The Beginning. Although President Barack H. Obama had declared in a speech in Accra, Ghana, in 2009, that “Africa’s future is up to Africans,” it was really American policy toward Africa, as elsewhere in the world, to remove political leaders that the United States considered “inconvenient”. Those who opposed or who were at odds with US plans, such as socialists, communists, and “Islamists” became legitimate targets of Yankee weapons.
On March 19, 2011, Obama began combat against Libya without securing a Congressional declaration of war, as the federal Constitution requires. He also refused to notify Congress that
American forces were engaged in combat operations, in violation of the War Powers Act, adopted in response to the reckless, unconstitutional actions by the president in going to war in Vietnam. (Springmann, J. Michael. Visas For Al Qaeda: CIA Handouts That Rocked The World. Washington, D.C. Daena Publications: 2014).
Why? Gaddafi had a socialist government that had the highest quality of life index in all Africa. It provided free education, free medical care, and interest-free housing loans. He also wanted to create a Pan-African Union with Libya at its head.
On October 20, 2011, Moammar Gaddafi was murdered and the government of Libya collapsed. So did the benefits flowing to its people.
Now. Libya is a shattered country with civil war and rival regimes. The Government of National Accord controls part of the country. "In December 2015 delegates from Libya’s rival factions signed the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA)—a UN-brokered power-sharing agreement establishing a Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by a prime minister and a nine-member presidency council drawn from constituencies and factions throughout the country. Although the GNA received recognition from the UN Security Council as the legitimate government of Libya, it struggled to consolidate its authority in both the eastern and western halves of the country." (Encyclopedia Britannica). In particular, it is battling Khalifa Hiftar, former Libyan general and now U.S. citizen. He heads the Libyan National Army (LNA), operating in the oil rich eastern part of the country. Hiftar has been steadily losing ground to the GNA, even though Russia, Egypt, and the UAE support him.
Turkey, the Country, Not the Bird. In fact, Turkey has become a major problem in Libya. According to Libyan National Army Spokesman Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, “The threat posed by terrorists and extremists led by Erdoğan with his groups in Libya threatens the region's peace. They have exacerbated the situation by bringing it to the current level.” Moreover, this writer was told, despite agreement by the other states backing the LNA, that Turkey refused to participate in an Egyptian initiative, suggesting a new agreement between the LNA and GNA with a cease-fire starting June 8. Egypt apparently reserves the opportunity of securing its long western border with Libya by military action if necessary.
The Opened Door. It began innocently enough. According to the Brussels International Center, "[i]n late December 2019, the Tripoli based-UN backed- Government of National Accord (GNA) appealed for Turkey to intervene in Libya. As a response, the Turkish Parliament held an emergency session on January 3rd, 2020, and voted to authorize President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to deploy Turkish troops to Libya. Soon after, the deployment of troops materialized. However, not only were Turkish military forces deployed but Syrian rebels from northern Syria too. In recent months, Turkey’s military activities, such as its expatriation of Syrian refugees to their war-torn country and the deployment of Turkish-backed Syrian rebels to fight along the GNA in Libya, pose serious risks of escalation in the region."
Seizing the opportunity, Turkey apparently wants to use it to restore the Ottoman Empire, of which Libya was once a part (As were Syria and Iraq, now invaded and occupied by Turkish forces.) Erdoğan's government has been operating in Libya for some time. SADAT, founded by former Turkish Brig.Gen. Adnan Tanrıverdi, has there since 2013, the author was told. It bills itself as "the first and the only company in Turkey, that internationally provides consultancy and military training services at the international defense and interior security sector." (http://www.sadat.com.tr/en/). According to informed sources, SADAT generals are responsible for GNA major offensive operations. SADAT soldiers were seen in the Tripoli region long before November 2019. Supposedly, "SADAT Defense was in Libya to determine the needs of New Libyan Armed Forces and search for possibilities for Consultancy, Training, Ordnance service delivery for Libya.". At the beginning of Turkey's military involvement in Libya, Turkish government publications wrote that "100 years later, our troops returned to the region".
The Turks Are Coming, Drum, Drum, Drumming Everywhere. Adding to the problem, this author was told, SADAT's founder, Adnan Tanrıverdi, one of Erdoğan's chief advisors, is supposedly an Islamist, who openly declares the necessity of restoring the Muslim caliphate, based on Sharia law. According to his declarations, this Islamic Empire, with its capital at Istanbul, must consist of 61 countries, a good bit of the Arab and Muslim worlds. (Turkey Special Dispatch No. 8493; Middle East Research Institute, MEMRI, seen as an Israeli-oriented organization).
As stated to the author, this will pose a serious threat to Europe. The connection and proximity to Libya and nearby Syria, where Turkey backs the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists and other unsavory groups can prove disastrous. Turkey's invasion of Iraq, operating against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), only makes matters worse. (In the past, today's Iraq had been the Ottoman provinces, vilayets, of Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra.) If Turkey continues its bloody politics in the region, it can cause a new catastrophe that might spread beyond the area.
The question posed to this writer was, if all this continues, what happens to Europe’s security? It would certainly add to the flow of migrants from the Middle East and North Africa, destabilizing the Continent still more. Europe can't handle the present flood of aliens, with the disastrous political, economic, and human rights problems that follow. (Cf. Springmann, J. Michael. Goodbye, Europe? Hello, Chaos? Merkel's Migrant Bomb. Washington, D.C.: Daena Publications, 2017.)
But? Would this necessarily be a bad thing, if, as noted Islamic scholar Kevin Barrett, Ph.D. observed on No Lies Radio, the revived Empire was based on democratic principles, economic opportunity for all, non-aggression, and no bias towards racial groups, such as the Kurds.
Only time will tell. And if Turkey changes. And if the Egyptian army stays home and out of Libya.
*(Top image: The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Credit: NATO North Atlantic Treaty/ Flickr)
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