Trump’s Strategy Will Bring an End to War in Libya

Submitted by Richard Galustian:

In a Bloomberg article called:

‘Trump Backed Libyan Strongman’s Attack on Tripoli, U.S. Officials Say’ of 24th April 2019, President Trump drew great criticism for calling Field Marshall Haftar.

It is therefore important to quote a few parts of this piece in order to explain the reasons for optimism rather than fall into the trap of the armchair think tank and other Libyan so called ‘expert’ analysts that, as The Guardian’s all knowing reporters encapsulated in their opinion of the Trump call that simplifies all in their heading of entitled “No Coherent Policy: Trump’s Scattergun Approach Plunges Libya Deeper Into Peril”.

What total hogwash, that we have all accepted to expect from The Guardian as a norm for the majority of their articles, on whatever subject.

In the Bloomberg piece, they say “President Donald Trump indicated in a phone call with Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar last week that the U.S. supported an assault on the country’s capital to depose its United Nations-backed government, according to American officials familiar with the matter. An earlier call from White House National Security Adviser John Bolton also left Haftar with the impression of a U.S. green light for an offensive on Tripoli”  it continues  “The revelation that the U.S. President had tacitly recognised Haftar and addressed as “Field Marshal” in the statement, as a Libyan leader abruptly undermined the country’s internationally-recognized government led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj.”

My short retort is, so what? Serraj has zero legitimacy and zero credibility with the Libyan people. He is merely a ‘Patsy’ for the U.N. and ‘international community’, whatever the hell that is.

More hogwash.

When The Guardian was a newspaper to be much respected back in 2006, it wrote, on the 24th August, of the international community, a piece titled ‘What the hell is the international community?’ with a byline “If it only means the west, the great majority of the world is being ignored.”

Back in 2006 when the Guardian had teeth it went on to say “You have heard it a thousand times. Our prime minister uses it, so do cabinet ministers and opposition spokespersons. It slips off the tongue of BBC correspondents and newsreaders as if it is just good old plain common sense. Newspapers constantly use it. We all know what is meant by the term “international community”, don’t we? It’s the west, of course, nothing more, nothing less. Using the term “international community” is a way of dignifying the west, of globalising it, of making it sound more respectable, more neutral and high-faluting. “The international society thinks this … believes that … is concerned about …” You know the stuff. But just remember: when you next hear the term, what is being referred to is not the international community at all – understood as all the nation-states that make up the world – but just a small sliver of it, our bit!” 

Now that’s honest writing, honest journalism.

Back to the central subject of Trump’s telephone call to Hafter, the Bloomberg piece added “Trump also spoke with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a Haftar supporter, the day before the White House issued the statement acknowledging the call with Haftar.”

And again I say, so what? The Abu Dhabi Crown Prince is a major player, maybe one of the most influential, if not the most, in MENA politics today. His word carries tremendous weight and for many reasons.

The Guardian piece stated “…support for Haftar’s offensive, directly contradicts a formal statement a few days earlier from the Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo.”

I have to apologise now and feeling a tad lazy, I again say, so what?

It does confirm to us what we already know; that America has no consensus amongst its political establishment of what should be their foreign policy in any country, not just Libya.

Now I’ve ridiculed, I hope successfully, a part of the US and UK establishment and their lackey main stream media, I feel a degree of satisfaction to be now able to simply and succinctly set out a prediction of what I believe is about to happen in Libya and very soon at that, before the end of Ramadan – within three weeks from now.

Serraj will resign; a competent, probably educated essentially secular at least moderate Prime Minister will be appointed; and accepted and endorsed by his outgoing predecessor and, this being the critical part, he will be a man that Field Marshall accepts to be a PM.

Haftar will never choose to be a dictator, if for no other reason than, at 75 years of age, he knows he’s too old.

It is, for me, an impossibility.

Yes he will continue to be a powerful important player in Libyan affairs for the rest of his life; which to be fair and accurate is a lot in itself. He will go down in history as the man who militarily saved his country. A well deserved legacy. And well deserving of a Statue in the capital.

To bring some justification, not all, to the above prediction, let me mention a small number of common sense points, in vain perhaps, knowing that most people have forgotten what common sense is.

Nevertheless here they are.

In the interests of brevity, I’ll attempt to make short sharp statements and facts, what I believe them to be, the obvious most important points, in bullet point form, the modern way!

• Haftar has always been very careful to limit civilian collateral deaths and injury. This fact has been not mentioned by the MSM quite the contrary is said of Haftar’s LNA. But the Libyan people those who are true Patriots and Nationalists, know the truth.

• The Serraj GNA Forces are NOT a cohesive force, not an army, but rather a collection of extremist, in the main, militias that include former Al Qaeda, ISIS and Muslim Brotherhood. These many militias will dissipate under unrelenting military pressure from Haftar’s Forces. Serraj’s collection of militias employ mercenaries most vividly and very embarrassingly exposed by the downing last week of an alleged Portuguese fighter pilot in a French fighter plane. That might have been the final straw for the Libyan people; the discovery of that fact by the people.

• The Libyan patience is at an end and the vast majority of Libyan people know they need a military solution represented by Haftar’s LNA.

• Haftar wants a coalition of the majority of the people, winning people over, not just by fighting, but more importantly by negotiation, a very Libyan way!

• Extremist ideologues can’t get used to this fact.

• Its about Libya, its about Nationalism. That is the key to Libya’s future.

• Haftar did not allow Russia a base, which Russia wanted. Appealing no doubt to the Americans.

• The Italians and French have the strongest financial interests; the Americans and British interests are more of a strategic nature with an eye, of course, to commercial benefits.

• Haftar is fully committed to elections. Yes, he wants to be head of the Armed Forces. MSM does not report that. Again MSM says quite the opposite.

• The ‘international community’ recognises their past plans for seven long years all failed and have decided for an end to the Libyan debacle now. That’s why the tacit support that has clearly been given to Haftar since Trump’s call was so significant. The solution has already been agreed I believe.

The end of Libya’s ‘slow burning’ civil war is finally weeks away. Let us hope I’m right.