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UP FRONTFriday 5 February 2016
U.S. struggling to build anti-Islamic State strategy in Libya
ROBERT BURNS White House press secretary Josh Earnest speaks during the daily news briefing at the White House, take the international lead
Associated Press in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016. Earnest discussed that the number of Islamic State group in providing security sup-
JOSH LEDERMAN fighters has dropped in Iraq and Syria, but is rising in Libya, and other topics. port to a Libyan govern-
Associated Press ment, with the U.S. and
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press others chipping in.
Obama administration is For Obama, the growth of
struggling to find the right there while also pursuing and forming a government in other places, including the Islamic State in Libya is
mix of military and diplo- the result, in part, of his de-
matic moves to stop the Is- diplomatic possibilities for of national unity. While the Afghanistan, Libya is seen cision in 2011 to join a Eu-
lamic State in Libya, where solving Libya’s political crisis Islamic State has emerged as its key focus outside of ropean-led air campaign
the extremist group has Syria and Iraq. to topple dictator Moam-
taken advantage of the mar Gadhafi. By contem-
political chaos in the coun- plating a return to some
try to gain a foothold with form of military action in
worrying implications for Libya, the administration is
the U.S. and Europe — par- acknowledging how little
ticularly Italy, just 300 miles progress has been made in
(500 kilometers) away. restoring security in a coun-
U.S. officials have publicly try with major oil resources.
warned of the risks of Libya “The last thing in the world
becoming the next Syria, you want,” Secretary of
where the Islamic State State John Kerry said Tues-
flourished amid civil war day, “is a false caliphate
and spread into Iraq. with access to billions of
No large-scale U.S. military dollars of oil revenue.”
action is contemplated in That could haunt Demo-
Libya, senior administration cratic presidential candi-
officials said, but Obama date Hillary Clinton, who
last week directed his na- advocated for the inter-
tional security team to bol- vention as secretary of
ster counterterrorism efforts state. Clinton has argued
it was necessary to prevent
“We’ve been mindful of mass civilian atrocities, but
Republicans have argued
this risk for more than a year the downward spiral that
and a half now,” White followed only fueled fur-
House spokesman Josh ther insecurity.
The U.S. military is closely
Earnest said. “We’re going monitoring Islamic State
movements in Libya, and
to continue to watch how small teams of U.S. military
personnel have moved
the threat in Libya evolves, in and out of the country
and we’re going to contin- over a period of months.
ue to be prepared to take British, French and Italian
special forces also have
action.” been in Libya helping with
aerial surveillance, map-
Other administration of- ping and intelligence
ficials, speaking on condi- gathering in several cities,
tion of anonymity to dis- including Benghazi in the
east and Zintan in the west,
cuss internal deliberations, according to two Libyan
military officials who are
said military options under coordinating with them.
The Libyan officials spoke
consideration include raids on condition of anonym-
and advisory missions by ity because they were not
U.S. special operations authorized to speak to the
press. The U.S. officials pre-
forces and narrowly tar- dicted it would be weeks
or longer before U.S. spe-
geted airstrikes like the No- cial forces would be sent,
vember hit on a command citing the need for more
center near the port city consultations with Europe-
an allies. Additional intel-
of Darnah that killed Abu ligence would help refine
targets for any sort of mili-
Nabil, a longtime al-Qaida tary strikes, but surveillance
drones are in high demand
operative believed by U.S. elsewhere, including in Syr-
officials to have been the ia, Iraq and Afghanistan.q
senior Islamic State leader
in Libya.
Since 2014, Libya has been
split between two rival au-
thorities, each backed by
different militias and tribes.
At a conference earlier this
week in Rome, U.S., Euro-
pean and Arab officials
resolved to “stand ready”
to support Libya once it
establishes a long-awaited
government of national
unity. Italy has said it will
