US special forces operating in Libya near Misrata and Benghazi

There have been a number of reports that there are special forces from the United States and several other countries already in Libya. Details about some of the U.S. forces and their mission are now surfacing.

The U.S. Special Operations troops are stationed near the city of Misurata in the west and near Benghazi in the east. The U.S. may be hedging its bets by maintaining relations with militia loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west and with the Al-Thinni Tobruk-based government in the east, with its forces of General Khalifa Haftar, commander-in-chief of the Libyan National Army. The two outposts in total are said to have less than 25 troops. The two groups are lining up partners in advance of a possible offensive against the Islamic State, according to anonymous US officials.

According to the Washington Post, sending the personnel to Libya reflects the Obama administration concern about the power of the Islamic State in Libya. The US is already expanding its operations against the Islamic State both in Syria and Iraq. The Pentagon has been developing plans for potential action against IS in Libya. The Islamic State has thousands of fighters in Sirte and the surrounding areas they control. The Post sees the deployment as a sign of another military campaign in LIbya and as a good example of Obama's reliance on elite units to advance counter-terrorism goals using operations that have low visibility to the public.

The work of these small groups known as "contact teams" often takes place parallel to those of allied forces. The French are known to have had advisers in Benghazi helping Haftar's forces. UK and Jordanian forces are known to be working together.

U.S. officials hope that the special forces groups will help make local forces more effective. Williiam Wechsler, a former Pentagon officials who oversaw special operations claims: “These types of activities can be the difference between success and failure in what the administration refers to as areas outside of active hostilities. You’re mapping local networks, both friendly and unfriendly.”

The two US groups have been cultivating relationships with the forces that are mobilizing for an assault against the IS Sirte stronghold. Peter Cook, spokesperson for the Pentagon declined to give any specific information. He did say that the troops met with a variety of Libyans "in an effort to help them reestablish a safe and secure environment". Instead of information one gets nice-sounding rhetoric.

One task of the group is to identify which factions align themselves with the GNA. However, the group in Benghazi is obviously working within a force it must know is not allied with the GNA and is hostile to it. Paul Scharre, a former Defense Department official said: “How do you avoid Libya becoming like Syria. This is one of the tools in your toolbox to stave that off.”

Any broader U.S. campaign in Libya is likely to be on a smaller scale than in Iraq or Syria and will be a cooperative effort involving a number of European countries. Since 2015 the U.S. has launched two air strikes on Islamic State targets in Libya. However, dozens of other targets have been identified.

The situation is complicated for the U.S. in that Haftar's troops of the Libyan National Army (LNA) over two weeks ago started out towards Sirte from the east and south. Haftar does not recognize the GNA nor its new unified command and he regards militia from Misrata as his enemy. While the Misrata militia do recognize the GNA and its now unified command it has had to counter the effects of a strong Islamic State advance that took place during the time that the PC asked them to not attack until the united command was formed. The western forces centered in Misrata are already starting an offensive against the Islamic State but so far they seem to be receiving no help from any foreign sources in terms of troops or air support.

Meanwhile, Haftar and the LNA have not engaged with the Islamic State. IS has been able to concentrate upon fighting against Misrata. This should be a perfect time for Haftar to launch an attack from the east. The Islamic State would find it difficult to muster the resources to fight back effectively on the two fronts. Instead, Haftar has launched an new military operation, Volcano, directed against those Islamists who were mostly responsible for driving the Islamic State out of Derna.

Some U.S. officials are beginning to complain that support for Haftar's forces from countries such France and Egypt as well as the UAE and even Russia is making it more difficult to centralize power in the GNA. The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, Martin Kobler, has been unable to get a formal vote of confidence in the GNA through the Tobruk-based House of Representatives (HoR). This is required under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) signed in Skhirat on December 17 last year. One section of the LPA makes the GNA Presidential Council the commander in chief of the army. This section was referenced when the PC formed a unified command. The HoR and Haftar supporters demand that Haftar remain as commander in chief of the Libyan Army under the GNA. This would be anathema to many Islamists within the GNA. No solution to this problem is in sight. What appears to be developing is a situation where Libya can become a locale where there are proxy battles between countries such as the US, UK and Italy supporting the GNA, and Egypt, UAE, the Arab League and perhaps Russia supporting Haftar and the HoR. The end result could be the breakup of Libya.

Hillary Clinton supports US special forces in Libya

Hillary Clinton said she supports the Obama Administration's use of U.S. special forces to defeat the Islamic State in Libya.

Clinton's remarks give further confirmation of reports that U.S. special forces are already operating in Libya. UK and French special forces are also reported to be in Libya. Clinton said on Fox News:

“We already are, as you know from the headlines and the stories, using special forces, using air strikes to go after ISIS leaders, We ought to be supporting [Libyans], not only with special forces and air strikes against terrorists, but helping them secure their borders and deal with some of the internal challenges they face.”Clinton has already faced a barrage of criticism for the earlier intervention by the U.S. in Libya that helped overthrow Gadaffi, and her reaction to the attack on the U.S. consular office in Benghazi that killed the U.S. ambassador.

The U.S. special forces are said to be there in an advisory role. Clinton did not make it clear whether in a Clinton administration they could have a combat role. She said she opposes the use of ground troops in Libya. As with the Obama administration, if Clinton becomes president, the special forces will not be issued boots so that there will be no boots on the ground in Libya.

Clinton also defended her support for the overthrow of Gadaffi, claiming there is less strife and fewer casualties than Syria, where Assad remains in power. Though Bernie Sanders actually voted in favor of a resolution calling for an end to the Gadaffi regime, he criticized Clinton on Twitter, saying the U.S. intervention had made the U.S. less safe. As the appended video shows, Hillary admits she was wrong on Iraq.

While Clinton admitted that the Islamic State is now a presence in Libya, she claimed the situation would be much worse it the U.S. had not intervened if the U.S. had not intervened while she was Secretary of State:The current situation is "deeply regrettable," Clinton said at a Fox News televised town hall, with instability created by "squabbling" among Libyan leaders and "forces from the outside." Even so, she pointed out, "the Libyan people have voted twice in free and fair elections for moderate leaders."The turnout for the second election in June of 2014 was 18 per cent according to Wikipedia. In November the Libyan Supreme Constitutional Court declared the elections unconstitutional and the House of Representatives (HoR), the internationally recognized government, invalid. The international community and the HoR dismissed the ruling as having been forced upon the court. There is no mention of Haftar's attempted coup.

Clinton claimed that if it had not been for the U.S. intervention, Libya would be like Syria:"When I look at this, an absence of action by NATO, by Arab League members, would have probably turned Libya into Syria, which I think would have been an even more dangerous situation. I think maybe 1,500 people were killed last year [in Libya] compared to probably 150,000 in Syria."She also noted the UN was leading an effort to create a "unity government" in Libya "enabling the people of Libya to get what they voted for." She does not point out that they will not get to vote on the UN-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA) or that the the government they did vote for the HoR has failed several times to vote confidence in the GNA.

Cover of US commando program in Libya blown and 20 commandos forced to leave

The complications arising from the signing of a UN-sponsored agreement to form a third government in Libya are already beginning as the Libyan Air Force blows the cover on U.S. commando operations in Libya.

Although there is to be a new unity Government of National Accord within a month or so, for now the U.S. and others are dealing with the internationally-recognized House of Representatives in Tobruk. The armed forces of the Libyan National Army are headed by CIA-linked Khalifa Haftar. The commander of the air force is a staunch ally of Haftar.

Just on Monday, a group of 20 U.S. commandos were ordered to leave Libya. The Libyan Air Force obviously blew the cover on the U.S. Special Operations Forces at one of the Air Forces' bases. They posted photos on their Facebook page showing a group of U.S. Special Operations Forces.

Senior U.S. defense officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident to NBC News. According to the officials, U.S. commandos had been "in and out of Libya" for some time now. Obviously, this was with the permission of Haftar and his air force commander buddy. The Special Forces commandos are said to be there solely to advise Libyan forces. One U.S. official said that there was a "lack of communication" between the base in Wattiya where they landed and the Libyan forces who would normally "engage" with the American advisers.

The Libyan Air Force post said that "a US military plane landed with 20 US soldiers aboard..without prior coordination". It described the soldiers in a way which makes it seen as if they were ready for more than advising. They were said to have "disembarked in combat readiness wearing bullet proof jackets, advanced weaponry, silencers, handguns, night vision devices, and GPS devices." The commandos said they had coordinated with other members of the Libyan army. The Facebook statement concluded: "The response from your heroic army stationed at Watiya base was to tell them to depart immediately and the group left , keeping their equipment with them."

Haftar and his Air Force ally may be telling the Americans who is boss and that there is no Government of National Accord in charge of the armed forces. It is unclear what the status of Khalifa Haftar will be. According to the LPA, senior members of the new government are to act as commander in chief of the Libyan Army. Haftar will never stand for that. He has opposed the LPA from the beginning. However, Haftar met recently with Kobler. Kobler said the meeting was "fruitful" but gave no details. Haftar said nothing about opposing the LPA. The two agreed on the need to fight terrorism. According to Haftar this means fighting the armed forces of the rival GNC government. He has been doing this since May of 2014 through his Operation Dignity. The appended video shows one of the first actions in Operation Dignity the burning of the Libyan Parliament. Even then he wanted to set up a military council to govern Libya. He still does. He has paid no attention to warnings from the UN or even being named as a subject of sanctions: Two military leaders in the east of Libya, who say their forces will not respect any peace accord, also face sanctions. They are General Khalifa Haftar, commander in chief of the eastern forces and air force head Fakir Jarroushi.He was never sanctioned nor was his Air Force buddy. This incident is no doubt just a warning to the Americans and anyone else paying attention that they had better not try to work around his authority. Another new government is not going to change things. They need to deal with him. Note that in meeting with Haftar, Kobler had to go to Haftar's headquarters in Marj rather than Haftar traveling to meet Kobler.

Iraq objects to US sending more special forces

Recently, U.S. Secretary of State Ashton Carter announced he would send special operations forces into Iraq to assist local troops in fighting the Islamic State.

Carter said at the time:

 “In full coordination with the government of Iraq, we’re deploying a specialized expeditionary targeting force to assist Iraqi and Kurdish Peshmerga forces to put even more pressure on ISIL.”The U.S. had announced earlier it was sending about 50 special operations troops to Syria. An Al Jazeera reporter Rosalind Jordan reporting from Washington said:"We don't know yet how many forces are going to be deployed.The Iraqi government wants US troops to be helping with the effort and move ISIL off its territory."

In spite of the U.S. claim that sending the troops had been coordinated with the Iraqi government and other claims of the Iraqi government asking for the troops, the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi reacted to the announcement in a manner suggesting there had been no coordination with the government:"The Iraqi government stresses that any military operation or the deployment of any foreign forces - special or not - in any place in Iraq cannot happen without its approval and coordination and full respect of Iraqi sovereignty."

He also said Iraq did not need foreign ground troops and had not requested that any foreign nation send any. Al-Abadi claimed Iraq would regard any foreign country sending troops into the country as a hostile act, if it were not approved by the Iraqi government. Iraq has already demanded that Turkey withdraw troops it sent to northern Iraq.

The reason for Abadi's objections to the deployment probably lie in the political situation in Iraq. There are a large number of Shi'ite militias who are a powerful political influence. They do not want Americans on the ground in Iraq and have even warned that they could shift to fighting U.S. troops rather than the Islamic State, according to one article. If Abadi does not want to be seen as at the beck and call of the U.S., he needs to be careful. He may have actually been consulted by the U.S., as claimed, but he now has to change his tune to escape strong political opposition. Apparently the U.S. thinks it can work around Abadi's objections. He has been a close ally of the U.S. so far as he can be. Iraqi MP Sami Askari, an ally of Abadi, suggested the U.S. could just add 100 or more troops at a time but without making any public announcement, and no one would reject this. It remains to be seen if Iraq will demand the U.S. special forces be withdrawn. It seems unlikely.

On the appended video, it is clear the U.S. administration does not want to speak of a combat role for troops in Iraq, even though the special forces are clearly involved in combat. Carter says the new role is just an extension of the advise and assist role of the several thousand troops already in Iraq. However, the extension even as described on the video involves a combat role.

Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/politics/op-ed-iraq-objects-to-deployment-of-us-special-forces-in-iraq/article/451475#ixzz3u80WkTfV

Houthi rebels seize airport at Taiz and set up checkpoints at entrances into Yemen city

Houthi fighters along with troops loyal to former president Saleh have taken control of the airport at the southern city of Taiz and also parts of the city, setting up checkpoints at entrance points. Taiz is the third largest city in Yemen.

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The Houthi Shia rebels originally based in the north of Yemen have taken control of most of the north including the capital Sanaa. After President Mansour Hadi was unable to form a government acceptable to the Houthis, they seized power and have formed their own government. Former president Ali Saleh who still has considerable power with the armed forces appears to be allied with the Houthis. The UN imposed sanctions on Saleh and two Houthi commanders last November. This did nothing to stop the Houthi advance but certainly made it more difficult for UN-brokered talks to come up with a political solution. The rise of the Houthis supported by Iran sends shivers down the spines of the US, Saudi Arabia, and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council who brokered the deal to have Saleh step down and transfer power to his then vice-president Mansour Hadi.

Hadi later ran unopposed for president and won in an event touted in the west as a sign democracy was working in Yemen, that is, the important neighbouring powers and the US approved of him. He cooperated with the US in the war against terrorism, supporting unpopular drone strikes.There was a long consultative process called the National Dialogue Conference(NDC) that gathered together a large number of Yemen stakeholders in the political process designed to map a way forward towards democracy for Yemen. However, some groups from the southern separatist movement boycotted the conference. The Houthis took part but withdrew after two of their representatives were assassinated, and they rejected the results:On January 21, 2014, Ahmed Sharif Al-Din, a Houthi representative in the NDC, was assassinated in Sana’a on his way to the conference, fueling tensions between Houthis and government-aligned elements.[5] This was the second assassination of a Houthi representative, after Abdulkarim Jadban in November 2013.[6] As a result, the Houthis withdrew from the conference and denounced the outcomes.[7] On January 25, the closing ceremony of the NDC was held and the Final Outcomes Document was signed.[8]

In particular, the Houthis objected to the plan to divide Yemen into six regions. The southern separatist movement also disagreed with the six division plan that was drafted by Hadi: Mohammad Ali Ahmed, a southern representative to the NDC who resigned in November 2013, stated that, "what has been announced about the six regions is a coup against what had been agreed at the (NDC) dialogue."[28] Al-Hirak member Nasser al-Nawba rejected the NDC outcomes and stated that, "We will continue our peaceful struggle until we achieve independence.”[29] Most southern leaders boycotted the Dialogue from the beginning of the process.[30]

Al-Hirak is one of the main southern separatist movements. South Yemen was formerly independent.

Hadi was able to flee from virtual house arrest in Sanaa to the southern port of Aden. Even there the castle where he stayed was attacked by planes and he had to flee. While the southern Sunnis are opposed to Houthi rule, many also detest Hadi. The southerners may hope to form an autonomous or independent area. If the Houthis have trouble establishing their sway in the south, they may very well come to some type of agreement with the southern separatist movement. Western support for Hadi is little help for him.

While Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP) hates Hadi they hate the Houthis even more. They have gained support from Sunni tribes helping to slow or stop the Houthi advance into Sunni majority areas. Added to this stew of conflicting groups, some radical jihadists in Yemen are now claiming allegiance to theIslamic State and have claimed responsibility for bloody suicide attacks on two mosques in Sanaa. The quadruple suicide attacks killed at least 137 people and wounded another 350 others. White House spokesperson Josh Earnest says that the US is investigating the claim by the IS that it is responsible for the attack but cautioned that the IS often claimed responsibility for attacks for propaganda value. However, radical groups often associated with Al Qaeda have been splitting off members who claim allegiance to the IS in many areas. In Libya recently Ansar al-Sharia suffered a split with many members pledging allegiance to the IS and the same seems to be happening in Tunisia. The IS in Yemen is no doubt composed mainly of former members of AQAP. It may be embarrassing to the US to have another even more radical group in Yemen than AQAP whom they consistently represent as a clear and present danger not only to Yemen but the US. Along with their Arab allies they are witnessing the demise of all their plans to control the political process in Yemen and the likely demise of their chosen leader Mansour Hadi. Instead they face southern separatists, Iran-backed Houthis, and several growing groups of militant jihadists allied with Al Qaeda and the Islamic State.

The US has decided the situation is so bad for them that they are withdrawing almost 100 Special Operations Forces from the Al Anad airbase as the security situation deteriorates. The US had closed its embassy in Sanaa last month. The exit of the Special Forces makes it clear that the US has had boots on the ground for some time in Yemen. There have been numerous attacks against AQAP and the US has also been involved in rescue efforts. At the request of Mansour Hadi, who still calls himself president, and is supported by all the important powers, the UN is to call an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. So all the countries who helped create this mess will now decide how to mess it up further with some sort of intervention. The best outcome is that the Security Council Members will not be able to agree on any course of intervention. While battles may continue for some while eventually the Yemenis themselves may be able to sort things out. The Houthis would rather be kingmakers than rule themselves so they could ally with the southern movement and local tribe elders to eventually reach a political agreement.

US Special Forces participated in Yemen raid that freed 8 hostages of Al Qaeda

Yemen security officials announced that eight hostages had been freed from the custody of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula(AQAP). The operation was in Hadrawmut province.

The hostages had been seized just north of Aden, a port city, but moved inland into Hadrawmut province. The first reports from the Yemeni government claimed that a US military instructor was among the eight rescued. The Pentagon, while applauding the rescue, denied that any US personnel were rescued. The US embassy in Sanaa refused to even comment on the operation at all. The Yemen government report did not mention US involvement.
  Pentagon officials later privately confirmed that there were actually US ground troops involved in the rescue raid to the tune of two dozen Special Forces. The US does not admit to having "boots on the ground" in Yemen. Those freed were six Yemenis, a Saudi, and an Ethiopian. Officials say that the raid was aimed at freeing a US journalist and a UK citizen. Both are thought to have been moved prior to the raid. The Yemen supreme security committee said that 7 AQAP kidnappers were also killed during the raid with just one member of the security forces wounded.
 The Pentagon resumed military training in Yemen in 2012. Kidnapping is carried out not only by AQAP but by tribes wanting leverage to bargain with the central government and some simply by independent entrepreneurs who sell them to others. Recently a water engineer from Sierra Leone was freed after being seized and held for more than a year by unidentified armed men.
The Stars and Stripes reports a Yemeni official as saying that there were five others the raid expected to liberate and this included the US journalist and a Briton. The hostages had been chained in a cave and covered with blankets. They were being held in a vast desert area in the eastern province of Hawdramut. Tribes in the area near the Saudi border give protection to militants and there is said to be a large Al Qaeda training camp in the area. The raid will increase the tension between tribes in the area and the central government.
 A Yemen Special Forces member identified as Abu Marouf described the raid: "We found the eight hostages chained. We found al-Qaida cellphones and documents," he said, adding that the hostages said five of their companions had been moved out to an unknown location. He listed nationalities of the other hostages as an American journalist, one Briton, one South African, a Yemeni and a fifth believed to be Turkish. He did not identify them.

US Special Forces reported to join Kurds in Iraq battle

Although the US insists that there will be no boots on the ground in Iraq, it already has over one thousand troops there. The operation of these special forces is usually kept well hidden.

Even in Syria where Obama supposedly has no troops special forces attempted unsuccessfully to rescue American journalist James Foley. On Tuesday, September 2, Obama announced that another 350 troops will be sent to Iraq to "beef up security". According to a White House statement: "The request he approved today will allow some previously deployed military personnel to depart Iraq, while at the same time providing a more robust, sustainable security force for our personnel and facilities in Baghdad," Josh Earnest, the White House press secretary, said that the new troops were not intended for combat but to bolster security both at the Baghdad embassy and support facilities. Perhaps there are concerns that the Islamic State will launch suicide or other attacks on the embassy located in the Green Zone of Baghdad.

 On Monday September 1, in an attack on the town of Zumar, US troops appeared to be fighting alongside Kurdish Peshmerga with backing by US air support. The Kurdish forces now have heavy equipment flown in from the US and Germany. Many civilians in Zumar and surrounding villages are fleeing the battle zone towards Erbil the capital of the Kurdish Regional Government. 

The battle for Zumar is described in detail in this Daily Beast article. A group from the Daily Beast were prevented from moving closer to the front lines at one point and in attempt to move forward they contacted officials both in Erbil and on the ground near Zumar: “Yes, we want to let you in, but we can’t,” said one high-level Kurdish government official. “We have visitors, you’ll see them,” he stated. As we tried to decipher his cryptic response our answer came: multiple armored Toyotas swept down the mountain, passing within feet of us. The Toyotas were packed with what appeared to be bearded Western Special Operations Forces. I watched the trucks pass and saw for myself the crews inside them. They didn’t wear any identifying insignia but they were visibly Western and appeared to match all the visual characteristics of American special operations soldiers. The group claims that contacts in the Peshmerga leadership confirmed what had happened and said that both German and American forces were helping in the attack. When the Daily Beast contacted Pentagon officials a spokesperson for the US Central Command said: “There are no U.S. troops on the ground in or around Zumar.” The spokesperson did admit that one airstrike had been made by the US destroying several vehicles in Zumar area. 

By Monday evening Kurdish officials announced they were in full control of Zumar. The officials estimated 100 Islamic State fighters had been killed as well as 38 captured. The US Special Forces may also be involved in guiding US airstrikes to their targets. 

 Recently Obama set forth his objective in the fight against the Islamic State: "The bottom line is this, our objective is clear and that is to degrade and destroy (Islamic State) so that it's no longer a threat not just to Iraq but also the region and to the United States," While Obama is clearly depending for the most part on proxy forces in Iraq such as the Kurdish peshmerga and Iraqi security forces, US special forces appear to also be involved even at the front lines as well as providing security. Special forces will also need to be involved in Syria as well. It is only a matter of time before there will be US casualties in Iraq again and perhaps in Syria as well, adding to the costs of intervention.

Taliban are infiltrating Afghan Local Police

The Taliban are infiltrating local militias funded and trained by the US to attack the Taliban and control security in local areas.
   A recent attack that killed 17 local police was carried out by Taliban infiltrators. Earlier reports, such as this one in Digital Journal, did not go into details about the attack. The New York TImes now reports that several members of the Afghan Local Police drugged 17 of their fellow police officers and then executed them. They then stole all their weapons and fled after setting a police vehicle afire. Afghan officials subsequently said that the attackers were Taliban infiltrators. The Taliban said that the attack was in revenge for atrocities and crimes carried out by these forces against local people. There have been numerous complaints about such forces from local people. A Taliban spokesperson said: “Locals in the area were tired of the atrocities and crimes of these [irregular militias] and their lives and property were not safe."
   Recently Karzai ordered all US special forces out of Wardak provinces because of actions of the ALP who are trained by US special forces. Charges included, torture, illegal detentions, and even killing as reported earlier in Digital Journal. The Afghan Local Police (ALP) are fundamentally armed militias that are funded by the US and supported and trained by US special forces.
  A New York Times article notes: " “Many residents complain that the groups often operate outside the law, extort unofficial taxes from local residents and are prone to act on the basis of ethnic loyalties.”" A Human Rights Watch report in September of 2012 documented cases of killings, rapes, arbitrary detentions, abductions, and illegal raids perpetrated by the ALP. The ALP program was a favorite initiative of General Petraeus who was commander of the ISAF forces in Afghanistan during the second half of 2010 and first half of 2011, before he became head of the CIA.. Petraeus considered the ALP program a key part of his counterinsurgency strategy. Yet the program in many places has been a shambles.

   The appended video illustrates some of the issues even before Petraeus left office. Yet the program continues, and in Wardak mentioned in one video, US special forces have been ordered out of the province. As well as engaging in abuse of locals, several units of the ALP have simply gone over to the Taliban weapons and all. Another group simply gave their weapons to the Taliban. Now it seems they have infiltrated a unit and killed all their fellow recruits.