Posted by INTERNATIONALIST 360°
The United States has put forward the idea of unifying the army and ensuring Libyan sovereignty to counter Russian expansionism in Libya, while emphasizing its commitment to strengthen security cooperation in cooperation with professional Libyan military officers in all regions of the country.
The US Embassy in Libya announced that the commander of the US Africa Command, General Michael Langley, and the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Brown Jr. met with General Mohammed al-Haddad and General Abdelrazik al-Nazouri during the 2024 African Defense Chiefs Conference in Gaborone, Botswana.
“We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening U.S.-Libya security cooperation in collaboration with professional Libyan military officers in all regions to build a stable and unified Libya for the Libyan people,” the embassy said, adding that the U.S. fully supports Libyan-led solutions to unify the Libyan military and ensure Libyan sovereignty.
During the Botswana meeting, Langley said that every African country has multi-layered threats, especially across the Sahel, and each country has different types of challenges and drivers of instability.
Langley emphasized that African countries in the west, north and across the Sahel have approached the U.S. for discussions on how to achieve their security goals, because they recognize the “intrinsic value” the U.S. brings. One of those countries is Libya, he said.
“We are working through diplomatic means as well as defense means with Libya,” he said, adding, “We will have representation at this conference from both sides of the Libyan state,” referring to representatives of the General Command of the National Army and the Chief of Staff of the forces of the outgoing Government of National Unity.
The U.S. military official recalled his meeting with representatives from both sides last year, noting that they want to reach the ultimate goal, and are asking America to cooperate with them so they can achieve these ends.
This is the first year the U.S. has co-hosted the conference with an African country and the first time the conference has been held in Africa, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Langley, a Marine general in charge of U.S. Africa Command, discussed highlights of the conference with the media today, which he said was informative and productive.
The themes of the conference were the exchange of ideas to promote stability, security, human rights and prosperity among the 53 countries in AFRICOM’s area of responsibility, he said, adding that discussions included challenges in deterring threats and building crisis response.
He explained that the threats that must be deterred include terrorist organizations such as Daesh, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, which thrive in areas of instability, pointing out that the solution is to deal with each country, identify its needs and reach a lasting solution through an approach that includes the services of the entire US government, including US agencies, regional governments and civil society, not just the Department of Defense.
Realistic fears that Western capitals are trying to push Libyan factions into a new war with the primary goal of forcing Russian forces out of the country.
Langley also discussed what he described as the negative impact of “Russia’s disinformation campaigns” on the continent.”Spreading the truth to counter disinformation is essential,” he said, noting that according to the African Center for Strategic Studies, disinformation campaigns directly led to deadly violence, encouraged and validated military coups, forced members of civil society into silence and served as a smokescreen for corruption and exploitation, according to his estimate.
According to observers, the invitation of the chiefs of staff of Benghazi and Tripoli by the US side to attend the African Chiefs of Defense Conference 2024 represents an official recognition of both parties and an attempt to contain the General Command of the National Army, which is allied with Moscow, along with the Chief of Staff of the outgoing government in Tripoli, which is considered a key ally of Washington and Western capitals.
Observers believe that Washington’s efforts during the past period confirmed its limited influence on the decision-making positions in eastern Libya against the effective Russian presence, adding that talk about unifying the military institution in Libya no longer arouses the enthusiasm of any of the actors after the semi-deliberate freezing of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee’s work.
According to Libyan sources, US officials demanded during the past period that General Khalifa Haftar, commander-in-chief of the National Army, limit the alliance ties that bind him to Moscow and expel Russian militants.
The sources confirmed that there are realistic fears that Western capitals are trying to push the Libyan factions into a new war whose main goal is to force Russian fighters to leave the country, but this will be difficult given that the opposing party will not remain silent, and the Turks refuse to enter into a confrontation with the army command or with the Russians and Egyptians in a new proxy war in Libya.
Translation by Internationalist 360°
Emma Olive 