inqath" magazine, which is published by the National Front
for the Salvation of Libya.

We were prevented from visiting the third building on the other
side of the grounds, on the pretext that it was being renovated.
When I expressed my doubts about this excuse, the officers in my
company agreed unanimously that a visit to that building would be
useless, as it was "badly organized". When I asked whether it was
inhabited by Americans, the answer was strictly negative. All of
the automobiles inside the camp were civilian. Most of them were
vans for bringing supplies to the camp. There were also several
ordinary cars for the purpose of transport among the three
buildings; these were distributed under the trees.

Col. Al-Shaikhy explained that among the forces in the US there
are 28 officers, two of them being colonels and the rest captains.
Most of the men have been living without their families for the
past five years. Some had not seen their families for the past
eight years. He added that 75% of the forces had been transported
by American Hercules airplanes from Kenya to the US after Njamena
fell into the hands of Idriss Dibi. The flight was across Nigeria
and Zaire. The remaining 25% of the soldiers joined the force in
the US; they are mainly volunteers, and some of them are
accompanied by their families.

Does he feel embarrassed because the force is based in the US
rather than in some other Arab country? Col. Al-Shaikhy answered:
"At first we felt embarrassed, because we know America, the
history of its relations with the Arabs, and its absolute
agreement with Israel. But we like to explain that we came to
America only after all the Arab countries had refused to take us.
In addition, the Americans are granting us all of our requirements
unconditionally. If they ask us to intervene, we will do so only
if their request coincides with our own targets and methods. If we
are convinced, then we will be in the vanguard and will bear the
full responsibility in front of God and our people."

Captain Nassraldin Kermos added, "There is no way one could
compare our presence here with our presence in Chad or Zaire or
Kenya. We can do all of our training here, especially while we are
modernizing our weapons to be compatible with American and
European arms. This will make our duties in the future easier
while we are waiting to wage the last battle with the system of
Al-Qaddafi."

"Don't you feel nostalgic for Chad or Libya?" I asked. His answer
was: "Libya is in the heart of each one of us. We are tied to
every particle of its soil, and we firmly cling to the honor of
each Libyan citizen. If that were not so we would not have decided
to leave the country, oppose the system, and dedicate ourselves to
fighting for our goals, which are the goals of the Front and the
entire serious opposition." When asked about the differences
between their present American training camp and the environment
in Libya, Captain Salim Abdulsalam Al-Zaigen said, "This is not a
permanent camp. We train in other plaices where the land is quite
similar to the terrain of Libya and neighboring countries. We have
no troubles at all in this connection."

On the question of their tribal origins, the officers said, "We
are proud of our tribes, our origins, and our families. We come
from all the tribes and towns, but we set our patriotic goals
above them. Our differences take second place to the spirit of
patriotic solidarity." 

A man sitting nearby was not paying any attention to this. I asked
him what he was thinking about. He answered, "Nothing at all." I
repeated my question, but he apologized, then added with a shaking
voice, "You remind me of my home and family. I have seven children
in Libya. I have not seen them for the past five years." After
saying goodbye, I went back to my companions. At the exit I tried
in vain to determine the identity of the man behind the glass
window who pushed the button to make the barrier lift
automatically so that we could start our trip back to Washington.


Source: "Al-Hayat" Newspaper, 18 December 1991
** End of text from cdp:headlines **

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