Tag: Libya

“Yellow Cake” Is Missing

Remember prior to the US invasion of Iraq in 2003?

One of the justifications was the lie that Saddam was wanting some ‘yellow cake’ uranium….and after the invasion teams scoured Iraq looking for it…..it was not found….it was either not ever there or missing.

Has it been found?  (Not a real question just my attempt to be whimsical)

A recent report was that 2 and half tons of yellow cake uranium is missing in Libya….a disturbing story…..but not to worry it has been found….

A stash of missing uranium ore reportedly has been found in eastern Libya. Ten drums were located near the border with Chad, the media unit for the armed forces said, per the BBC. The International Atomic Energy Agency said it was trying to corroborate the Libyan National Army report, which said the drums were found several miles from where they’d been stored, per the Washington Post. The agency, which is the UN’s nuclear watchdog, had reported that the 2½ tons of ore had vanished from a site in Libya without specifying when. Inspectors said the 10 drums “were not present as previously declared at a location” outside of government-controlled territory during a visit on Tuesday, per CNN and the BBC.

The uranium represented about 10% of the material stored at the “very remote location” in southern Libya, says Scott Roecker of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. He tells the BBC that the uranium, referred to as yellow cake, “cannot be made into a nuclear weapon” in its current form. There are also “very little radiation concerns,” says Roecker. A site inspection scheduled for last year was postponed for security reasons as militias battled in the region, per the BBC and Reuters.

Two and half tons of yellow cake could have made  a massive dirty bomb or a bunch or minor dirty bombs.

I am beginning to think that there is terrible security around the world when it comes to  that comes to stored nuke material…..the most recent incident that comes to mind was the lost canister of lost nuke material that fell off a truck in transportation.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

A Gadhafi’s Return

Closing Thought–23Nov21

After years of Gadhafi absence….and a civil war that has killed thousands….and now with a tentative peace and the upcoming presidential elections a young son of Gadhafi has decided he wants to return to the forefront of Libya’s political scene.

The son and one-time heir apparent of Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi has announced his candidacy for the country’s presidential election next month, per the AP. Seif al-Islam Gadhafi, who’s wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity, submitted his candidacy papers in the southern town of Sabha on Sunday. Gadhafi’s son was captured by fighters in the town of Zintan late in 2011, the year when a popular uprising, backed by NATO, toppled his father after more than 40 years in power. The younger Gadhafi was released in June 2017 after more than five years of detention. His father was killed in 2011 amid the fighting that would turn into a civil war.

In a video shared by an election official, Seif al-Islam Gadhafi addressed the camera, saying that God will decide the right path for the country’s future. The 49-year-old, who earned a PhD at the London School of Economics, wore a traditional Libyan robe, turban, and spectacles. It was the first time in years that he appeared in public. The second-born son to the longtime dictator, he was seen as the reformist face of the Gadhafi regime before the 2011 uprising. He’s wanted by the ICC on charges of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in the first weeks of the 2011 uprising, while his father was still in power.

 

 

Seif al-Islam’s campaign may focus on the failure of political parties and armed groups to establish a government capable of stabilizing and uniting the fractured country since the 2011 overthrow and killing of his father. However, he’s likely to face stiff resistance from armed groups and militias, particularly in the capital, Tripoli, and the western town of Misrata. Following the overthrow of Gadhafi, oil-rich Libya spent most of the last decade split between rival governments—one based in Tripoli and the other in the eastern part of the country.

If he beats Haftar, a CIA asset for decades, will the country once again return to the days of his father?

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Closing Thought–16Dec20

Back in the 1980s the Reagan admin had this enormous hard on for Qaddafi…..he even got one of his top generals to sign on as a CIA asset in the covert war with the Libyan leader…..that did not work so well…..Haftar, the general, and his men were sent to the US to live off the government tit for 30+ years…..and then the revolution in 2011 in Libya gave the CIA their chance to put their man to work.

Qaddifi dies and the country slides into chaos, a typical condition when the West intervenes where they do not belong, after a decade of fighting Haftar has control over the Eastern part of Libya and all its oil wealth……and what does Haftar do with the cash? Does he make the lives of his fellow Libyans better?

Nope…he goes on a real estate shopping spree in the US…..

Libyan Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar owns real estate assets worth millions of dollars in the United States, reported the Arabic language service of Anadolu Agency.

Haftar fell out with Muammar Gaddafi in the late 1980s and lived in Virginia, before returning to Libya during the 2011 revolution.

He has bought 17 properties registered in his name in the US state, using funds he smuggled out of Libya, according to the agency’s sources.

Among Haftar’s assets in Virginia is a home and a farm in Falls Church. He also paid $8m in cash to purchase one of the other alleged assets and a 5,600 sq m house worth $2.5m in Great Falls, Montana.

Last July, Haftar bought a horse farm worth $700,000 in Boise City, Oklahoma, said Anadolu Agency.

(middleeasteye.net)

Here’s a thought…..should not this Haftar parasite be repaying the US for the free ride that lasted 30+ years?

Just A Thought

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

News From Libya

It all began in 2011 when NATO decided to intervene in the civil unrest in Libya…..and ever since the death of Gaddafi the nation has been torn by civil war and destruction.

There have been many attempts to bring all sides together and all have failed miserably….even when one of the war lords is an CIA asset.

All this is looking like another war with no end and Europe is considering an intervention (again)…..

Wherever Europe’s attention turns in northern Africa, that region is the worse for it. In recent years, this has meant Libya, where the destruction of the Libyan government during the 2011 NATO intervention there is now set to give way to direct European Union intervention.

NATO was quite pleased with its 2011 handiwork, which saw Moammar Gaddafi removed from power and quickly killed. The assumption was that this would lead to an orderly transition of power. Instead it led to a civil war that’s continued to tear the country apart ever since.

Earlier this month, it was confirmed that the European Union is in the process of developing multiple potential military options for intervening in Libya, all intended to stabilize the situation. This is being done with an eye toward getting Libya’s oil industry back to exporting.

Since 2011, Libya has had as many as three, and at times zero, self-proclaimed governments operating out of different areas of the country. At times, the UN has endorsed a government, or created a government to endorse, and other nations in the region have backed either those governments or other rival governments, though none has ever controlled more than a fraction of Libya in any real way.

Europe Gears Up for Another Military Intervention in Libya

Just what the world needs…yet another war to finance.

With all the death and destruction the question needs to be asked….

Being one of the most prosperous countries in the African continent, thanks to its vast oil fields, after the fall of Gaddafi, the North African country was divided between rival governments in the east and west, and among multiple armed groups competing for quotas of power, control of the country and its wealth.

Gaddafi ruled for 42 years, leading Libya to a significant advance in social, political and economic matters that were recognized and admired by many African and Arab nations at the time. Despite his controversial government, Gaddafi came to represent an important figure for anti-imperialist struggles for his position mainly against the U.S. and the policies carried out from Washington on the Middle East.

It is for this reason, his life and death became pivotal events in Libya and key to understand the current situation.

https://www.telesurenglish.net/analysis/Libya-Before-and-After-Muammar-Gaddafi-20200115-0011.html

What part of 2011 was good for the Libyan people?

A decade later and the death and destruction just keeps flowing…..

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Post Script:  While I was writing this draft news has come out that the two factions in Libya that have been fighting for a decade have come to an agreement for a ceasefire…..

Warring factions in Libya have agreed to a “permanent” ceasefire following talks, the United Nations said on Friday.

The agreement came after five days of discussions in Geneva between representatives of the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) and the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA).

“The Libyan parties have reached a permanent ceasefire agreement throughout Libya,” said Stephanie Williams, head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

“This achievement represents an important turning point towards peace and stability in Libya.”

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/libya-ceasefire-sign-permanent-following-talks

All military units and armed groups must pull back from the front lines and return to their camps. All foreign fighters and mercenaries must leave Libya within three months – by January 23.

Williams said there were mercenaries from up to nine countries fighting in Libya. Both the GNA, backed by Turkey, and the LNA, backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, have fielded foreign combatants.

Any military agreements either side has struck with their foreign backers must also be suspended until a new unified government is in place, the deal said, with all foreign military trainers to depart.

This is good for the Libyan people but not so much for the arms industry…..will this play into the equation?

Watch This Blog!

Libya–The Other War

Once Qaddafi was killed the country of Libya sank into a civil war that has been raging now for 9 years…it all started in 2011….but there is a lot of history around the country of Libya…..here is a historic timeline…..https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13755445

Gen. Haftar is a CIA asset and has been since 1982 and he now leads the faction in Western Libya against those in the East….

Haftar has issued a unilateral truce statement…..

The Presidential Council said Thursday in a statement that the Government of National Accord’s (GNA) forces will continue to defend themselves and target all threats by outlaw groups that are causing bloodshed in Libya.

The Presidential Council responded to the unilateral truce announcement by Khalifa Haftar, saying it welcomes all national stances that rejected militarization of the country and clinging to civilian and democratic state.

The statement reiterated that the Presidential Council is committed to Security Council resolutions and Berlin conference conclusions, adding that the Presidential Council signed solely in Moscow on the ceasefire as Haftar didn’t and continued to shell civilians in Tripoli in violation of all agreed-upon truces

https://www.libyaobserver.ly/news/libyas-presidential-council-responds-haftars-truce-well-continue-defend-tripoli

The East has no confidence in Haftar……

Libya’s UN-recognised government on Thursday rejected a truce unilaterally called the day before by military strongman Khalifa Haftar, saying it “did not trust” its eastern-based rival.

The move follows successes on the ground for forces loyal to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) against Haftar’s troops in recent weeks, just over a year since he launched an offensive on the capital.

The GNA said in a statement that it did not trust Haftar, who controls the east and swathes of southern Libya, accusing him of violating previous truces.

“These violations make it so we do not trust truce announcements (from Haftar),” the GNA said.

Any “ceasefire needs to have international safeguards and mechanisms” to monitor its implementation and to document violations, it added.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/libyas-unity-government-says-rejects-haftars-truce-offer/ar-BB13r3Mq

Basically the two major sides in this conflict still go after each other in all fields of endeavor.

There are some that think Haftar is the impediment to a real political dialog…….that without him the chances of a peaceful conclusion would be possible.

The forces of the internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Libya and allied military factions launched a surprise offensive last week that enabled it to extend its control over a number of Libyan cities west of the capital, Tripoli: Sabratha, Sorman, Al-Ajilat, Al-Jameel, Rikdalin, and Zelten and expel the forces of retired Major General Khalifa Haftar, leader of the so-called Libya National Army. This attack comes in response to the LNA’s continued bombardment of the capital’s suburbs, despite calls made by many international bodies to halt fighting and focus on confronting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Will the Defeat of Haftar in the West of Libya Lead to Reviving the Political Process?

But Haftar has an ally that could change everything in the nation at war…..Turkey has sided with Haftar against the GNA…..

By intervening militarily in the Libyan conflict in January, Turkey helped forces aligned with the UN-backed Tripoli government of Prime Minister Faiez Serraj stand their ground against an offensive by a coalition headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. From Ankara’s perspective, supporting the Tripoli government is necessary to confront an arc of inimical forces bent on containing Turkey’s strategic and economic influence in the Mediterranean and broader Middle East. Haftar’s foreign backers likewise see Libya as a key geopolitical battleground and have shown no hesitation to escalate. While Ankara deems its intervention worthwhile as long as it prevents Tripoli’s takeover, the costs may rise if as a result the conflict becomes more prolonged and deadly. It therefore should be in Turkey’s and Haftar’s external supporters’ interest to explore areas of mutual accommodation, work toward a ceasefire, and find ways to bring their respective Libyan allies around the table to pursue a compromise that would also meet some of their own core needs.

After six months of stalemated war in the Tripoli outskirts, Haftar-aligned forces started to slowly advance toward the city centre in November 2019 in a push to remove the Serraj government and disarm forces allied with it. Alarmed by this development, officials in Ankara calculated that, by balancing Haftar’s military power on the ground, they could create conditions for a ceasefire and negotiated political solution to the Libyan crisis. Starting in January, Turkey reportedly sent around 100 officers and at least 2,000 allied Syrian opposition fighters to Libya, as well as aerial defence and other weapon systems.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/western-europemediterranean/turkey/257-turkey-wades-libyas-troubled-waters

Haftar is determined to take Qaddafi’s place as the power in Libya…..he even refuses to acknowledge the recognition of the Eastern Libyan political forces as the leader of Libyan people….

In a short televised speech late on 27 April, Khalifa Haftar declared that he accepted the people’s “mandate” to scrap the 2015 UN-mediated Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) and empower the General Command of the Arab Libyan Armed Forces (ALAF), the military force he heads, to take charge of the country’s governing institutions.

The LPA gives international recognition to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, against which Haftar has waged a deadly war since April 2019. While neither Haftar nor the allied Tobruk-based House of Representatives and its government has recognised the LPA, they have accepted it as the basis for negotiations. In rejecting the LPA now, Haftar is implying that he is no longer committed to international efforts to mediate an end to the war – and will pursue an alternative political project.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/north-africa/libya/interpreting-haftars-gambit-libya

Haftar is using Turkey to help him wrestle power for himself……

All this illustrates that the problems that NATO created in 2011 are still tearing a country apart and making life difficult for the people.

I Read, I Write, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Turkey And The Rise Of The Ottomans?

Turkey has inserted itself into the situations and events in the Middle East not seen since the days of the Ottoman Empire…..

Their excursions into Syria….their embracing of Russia and its ambitions in the Middle East…..

I have tried to help my reader understand what I am writing about…..https://lobotero.com/2016/10/17/return-of-the-ottomans/

Nothing has changed in my opinion that Turkey is trying to seek control of the Middle East and NOrth Africa as it did in the past……

Turkey has even decided to put a military base in Libya….

With a recent military agreement between Turkey and Libya, and President Erdogan offering to intervene on behalf of the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli, Turkey’s military is expected to set up shop in a base in Libya.

The exact location of the base is not clear, but is expected to serve as a “quick reaction force” to defend the GNA against Khalifa Hafter’s Libyan National Army (LNA) if requested.

Turkey’s initial interest in the deal was naval exploration for oil and gas. Erdogan also has ideological reasons to support the GNA, which has Muslim Brotherhood ties. Those ties are a big reason for Gulf Arab states to oppose them and back the LNA’s attempted coup.

Not everyone is on board. The opposition CHP in Turkey are objecting, asking what the purpose of Turkey’s involvement in Libya is, adding that they still aren’t clear why Turkey invaded northern Syria either.

(antiwar.com)

CIA operative, Gen Haftar, is seeking support for his move to control the country of Libya……and it appears as if Turkey is willing to help and in doing so would extend Turkish influence throughout the region they once controlled.

I Read, I Wrote, You Know

“lego ergo scribo”

Curb Your Mercenaries

Closing Thought–27Nov19

Speaking of Mercenaries…..

It is not secret that I do not think that the country needs to use mercenaries….my bad….security consultants…..that is why we spend so much on our military so we do not have to go elsewhere for our soldiers.

The US has its Blackwater or whatever they are calling themselves these days and other such “security firms”…they are being used in Afghanistan and Iraq and probably every other country in which we have a fight going on……

I bring this up because of something our Congress did…..they chastised Russia for using mercenaries in Libya….

My first reaction was…SAY WHAT?

Congress is preparing bipartisan sanctions on Russian mercenaries and other suspected human rights violators in Libya, Al-Monitor has learned, as the Donald Trump administration looks to use the recent entry of Moscow-linked paramilitaries into the conflict to reinvigorate a long-dormant American strategy in the war-torn country.

Foreign relations committee member Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., are set to introduce legislation codifying Treasury Department sanctions to limit Russian proxy activity. The bill would require President Trump to slap visa bans and freeze US property for arms traffickers, those illegally exploiting Libya’s vast supplies of crude oil and human rights abusers.

Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Chris Murphy. D-Conn., are also expected to sign onto the legislation, sources familiar with the bill say. The legislation also would require the United States to work with humanitarian organizations to ensure that aid be delivered in the country. “We just wanted Congress to weigh in and give a carrot-and-stick approach,” a House aide told Al-Monitor.

 
Now that is the height of hypocrisy……condemn a nation for doing what we are doing….
 
If it is wrong in Libya then it is wrong every fucking where!
 
Must prepare for the day tomorrow……lots of cooking ahead.
 
I Read, I Wrote, You Know
 
“Lego Ergo Scribo”

That Damn “Libya Model”

This term is getting a workout from dear president Trump…it is one of the insults he has used to explain why Bolton had to resign…..He slammed a mistake Bolton made early in his tenure at the White House when he discussed a “Libyan model” in the context of North Korea — which that country took as a sign that its leadership could meet the fate of former Libyan strongman Moammar Gadhafi. 

He is conflating two events a  2003 decision  and the civil war that killed Qaddafi……

Let me offer a free lesson in international relations for our dear president…..

After the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq toppled President Saddam Hussein in 2003, Libya’s leader Col. Moammar Gadhafi feared he might be next. On Dec. 19, 2003, Gadhafi announced he intended to rid Libya of its weapons of mass destruction.

Within a few months, Libya handed over vast amounts of equipment, documents and centrifuges — all of which were flown out of the country, mostly to Oak Ridge, Tenn. Gadhafi allowed international inspectors into Libya, and, in about two years, they certified that Libya’s nuclear weapons program was no more. Full destruction of Libya’s chemical weapons program was due to be completed by 2016.

This event might have had a round about consequence in the civil war and eventual death of Qaddafi…but that would take a whole bunch of research.

Fast forward to 2011, when the Arab Spring uprisings roiled the Middle East. Riots broke out across the country, including in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi. On March 19 of that year, the U.S. and its European allies – the very powers Gadhafi sought to cultivate by foreswearing nukes – launched a seven-month bombing campaign — ostensibly to stop attacks on civilians but in reality to topple his regime. On Oct. 20, 2011, Gadhafi was found hiding in a drainage ditch in Sirte after rebels overran the coastal city. He was beaten senseless by a crowd and shot dead.

And that was what was meant when Bolton mentioned the ‘Libya Model’…..

Only some amateur would conflate the two situations….and a bigger idiot that would do so in the press where he can be fact checked and proven to be uninformed on international issues.

Now Mr. President you may return to your normal daily consumption of shitty news and Tweeting all about it.

Be Smart!

Learn Stuff!

Class Dismissed!

“Lego Ergo Scribo”

Out Of The Desert……

Let’s take a look at the future of extremism.

AQ was born of war in Afghanistan…..ISIS was born of war in Iraq…..then the progression could be true of Libya……

The blood in the sand is thanks to the extremism of the branch of Islam….Wahhabism/Salafist…….

This form of Islam is not necessarily the form of Islam most Americans will encounter on the streets of America….no more so than the extremes of Judaism……

Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (d. 1792) was the first modern Islamic fundamentalist and extremist. Al-Wahhab made the central point of his reform movement the principle that absolutely every idea added to Islam after the third century of the Muslim era (about 950 CE) was false and should be eliminated. Muslims, in order to be true Muslims, must adhere solely and strictly to the original beliefs set forth by Muhammad.

https://www.learnreligions.com/wahhabism-and-wahhabi-islam-250235

The conflict that began with the death of Qaddafi is breeding another extreme group to watch…..

Madkhali-Salafis (“Madkhalis” for short), followers of an ultra-conservative Sunni Muslim doctrine, are growing in influence across Libya since the fall of the Qadhafi regime in 2011. Present in major armed groups in both east and west, they wield considerable military clout and, as a result, political leverage over both post-2014 rival governments. Their rise within the security sector follows a common pattern among other Libyan warring factions, both Islamist and non-Islamist, which have sought to expand their influence by penetrating the security apparatus and converting its members to their worldview. Now, their anti-democratic agenda and rejection of Libya’s religious and cultural diversity has triggered growing apprehension from many Libyans. Libyan political actors negotiating a solution to the conflict should seek to build a professional security apparatus shielded from ideological influence of any kind. For their part, Madkhalis should publicly commit to respecting religious freedom.

https://www.crisisgroup.org/middle-east-north-africa/north-africa/libya/addressing-rise-libyas-madkhali-salafis
 
What are the chances of a new faction will emerge as a blight on Islam?
 
The Wahhabis, the Muslim extremists, have hijacked the faith from the end of WW1…….(this link is for those that pretend they know the Muslim faith and make false claims)(try learning something for a change)

Our century so far has been overshadowed by a plague which roots, western powers have proclaimed, can be found in Islam and its practice. And though politicians have been careful not to publicly brand all Muslims terrorists, the narrative has nevertheless been one of suspicion and assumption. The words terror and Islam have been juxtaposed too many times in the media for anyone to believe that it was not by “design.” There has been a war of words against both Islam and Muslims. Its aim is rather simple and only too predictable since it falls within an equation of greed and cynicism.

By ridiculing Islam and dehumanizing its followers, western powers have essentially laid the ground for intervention – positioning their armies within a narrative of moral salvation and liberation when their aims are everything but.

 
The possibility of a new group to be added to the terror list is forming and needs to be handled……Muslim need to step up and protect their faith from the monsters from the shadows.

Libya In The Rear View Mirror

I have been per-occupied with the politics in the US and have let my international stuff take a backseat…..(I feel so used)…..

When Libya was the headline I said then that Qaddafi was what held the nation together and I was right as we have seen since his death…….civil war has been all the people have known…..

And the country has been in the news in-between the “Report” silliness…..https://lobotero.com/2019/04/11/libya-on-my-mind/

In the UN the US and Russia have chosen the same side (for a change),,,,,

Britain’s push for a UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in Libya has been derailed, with both the United States and Russia declining to support the measure.

A closed door meeting on Thursday ended with no agreement on a draft resolution. Britain’s text heavily criticized Khalifa Hafter, and blamed him fully for the fighting. Russia objected to that portion of the text.

The US opposition is a lot less clear, as they gave no public reason for why they objected to the resolution. They also declined comment to the media after the closed-door meeting.

Though the US isn’t publicly backing Hafter, several key regional allies, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, are. Hafter also has a history of working for the CIA, and some reports have suggested the US was keen on enhancing his power as a way to resolve the current fighting.

Now ask yourself who gains by the lack of a ceasefire?

But how did this situation spiral out of control?

The Libya tragedy that Barack Obama’s administration unleashed with a U.S.-led NATO military intervention in 2011 has entered yet another violent phase. Forces loyal to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, a one-time CIA asset that Washington now opposes, are waging an offensive against the so-called Government of National Accord (GNA), based in Tripoli. Both the United Nations Security Council and the European Union support the GNA and have passed resolutions demanding that Haftar’s troops cease their advance and adhere to the cease fire and plan for nation-wide elections that French President Emmanuel Macron negotiated last year. It is highly uncertain whether Haftar or his adversaries will heed such calls. More than 120 people have perished already in the new conflict, and fierce fighting continues, especially in and around Tripoli.

https://www.cato.org/blog/new-installment-libya-tragedy

The Trump Boyz have decided to come out of the closet and admit their support for this warlord, Haftar……

Whether you think of Khalifa Hafter as a former Gadhafi-era general, a long-standing CIA asset, or the leader of multiple failed coups d’etats who is now the self-described “Field Marshal” of his own self-described “Libyan National Army” (LNA), he is a bit unseemly for most nations to openly back. The big exception to this is the Egyptian junta, which seems to view him as an ideological ally.

The Trump Administration is also surprisingly comfortable with its support for him as well, with the White House announcing that Trump had phoned Hafter on Monday to talk about joint counter-terrorism efforts.

This is a particularly odd time for the US to be acknowledging direct coordination, as it comes amid Hafter’s latest coup attempt, with his LNA attacking the capital city of Tripoli and trying to oust the Libyan government of national unity who the US had been recognizing as Libya’s legitimate government up until the past week or so. Pompeo was still sharply criticizing Hafter last week, even if indications were this didn’t extend to UN Security Council calls for a ceasefire.

Now, the White House statement says Trump “recognized Field Marshal Hafter’s significant role in fighting terrorism, and securing Libya’s oil resources,” and that they discussed a “shared vision” for the future of Libya.

Now, of course, the White House presented the future of Libya as a “stable, democratic political system,” but it isn’t a secret that Hafter has tried to oust every democratically elected parliament Libya has had since Gadhafi. Nor is it a secret that the US favored the Egyptian coup for bringing “stability” over the democratically elected Morsi government. Democratic, in this region, just means the US starts calling the junta head a “president” as soon as he’s finished seizing power and violently purging his opponents.

Hafter’s “anti-terror” efforts in Libya have largely involved attacking parliaments that he felt were too Islamist, while his securing of oil resources has mostly involved attacking valuable oil facilities along the coast. While his previous failed coups ended with him still scheming, and at times giving himself field promotions, this latest push seems to have left him anointed as part of the US vision.

(antiwar.com)

Since the beginning of this situation it has been a cluster f*ck…..and the Trump approach will help NO one but Haftar…..the Libyan people continue to be screwed by the international community.