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Op-Ed: Haftar rises from failed coup

leader to Libyan Commander-in-Chief
Posted Dec 7, 2014 by Ken Hanly

The internationally recognized Libyan government of prime minister Abdullah al Thinni has
now reconciled with CIA-linked former general Khalifa Haftar.
With the blessing of the government Haftar has been carrying out a number of bombings in
Tripoli, Benghazi, and elsewhere. Now the House of Representatives(HoR) in Tobruk
according to a report in the Libya Herald is about to appoint Haftar as Commander-in-Chief
of the Libyan army. Within the next few days a formal decision will be announced. Even
within the anti-Islamist dominated HoR however there is opposition with 30 members
expressing reservations about Haftar's recent reinstatement into the Libyan army and even
questioning the legality of his Operation Dignity attacks against extremists in the east of
Libya. The Libya Herald reports:

"A group of 30 members of the Libyan House of Representatives (HoR) have signed a
petition saying that they do not support the efforts to fight terrorism in eastern Libya by
retired General Khalifa Hafters Operation Dignity ."
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A Libyan carries
a portrait of
retired general
Khalifa Haftar
during a rally in
support of the
rogue former
general on May
23, 2014 in
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Benghazi
This shows that opposition to Haftar exists not only within the more-Islamist oriented
government in Tripoli but also within the pro-Haftar government as well.

Abdullah Doma,
AFP/File

The prime minister of the Tobruk government Abdullah al-Thinni was not always favorable towards Haftar. He was
defense minister during Haftar's first coup attempt on Feb. 14 this year. Haftar went on TV and announced he had
suspended the Gneral National Congress(GNC), the government and the Constitutional Declaration. Al-Thinni was
hardly supportive then:

"Libyan Defence Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni, responding to the declaration, claimed that Haftar's claim to
forces loyal to him being in Tripoli was a lie, and also alleged that Haftar had no legitimacy. Thinni also
reiterated that there was a warrant out for Haftar's arrest on the grounds of plotting a coup d'tat.[1]"

Al-Thinni was prime minister when Haftar started Operation Dignity on May 16 with attacks on Islamist bases in
Benghazi but then two days later moved to Tripoli with the burning and sacking of the parliament. After the start of
Operation Dignity, al-Thinni declared Haftar's operation illegal:

"At a government press conference held as a response to the Benghazi assault, acting Prime Minister Abdullah
Al-Thinni condemned the move by Haftar as illegal and claimed that the move undermined attempts to
confront terrorism."
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At the time, Major General Al-Obaidi also condemned Haftar's operation and said that his militia were intruders
into Benghazi and should be resisted by revolutionaries.
Now Al-Thinni presides over the Tobruk government that has welcomed Haftar back into the fold and given him
the green light to "liberate" Benghazi and Tripoli. While he has retaken some parts of Benghazi at considerable cost
he has achieved nothing on the ground in Tripoli except some damage to an airport and homes.
The choice of Haftar to command the Libyan army was suggested in an August article in Washington Institute
publication by Barak Barfi a research fellow at the New America Foundation where he specializes in Arab and
Islamist affairs:

""Washington and its partners should persuade the new Libyan government to appoint Haftar as chief of staff.
Respected by his troops, he has the military skills and combat experience necessary to create a modern army.
But most important, he is the sole Libyan willing to take on the Islamist militias that are preventing the
establishment of a modern state""

The UN is trying its best to bring together the parties in conflict. However, the Tobruk government continues to
support Haftar and his bombing in spite of UN condemnation and requests that they stop so that dialogue can take
place. While the Libyan Supreme Court ruled back on November 6 that the June elections were unconstitutional
and the Tobruk government should be dissolved, the international community shows no sign of making any move to
question the legitimacy of the Al-Thinni government or take any significant actions to stop Haftar's attacks. A
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recent meeting in Khartoum even re-affirmed the legitimacy of the al-Thinni government without even mentioning
the Libyan Court decision. Since the UN said it was studying the decision more than a month ago now, it has not
mentioned the decision either. The Tobruk government rejected the decision out of hand noting that the court was
surrounded by armed forces and guards. The court no doubt needed protection just as parliament needed it earlier
when it could have been saved by burning and ransacking by the Zintan brigades, allies of Haftar. Al-Thinni was
quite pleased however when the same court rejected the Islamist choice for prime minister Ahmed-Maiteeq.
Maiteeq accepted that ruling which left Al-Thinni as prime minister!

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