According to the SITE intelligence group, the North African branch of al-Qaeda – known as Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) – has come out with a statement expressing its backing for the revolt against Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. Unfortunately, the full translation from SITE is only available to subscribers. But excerpts are available in reports from the AFP and Reuters here and here.

According to SITE, AQIM has assured the rebel forces that “[We] will do whatever we can to help you, with power from Allah, because your fight is the fight of every Muslim who loves Allah and His Messenger.” AQIM explains, furthermore, “We were pained by the carnage and the cowardly massacres carried out by the killer of innocents Gaddafi against our people and our unarmed Muslim brothers who only came to lift his oppression, his disbelief, his tyranny and his might.”

Note that AQIM’s interpretation of events is essentially indistinguishable from the interpretation of events to be found in almost all western media accounts – except that the latter tend to leave out the part about “his disbelief.” Note too that the statement is also said to cheer on the success of the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.

Not yet ten years after the 9/11 attacks, western commentators, on both the Left and the Right, are today virtually unanimously making common cause with al-Qaeda. One would hope that this realization would at least lead to a moment of reflection, if not self-doubt.