„Haftar calls on Egypt to occupy Libya”
On June 2, the Qatari-owned Al-Quds al-Arabi daily carried the following lead editorial: “In an interview published yesterday, “retired” Libyan General Khalifa Haftar said he supported “any military strike that would secure Egypt’s border, even if it is carried out inside Libya,” in a direct call to the Egyptian government to militarily intervene in his country. The geographic map proposed by Haftar extends from “Darna, Benghazi, Ajdabia, Sert and Tripoli” to the Algerian border, in what appeared to be a green light to occupy the Libyan territories from the east to the west, under the pretext that the ruling authorities in Tripoli were unable to secure the border. Now the first question that comes to mind in the face of Haftar’s controversial statement is the following: Since you volunteered to lead “Operation Dignity” against the so-called “diseased” groups among the Takfiris and terrorists throughout Libya, what is keeping you from protectin g the border?
“It is clear, through his call and the wide geographic area he attributed to his enemies in Libya, that Haftar has realized that the task whose banner he raised is much greater than his military capabilities and that the wish seen within the Libyan military divisions and among political, media and economic sides to end anarchy and division, cannot be achieved through a quick military and political victory on the ground. In reality, Haftar committed numerous and grave mistakes, which will gradually cost him any credibility that should be enjoyed by whoever wants to influence the Libyan political decision. His first mistake was his rejection of the only legitimate entities that currently exist in the country, and which could have been relied on to build and develop Libya, namely the Libyan National Council (i.e. parliament), the government and the army’s chief of staff…
“This mistake placed Haftar – on the political level – in the same position as the armed Salafi organizations, which are also opposed to the electoral principle and consequently reject the entities based on it. He thus became a partner for these organizations, in the rejection of the democratic and civil foundations of the modern Libyan state… The second mistake he committed was that he intentionally mixed up the aforementioned organizations and the Muslim Brotherhood group, which is a faction capable of assimilating the democratic system, as confirmed by the Tunisian experience among many others around the world… And while the promises to eradicate the MB were beneficial on the external level, they backfired on Haftar internally, as seen with the expansion of the base of his oppositionists to practically include all the groups of political Islam…
“Clearly, the General’s call on the Egyptian army to intervene in Libya actually aims to hasten the accomplishment of what he failed to achieve, i.e. pave the way before his assumption to power in Libya, which is an idea that does not show any wisdom or preliminary understanding of politics… General Haftar, who was an officer in Gaddafi’s army, did not learn the thorny lessons of politics, or the lessons drawn from the failure of Gaddafi’s intervention wars in other countries… Haftar’s call on Egypt to occupy Libya – if it were to come true – will inaugurate a new disastrous stage in the region, and we do not think that the financiers and supporters of the putschist officer are unaware of that.”
Al-Quds al-Arabi, United Kingdom