Tag: Libya

Libya On My Mind

The magic land of Libya in North Africa has been a continuing sad story since the death of Qaddafi……and it seldom gets any better than all out war.

Recently the warlord of the East, Haftar has decided he will try for total control of the country…..

After years of sabre-rattling, eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops on Thursday to march on the capital Tripoli, escalating a conflict with the internationally recognised government.

Seeking to encircle the capital his forces approached from south and west, seizing one town south of the city before stopping for the night some 60 km (37 miles) south of Tripoli, eastern officials said.

The offensive marked a dramatic escalation of a power struggle that has dragged on in Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-libya-security/eastern-libyan-commander-orders-forces-to-move-on-tripoli-idUKKCN1RG0S9

The incident and the likely of all out war has prompted the US to remove our people…..

The United States has temporarily withdrawn some of its forces from Libya due to “security conditions on the ground,” a top military official said Sunday as a Libyan commander’s forces advanced toward the capital of Tripoli and clashed with rival militias. A small contingent of American troops has been in Libya in recent years, helping local forces combat Islamic State and al-Qaeda militants, as well as protecting diplomatic facilities, per the AP. “The security realities on the ground in Libya are growing increasingly complex and unpredictable,” said Marine Corps Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the head of US Africa Command. “Even with an adjustment of the force, we will continue to remain agile in support of existing US strategy.” He didn’t provide details on the number of US troops that have been withdrawn or how many remain in the country.

The self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, launched a surprise offensive against the capital last week, a move that could potentially drag the country back into civil war. Libya has been gripped by unrest since the 2011 uprising that overthrew and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In recent years, the country has been governed by rival authorities in the east and in Tripoli, in the west, each backed by various armed groups. Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the government in Tripoli, accused Haftar of “betraying” him. Haftar is seeking to capture the capital and seize military control of the whole country before UN-sponsored talks due to start next week; those talks were designed to set a time frame for possible elections in the oil-rich country. The two sides reported at least 35 people, including civilians, had been killed since Thursday.

The US is putting all its apples in one basket…..the basket of CIA asset Gen. Hafter.

Libyan National Army (LNA) head Khalifa Hafter, who is in the process of attacking the capital city of Tripoli for at least the third time since 2014, is reportedly being pushed by the US government for a bigger role in official Libyan affairs. This could include making him the head of the actual Libyan military, instead of just the one he pieced together himself.

Hafter has a long history in Libya, participating in the 1969 Gadhafi coup, finding himself part of a CIA-funded rebel force in the 1980s, and has been positioning himself as a military strongman since Gadhafi’s 2011 ouster.

In 2014, Hafter ousted a parliament, and by year’s end was in the process of launching a coup of his own. In 2015 he became head of the LNA, the force loyal to the Tobruk parliament, and stopped referring to his old title of general, instead styling himself a “field marshal.” His forces have been trying to seize territory and consolidate power since, finding themselves once again moving against Tripoli, this time to remove the US and UN-backed unity government.

This latest action is ruining UN-planned conciliation talks, with officials saying no one wants to talk while Tripoli is under attack. The US sees the solution as just promoting Hafter, figuring he’ll stop attacking Tripoli if he’s part of the government that already controls it.

To be fair, Hafter’s promotion to the Tobruk parliament’s official military chief was also done at least in part to keep him from attacking their territory. That worked, as far as it goes, though Hafter has subsequently acquired substantial territory of his own, and still seems to have designs on ultimately being the military ruler of Libya, or at least as much of it as he can muster.

(antiwar.com)

Haftar has been on the payroll of the CIA since the 1980s……and now they want him to fulfill his contract with them from the days of trying to topple Qaddafi…..

Hopefully the Libyan people will decide if this asset will become supreme leader…..the CIA has done all they can to put their man in power ….now the people need to see it end.

What Of Libya?

Then there is Libya…..it has not made the headlines in the West for some time now…….and probably will not make much news in this new year…..but there is something that needs to be watched when it comes to Libya.

The conflict has not been abated and yet there is a situation where a warlord could be the permanent leader of Libya…..think Qaddafi and then think of a CIA thug, Haftar…….yes a CIA thug….Haftar has been a CIA asset since the 1980s and now he is in the cat bird seat……..

A Gadhafi-era general turned CIA asset with multiple failed coups d’etats under his belt, Gen. Khalifa Hafter is still around in northern Libya, securing oil-rich  parts of the nation and fighting various regional Islamist groups.

While this has often appeared to be fighting for fighting’s sake, or an attempt to get endorsements from different would-be governments, Gen. Hafter is quickly finding himself in favor internationally, as the world looks to stabilize Libya, and sees the aging warlord as a potential solution.

Western countries are all quick to insist Hafter is “indispensable,” and even the White House said they see a role for him “in any future of Libya,” though they did stop short of endorsing him as an outright military ruler, something he’s long sought.

Western support is fairly cynical, of course. European oil companies with assets in Libya all officially support the UN-backed government publicly, but since Hafter physically controls almost all of their assets, they can’t be too public in opposing him.

(antiwar.com)

But the Russians have another idea….and its name is Qaddafi.

Do not look for the spirit of warlord past…..it is Saif….the son of the deceased leader……

Russia has a new potential leader for Libya. His name is Qaddafi.

The former dictator’s son, Saif al-Islam, this month became the latest in a long line of Libyans to seek Moscow’s support as President Vladimir Putin steps up Russia’s role in the energy-rich North African state.

With the U.S. all but absent, the Kremlin sees an opening to become the key power broker in Libya, rudderless and divided since Muammar Qaddafi’s overthrow and death in 2011. Russia is likely to be emboldened in that aim by U.S. plans to pull out of Syria.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-20/russia-has-a-plan-for-libya-another-qaddafi

All this is setting the stage for a return to the 1980s….Qaddafi versus the CIA…..only violence and death can be the outcome.  Libya does not need any more of those …….it needs a peaceful existence for its war torn population.

Sadly that is not in the books as long as there is a return to the 1980s.

Fearless Leader Loses

It is the month of October and just a mere 7 years ago the death of a dictator was announced to the world……October 2011 during the Libyan Revolution the strongman Gaddafi lost his life to the rebels.

It is a good time to look back at the situation…..the revolution has been anything but a good thing for many Libyans……

The “triumph of the February 17th Revolution and the fall of the dictatorship” was initially greeted with euphoria, but this mood was not enough to prevent the country from falling apart. The victors, who had seized power with the support of NATO and an unlikely coalition of various armed groups, were unable to prevent the country’s descent into chaos.  That coalition split apart in 2014, and the country has effectively been split in two ever since. There are now two opposed “territories”, one headed by Tripoli in the west of Libya, the other headed by Tobruk, in the east. Each has its own government, parliament and armed forces.

What is more, the capital, Tripoli, is controlled by four main armed groups, which, together, prop up the Government of National Accord, headed by Fayez al-Sarraj.  Their official role is to guarantee security, serve as a police force, and guard the airport, government organisations and prisons etc. According to many experts in the region, these armed groups have built up an unprecedented level of control over both public and private organisations. They are involved in business and a wide range of illegal schemes: these include various forms of smuggling, especially of oil.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/anniversary-of-gaddafis-death-and-the-current-situation-in-libya/5657452

The Western powers acting as the rebel Libyan Air Force has rained down death and destruction on the Libyan people and allowed the groups like AQ and ISIS find a foot hold in the country…..and yet another civil war because of something the US and its allies did.

Nothing about the end of the revolution (whenever that is) will be good for the Libyan people.  The US told the Western powers to involve themselves in Libya and now it is time for those same countries to heal what they broke.

As unpalatable as it may be, the United States should become more involved in one of the world’s most destabilizing conflicts.

We are talking about Libya. The North African country remains in turmoil with the effects of the conflict rippling through three continents, and no realistic prospect of a resolution soon. What is needed is a level of diplomatic engagement the U.S. alone can muster, and soon. Libya’s dysfunction will likely deepen the longer the conflict grinds on, and pose a serious threat to American interests in a critical, fragile region of the world.

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/412329-america-needs-to-stabilize-libya

Time for the US to do something good and right……help repair the country that we broke.

It’s On! Again?

Waited…..will this be over or will they pull the summit out of the rubble?

Off again, on again…the Korea Summit appears to be back on tract again.  I will admit I was quick to jump on the chance that it might fail….I may have been mistaken to do so….with that said the news is that the plans are being made for the summit to go forward and the president is his usual talkative self…..

A US team is in North Korea to plan a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, according to President Trump, raising expectations that the on-off-on meeting will indeed take place. Both the State Department and South Korea’s Foreign Ministry said the American and North Korean officials have been engaged in talks at the Korean village of Panmunjom, which straddles the border inside the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ. One can cross the border simply by stepping across a painted line, but moving beyond several footsteps into the North at Panmunjom would be rare for US officials, the AP reports.

Trump withdrew from a planned June 12 Singapore summit with Kim last Thursday, but quickly announced it could still happen. His tweet Sunday afternoon, which offered praise for the longtime US adversary, was the latest signal that his concerns about the North’s stance toward the summit had been allayed. “Our United States team has arrived in North Korea to make arrangements for the Summit between Kim Jong Un and myself,” he tweeted. “I truly believe North Korea has brilliant potential and will be a great economic and financial Nation one day. Kim Jong Un agrees with me on this. It will happen!”

The huge term being batted around for this summit is Denuclearization….(not a recognized word but what the Hell)….

South Korean president seemed to have saved this summit from disastrous end…..and he assures the US that NK is serious…..

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has given new comments following Saturday’s surprise summit with Kim Jong-un, saying the two agree about wanting to see the Kim-Trump summit happen as planned on June 12. President Trump cancelled the summit last week, but has since suggested it may happen after all.

Moon says Kim reiterated to him his support for a deal on Korea-wide denuclearization, as well as a commitment to meet President Trump. South Korea was instrumental in getting the Trump-Kim summit set up in the first place.

(antiwar.com)

There is that word again……Denuclearization.

Hopefully Kim is not a student of history or this dream will be nothing more than a new word for the lexicon.

Why would I say such a downer of a thing?

I kinda want to pee on the parade……just think back about 20 years ago then forward think after that……

Libya and its “denuclearization”…….a graphic from my friends at Geopolitical Futures and their fine work……

Kim may want to take this under consideration before he inks any deals…..the thought of no nukes on the Korean Peninsula may be a good idea it could be a death sentence for Kim…not that anyone would cry…..

There ks a reason that leaders need to be informed and know their history….they could live a bit longer.

Just a thought.

Why Libya?

Seven years ago all Hell broke loose in Libya…..Libya was one of the most prosperous nations in Africa and yet it had to be destroyed ….why?

I understand that some had a hard-on for Qaddafi over his “terrorist” past….but he had tried to make amends for some of the past “bad behavior”……it was not enough that he renounced terrorism, gave up his nukes aspirations and turned over any WMDs that he had to the UN for destruction…

I seemed that no matter what Libya did they were going to be chastised……

Beginning March of 2011 the systematic destruction of Libya began…..

For seven months the warplanes flew tens of thousands of sorties over Libya, at the time the most prosperous state in Africa. Nearly ten thousand bombs were reportedly dropped inside the country resulting in an estimated 50,000-100,000 dead, many more injuries and the dislocation of several million people.

On October 20, longtime Libyan leader, Col. Muammar Gaddafi, was driving in a convoy leaving his home area of Sirte when the vehicles were struck. Gaddafi was later captured and brutally executed by counter-revolutionary forces which were led, armed and financed by the U.S., NATO and its allies.

France played an instrumental role in the destruction of Libya as a nation-state. The then President Nicolas Sarkozy praised the overthrow of the Jamahiriya political system and the execution of Gaddafi.

https://www.globalresearch.ca/another-reason-why-imperialism-wanted-libya-overthrown/5632870

The West destroyed Libya and nothing it attempts will fix the problem they have created…..while they search for an answer the killings, the violence and the destruction continue.

Closing Thought–28Dec17

We all remember Qaddafi….the leader of Libya……hated by Reagan and Bush 1, tolerated by Clinton then embraced by Bush2 and finally killed by Obama…..since his death Libya has been a bloody mess….factions fighting factions, tribes fighting tribes, and ISIS showing its ugly head….I give you this quick historical sketch because Libya will soon be holding a presidential election and there may be a Qaddafi on the ballot…….

The son of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Saif al-Islam, is planning to run in the 2018 presidential elections.

Libyan tribal chief Basem al-Hashimi al-Soul confirmed the candidacy of Saif al-Islam on Sunday (17 December)

“Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of the former Libyan president, enjoys the support of major tribes in Libya so he can run for the upcoming presidential elections due in 2018,” Soul told Egypt Today.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/could-muammar-gaddafis-son-saif-al-islam-be-next-libyan-president-1651965

Just a little something to fill the dead air….

Tomorrow is another day and I will be here with more stuff…..chuq

Check For Runaway Slaves

Since 1865 the US has been slave free….and you would think that in the 21st century that slavery would be a thing of the past, right?

You would be greatly mistaken as I was when I first read an article about this situation……

Trafficked people passing through Libya have previously reported violence, extortion and slave labour. But the new testimony from the International Organization for Migration suggests that the trade in human beings has become so normalised that people are being traded in public.

“The latest reports of ‘slave markets’ for migrants can be added to a long list of outrages [in Libya],” said Mohammed Abdiker, IOM’s head of operation and emergencies. “The situation is dire. The more IOM engages inside Libya, the more we learn that it is a vale of tears for all too many migrants.”

The north African nation is a major exit point for refugees from Africa trying to take boats to Europe. But since the overthrow of autocratic leader Muammar Gaddafi, the vast, sparsely populated country has slid into violent chaos and migrants with little cash and usually no papers are particularly vulnerable.

http://www.therealafrican.com/2017/11/arab-slave-trade-re-surfaces-in-libya/

CNN brought this story to light…..they should be commended for finding this story and digging for the facts…..

CNN recently released an exclusive report detailing slave auctions occurring across Libya. Migrants and refugees, comprised of people who have travelled to Libya with the hopes of a better future, are being auctioned off. Instead of providing them with a better future, the smugglers sold them to labourers for under one thousand U.S. dollars. After seeing footage of such an auction taking place, CNN travelled to Libya to investigate further and to verify the information. The journalists witnessed one auction outside Tripoli and were told of at least eight others across the country – and there is believed to be more.

While CNN’s report may be bringing this issue to the attention of the mainstream media, this is not a new development. Mohammed Abdiker, the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Director of Operation and Emergencies, called the slave market in Libya “dire” after visiting earlier this year. In April, the Independent talked to migrants in a rehabilitation centre run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Sicily. Here they heard stories from Nigerian men who had spent time in Libya on their journey to Europe. While there, they were made to do hard labour, threatened with guns if they refused to work or asked for pay. This is not an isolated incident. IOM estimated almost half of the migrants arriving in Italy had been forced into work, 90% of this taking place in Libya.

http://theowp.org/libyas-modern-day-slave-trade/

The world and most media outlets do not want to report on such stories…..for no one cares about Africa…..so they ignore an important story as slave trade in Libya.

I have lost some respect for CNN over the last couple of decades…..but they have gained my respect for this story.

Phantom Of The Desert

Not to be confused with the “Lion of the Desert”….Omar Mukhtar….Libyan freedom fighter against the Italian occupation.

Omar al-Mukhtar (about ca. 1860-1931), national hero of Libya and member of the Senusy, a religious organization with administrative and military functions, led the anticolonial resistance in Cirenaica from 1923 to 1931, when he was captured by the Italians and condemned to death.

A short course on the recent history of Libya……
But the “Phantom of the Desert” is Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi…son of the disposed leader of Libya who died in 2011 at the hands of rebels (or so goes the common tale)….
Saif had been captured by a rebel group and imprisoned for the last 6 years….but all that has changed….

Seif al-Islam, the son and one-time heir apparent of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, has been released after more than five years in detention, his captors said on Saturday. A statement by his captors, the Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Battalion, said Seif al-Islam was released on Friday, but gave no details on his whereabouts. Battalion officials reached by the AP at Zintan, a town south of the capital Tripoli where it is based, confirmed his release. They declined to disclose his whereabouts, citing concerns over his safety. His lawyer tells CNN: “He is free in a safe place in an undisclosed location in a Libyan city.”

They said his release was decided as part of a recent pardon issued by the Libyan parliament based in the country’s eastern region. The parliament in the city of Tobruk is part of one of three rival administrations in Libya, evidence of the chaos that has prevailed in the country since Gadhafi’s ouster and death. Gadhafi’s son was captured by the battalion’s fighters late in 2011, the year when a popular uprising toppled Gadhafi after more than 40 years in power. He was later killed. The uprising later plunged the oil-rich North African nation into a ruinous civil war in which Seif al-Islam led Gadhafi’s loyalist forces against the rebels.

I bring this all up because of the situation in Libya these days……there are 3 separate groups claiming to be the legit government of the country.  The country has broken down along old imperialistic lines…..

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An update on Saif……it appears that there may have been an attempt on his life after his release…..

As reported by RT, hundreds of people took to the streets in Ghat, on Saturday night, to celebrate the release of Saif Gaddafi after several years of detention.

The footage shows honking cars driving through the streets. Other Gaddafi supporters were seen waving the green flags of the ‘Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya’, as has been seen frequently in parts of Libya since the fall of the state in 2011.

What hasn’t been widely reported in international media is the alleged assassination attempt that was carried out on Saif in May. It was reported by some Arab sources that Saif had ‘narrowly survived an assassination attempt by gunmen from local militias’.

There is no way of knowing if this assassination attempt was simply a rival militia or jihadist group acting entirely of its own accord or whether someone else was also behind the incident.

(RT is not a reliable source in my book…but for the sake of news I thought I would include their report….my personal opinion)

Saif could be a stabilizing factor, his politics suck, but Libya is tearing itself apart at the seams…..he could bring some order to the disorder,,,but first he will have to find a way to counter the CIA puppet in charge in Eastern Libya….Col. Haftar

Some group needs to sit down with Saif and see if there can be a workable solution….he could be part of the solution……this will not happen….but it should.

Libya: What To Do?

Libya has been in the news, not so much in the US but the rest of the world is watching, at every turn the news is that ISIS is taking it in the butt…..however the divisions among the different factions is still a kettle at boiling point.

But let’s say the shooting is over and Libya becomes a calm region….but what would be the government that would protect this calm?

Well there is the typical answer when dealing with the Arab world….a federal government.

I say typical because it has been proposed for two other countries at war….Iraq and Syria……(check out the proposals)

Source: How About a Federalized Iraq? – In Saner Thought

Source: The Partition Of Syria – In Saner Thought

And now there is talk of a partitioning of Libya…..

History repeats itself, it is often said. The strife facing modern-day Libya—strife largely born of and fueled by internal, sometimes tribal divisions—is only the latest iteration in a longstanding pattern. As the Italians discovered during their colonization of Libya, and as ISIS discovered when it conquered Sirte, and as the international community has recently discovered in a multitude of ways, Libya is a deeply divided country. Without a real approach to that reality—including perhaps creating a confederal model for Libya—Libyans themselves will continue to be their own worst enemies.

Source: A house divided: Why partitioning Libya might be the only way to save it | Brookings Institution

This idea was floated by an adviser of Trump…one Gorka….Politico covered his proposal written on a napkin…..

Dear Dr. Gorka,

So I hear you’re interested in being Donald Trump’s envoy to Libya. You even sketched a plan on a napkin to partition the country. The plan would divide Libya into three provinces that date back to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, and thereby solve Libya’s current crisis. If it were only that simple.

Source: So You Want to Partition Libya … – POLITICO Magazine

Some, like myself, do know think that partitioning is the answer….it is not a good idea for Iraq nor Syria….and Libya fits into that disapproval nicely…..

In their final communique at the end of their two-day meeting in Italy on April 10, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven yet again expressed their unequivocal support of the Libyan political agreement and its transitional government headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, while calling on all armed groups in the Libyan capital to “desist from actions that would exacerbate internal division and fuel further conflict.”

What is worth noting in the statement on Libya is the clear expression of support to the country’s territorial integrity and unity, which clearly rejects any idea of a possible breakup of the country as a way of stabilizing it, since its quarreling factions have failed to accept any form of a political solution. The statement read, “We reaffirm our commitment to preserving the sovereignty, integrity and unity of Libya.”
Libya will have its problems after the hostilities….but breaking the country up is NOT the best answer.

Libya: Blood And Sand

It has been years since the fall of Qaddafi and in those years Libya has become a battlefield for terrorists, Westerners and ideologies….the country has sunk into a deadly civil war with different factions claiming control of the country….

We have a new president and the foreign policy toward Libya with his ascent to the tower of power….no one is sure what will come….

Just days before he left his digs in DC Obama called for a massive airstrike in Libya…….

As he’s done several times since last summer, Barack Obama, in one of his final acts as president this week, ordered a bombing raid against Islamic State (IS) militants “in conjunction” with Tripoli’s UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA).

The raid on militants who were fleeing the former IS stronghold of Sirte reportedly killed more than 80 fighters and sent a clear message on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration that the Pentagon is fully committed to the fight against the terrorist group. Just as significantly, the Pentagon’s statement highlighting the GNA’s role reminded the incoming administration that the United States has a Libyan partner in that fight.
No one has any idea what the future holds for Libya…that is a future that America will dictate…..
Will Libya find unity or will it slide further down the ladder of civil war?

On January 11, 2017, Field Commander Khalifa Haftar, the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), was a guest aboard the Russian aircraft carrier The Admiral Kuznetsov, docked off the Libyan coast at Tobruk, en route from Syria back to Russia. During his tour of Russia’s only aircraft carrier, General Haftar held a closed-circuit video conference with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. It was the third time in seven months that Haftar was hosted by Moscow and spoke with Shoigu. Haftar is seeking Russian weapons, banned under a still-in-effect United Nations arms embargo. Russia did provide General Haftar’s LNA with medical equipment and other non-lethal aid during the carrier visit. And in 2016, Russia printed 4 billion Libyan dinars, equivalent to $2.8 billion, in a formal contract with the Libyan central bank. The funds were delivered to a location in eastern Libya under General Haftar’s control. 

Since September 2016, Haftar’s LNA has controlled the four major oil ports in the Gulf of Sirte and two of the country’s largest oil fields in the east.  He enjoys the backing of Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and France. Now, with the strong addition of Russia, General Haftar is testing his ability to consolidate military control over parts of western Libya that have been outside of his control since the start of the power struggle, following the overthrow of the Qaddafi regime in late 2011.

Source: Libya at the Crossroad: New National Accord or Full-scale Civil War | Middle East Briefing

Libya has a future but will that future be at the hands of a CIA operative?

The 10th session of Libya’s neighboring countries meeting held in Cairo urged dialogue as the only solution to put an end to the Libyan crisis.

The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, and Niger, and the head of the UN Special Mission to Libya, Martin Kobler, Arab League’s Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, African Union Special Envoy in Libya, Jakaya Kikwete and representatives of international organizations.

The final official communique of the meeting reiterated rejection of any military action or foreign military interference in Libya, highlighted the importance of cooperation among Libya’s neighbors in border security and agreed to hold their 11th meeting in Algeria, but the date has not yet been decided.

Source: Will Haftar Accept a Role in the Libyan GNA Government? – Middle East Observer

You see Haftar has been on the payroll of the CIA for over 20 years…..so is he a agent working for the agency or is he just a Qaddafi-esque mad man waiting to seize total control?