‘Islamic State’ Pretence and the Upcoming Wars in Libya
By Ramzy Baroud
August 27, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - Another war is in the making in Libya: the questions are ‘how’ and ‘when’? While the prospect of another military showdown is unlikely to deliver Libya from its current security upheaval and political conflict, it is likely to change the very nature of conflict in that rich, but divided, Arab country.
An
important pre-requisite to war is to locate an enemy or, if needed,
invent one. The so-called ‘Islamic State’ (IS), although hardly an
important component in the country’s divisive politics, is likely to be
that antagonist.By Ramzy Baroud
August 27, 2015 "Information Clearing House" - Another war is in the making in Libya: the questions are ‘how’ and ‘when’? While the prospect of another military showdown is unlikely to deliver Libya from its current security upheaval and political conflict, it is likely to change the very nature of conflict in that rich, but divided, Arab country.
Libya
is currently split, politically, between two governments, and,
geographically, among many armies, militias, tribes and mercenaries. It
is a failed state par excellence, although such a designation does not
do justice to the complexity of the Libyan case, together with the root
causes of that failure.
Now
that ‘IS’ has practically taken over the city of Sirte, once a
stronghold for former Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, and the bastion of
al-Qadhadhfa tribe, the scene is becoming murkier than ever before.
Conventional wisdom has it that the advent of the opportunistic,
bloodthirsty group is a natural event considering the security vacuum
resulting from political and military disputes. But there is more to the
story.
Several
major events led to the current stalemate and utter chaos in Libya. One
was the military intervention by NATO, which was promoted, then, as a
way to support Libyans in their uprising against long-time leader,
Gaddafi. NATO’s intentional misreading of UN resolution 1973, resulted
in ‘Operation Unified Protector’, which overthrew Gaddafi, killed
thousands and entrusted the country into the hands of numerous militias
that were, at the time, referred to collectively as the ‘rebels’.
The
urgency which NATO assigned to its war – the aim of which was,
supposedly, to prevent a possible ‘genocide’ – kept many in the media
either supportive or quiet. Few dared to speak out:
“While
NATO’s UN mandate was to protect civilians, the alliance, in practice,
turned that mission on its head. Throwing its weight behind one side in a
civil war to oust Gaddafi’s regime, it became the air force for the
rebel militias on the ground,” wrote Seumas Milne in the Guardian in May 2012.
“So
while the death toll was perhaps between 1,000 and 2,000 when NATO
intervened in March, by October it was estimated by the NTC (National
Transitional Council) to be 30,000 – including thousands of civilians.”
Another
important event was the elections. Libyans voted in 2014, yielding a
bizarre political reality where two ‘governments’ claim to be the
legitimate representatives of the Libyan people: one in Tobruk and
Beida, and the other in Tripoli. Each ‘government’ has its own military
arms, tribal alliances and regional benefactors. Moreover, each is eager
to claim a larger share of the country’s massive oil wealth and access
to ports, thus running its own economy.
The
most that these governments managed to achieve, however, is a political
and military stalemate, interrupted by major or minor battles and an
occasional massacre. That is, until ‘IS’ appeared on the scene.
The
sudden advent of ‘IS’ was convenient. At first, the ‘IS’ threat
appeared as an exaggerated claim by Libya’s Arab neighbours to justify
their own military intervention. Then, it was verified by video evidence
showing visually-manipulated ‘IS’ ‘giants’ slitting the throats of poor Egyptian labourers at
some mysterious beach. Then, with little happening in between, ‘IS’
fighters began taking over entire towns, prompting calls by Libyan
leaders for military intervention.
But
the takeover of Sirte by ‘IS’ cannot be easily explained in so casual a
way as a militant group seeking inroads in a politically divided
country. That sudden takeover happened within a specific political
context that can explain the rise of ‘IS’ more convincingly.
In May, Libya Dawn’s 166th Brigade (affiliated with groups that currently control Tripoli) withdrew from Sirte without much explanation.
“A
mystery continues to surround the sudden withdrawal of the brigade,”
wrote Kamel Abdallah in al-Ahram Weekly. “Officials have yet to offer an
account, in spite of the fact that this action helped ‘IS’ forces
secure an unrivalled grip on the city.”
While
Salafi fighters, along with armed members of the al-Qadhadhfa tribe,
moved to halt the advances of ‘IS’ (with terrible massacres reported,
but not yet verified) both Libyan governments are yet to make any
palpable move against ‘IS’. Not even the insistent war-enthusiastic,
anti-Islamist General Khalifa Heftar, and his so-called “Libyan National
Army” made much of an effort to fight ‘IS’, which is also expanding in
other parts of Libya.
Instead, as ‘IS’ moves forward and consolidates its grip on Sirte and elsewhere, the Tobruk-based Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni urged “sister Arab nations”
to come to Libya’s aid and carry out air strikes on Sirte. He has also
urged Arab countries to lobby the UN to end its weapons embargo on
Libya, which is already saturated with arms that are often delivered
illegally from various regional Arab sources.
The
Tripoli government is also urging action against ‘IS’, but both
governments, which failed to achieve a political roadmap for unity, still refuse to work together.
The
call for Arab intervention in Libya’s state of security bedlam is
politically-motivated, of course, for Al-Thinni is hoping that the air
strikes would empower his forces to widen their control over the
country, in addition to strengthening his government’s political
position in any future UN-mediated agreement.
But
another war is being plotted elsewhere, this time involving NATO’s
usual suspects. The Western scheming, however, is far more involved than
Al-Thinni’s political designs. The London Times reported on August 1st that
“hundreds of British troops are being lined up to go to Libya as part
of a major new international mission,” which will also include “military
personnel from Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the United States … in
an operation that looks set to be activated once the rival warring
factions inside Libya agree to form a single government of national
unity.”
Those
involved in the operation which, according to a UK Government source,
could be actualized “towards the end of August”, are countries with
vested economic interests and are the same parties behind the war in
Libya in 2011.
Commenting on the report, Jean Shaoul wrote,
“Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, is expected to provide the
largest contingent of ground troops. France has colonial and commercial
ties with Libya’s neighbours, Tunisia, Mali and Algeria. Spain retains
outposts in northern Morocco and the other major power involved,
Germany, is once again seeking to gain access to Africa’s resources and
markets.”
It
is becoming clearer that Libya, once a sovereign and relatively wealthy
nation, is becoming a mere playground for a massive geopolitical game
and large economic interests and ambitions. Sadly, Libyans themselves
are the very enablers behind the division of their own country, with
Arab and Western powers scheming to ensure a larger share of Libya’s
economic wealth and strategic value.
The
takeover of Sirte by ‘IS’ is reported as a watershed moment that is,
once again, generating war frenzy – similar to that which preceded
NATO’s military intervention in 2011. Regardless of whether Arabs bomb
Libya, or Western powers do so, the crisis in that country is likely to
escalate, if not worsen, as history has amply shown.
Dr.
Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for over 20 years.
He is an internationally-syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an
author of several books and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. His
latest book is My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza’s Untold Story
(Pluto Press, London). His website is: www.ramzybaroud.net.
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