Ramaswami: IN one of his last interviews to the international media, former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi warned that many in the armed opposition were fighters owing allegiance to Al Qaeda. But his assertions were dismissed as the ranting of a delusional man fighting with his back to the wall. Now the Obama administration itself has, however, confirmed that the killing of the US ambassador, Christopher Stevens and three other Americans was the handiwork of an Islamist militia—the Ansar al Sharia Brigade, known to have close links with the Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. The group, however, was quick to distance itself from the attack on the American consulate. The last time an American ambassador was killed on duty was in Kabul in 1979. The Americans should have known that they were playing with fire. One of the main fighting forces aligned with the West in the capital Tripoli was led by a former Al Qaeda fighter, Abdel Hakim Belhaj.