Airstrikes targeting the Libyan capital city of Tripoli over the past week were carried out by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, according to US officials familiar with the situation.
The officials said the US was “caught by surprised” with the attacks, and had even been given assurances by Egypt that they wouldn’t launch such strikes, which targeted the Islamist militias fighting against an ongoing coup attempt by Gen. Khalifa Hifter.
Gen. Hifter had claimed credit for the attacks at the time, saying they were a “joint operation” between him and the international community. It turns out this was indeed the case.
The strikes risk to turn Libya’s growing civil war into a proxy war, with Turkey and Qatar backing the militias against the would-be coup general, while Egypt appears to be intent on exporting its own post-Arab Spring coup to its neighbor.
US officials were said to be “fuming” about Egypt’s attacks, though given America’s reluctance to do anything serious about Egypt’s own coup d’etat last summer, it’s hard to imagine they’ll offer anything but vague criticism to the exportation of that policy to Libya, especially in favor of a general with such a long history of US backing.
The convention wisdom seems to be that the US is behind the Egyptian junta and former CIA asset Gen. Khalifa Hifter in Libya. I am not so sure about that! This Libyan-based "Free Egyptian Army," with Turkey, Qatar, and LIFG, seems remarkably similiar to the Free Syrian Army and what Seymour Hersh called the CIA's "rat line" to the Syrian rebels. http://www.worldtribune.com/2014/04/14/sources-sy… http://www.lrb.co.uk/v36/n08/seymour-m-hersh/the-…
Hifter has been targeting the LIFG and Turkish & Qatari nationals in Libya with the support of the present Egyptian junta. If the Egyptian junta thinks that they are indispensible, as a US military strategic partner, well, Mubarak also thought that he was indispensible.
You should find out who is Yossef Bodansky first.He was one of those who pushed the lies that Saddam was collaborating with Usama Ben Laden.What the heck is this Libyan Based Free Egyptian Army."?!The vicious propaganda attacks against Turkey and Qatar have a lot to do with their support for the people of Gaza.
"Yossef Bodansky, born in Israel, is the former Director of the Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare of "the U. S. Congress, as well as the World Terrorism Analyst with the Freeman Center for Strategic Studies (Houston, Texas) [since 1994]. He is a contributing editor of Defense and Foreign Affairs; Strategic Policy, the author of three books (Target America, terror, and crisis in Korea), several book chapters, and numerous articles in several periodicals including Global Affairs, JANE's Defence Weekly, Defense and Foreign Affairs; Strategic Policy, Business Week. In the 1980s, he acted as a senior consultant for the Department of Defense and the Department of State."
Hafter is running an outlaw militia financed by UAE and trained by Egyptwho have been destabilizing Libya for long time now.
Find out more about Yossef Bodansky! Remember that Israel has also been aiding the Syrian rebels against Assad, and Israel assisted in the disinformation about Assad using sarin gas. Bodansky presented evidence, which pointed to Syrian rebel militias, not to Assad!
http://www.globalresearch.ca/did-the-white-house-…
"Did the White House Help Plan the Syrian Chemical Attack?" http://www.globalresearch.ca/syrian-chemical-atta…
"Syrian Chemical Attack: More Evidence Only Leads to More Questions" http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/08/22/sarajevo-1…
"Sarajevo, 1995 and Damascus, 2013: The use of mass attack deception to decide wars"
This Libyan-based "Free Egyptian Army" with Qatar, NATO member Turkey, & LIFG bears a remarkable resemblance to the CIA's Libyan support network to the Syrian rebels, who are often called the "Free Syrian Army." http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-efforts-to-arm-j…
Remember that the CIA has a long history using Muslim Brotherhood assets! http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2006/01/cold-…
The US and NATO allies continued this use of the Brotherhood as intelligence and strategic assets after the Cold War, in the Balkans in the 1990's, in Libya since 2011, and in Syria since 2011.
Obama, after being elected the first time, issued the Presidential Study Directive 11, concluding that USA should shift its policy and back “moderate” Islamic political movements.”
What are Obama's administration results?
Islamist advancing everywhere- from Nigeria to Kenya- from Libya to Syria- from Iraq to Yemen- and in all the other 80 countries including UK, France, Australia and USA from were over 15.000 volunteers are fighting with Islamist.
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The ME forces that decided to confront Islamism are good sign for the future and a bad sign for Obama policy.
USA allies prior the Obama presidency, are pushing back Islamsits without coordination with Obama.
Who are the current Obama partners in the ME?
Qatar- funding Islamist Hamas terror organization, ISIL and strong supporter of the Muslim brotherhood..
Erdogan- The Islamist, that is transforming Turkey from a secular state to an Islamist state.
(Erdogan is part of the Muslim brotherhood stated and stated:
** ""Hezbollah and Hamas are our sister parties""
** " democracy is like a train. You take it where you have to go, and then you get off"
Me personally, I don't care what happens in those countries and what other countries may or may not support. They are individual countries and have their own destiny's. The U.S. should NOT be meddling in the internal affairs at all whether it be from an Obama policy or Bush Jr. policy. Just be friendly with all nations. Just look at what all our intervention has brought us. Our founders in spirit are saying "we told you so".
Qatar and Turkey are bad because of their position in regard to Gaza!
You should find out who is Yossef Bodansky first.He was one of those who pushed the lies that Saddam was collaborating with Usama Ben Laden.What the heck is this Libyan Based Free Egyptian Army."?!The vicious propaganda attacks against Turkey and Qatar have a lot to do with their support for the people of Gaza.
Libya was a French, Italian, English, US and Swedish Neo fascism Mafiosi work, they wanted for UAE to have Libya, as they worked very hard for Saudis to divid Iraq and Syria for ISIS to creat its caliphate.
Now the only thing changed is Egyptians being involved knowing that they well get their rewards when they beg for Saudis and UAE hands out.
> US officials were said to be “fuming” about Egypt’s attacks
It's only ok when we do it.
Or killing children by the shitty little state.
Good acting! None of those regimes can do anything without US orders. But the times have changed. US has to hide — however feeble — its tracks on Arab soil. So, it is Egypt helping US asset, Hiftar, bomb the undesirable yesterday's rebels, and today's terrorists. This is why Al-Sisi is being modeled after Nasser, with the glasses and all, calling presumably Russian officials for a meeting, and other staged events, to say "see, I am not American puppet". Egyptians are old people, and see through this. There will be another coup, as Army cannot possibly be happy with making Egypt a colony that kills other Arab people for Imperial boss. UAE is another story. There, population does not matter. Everyone is wellcome to be a resident at the pleasure of the ruling families, else, they will be "invited' to leave. A small group of natives is well provided for, while for the others it is a place to make money, and leave. Their armies are mostly recruits from other Sunni countries, that is to say, mercenaries with no attachment to the place.
And what's the UAE's stake in this?
So now it turns out that Qatar and Saudia Arabia are on opposites sides?
And the US is clueless about it all, despite all the spying and security bureaucracy. So they have no assets in any of these places? They didn't happen to listen in on any chatter? Nothing wrong with that in itself, it just shows what a scam the entire "defense" apparatus is.
It's a good sign that these people started acting on their own without US approval. The more the US is sidelines in other people's problems the better.
After the July 2013 military coup, which overthrew Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood President Morsi, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel sided with the military junta, while Qatar & Turkey sided with Morsi and the Brotherhood. We have been led to believe that the Obama administration has been behind the junta and against the Egyptian Brotherhood from the start. What I posted previously about that Libyan-based Free Egyptian Army casts considerable doubt on that premise.
The UAE ruler is so Obsessed on not letting any people in any Arab country choose who should govern them freely he spending huge amount of money in supporting would be military dictators to rule these countries.Fighting terrorism and extremism is just a cover up and excuse.He financed the military coup against the first freely elected president in Egypt history.The same method was used in Ukraine and now being implemented in Libya.He fears that his people might rise against him!These dictators are the reason and cause why many become extremists in first place.When people are denied the right to elect their government and rounded up,tortured ,and massacred for demonstrating against corrupt tyrannical rulers ,and denied the right to organize what else left to them?Things are not that simplistic using the loaded and overblown and often misused and abused terms such as Islamist,extremists,militants and so on.They are used to appeal to western mentality and prejudices.
Israel's war on Gaza is backed by Arab regimes
"Israeli commentators and politicians have kept no secret in this regard. They speak at ease about the fact that they are fighting Hamas in Gaza not only for their own sake but also on behalf of the rulers of countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Hamas is seen by these regimes as a twin sister of the Muslim Brotherhood, which is considered by them an existential threat. The attitude of politicians and the media coverage in those countries only confirm too well what the Israelis have been saying." http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/israels-war-…
The United Arab Emirates has yet to face Arab Spring street protests, as have Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and its other neighbours. Nonetheless its seven ruling families are now finally being challenged directly by a number of brave citizens, some of whom are publicly calling for regime change. This is because the UAE currently suffers from among the heaviest restrictions on free speech and the media in the region, and there has been mounting frustration among the more educated sections of the national population, especially with regard to corruption, lack of transparency, and human rights abuses. Moreover, there is a widening wealth gap in the UAE and not all of its national population are being provided with adequate economic opportunities. This is leading to many of its less educated citizens – especially in the northern emirates – also beginning to voice their discontent. Thus, even though the UAE has embarked on a massive Saudi-style spending splurge in the wake of the Arab Spring in order to appease the national population, this has not been enough, with 2011 and 2012 witnessing the unprecedented detaining of dozens of political prisoners along with a marked tightening of civil society.
Notably, in early 2011 petitions were signed calling for a fully elected parliament and a move towards constitutional monarchy. This led to the jailing of five of the most prominent signatories – now known as the ‘UAE Five’ – and the dismantling of several of the civil society associations that had supported the petitions.
https://www.opendemocracy.net/christopher-m-david…