New Libyan rebel leader spent much of past 20 years in suburban Virginia

suburban Virginia > Langley ?





New Libyan rebel leader spent much of past 20 years in suburban Virginia

By CHRIS ADAMS
McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON -- The new leader of Libya's opposition military spent the past two decades in suburban Virginia but felt compelled - even in his late-60s - to return to the battlefield in his homeland, according to people who know him.

Khalifa Hifter was once a top military officer for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but after a disastrous military adventure in Chad in the late 1980s, Hifter switched to the anti-Gadhafi opposition. In the early 1990s, he moved to suburban Virginia, where he established a life but maintained ties to anti-Gadhafi groups.

Late last week, Hifter was appointed to lead the rebel army, which has been in chaos for weeks. He is the third such leader in less than a month, and rebels interviewed in Libya openly voiced distrust for the most recent leader, Abdel Fatah Younes, who had been at Gadhafi's side until just a month ago.

At a news conference Thursday, the rebel's military spokesman said Younes will stay as Hifter's chief of staff, and added that the army - such as it is - would need "weeks" of training.

According to Abdel Salam Badr of Richmond, Va., who said he has known Hifter all his life - including back in Libya - Hifter, whose name is sometimes spelled Haftar, Hefter or Huftur, was motivated by his intense anti-Gadhafi feelings.



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