Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Mustafa Fetouri
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Haftar has bet his career on taking Tripoli, but victory won’t mean a democratic Libya
When commander Khalifa Haftar ordered forces loyal to him, known as the Libyan National Army (LNA), to march on the capital Tripoli on 4 April, he did not set a time frame for this operation. Most likely he did not have any precise idea of how long such an operation…
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Everybody says that there is no military solution in Libya, but they are all wrong
For the past eight years, almost every regional and international power, as well as the UN, has been agreed that the solution for Libya is not military but political. An agreement, we are told, can only come about through inclusive negotiations among Libyans. They are all wrong. The champions of…
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Is Haftar helping Daesh return to Libya?
It is now 62 days since the Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, begin its march on the capital Tripoli. During that time Daesh has carried out at least four attacks in LNA controlled areas across the country. Capitalising on chaos and the security void is…
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How Saudi Arabia is losing the war in Yemen
Is Saudi Arabia losing its military campaign in Yemen despite being the stronger party enjoying the support of its many allies? The Saudi-led coalition includes countries like Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Jordan and Morocco, as well as Qatar before it fell out with Riyadh. Major countries…
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Paul Bremer’s legacy in Iraq is being expanded across the Arab World
Today marks 16 years since Paul Bremer, the former American diplomat, made history three times in the space of one month. First he was appointed head of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), the administration that ran Iraq after it was occupied by the United States in April 2003. This propelled…
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Which Brotherhood does Trump want to designate as a ‘terrorist organisation’?
Ever since late 2017 there have been behind-the-scenes discussions in the White House about designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist organisation”. On 30 April, administration officials confirmed that it is only a matter of time before the movement is indeed designated. This will have legal ramifications and repercussions. Which…
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Who’s fighting their proxy wars in Libya?
Are there any countries that are meddling in the internal affairs of Libya making its internal conflicts more of a proxy war rather than domestic internal conflict? Do those countries help fan the flames that have kept igniting in the country over the last eight years? Why can the United…
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Is Haftar right in claiming there are terrorists and militias in Tripoli?
Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), has long claimed that terrorists and rogue militias are controlling the capital Tripoli, placing his campaign as part of the international “war on terror”. In launching his attack on 4 April, his spokesperson repeatedly said that “terrorists” are fighting…
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Haftar has clearly been given the green light to conquer Tripoli
When the Libyan National Army (LNA) launched its current offensive on Tripoli on the orders of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, his regional backers as well as international sympathisers were quick to deny any prior knowledge of what he was doing. France, in particular, a major European Union (EU) member and…
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If Haftar pulls back now, he could spell his own demise
Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), surprised everyone by launching his “Flood of Dignity” military offensive to take the capital Tripoli. While the operation was expected; embarking on it now is astonishing. I have previously warned that Haftar’s next destination was Tripoli but that this…
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The Arab League summit was business as usual
The Arab League has just concluded its thirtieth summit in Tunis, the capital of Tunisia, where leaders of Arab countries gathered for one day of discussions aimed at finding pan-Arab solutions to their many divisive and complicated problems. Was this anything new? Hardly. The umbrella group of Arab countries, is…
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Could the Afghan model rescue Libya?
Finally, the United Nations’ special envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame announced the dates and venue for his long-awaited Libyan National Conference (LNC). It is now scheduled to take place from 14-16 April in the Libyan south-western town of Ghadames. A historical town which once was a tourist attraction in stable…
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Trump snuck into Iraq. Rouhani was welcomed with open arms
US President Donald Trump had to sneak in to Iraq, a supposed US ally, arriving at the Ein Al-Assad airbase for an unannounced visit on 26 December. Not a single Iraqi official was there to welcome him. Instead, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdel-Mahdi angrily snubbed him, refusing to travel to…
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There is no Arab Spring in Algeria; or is there?
What transpired in Algeria over the last three weeks can hardly be seen as another episode of the peoples’ awakening that swept through North Africa in 2011 as part of what has been dubbed the “Arab Spring”. Then, regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya were deposed. The crisis in Algeria…
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Now controlling two-thirds of Libya can Haftar take Tripoli?
Between January and February this year Libyan Armed Forces (LNA) led by Field Marshall Khalifa Haftar have captured almost the entire southern region, known as Fezzan, including all its oil fields and major population centres. Surprisingly, the advancing forces were welcomed by cheerful locals in almost every little village and…
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The Arab Maghreb Union that never was
February 17 this year marks 30 years since the Arab Maghreb Union, better known by its French acronym UMA, was founded as an economic and political union bringing together the five North African countries. The agreement establishing the UMA was singed in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh on 17 February…
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Why are Libyans not celebrating the anniversary of the revolution?
Libya’s revolution started on 17 February 2011 in the eastern city of Benghazi and went on to end the rule of the late Muammar Gaddafi. On this, the eighth anniversary of the revolution, many Libyans are mourning that day, rather than celebrating. To understand why, I asked my thousands of…
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An Arab perspective on Iran’s Islamic Revolution at 40
What started as series of public demonstrations and strikes across Iran nearly two years earlier peaked on 11 February, 1979, with the Islamic Revolution of Iran ending decades of oppressive monarchy under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Islamic Republic of Iran was born, shaking the region and humiliating the United…
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How one Libyan man is helping illegal migrants
For the last eight years, my home town of Bani Walid, 180 kilometres southwest of Tripoli, has become one of the favourite route for people traffickers and illegal migrants heading north towards the Mediterranean coast on their dangerous trip to Europe by sea. The route extends from the southern Libyan…
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UN envoy to Libya is taking credit for Libya’s hard earned successes
In his last report to the UN Security Council, the United Nations’ special envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salame, sounded both optimistic and pessimistic. He tried to paint a realistic picture of the situation in the conflict ridden oil rich country but not without a dose of exaggeration and misleading characterisation…
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Does Libya have its own Al-Sisi in the making?
The town of Harawah lies around 80 kilometres east of Sirte and nearly 550 kilometres east of Tripoli. I drove there earlier this month to see the most westerly territory in Libya controlled by the Libyan National Army (LNA), led by former General, now Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar. No one…