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Libya Urgently in Need of Military Intervention
by Anna
Mahjar-Barducci
April 29, 2014 at 5:00 am
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friends to like this.
The West is leaving Libya on its own
-- but another Afghanistan is on the way.
The Libyan security forces are
struggling to contain the violence, but they are not large enough or strong
enough.
In Libya, a descent into chaos, leading to the "disintegration of the
state and its power," seems to be reaching a critical point."The current situation in Libya is a standing invitation for the intervention of foreign powers," according to Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat's deputy editor-in-chief, Ali Ibrahim. Ibrahim writes that armed militias, who often enjoy the support of sectors of local populations, are committing abuses and violations of human rights, while radical Islamist groups are taking advantage of Libya's chaos to transform the country into a home for training camps for militants. "In other words, Libya has become a security threat, with the effects extending even beyond its borders," Ibrahim states.
According to Zeidan, who was ousted after his government failed to stop rebels from independently exporting oil, Islamist groups are sabotaging attempts to rebuild the country in order to make it a haven for extremists. "These [extremists] want Libya not to be a civil state, not to be a state of law, they want it to be just another Afghanistan," Zeidan said. On April 24, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, during a visit to Libya, stated that the U.S. recognizes the "severity" of the extremist threat. "The rising threat of violent extremism, whether it is people using violence for political purposes or the role of terrorist groups, is an enormous challenge first and foremost to the people of Libya, but also to Libya's international partners as well," Burns said. To a question referring to a possible multinational or U.S. military intervention in Libya or in some parts in Libya, he said the U.S. has no plans beyond providing assistance and training for Libya's General Purpose Force and for other parts of the military and security services. Last February, neighboring Niger's Interior Minister Massoudou Hassoumi called on the West to intervene militarily in Libya, to deal with the Islamist threat in Libya's south. He said the countries that overthrew the Qaddafi regime need to also provide "after-sales service." He also added that it would be legitimate for NATO countries to eradicate the "terrorist threat" in the south of Libya. France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, however, rebuffed the appeal: "We have to fight terrorism everywhere. That does not mean we have to have people on the ground, it means we have to help governments that want to get rid of terrorism, which is the case with the Libyan government." Of course, if terrorists have already taken control of parts of the country that advice would not be of much help. Libya's population, however, is apparently tired of the instability and insecurity, and getting desperate. Kidnapping is becoming a daily occurrence. Tripoli is now a place for diplomats to be kidnapped or murdered. As a result, many countries have recalled their diplomatic representatives. For many, an international military intervention seems the only way to end chaos and violence. Political activist Salah Mahmoud al-Agouri, for instance, is among those convinced that "the only solution" for the country is international intervention. "We need an international military campaign [...] to rid us of these parasites that are now threatening the security of the entire region," he said to the media outlet Magharebia. In the meantime, Al-Qaeda-related organizations are finding optimal growing conditions all over Libya. A group called, "Shura Council of Islamist Youth in Derna," armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers, machine-guns and anti-aircraft guns recently, recently paraded in the eastern Libyan town of Derna. At the end of 2013, also in Derna, another Islamist group, Ansar Al-Sharia, that also advocates the implementation of strict Sharia law across Libya, opened a branch under the slogan, "a step toward building the Islamic state". The Libyan security forces are struggling to contain the violence, but they are not large enough or strong enough. The West is leaving Libya on in its own -- but another Afghanistan is on the way.
Related Topics: Anna
Mahjar-Barducci
Will Israel Save Hamas and Fatah Again?
by Shoshana Bryen
April 29, 2014 at 4:00 am
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friends to like this.
A better system was the one both
sides had before the U.S. intervened. Both were working on day-to-day
security issues and employment. That is where SodaStream came from. The
Israeli leadership figured that if the next generation of Palestinians had a
stake in the system, they would negotiate more seriously. The Palestinian
leadership figured that if people were eating, they would not overthrow the current
government. It was working before the U.S. demanded an end to the conflict.
It's an old song, and they haven't even gotten to the chorus. Hamas and
Fatah have not "reconciled." They appear to have come close to
agreeing that they will hold talks to create a "unity
government." After the government is created, there will be talks
about elections, and only after
that will there be talks about the distribution of portfolios under unified
leadership. According to a Fatah spokesman, an interim
government could be finalized in the next five weeks, with elections
possible by early 2015.This has been tried five times before. The failure of each attempt appears linked to the circumstance that the only principle they share is the belief that the establishment of Israel in 1948 was a mistake by the international community that needs rectification. In all other ways, they are rivals, not partners.
That is when the problems begin. U.S. demands of the Palestinians were, essentially two -- the requirement that the Palestinians explicitly accept Israel as a Jewish state is not new, it was a clarification of the original language of the 1947 UN Partition of Palestine into an "Arab State" and a "Jewish State." Mahmoud Abbas and Fatah were asked:
The United States and the Europeans claim to be unhappy with the new state of affairs, but the proposal by Rep. Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Rep. Ted Deutsch (D-FL) to cut off aid under the Palestinian Terrorism Act was not well-received by the State Department. Secretary of State Kerry said Israeli and Palestinian leaders needed to be willing to make compromises to keep the negotiations alive -- as if it was Israel that had joined forces with a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Spokesman Jen Psaki said, "Well, obviously, there would be implications. I don't have those all in front of me ... but what we're going to watch and see here is what happens over the coming hours and days to see what steps are taken by the Palestinians." And watch what they do with their money. The total Palestinian Authority [PA] budget for 2014 is planned to be $4.3 billion with a deficit of $1.2 billion. Income from taxes and other fees is estimated at $2.7 billion and another $1.6 billion will come in the form of foreign aid. That would be an expectation of almost 33% of the budget coming in the form of aid, and a deficit planned to be 28% of spending. (The U.S. budget deficit, by comparison was 8.7% of GDP in 2011, and it has fallen with the effects of sequestration and other decisions.) Where does it come from and where does it go? In January, the Administration announced that, linked to the "peace process," American aid to the PA -- not including security assistance of approximately $100 million annually -- would be increased from $426 million in 2013 to $440 million in 2014. The Europeans, the largest financial backers of the Palestinian Authority, have provided more than $7 billion since 1994. Interestingly, although all other EU aid is tied both to the human rights record and transparency of the recipient, the PA faces no such restraints. Nearly half of the budget will pay salaries -- a 4.9% increase over last year (this may come as a surprise to European government employees who are still in the throes of austerity budgeting). In addition, according to EU auditors in December, the EU is paying salaries for approximately 61,000 civil servants and members of the security forces who stopped reporting for work after the 2007 civil war. In one office, they found 90 out of the 125 staff members absent. According to The Wall Street Journal, the PA allocates a significant portion of its budget to salaries for Palestinians convicted of terrorism by Israel. These salaries are up to five times higher than the average salary in the West Bank. According to Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in 2012 the PA's payments to convicted terrorists in Israeli prisons and to the families of deceased terrorists (including suicide bombers) together accounted for more than 16% of the annual foreign donations and grants to the budget of the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian minister for prisoners' affairs announced that [approximately $41 million] would be allocated to current or former prisoners in 2014. It other words, the Palestinians use an astonishing amount of foreign money to bribe and coerce the potentially recalcitrant. Despite Palestinian corruption, abuse and support for terrorism, Israel has been unwilling to see Palestinian institutions collapse. While the Palestinians are nominally responsible for social services, Israel has ensured that there is no widespread hunger, disease, or power outages. The examples are legion – at the height of the so-called "second intifada," when Palestinians were blowing up buses in the middle of cities and shooting civilians, Israel continued to coordinate food aid through a variety of NGOs. In 2012, to help the PA solve its financial crisis, Israel sought $1 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund, intending to transfer the money to the PA. The IMF rejected the proposal because it feared setting a precedent of making IMF money available to non-state entities even through a state sponsor. Israel has also taken up much of the slack in supporting Hamas with gasoline and electricity since Egypt has been bombing and closing the Sinai tunnels. Israeli medical care has always been available to Palestinians. Israel evidently believes a) it has a humanitarian obligation regarding Palestinian civilians; b) that should the institutions collapse, so will foreign aid to the Palestinians, leaving Israel with the entire bill for Palestinian social services; and c) at some point, there should be peace with the Palestinians, who will need a capable government to ensure the terms of whatever agreement is reached. The announcement of "reconciliation" may actually be an attempt to form a united front. Or more likely, it could be a mechanism for Abbas to end negotiations that cannot succeed. If that is so, it could serve as a great clarifying moment in which Israel comes to see that perpetuating the fraud of a competent Palestinian government is more of a losing proposition for Israel than for its adversaries. Perpetuating the fraud of a competent Palestinian government carries no chance of a negotiated peace. There will always be a John Kerry who says the Israelis have to do more, therefore Israel will always be subject to the disapproval of those who expect Israel alone to fix the problem. A better system was the one that both sides had before the U.S. Administration intervened with its pipe-dreams. Both were working on day-to-day security issues and employment. That is where SodaStream came from. The Israeli leadership figured that if the next generation of Palestinians had a stake in the system, they would negotiate more seriously. The Palestinian leadership figured that if people were eating, they would not overthrow the current government. It was working until the U.S. demanded an end to the conflict.
Related Topics: Israel
| Shoshana Bryen
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