Libya Updates 6/12/17

it takes lots of action to get Libya to pick a side.

Methinks someone wants to secure Libya as a base/launching point for a greater North African 'incursion'. And I'm not talking about ISIS, either.

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Pentagon seeks funding for Libya, Africa military operations
2/9/16

The Pentagon is seeking $200 million in the 2017 budget for counterterrorism operations in Libya and other portions of North and West Africa, as the Islamic State threat in that region continues to grow.

[link to www.foxnews.com]

Tunisia braces for impact of possible Libya action
2/12/16

Last week, President Beji Caid Essebsi issued a warning to countries considering an intervention in Libya.

"Don't just think of your own interests," he said. "Think of the interests of neighboring countries, starting with Tunisia."

"Before any such act, please consult us, because it could serve you, but adversely affect us."

[link to english.alarabiya.net]

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He did say 'please'.......but it probably won't do any good.

European Union patrolling Libya coast to quell human trafficking
2/13/16

(CNN) - The European Union is working to curb the flow of desperate refugees, many of whom are making the dangerous journey by sea.

Ships from both the Italian and Spanish navies patrol the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya to track and quell the people-smuggling operations.

The Italian aircraft carrier Cavour is the command ship for the operation, and it along with the Spanish frigate Numancia conduct training exercises and comb the open water looking for the boats that ferry refugees from the war-torn country.

[link to www.wdam.com]

Battle for Libya: A guide to the country's factions and militias
6/15/15

Despite these three defined groups, the Libyan conflict has regional, tribal and ideological dimensions and can be viewed as a number of localised conflicts.

This IBTimes UK guide breaks down the largest factions and gives a brief outline of the major players in the Libyan conflict.

[link to www.ibtimes.co.uk]
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Guide to key Libyan militias
2/11/16
[link to www.bbc.com]
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Unity Government Proposed for Libya in New Peace Effort
2/14/16

RABAT, Morocco — Delegates from rival Libyan factions proposed a new unity government Sunday for the chaotic country, after months of U.N. mediation and the rejection of a previous Cabinet proposal.

If approved by Libya's internationally recognized parliament, a new unity government could eventually seek international military intervention against Islamic State extremists who have taken advantage of the country's political vacuum since 2014. However, it's unclear whether the new proposal will have greater chances at success than previous efforts.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

UN envoy for Libya welcomes 'major breakthrough' on formation of unity government
2/15/16

15 February 2016 – Welcoming the announcement by the Libyan Presidency Council on the formation of the Government of National Accord, the United Nations envoy there called today on the House of Representatives “to do what is right for Libya and its people” and endorse the nomination of the national unity government.

“It's now their [members of House of Representatives] responsibility to save their country from the scourge of further conflict and destruction,” said Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

[link to www.un.org]

Black market in dollars and diesel thrives at Libya's cost
2/15/16

Like much else in Libya, the financial system has broken down. Corruption is endemic throughout the economy, while smuggling hard currency and diesel have become lucrative businesses. Nancy Porsia reports from Tripoli.

[link to www.dw.com]

Saudi Arabia and Russia agree to freeze oil output, but deal ‘not worth much’ without Iran, Iraq
2/16/16

“This is an announcement of a production freeze among countries whose production didn’t even grow recently,” said Eugen Weinberg, head of commodities research at Commerzbank AG in Frankfurt. “If Iran and Iraq are not a part of the agreement, it’s not worth much — and even then there is still a question of compliance.”

[link to business.financialpost.com]

Our sources tell us
Updated: 2/16/16

Here's a list of news sources that you'll see used frequently on this thread, including country of origin.

(The first two are common reporting/monitoring sites you see a lot while covering the Mid East.)
~~~~~~

Site Intelligence Group
(Located in Bethesda, MD)
[link to ent.siteintelgroup.com (secure)]


Probing the SITE Intelligence Group
September 15, 2014
[link to memoryholeblog.com]
*****

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHC)
[link to www.syriahr.com]

Who is behind Syrian Observatory for Human Rights? Nimrod Kamer investigates for RT
October 2, 2015
[link to www.rt.com (secure)]

The Syrian Observatory: The Inside Story
January 26, 2012
[link to english.al-akhbar.com]
*****

==========================================
American media

Al-Monitor
[link to www.al-monitor.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]
Al-Monitor is a media site launched in February 2012 by Jamal Daniel and based in Washington, DC.

International Business Times
[link to www.ibtimes.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
RFE/RL, Inc. is a private, nonprofit corporation, funded by the U.S. Congress through the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG).
[link to www.rferl.org]

The Atlantic
[link to www.theatlantic.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

The Daily Caller
(Founded by Tucker Carlson)
[link to dailycaller.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

The Fiscal Times (TFT)
[link to www.thefiscaltimes.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Real Clear Politics
[link to www.realclearpolitics.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

WRAL (Raleigh, North Carolina)
[link to www.wral.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~
Canadian Media

Digital Journal
[link to www.digitaljournal.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Financial Post
[link to www.financialpost.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

The Globe and Mail
[link to globelink.ca]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]
~~~~~~~
Dubai Media

GulfNews
[link to gulfnews.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~
Indian Media

Economic Times/Times of India
[link to www.timesinternet.in]

The Hindu
[link to www.thehindu.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~
French Media

Euronews
[link to www.euronews.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]
~~~~~~~
Iranian media

Fars News Agency (FNA)
[link to tr.farsnews.com]

Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA)
(Official State-Run)
[link to www.irna.ir]

Mehr News Agency (MNA)
[link to en.mehrnews.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

PressTV
[link to www.presstv.com]

Tasnim News Agency
[link to www.tasnimnews.com]

~~~~~~~
Iraq Media

Iraqi News
[link to www.iraqinews.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

National Iraqi News Agency
[link to www.ninanews.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~
Japanese Media

Financial Times (FT)
[link to aboutus.ft.com]
[link to www.theguardian.com]

The Japan Times
[link to www.japantimes.co.jp]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~
Kurdistan media

BasNews
[link to www.basnews.com]
*****
Rudaw
[link to rudaw.net]

Rudaw: putting Kurdistan in the spotlight
9/19/13
[link to www.the-report.net]

Ekurd Daily
[link to ekurd.net]

~~~~~
Libyan Media

Libya Herald (Tripoli)
[link to www.libyaherald.com (secure)]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Libya Observer
[link to www.libyaobserver.ly]

~~~~~~~
Saudi Arabian Media

Al-Arabiya
[link to english.alarabiya.net]

Asharq Al-Awsat
(London-based, Saudi owned and funded)
[link to english.aawsat.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Al-Hayat
[link to www.alhayat.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Arab News
[link to www.arabnews.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~
Jordanian media

Al-Bawaba
[link to www.albawaba.com]

~~~~~
Qatari Media

Al Arabi Al Jadid (Jadeed)
(London-based, Qatari owned)
[link to www.alaraby.co.uk]
[link to www.abu.org.my]

~~~~~
Syrian media

ARA News
[link to aranews.net]

SANA (Syrian Arab News Agency)
[link to sana.sy]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~
UK Media

Middle East Eye
[link to www.middleeasteye.net]
[link to www.middleeasteye.net]

~~~~~
Turkish Media

Daily Sabah
[link to www.dailysabah.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

Hurriyet Daily News
[link to www.hurriyetdailynews.com]

Today's Zaman
[link to www.todayszaman.com]

~~~~~~~~
Israeli Media

Haaretz
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~
Moroccan Media

Morocco World News
[link to www.moroccoworldnews.com]

North Africa Post
[link to northafricapost.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]


~~~~~~~
African Media

All Africa News
[link to allafrica.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

News24 (South Africa)
[link to www.careers24.com]
[link to en.wikipedia.org (secure)]

~~~~~~~



========================================
Here's a site with links to media sites around the world:
World Newspapers and Magazines Online
[link to www.w3newspapers.com]

Five years after Gaddafi, Libya torn by civil war and battles with Isis
2/16/16

“Everybody was optimistic back then,” said Guma El-Gamaty, who was the rebel government’s London envoy during the revolution. “We are now suffering the legacy of Gaddafi, the lack of institutions, no democracy, the lack of knowing how to come together.”

[link to www.theguardian.com]

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Maybe if this asshole and others hadn't overthrown Gaddafi, they wouldn't be in this position.
I think these 'rebels' were promised more power and influence in Libyan politics after they got rid of Gaddafi. But they soon found out that NATO and the West was just using them to fuck up the country instead, and turn it into the war zone we see right now.
The current state is exactly what the regime changers wanted, and now their poor discarded tools are singing the blues.

UN Envoy to Libya Says Time Running out, IS Expanding
2/17/16

The U.N. envoy to Libya is urging its parliament to endorse a unity government that can help combat a mushrooming Islamic State affiliate, he told The Associated Press on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the uprising that toppled Moammar Gadhafi and plunged the country into chaos.

"Every day lost in political dialogue is a day of gain of Daesh," Martin Kobler said in the interview, referring to the extremist group by its Arabic acronym. "There is chaos. There is anarchy in which Daesh expands."

[link to abcnews.go.com]

‘Democracy was West’s propaganda excuse for destroying Libya'
2/17/16

DJ: I don’t think that they are really against ISIS. I think the Western powers - the US, especially followed by Britain and France - are using Islamic extremism as their foot soldiers in conquering various countries. They are quite confident that once they’ve used these fanatics to get rid of regimes they don’t like, then they will be able to take over what they want – the pieces that are left of that country for themselves.

[link to www.rt.com (secure)]

Obama admin blocks plan to bomb ISIS capital in Libya
2/18/16

The U.S. will continue to conduct occasional strikes targeting high-profile Islamic State leaders in Libya. One such strike in November killed Abu Nabil al-Anbari, the then-leader of the extremist group in the region.

“There’s nothing close to happening in terms of a major military operation,” a second official told The Daily Beast.

[link to www.washingtontimes.com]

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Contrast that with this article from a few weeks ago.....
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U.S. Commandos Expand Anti-ISIS War into Libya
1/29/16

Increased rhetoric from Obama’s top military chiefs about operations in Libya indicates a plan for military involvement is on the way, reportedly in the form of ground-based commandos to gather intelligence, rally local forces and call in airstrikes.

When asked Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook declined to offer specifics on current operations, but indicated the military is forging a plan akin to previous attempts to rally local support for U.S. operations.

“I’m not going to tell you exactly what the disposition of our forces are there,” Cook said. “I can acknowledge we’ve had forces on the ground previously.”

[link to www.usnews.com]

Libya struck hard!


[link to twitter.com (secure)]

Thanx for the heads up.

U.S. Strikes ISIS Camp in Libya, Killing More Than 30
2/19/16

The airstrikes come as the Obama administration and its allies are considering increased military action against a growing threat in Libya by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL. In November, the Americans killed Abu Nabil, also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al Zubaydi, an Iraqi who led the Islamic State’s arm in Libya, in an airstrike on the town of Darnah, in eastern Libya.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

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This Admin is so full of shit. One day they don't want more involvement, the next day they're considering military action, and then they're not. And now there's been airstrikes?
It's anybody's guess as to what's really going on there...or anywhere for that matter. Just have to sift through the junk they throw at us.

37 killed in U.S. airstrike targeting terrorists in Libya, mayor says
2/19/16

(CNN)American warplanes hit an ISIS camp Friday in Libya where foreign fighters had been engaged in special, advanced training -- possibly, a U.S. official said, ahead of a terror attack in Europe or somewhere else outside the North African nation.

Noureddine Chouchane, a senior operative in the terrorist group from Tunisia, was believed to be among those from around Africa and the Middle East who had converged on the site. He is thought to have played an instrumental role in two terror attacks in Tunisia last year, one at Tunis' Bardo Museum that killed 23 people and another at a seaside resort in Sousse that left 38 dead. ISIS claimed responsibility for both massacres.

[link to www.cnn.com]

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So the way I understand this, the Americans say they had intel on an upcoming attack, and used that as a reason to target this group in Libya.
Fair enough.

But once again, under who's authority are they operating in Libya? Did either of the factional governments invite the U.S. to target IS in their country? Not that it matters, as we all know by now. Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria never asked us.
They also didn't ask us to create a proxy in which to fuck them with either.
Oh well.

Libya's North African Neighbors Brace for Any Western Strikes
2/19/16

Exactly what Western intervention is possible is still under discussion. But President Barack Obama has ordered security advisers to look to halt Islamic State, and US officials say air strikes and special forces operations are options.

Italy's defense minister has said the West can not afford to let spring come and go without intervening, though most officials say they are pushing for a united Libya government first to ask for help on the ground.

North African officials back international attempts to bring Libya's factions together, but they worry they will pay the price in instability, refugees and militant counter attacks if an intervention happens without a government on the ground.

"Those countries who are envisaging a military intervention in Libya should before anything take into consideration the interests of the neighboring countries," Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi said.

[link to jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com]

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Ha! Fat chance of that happening, bucko.

Military role for Canada in Libya not ruled out: General
2/19/16

Canada’s top soldier said Canada will play a role in Libya, where concerns are growing about the increasing strength of Islamic State forces, and he didn’t rule out military action.

Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance mentioned this at a security and defence conference in Ottawa Friday. Earlier that day, U.S. fighter jets carried out airstrikes in Libya, targeting what the Pentagon said was an Islamic State training camp.

Gen. Vance said the international community is taking a keen interest in Libya right now.

[link to www.theglobeandmail.com]

Libya disaster: Have Western leaders learned anything?
2/19/16

Libya devolved into a failed state when NATO assisted Qaddafi’s radical jihadist opponents in killing him and then promptly abandoned the country. Left in the wake were two rival governments competing for power, which created space for Islamists to turn Libya into a cesspool of extremism.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton continues to call the debacle American “smart power at its best.” Other presidential candidates still argue that it was the right thing to do.

How will the West ever learn anything if it can’t identify its most obvious failures?

[link to www.foxnews.com]

2 Serbians believed among 49 killed in U.S. airstrike in Libya
2/20/16

Also believed to be among the dead are two Serbian embassy employees who were kidnapped last year, Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic said. Communications officer Sladjana Stankovic and driver Jovica Stepic were kidnapped in Sabratah in November 2015.

A spokeswoman for the Serbian Foreign Ministry said, however, that Serbia was still waiting for official confirmation of their deaths from Libyan authorities. She confirmed that Serbia had been informed by the Pentagon that the specific location where they were believed to be held had been bombed.

A Pentagon spokeswoman said the U.S. Defense Department was aware of the foreign minister's statement but had no indications to confirm that the Serbians were dead.

[link to www.cnn.com]

U.S. Bombing in Libya Reveals Limits of Strategy Against ISIS
2/19/16

Yet every counterterrorism victory also underscores the limits of the American approach to the countries where the Islamic State is strongest, as the focus on military action has not been matched by diplomatic efforts to resolve the core political issues that allow jihadists to prosper.

In Libya, efforts to build a unity government have made little progress. In Iraq, there has been little success in easing Sunni resentment. And in Syria, an announced “cessation of hostilities” has not materialized.

[link to www.nytimes.com]

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And why do you think that is?
Isn't it pretty obvious by now?

MOSCOW CALLS ON U.S., OTHER NATO MEMBERS TO APPROACH RESPONSIBLY CHOICE OF TARGETS IN LIBYA - JUST LIKE RUSSIAN AEROSPACE FORCES DO IN SYRIA - RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY
Interfax

we're getting our intel from the Saudis. jez... that's not smart.
but we'll play the game until it's time.

Last Edited by nikki nikita on 02/20/2016 12:30 PM

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The relationship between the U.S. and Saud is the most hypocritical of all Western stances, IMO. To say you're waging war against 'jihadis' along with a nation that supports them wholesale never made any sense to me.

I can imagine the gales of wild laughter emanating from the Foreign Ministry press office when they sent that message off.

A Glance at the Main Political Players in Libya
2/19/16

Since Gadhafi's fall, two competing governments have emerged in Libya, backed by a loose array of militias, former rebels and tribes. The United Nations has been trying to broker a deal to establish a unity government that could bring peace in the oil-rich country, rein in militants like the Islamic State group, and restore order in what has become a major conduit for migrants heading to Europe.

[link to abcnews.go.com]

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Opinions and perspectives on Libya are as numerous as the ways we spell the deceased Colonel's last name.

New Libya unity government line up to be revealed
2/20/16

Benghazi: Libya’s internationally recognised parliament were expected to reveal a new line up for a unity government on Saturday. On Tuesday they postponed a vote on a government of national unity despite growing international concern over Daesh expansion.

Approval of the 18-minister cabinet - headed by prime minister-designate Fayez Al Sarraj - would be a vital step in resolving Libya’s political disarray, capping off months of difficult diplomacy.

[link to gulfnews.com]

At least 14 dead in clashes between army and Islamists in Libya's Benghazi
2/21/16

A spokesman for the military forces loyal to Libya's eastern government, Wanis Boukhamada, said fighting was mostly in the neighbourhood of Boatni. The army has been battling Islamist groups in the city for months.

Two governments, one based in Tripoli and the other in the east, each backed by complex alliances of armed factions, are vying to for control of the country.

[link to news.yahoo.com]