Murder As Political Strategy: Islamists Eliminate Rival Leader in Libya

Annie Hall: "Sometimes I ask myself how I'd stand up under torture."

Alvie Singer: "You kiddin'? If the Gestapo would take away your Bloomingdale's charge card you'd tell 'em everything." --"Annie Hall"

By Barry Rubin

Abdel Fattah Younes, the top military commander of the Libyan rebels and a former Libyan government official, has been assassinated by--according to opposition officials--an Islamist militia. That's a problem with Islamists: they murder people and intimidate with threats and violence. Consequently, they often get their way. Reformers can't compete with that kind of thing. That's why prospects in Libya or Egypt are not good. That's the kind of thing that Westerners tend to forget since, despite what the mass media might say, Sarah Palin for example doesn't have an armed militia dedicated to wiping out her enemies by decapitation.

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http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/2011/07/30/murder-as-political-strategy-islamists-eliminate-rival-leader-in-libya/