Instead, as "IS" moves forward and consolidates its grip on Sirte and elsewhere, the Tobruk-based Prime Minister Abdullah Al-Thinni urged "sister Arab nations" to come to Libya's aid and carry out air strikes on Sirte. He has also urged Arab countries to lobby the UN to end its weapons embargo on Libya, which is already saturated with arms that are often delivered illegally from various regional Arab sources.
The Tripoli government is also urging action against "IS," but both governments, which failed to achieve a political roadmap for unity, still refuse to work together.
The call for Arab intervention in Libya's state of security bedlam is politically-motivated, of course, for Al-Thinni is hoping that the air strikes would empower his forces to widen their control over the country, in addition to strengthening his government's political position in any future UN-mediated agreement.
But another war is being plotted elsewhere, this time involving NATO's usual suspects. The Western scheming, however, is far more involved than Al-Thinni's political designs. The London Times reported on August 1st that "hundreds of British troops are being lined up to go to Libya as part of a major new international mission," which will also include "military personnel from Italy, France, Spain, Germany and the United States ... in an operation that looks set to be activated once the rival warring factions inside Libya agree to form a single government of national unity."
Those involved in the operation which, according to a UK Government source, could be actualized "towards the end of August," are countries with vested economic interests and are the same parties behind the war in Libya in 2011.
Commenting on the report, Jean Shaoul wrote, "Italy, the former colonial power in Libya, is expected to provide the largest contingent of ground troops. France has colonial and commercial ties with Libya's neighbors, Tunisia, Mali and Algeria. Spain retains outposts in northern Morocco and the other major power involved, Germany, is once again seeking to gain access to Africa's resources and markets."
It is becoming clearer that Libya, once a sovereign and relatively wealthy nation, is becoming a mere playground for a massive geopolitical game and large economic interests and ambitions... with Arab and Western powers scheming to ensure a larger share of Libya's economic wealth and strategic value.
The takeover of Sirte by "IS" is reported as a watershed moment that is, once again, generating war frenzy -- similar to that which preceded NATO's military intervention in 2011. Regardless of whether Arabs bomb Libya, or Western powers do so, the crisis in that country is likely to escalate, if not worsen, as history has amply shown.
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