{"id":59974,"date":"2019-04-11T00:53:23","date_gmt":"2019-04-11T00:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/11\/a-us-citizen-has-amassed-his-forces-near-tripoli-but-us-troops-arent-the-solution-officials-say\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T02:58:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T02:58:01","slug":"a-us-citizen-has-amassed-his-forces-near-tripoli-but-us-troops-arent-the-solution-officials-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2019\/04\/11\/a-us-citizen-has-amassed-his-forces-near-tripoli-but-us-troops-arent-the-solution-officials-say\/","title":{"rendered":"A US citizen has amassed his forces near Tripoli, but US troops aren\u2019t the solution, officials say"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A dual citizen of Libya and the U.S. has marched an army to the Libyan capital of Tripoli<\/a>, but don\u2019t expect U.S. forces to stop him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only solution to the conflict, a U.S. Africa Command<\/a> spokesman told Military Times, is a political one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The United Nations has also called for a political settlement, echoing a desire from the international community to halt combat operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cContaining instability in Libya is important to regional security,\u201d said AFRICOM spokesman Col. Chris Karns. \u201cHowever, U.S. Africa Command recognizes that a political solution, not an application of military muscle, is the way forward for the existing problem set Libya faces.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, the U.N. postponed a three-day peace conference scheduled to begin April 14 due to the military operation. The talks were intended to discuss a way to end Libya\u2019s eight-year civil war through a framework of elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s the U.S. doing in Libya?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A small contingent of U.S. troops has been in Libya to help local forces combat Islamic State<\/a> and al-Qaida-aligned militants<\/a>, as well as to protect diplomatic facilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of those troops were temporarily pulled from Libya<\/a>, AFRICOM announced Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt serves no operational benefit to pinpoint exact figures or whereabouts when violent extremist elements still remain,\u201d Karns said. \u201cIt is important for ISIS to know a counter-terror capability still exists, especially when you consider airpower. Our boots on the ground, or U.S. personnel in Libya, has always been limited and dispersed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will tell you there are no longer U.S. forces in Tripoli,\u201d he added. \u201cThose forces were primarily dedicated to supporting U.S. diplomatic missions into Libya.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libya\u2019s eight-year civil war jumped back into the news last week, when Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter\u2019s self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive against Tripoli.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hifter was an exiled general during dictator Moammar Gadhafi\u2019s rule, but he returned during the 2011 uprising. He also gained U.S. citizenship while living in Virginia in the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tripoli is controlled by militias that support the country\u2019s U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord, or GNA. Hifter, meanwhile, represents an opposition in the eastern part of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, the AFRICOM commander, said in February that the U.S. has maintained lines of communications with Hifter throughout the conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known all along that the solution in Libya \u2014 political solution \u2014 is going to involve Hifter in some fashion,\u201d Waldhauser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the Russians have tried to revive Gadhafi-era weapons sales and oil contracts in the country through Hifter. \u201cLike others, when the music stops, they want to be able to influence whoever, you know, finds the seat, whoever wins,\u201d Waldhauser said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Libya has been embroiled in violence since Gadhafi was overthrown and killed in 2011, with the help of NATO airstrikes. AFRICOM has maintained a small footprint in Libya since then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
U.S. Marine Corps Gen. Thomas D. Waldhauser, Commander, U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and Amb. Peter Bodde, U.S. Ambassador to Libya are greeted by Libyan miltary officials during their recent visit to meet with the Prime Minister of Libya’s Unity Government, Fayez al-Sarraj in Tripoli, Libya May 23, 2017. This marks the first time a a high ranking U.S. military official has been in Libya since 2014.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One reason for a continued U.S. foothold is ISIS\u2019 Libya offshoot. The militant group maintains a low-level presence in the country even after being expelled from Sirte, a coastal city between Tripoli and Benghazi, in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf they attempt to reconstitute, it is important for violent extremist organizations to note, a U.S. counter-terrorism capability still exists, if required,\u201d Karns said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2014, the U.S. has conducted airstrikes and raids in Libya. Most strikes occurred during Operation Odyssey Lightning<\/a>, the air campaign that helped Libyan government forces recapture Sirte from ISIS occupation. Almost 500 airstrikes were launched during that campaign in 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Airstrikes dwindled considerably, and during 2018, only three were launched, according to the Foundation for Defense of Democracies\u2019 Long War Journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has always been our policy to not provide absolutes and specific numbers for U.S. forces in Libya,” Karns said. “Making adjustments, exercising agility and rapidly responding with our assigned forces is part of U.S. Africa Command\u2019s DNA. As situations dictate and needs arise, the command has demonstrated an ability to flex and position itself as circumstances warrant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s this Hifter character all about?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Hifter] was one of [Gadhafi\u2019s] allies, co-conspirators when [Gadhafi] overthrew the Libyan monarchy in 1969,\u201d Frederic Wehrey, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told NPR <\/a>this week. \u201cHe broke with the dictator during this disastrous war in Chad. He briefly was trained by the CIA. Then, he fled and settled in Virginia for two decades.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hifter returned to Libya in 2011 and consolidated his control in the eastern part of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While his latest move may appear reckless, it looks like Hifter\u2019s assault is more about \u201cmedia optics and projecting power\u201d than it is about waging a bloody war for Tripoli, Jason Pack, a Libya analyst who has advised the State Department and Pentagon, said in a piece for Al-Monitor<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assault was likely part of Hifter\u2019s bid to increase his negotiating position heading into the peace talks this month, Pack said, noting that it\u2019s unlikely Hifter\u2019s forces could hold Tripoli even if they took it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTherefore, the assault on Tripoli is a form of kabuki theater,\u201d Pack wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In this Wednesday, March 18, 2015 photo, Gen. Khalifa Hifter, Libya\u0092s top army chief, speaks during an interview with the Associated Press in al-Marj, Libya. Hifter warned Europe of Islamic State militants\u0092 infiltration to its territories through the North African nation\u0092s long stretch of the Mediterranean coastline, if the West abstained from supporting his forces with arms and ammunition. (AP Photo\/Mohammed El-Sheikhy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Hifter] thinks he can benefit from the appearance of the assault, knowing that a genuine hot war would not succeed and would harm his interests,” Pack added. “Using columns of tanks and tweets to conquer the news cycle rather than assault Tripoli seems a savvy strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waldhauser said in February that AFRICOM is aware that Russia has been giving help to Hifter, including military support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPublicly, the Russians support the GNA and the U.N. process, but privately \u2026 I would say, they\u2019ve given support to Hifter and continue to do so today,\u201d Waldhauser said at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kremlin officials have denied accusations that they are backing Hifter, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Vladimir Putin\u2019s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on April 5 that Hifter needs \u201cto avoid actions that would lead to the resumption of bloodshed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Asked if Russia was supporting Hifter, Peskov said: \u201cNo, Moscow isn\u2019t involved in that in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the U.S. has taken a firm stance against Hifter\u2019s moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have made clear that we oppose the military offensive by Khalifa Hifter\u2019s forces and urge the immediate halt to these military operations against the Libyan capital,\u201d Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said this week. \u201cThis unilateral military campaign against Tripoli is endangering civilians and undermining prospects for a better future for all Libyans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, it appears as if the international community is rallying against Hifter\u2019s forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fighting has surrounded the Libyan capital of Tripoli, but don\u2019t expect U.S. forces to step in this 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