Breaking: Iran Has Several Military Bases in Libya
In an interview today on the Al Arabyia news network, an informed source within the Revolutionary Guards Corps revealed that Iran has several military bases in Libya.
The source, who requested anonymity due to his sensitive position within the Guards, elaborated further that the Iranian military bases are located mostly along Libya’s borders with the African countries of Chad and Niger. From there, he said, the Guards actively smuggle arms and supply logistical assistance to rebellious groups in the African countries.
According to this source, Guards enter Libya under the guise of oil company employees. Most of these companies are under the control of the Revolutionary Guards.
The source, who is a colonel in the Guards, added that Gaddafi and his government are quite aware of these activities and have even signed joint contracts with those Iranian oil companies so that the the Guards can enter Libya without any trouble.
The colonel stated that with the current unrest in Libya, over 500 Guards have been unable to evacuate and are under orders to destroy all documents.
According to this source, the military collaborations between the Revolutionary Guards and the Gaddafi government date back to 2006.
It is important to note that Nigerian officials recently confiscated an Iranian arms shipment destined for Gambia. The weapons included mortars, rockets, and shells for anti-aircraft guns and were hidden in containers marked building materials. Nigerian officials have accused a suspected member of the Guards and a Nigerian of illegally importing arms and have set the trial for later this year.
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Also read: “Endgame in Libya? Gaddafi’s ‘nurse’ to leave Tripoli”
Lots of cockroaches starting to skitter around as the light spreads. The future may be dim, but that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be some justice for the past.
“I knew you was all in cahoots!”
Must be Mtan al sarra ( Google map: http://goo.gl/maps/nran ).
According to the folks in Kufra Oasis and at the Uwenat border crossing, its been abandoned since the end of the Chad-Libyan Conflict.
I was on a trip to that area in 2009. I can assure you that if they are there, they dont re-supply by ground and the area is notorious for its use of land mines, so it doesnt get many visitors. There was a regular flight from Khartoum each Tuesday that was supposed to go to Benghazi, because we could see it as it passed overhead. Other than that, there was no evidence of any ground traffic into that area that I could see.
Note the timing… this is well after he flipped for us after OIF and revealed the atomic bomb conspiracy that almost gave him (and Iran and several others) nukes. From 2003-2004, the dominoes kept falling in our favor, as country after country went through the Color Revolutions, and even those dictators who stood fast often made noises and vague gestures towards granting their people some degree of freedom (including Mubarak, among others).
But, during the election of 2004, the tone within the US changed, and it became clear to the players that the US was no longer advancing, but holding position or retreating, all due to internal politics. The revolutions and gestures of freedom dried up quickly, and the dominoes started falling in the other direction. The US became the “weak horse” within a matter of months, leading to increased conflict and bloodshed as enemies and opportunists alike tried to take advantage of the sea change.
So, it’s not remotely surprising to see that by 2006 Libya was again cooperating directly with Iran.
Wouldn’t it be a shame if the British Special Forces troops flown in to rescue Brits stumbled upon some Iranians waiting for the next camel home? I can dream (sigh).
I wonder what U.S. Special Forces might find. I hear our Guantanamo Bay population is decreasing; time for some new enemy combatants. Some Revolutionary Guards discovered in Libya sound just the ticket.
If the Iranians are in Libya, I think its a fair bet that Ghadaffi doesnt know. Its entirely possible that they are their at the invite of some part of his apparatus who was interested in increasing their chances of moving up the ladder when the old man kicked off.
Ghadaffi had made enemies of all of his neighbors. They would be the first to squawk if there were any sudden rise in Persian influence to the south.
(Keep an ear out for the doings of the younger Ghadaffis, like Hannibal. )
*Sigh* A real president, such as W or Reagan (Maybe even Bubba), would have an operation underway to capture these guys and their documents for the intelligence they contain. Instead, we have Obama and Smart Power.
Why am I not filled with confidence?
Libya had a nuclear program that it “said” it gave up. What if Libya was (or still is) supplying Iran with uranium? Libya could also be supplying Iran with missile technology it gets from the west. Who knows what technology Libya is transferring to Iran. The faster Gaddafi is overthrown, the better.
This, if true, is a violation of Gadaffi’s 2003 agreement with the U.S. which terminates any obligations we have under it.
Smart-bomb his ***.
No! no! no! All that axis of evil stuff is just wrong and impolite!!! Mean lying trouble making Bush.
If they are in Libya, its likely that the purpose is that it makes perfect place to test the weapon. Imagine the chaos if we detect a test in the midst of the Libyan desert only after it has been tested. Hard to blame the Iranians for the test, impossible to act against the Libyans given the cover the Euros have given him to get supplied with oil. Ghadaffi would certainly take credit as it bolsters his case and the actual practitioners would be safe in their bunks in Tehran before the first detections were seen.
Again, this might be a case where Ghadaffi has no idea that this is going on, even if it is happening in his own backyard. Libya is a huge desert, and the vast majority of it is completely devoid of life or any sort of human involvement.
Curious. I wonder if this has anything to do with the IAEA discovering recently new evidence concerning Iran vis-a-vis their nuclear program. If Iran and Libya were cooperating militarily, there must be some interesting intelligence nuggets flying about.
Probably means the Iranians have something cooking in Venezuela.
Not that that ought to surprise anyone.
can we blame this on bush?
QHadaffi did indeed give up his WMD program to the US, which included vast amounts of valuable intelligence (including nuclear weapons blueprints written in Chinese – via A.Q. Khan).
Iran is about to test a bomb, but it will be in North Korea this year, and will be nominally a Nork bomb. Iran and the Norks are in bed together, so if NK has a bomb (and they due), then Iran does also.
I wondered where the his mercenaries came from, but not any more.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these Iranian cockroaches shoot off a nuclear missle at Tel Aviv on their way out. Way to start WWIII.