The U.S. has once again stomped all over a Muslim country’s sovereignty, said Al-Quds Al-Arabi (U.K.) in an editorial. The kidnapping of Abu Anas al-Libi, an alleged al Qaida militant suspected of playing a role in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, “raises a great deal of question marks and enigmas.” Al-Libi was snatched from his home two weeks ago and spirited off to a U.S. Navy ship for interrogation and eventual trial in New York. Yet the son of the abducted man said that the gunmen who captured his father were Libyans, not Americans. “Does U.S. intelligence have a small army of Libyan nationals, or is there collusion with security agencies or with domestic militias in Libya?” Either way, the outrage committed against Libyan sovereignty is extreme—and it will have repercussions. Some of the many Islamist militant groups there are “calling for kidnapping U.S. citizens and attacking gas lines, ships, and aircraft.”
The backlash has already begun, said the Arab News (Saudi Arabia). In fact, the illegal U.S. operation has “come very close to costing Libya’s prime minister his life.” Last week, a group of armed men burst into a Tripoli hotel and briefly captured Prime Minister Ali Zeidan. Photos on social media show “a disheveled and confused Zeidan being bundled out of the building” at 4 a.m. The militants apparently believed that Zeidan had approved the U.S. attack on al-Libi, and they intended to use him to barter for al-Libi’s release. “It is Washington’s good fortune” that the militants were identified and that “wise counsel was able to prevail.” Libyan politicians and other negotiators persuaded the militants to hand back Zeidan unharmed after just eight hours. The prime minister may be unpopular, but if he had been killed by his captors, “the reaction against America would have been massive.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Last hopes for justice for UK's nuclear test veteransUnder the Radar Thousands of ex-service personnel say their lives have been blighted by aggressive cancers and genetic mutations
-
'It may not be surprising that creative work is used without permission'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
5 simple items to help make your airplane seat more comfortableThe Week Recommends Gel cushions and inflatable travel pillows make a world of difference
-
No equipment for Afghanistanfeature The U.S. has reportedly decided to hand over to Pakistan some $7 billion worth of American military hardware currently in Afghanistan.
-
How they see us: Crudely insulting our allies
feature Well, at least we know now what the Americans really think of us.
-
Spied-upon Germans are not mollified
feature In the wake of revelations last year about the NSA's spying activities, relations between Germany and the U.S. have been at an all-time low.
-
Is a deal with the U.S. in Iran’s interest?
feature The “unprecedented enthusiasm” of Western diplomats after the talks in Geneva suggests they received unexpected concessions from the Iranians.
-
Europe is complicit in spying
feature It’s not just the Americans who have developed a gigantic spying apparatus.
-
Protecting Snowden
feature American whistle-blower Edward Snowden has proved a master spy with his “meticulously timed operation.”
-
Listening in on Europeans
feature Europeans are apoplectic over the U.S. National Security Agency's massive PRISM surveillance program.
-
Pakistan gets serious about U.S. drones
feature Last week’s drone strike has created “fresh tension in ties between the U.S. and Pakistan.”