Sunday, September 7, 2014

Helicopters of CIA-linked General Haftar bomb Islamists in Benghazi Libya

Operating from an airport on outskirts of Benghazi helicopters of General Khalifa Haftar have been bombing ammunition sites belonging to Islamists in the city.



A umbrella group of Islamist militias took over control of most of Benghazi at the end of July after seizing bases associated with Libyan Special Forces allied with General Haftar and who were providing security for Benghazi. Haftar retained control of the civilian and military airport on the outskirts and still does although Islamists forces subject it to constant bombardment.
 Back in May of this year began his operation called Operation DIgnity against Islamist militias and against the government that he claimed was dominated by Islamists. He attacked two Islamist bases in Benghazi to start and then his allies the Zintan brigades attacked, set the parliament afire and kidnapped a number of Islamist legislators and officials. However, they still worked for the government to provide security for the Benghazi international airport.
 After a series of clashes with militia from Misrata they ultimately were defeated and lost control of the airport. The entire city of Tripoli is now under control of an umbrella group called Libya Dawn. They even occupied a residential annex to the US embassy, that long ago was vacated by the US as the security situation worsened. 
Several mysterious night bombings attacks were launched on Islamist positions in Libya while they were in the process of defeating Haftar allies there and driving them out of the city. Haftar claimed these attacks were joint operations with the international community. The US accused the UAE of providing the planes and Egypt of providing the bases from which they attacked. Both countries deny involvement. They did nothing to stop the Islamist takeover but the US claims confirmed what the Islamists had been claiming about the attacks. Perhaps some of the helicopters and other aircraft that Haftar has used in bombing also come from outside Libya. 
Islamists called a meeting of the General National Congress and elected a rival prime minister to that of the House of Representatives that meets in Tobruk where it is beyond influence of Islamist militias that now control both Benghazi and Tripoli. 
  Some analysts fear that commercial aircraft apparently captured by Islamist militias may mount some type of terrorist act on the anniversary of 9/11. This article points out the difficulties involved in mounting any such attack. Members of Libyan Dawn took photos of themselves beside captured airliners and posted them on line.
The clashes between Haftar's militia he calls the New Libyan Army and the many allied Islamist groups including the Libyan Shield in both Benghazi and Tripoli are reported to have displaced 100,000 people already.Even more, 150,000 thousand including many foreign workers have fled the country. Professor Mohamed Chtatou of the University of Mohammed V in Rabat in Morocco notes that the government accepted as legitimate outside of Libya is mostly a government in name only:The “paper” government and the “paper” assembly are now squatting the coastal town Tobrouk, known for its airbase, with no power, no future prospects and no money. They have gone that far east for two basic reasons: to be close to Egypt to seek help to reconquer the country, but that seems to be rather a wishful thinking, and if all fails, find shelter in this country. But by being territorially in Libya, they are, quite rightly, clinging to the elusive hope that the West might come to their rescue and restore their legitimacy by the use of force. Of course help has come already with bombing raids and perhaps also the helicopters and other aircraft Haftar uses for bombing the Islamist bases may also be aid. The good professor does not mention Haftar's CIA links. He is firmly anti-Islamist.He sees the solution in Libya to be a Gadaffi type figure. Perhaps El-Sisi of Egypt would be a more likely model and Khalifa Haftar could fill the role: So, disunity will be the recurrent state of affairs, unless a strong and charismatic leader, of the Gadhafi kind, rises from the crowd to unify again the modern religious tribes by the use of raw and brutal force. Otherwise, Libya will go undeniably back to the Middle Ages, on the grounds of the tribal concept “me and my brother against my cousin,” a sad outcome of the Arab Spring in this oil-rich country, alas.  
 Big oil, the US and its allies would no doubt be happy enough to settle for such an outcome with Haftar in a key role. An article by Barak Barfi also suggests a solution along the lines of Professor Chtatou:"Washington and its partners should persuade the new Libyan government to appoint Haftar as chief of staff. Respected by his troops, he has the military skills and combat experience necessary to create a modern army. But most important, he is the sole Libyan willing to take on the Islamist militias that are preventing the establishment of a modern state." 
 As the Daily Mail puts it: Egypt's military government is currently looking into intervening in the country to restore order. The U.S. is taking a more conservative role in the country, but Secretary of State John Kerry said last week that he would be delivering Apache attack helicopters to Egypt. Maybe those attack helicopters will be on their way to General Haftar.

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