Free Libya, Jubilant Al-Qaeda In The Islamic Maghreb

"We have been one of the main beneficiaries of the revolutions of the Arab world." Mokhtar Belmokhtar AQIM leader

Isn't that an absolute delight? The Arab Spring, after all, has been of great benefit. Perhaps not to the unemployed youth who began their protests in Tunisia and Egypt, decrying lack of unemployment, the high price of food and energy, and just incidentally, basic social freedoms. Their torment has not been altered. They remain unemployed and disgruntled.

But they did pave the way so very thoughtfully, albeit unintentionally, for the Islamists hulking in the wings, to come forward and claim their portion of the spoils of the uprisings. Which they achieved in the most legal of measures, by placing their organized political parties in competition for election. And now, countries that were once Muslim have become Islamist.

But things are just beginning to heat up, we're still in the foyer of the house of political Islam, and Sharia is just awaiting an introduction to the people inhabiting that hugely spacious dwelling. The Muslim Brotherhood knows all about patience and its virtues, aided hugely by being of assistance to the downtrodden where no government agency ever was.

And the Salafists who know that the sacred letter of Sharia law is not fanaticism but rather the mainsprings of a just society that treats everyone equally in just the same oppressive manner without freedoms, but free to fundamentally agree to worship and dedicate their lives to the greater glory of Islam - or perish as infidels, is right behind the Brotherhood.

Not to be outdone, al-Qaeda has prospered mightily (see above). For to them rightfully go the spoils - no, not the politically advanced spoils that fell into the waiting laps of the Brotherhood and their ilk, but the advanced armaments and destructive weaponry spoils that were handily captured when depots were left unguarded.

As NATO bombarded Moammar Gadhafi's forces by relentless air bombings, bases and ammunition depots were abandoned. Their thousands of weapons, inclusive of surface-to-air missiles became the property of al-Qaeda,not just black marketers and the rebel militias.

Chad's president has warned that AQIM now has missiles and small arms: "This is very serious. AQIM is becoming a genuine army, the best equipped in the region."

Algerian intelligence too warns of the looted Libyan weaponry in the hands of AQIM. "The region has turned into a powder keg", said Mohamed Bazoum, Niger's foreign minister. "Things have changed and degraded since the Libya crisis and the region is on a war path. With stolen weapons circulating, al-Qaeda's total impact is growing."

Now that sounds like a lethal mixture of violence-prone fanatics, all pursuing their own agendas, all intent on acclaiming themselves the power of all they survey, as one Arab-Muslim country after another stumbles and collapses under the weight of a people seeking change from tyranny, eager to introduce another kind of future, and in the process embracing an even greater tyranny....

History has this habit of seeing to it that repetition teaches no lasting memories.