Al Qaida Plants Its Flag In Libya

Vice's man in Libya noticed that a flag flying above the courthouse in Bengahzi, the cradle of the now victorious Libyan revolution, belongs to Al Qaida.

That doesn't mean the Islamists have won or anything—Al Qaida flags actually pop up a lot in that part of the world. But it's not encouraging! When reporter Sherif Elhelwa started taking photographs, a courthouse guard approached him and said, "Whomever speaks ill of this flag, we will cut off his tongue. I recommend that you don't publish these. You will bring trouble to yourself."

Later, though, the same guard tried to argue that it wasn't the Al Qaida flag, which features "There is no God but Allah" in Arabic and a full yellow moon:

The guard claimed repeatedly that there is no al Qaeda in Libya, and that the flag flying atop the courthouse is "dark black," while the al Qaeda flag is charcoal black.

Obviously! And the yellow in the courthouse flag is maize, while everyone knows Al Qaida uses lemon.