Islamic State: Egypt wakes up--when will America and Russia?
America and Russia must both be brain dead in ignoring Islamic State's increasing threat to their vital respective interests in the Middle East
Whilst the American--led coalition continues its largely ineffectual air strikes in Iraq and Syria--Islamic State has spread its barbaric tentacles into Libya with alarming rapidity.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for:
- Attacking Tripoli's downtown luxury hotel in January - the Corinthian - which left 11 dead
- The brutal mass beheading of 21 Egyptian Christian Copts
- A multi-pronged suicide attack that killed at least 45 people in the town al Qubbah in Libya's east.
- Seizing the university in Sirte - deposed dictator Muammar Gadaffi's hometown.
"Libya needs a decisive stance from the international community to help us build our national army's capacity and this would come through a lifting of the embargo on weapons ... so as to deal with this rampant terrorism,"
The Security Council ignored his plea--and with good reason.
Libya currently has two Governments--one located in Bayda and the other in Tripoli. In November 2014 Libya's Supreme Court held the Bayda Government to be illegal and unconstitutional - a decision ignored by its two principal backers - the United States and the European Union.
Removing the arms embargo--in force since 2011- would mean new shipments of arms could risk ending up under Islamic State's control.
U.N. special envoy to Libya - Bernardino Leon - has said that Islamic State and other militants can only be defeated with a united Libyan government in place that has strong international support.
Any expectation that the United Nations can mediate between these rival Governments to forge a unity government to end ongoing hostilities and divisions in Libya is fanciful.
Leon himself has frankly admitted the immediate threat Libya faces from Islamic State:
"In Libya, Islamic State has found fertile ground in the growing post revolution political instability, capitalizing also on the weakness of state institutions and state security sector,"
EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini has also acknowledged Libya's parlous situation.
"What we are seeing today in Libya is a double threat: it is a threat of a country that is breaking apart and of a country where Daesh (Islamic State) is taking power and infiltrating,"
President Obama's urgently needs to rethink his September 2014 assessment that Islamic State:
- Is not Islamic
- Is not a state but only a terrorist organisation with no other vision
- Can be degraded and destroyed by an American-led coalition
Email Us | Reader Friendly | Comments
David Singer——Bio and Archives
David Singer is an Australian Lawyer, a Foundation Member of the International Analyst Network and Convenor of Jordan is Palestine International—an organization calling for sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza to be allocated between Israel and Jordan as the two successor States to the Mandate for Palestine. Previous articles written by him can be found at: jordanispalestine.blogspot.com
