US Sends Marines to Italy as Libya Tensions Mount

US ambassador hauled in over al-Libi raid
By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 8, 2013 7:32 AM CDT
US Sends Marines to Italy as Libya Tensions Mount
Protesters burn an American flag and shout anti-American slogans denouncing the violation of Libya's sovereignty in the abduction of Abu Anas al-Libi, in the center of Benghazi, Libya, Oct. 7, 2013.   (AP Photo/Mohammed el-Shaiky)

The US' capture of Abu Anas al-Libi is turning into a full-blown diplomatic incident. Libya's government has summoned the US ambassador for questioning over what it terms the "kidnapping" of the alleged al-Qaeda operative, CNN reports. The US, meanwhile, sees the situation as perilous enough that it has moved 200 marines from Spain to Italy, so they'll be ready to respond should the US diplomatic mission in Libya come under fire.

Al-Libi is currently being questioned aboard the USS San Antonio. While the Obama administration has said he'll eventually be tried in New York, it's unclear when. Essentially, the White House is using warships as a replacement for the CIA's secret "black site" prisons, the AP observes. While in international waters, the US believes it can interrogate terror suspects indefinitely without reading them their Miranda rights—yet still preserving the ability to try them in civilian courts. Somali militant Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame got the same treatment in 2011. (More Abu Anas al-Libi stories.)

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