Libya Debacle Worsens, Iran's Ahmadinejad Welcomes Chaos

By Douglas V. Gibbs

Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is excited because chaos is trekking across the Middle East and North Africa. Libya, itself, is becoming an incredible debacle that only makes the wacky dictator believe that such incredible failures by NATO forces can only be because Allah wills it.

Gadhafi has not curled up in the corner in fear of the mighty Western Forces, as Obama and NATO had hoped, and to Ahmadinejad's great satisfaction. In fact, the Libyan dictator has stepped up his efforts. Libyan forces in Ajdabiya have forced the rebels to retreat, there, slowing down the rebel's westward advance, and possibly weakening the rebel hold on that city.

The oil town of Brega has changed hands a number of times, and the westward advance by the rebels is in the hopes of gaining full control of that city.

The only city the rebels have control of in western Libya is Misrata, but that town has been besieged by pro-Gadhafi forces for weeks.

Meanwhile, NATO has been inadvertently killing rebels, such as the killing of at least 13 fighters, and dozens wounded, in an airstrike near the eastern oil port of Brega. Four missiles hit a convoy transporting captured pro-Gadhafi equipment, which also included a bus full of rebel fighters.

NATO's excuse is that they mistook the rebels as pro-Gadhafi forces. This is the third time they've made this kind of mistake. In previous "mistakes," civilians were killed as well.

NATO's slow responses, and attacks against rebel forces, have some wondering if the assistance by The West is actually helping their cause. One rebel fighter shouted "down, down with NATO" as dozens of vehicles retreated eastwards from the frontlines back towards the city of Ajdabiya. Rebel commanders, as the discontent with NATO grows, have been complaining that NATO airstrikes come too slowly, and lack precision, therefore failing to give the rebels any benefit. The recent strike that killed thirteen rebels was a foolish mistake, according to the rebel forces, because the convoy was traveling from rebel lines towards Gadhafi's lines, so it ought to have been obvious who they were.

Fears that Gadhafi's forces may use the disarray among rebel units to advance accompanied the anger.

NATO claims Gadhafi's troops have been blending into civilian areas to frustrate the bombing runs. Hmmm, and the lessons of Iraq didn't clue you in that they might do such a thing?

Ahmadinejad believes that this is all according to the plans that will usher in the Mahdi, and that Allah has blessed the chaos, placing the Iranian leader at the front of it all as the chosen one to orchestrate the rising symphony of chaos that will free the 12th Imam from the depths of his hidden cave.

It doesn't matter how crazy that all sounds. Fact is, Ahmadinejad believes it, and he believes that the coming Mahdi, and the rise of the caliphate, will result from the great chaos that will culminate in the destruction of Israel. The uprisings around the Muslim world, for those that believe in the 12th Imam, are only a step towards the ultimate unification of Islam, and a move towards world domination. NATO's ability to bungle their military operations are only encouraging this, because with each misstep by Western Forces, the adherents to the belief in the 12th Imam believe it is yet another sign that they have in their favor Allah's will.

The rise of the Islamic Messiah is not in the Koran, but in the Hadiths, which are writings based on "The Prophet Muhammad's spoken words." The Iranian regime are in full belief that not only are those prophecies, which are based on Muhammad's ramblings, true, but that Iran is supposed to be at the forefront of the madness. It makes sense to them, since they are centered between the head of the former Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and the place of the Mahdi's throne in New Babylon (Iraq).

By believing in the 12th Imam, and believing that Iran is at the center of the prophecy, Ahmadinejad has come to believe that he is the chosen one which will usher in the Islamic end-times. The insanity of the unrest throughout the Muslim World is evidence, the Iranian leaders believe, that divine intervention is at hand and that their ultimate victory is at hand.

Which makes one wonder how much involvement does Iran have, coupled with other influences like by the Muslim Brotherhood, or al-Qaeda, in the uprisings we are seeing throughout the Middle East and North Africa. If they believe chaos ushers in their hey-day, then that would mean they would do all they could to encourage the chaos. And they would believe it is their divine manifest to do so.

In an Iranian video, called "The Coming is Near," the current uprisings are described as a prelude to the arrival of the twelfth Imam or Mahdi. Once he appears, according to the Hadiths, and other prophetic writings, the Islamic Messiah will take the reins of the new caliphate, and lead a united Islamic army to destroy Israel, and ultimately to victory over all non-Muslims in the final days. Then, as the claim suggests, the truth that Islam is the Religion of Peace will reveal itself, for peace will be worldwide, because Islam will dominate.

In other words, Islam will indeed be the Religion of Peace when everyone is Muslim, or slaves to the dominant Muslim society.

In the above mentioned video, Iran is portrayed as being destined to rise as a great power in the last days to help defeat America and Israel and usher in the return of the Mahdi. Many Iranians believe this to be true, and Ahmadinejad believes he is the chosen one that will make all of this happen. Therefore, he will not work with diplomats, or try to bring the peace amidst the chaos. Ahmadinejad plans to encourage the uprisings, get involved in the uprisings, and prepare his forces for armed conflict against Israel, and the United States.

The illness of Abdullah, the leader in Saudi Arabia, is also thought to be a sign that the coming of the Mahdi is near, for Saudi Arabia is Iran's primary opposition.

The most alarming belief among the Iranian leaders is that they believe Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, as the chosen one, will conquer Jerusalem prior to the Mahdi's coming. This sets up a scenario where Iran is ready, willing, and believing that it is in Allah's will, that Iran strikes against Israel soon.

They believe that war with Israel, and the West, is near, and that to bring that about, they must instigate the unrest in the Muslim World, and allow the chaos to spread to the point that only the unification under a single caliphate can solve the problems of Islam.

Allah wills it.

NATO's debacle in Libya, as far as Ahmadinejad is concerned, is a key piece of evidence that what he says is true, and war with Israel looms ever nearer.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary

Shelling in East Libya Forces Rebel Retreat - Voice of America News

Botched Nato bomb raid on Brega leaves 13 Libyan rebels dead after jets blast wrong convoy - U.K. Mail Online

A Guide To Protests In Middle East, North Africa - NPR

Iranian Video Says Mahdi is 'Near' - CBN News