No End In Sight To Beck's Lunatic Conspiracy Theories

For some time now, Glenn Beck has been pushing the lunatic conspiracy theory that communists and Islamists are working together to establish a caliphate in Europe, the Middle East, and other areas of the world. He has also been tirelessly pushing the conspiracy that actions taken by the Obama administration in the Middle East and Egypt may ultimately lead to military action against Israel.

But just when you thought Beck's claims couldn't get any crazier, Beck suggested that President Obama restarted Guantanamo trials, encouraged American and Middle East youth to revolt, backed an “extremist Muslim president in the Ivory Coast,” and intervened in Libya, all to “inflame the Islamic world”:

BECK: Now our president encouraged the youth to rise up in revolt all across the Middle East, even here. Yet he did nothing to help the Iranian people with their revolt against Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then the president went into Libya to help and protect, because [Obama adviser Samantha] Power said, “We've got to do it.” Yeah. And then they even armed the rebels with ties to Al Qaeda and some with ties to Gitmo who were directly fighting against our troops in Iraq or Afghanistan.

And he's also backing the extremist Muslim president in the Ivory Coast, who last weekend had a thousand people killed. So I just find it interesting -- those are just all noticeable events too, completely disconnected and unrelated and has nothing to do with anything else in the world. Just a noticeable moment that as we've launched a third war against a Muslim nation, further inflaming the radicals, the president has decided that now it's OK to tie and try the Muslims at Gitmo. Something that he said we couldn't do because it would inflame the Islamic world. Huh. But don't worry. None of those things are connected.

As usual, Beck offered no evidence whatsoever. Instead, he merely suggested that he finds it impossible to believe that these events are not “connected.”

But any connection between these things rests only in Beck's fevered mind. For one thing, Obama has never incited the American youth “to revolt.” For another, Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognized winner of last year's presidential election in the Ivory Coast whom Beck identifies as a “extremist Muslim president,” defeated Laurent Gbagbo. Beck mentioned the Ivory Coast yesterday, but, like yesterday, he refused to acknowledge that along with Ouattara supporters, Gbagbo and his supporters have allegedly committed human rights abuses.

And contrary to Beck's suggestion about why trials are now going forward at Guantanamo, Attorney General Eric Holder announced that military trials at Guantanamo Bay would resume because Congress blocked a transfer of Guantanamo prisoners to a prison in the United States. As reported by the Huffington Post, Holder said that "[Congress has] taken one of the nation's most tested counterterrorism tools off the table and tied our hands in a way that would have serious ramifications."

Moreover, in his March 19 remarks, Obama authorized “limited military action” to “protect Libyan civilians” from strongman Muammar Qaddafi. Obama explained that the United States is acting as “part of a broad coalition,” “answering the calls of a threatened people,” and “acting in the interests of the United States and the world.”

Whether you agree or disagree with Obama's actions in Libya, it certainly doesn't seem like Obama is acting in order to inflame the Muslim world.

The only thing Beck's latest theory proves is that there is no end in sight to the absurdities he will dream up to smear the Obama administration and others on the left.