(By Juan Cole) Republicans like Marco Rubio are making hay of a Senate report on the Benghazi attack on a US consulate that left 4 Americans dead, including Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens, on Sept. 11, 2012. The report doesn’t seem to me very good. Some of its positions are contradicted by solid reporting from […]
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Libya
Libya: The Dictatorship of the Militias
(By Imad Mesdoua) “Ansar Al-Sharia cleans the streets of Benghazi and conducts social work to further enhance its standing” Terrorism Security in Libya still remains an ephemeral prospect. The country is awash with guns and militias, numbered in the thousands. Since the collapse of the Gaddafi regime, successive transitional governments have consistently failed to impose […]
Benghazi Consular attack was Local, not al-Qaeda: NYT Correspondent Demolishes GOP Talking Points
(By Juan Cole) David D. Kirkpatrick at the New York Times has settled the controversy over events in Benghazi on September 11, 2012, by actually going to Benghazi and digging into the story. Admittedly, it was a somewhat dangerous assignment, but Kirkpatrick risked it. The take-away of this careful investigation, depending on a range of […]
State of Emergency in Libyan Capital as More Militia Clashes Break Out
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan declared a 48-hour state of emergency in the capital of Tripoli on Saturday as fresh fighting broke out at Tajoura to the east of the capital. On Friday, unarmed civilian protesters had been attacked with heavy military weapons by Misrata militiamen, leaving 43 dead and some 500 wounded. At Tajoura, […]
43 Dead, 500 Wounded in Tripoli attack by militia on peaceful Protesters
Update: There was further fighting at Tajoura just east of Tripoli on Friday night into Saturday, with the death toll rising to 41 with 500 injured. The fighting seems to be in part over local people in Tripoli not wanting continued HQs in the capital of the various regional or city-based militias from outside the […]
Libyan Prime Minister Abducted, released by Armed Group
Early morning on Thursday, today, the news came of the abduction of Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan from a hotel in the capital, Tripoli. He was released Thursday afternoon. It is not clear which armed group took him captive. On Monday, armed troops demanding back pay occupied the Prime Minister’s office. Zeidan broke with Gaddafi […]
All Hell Breaks Loose in Libya
Over the weekend, all hell broke loose in Libya, in worrying ways that suggest that the government is entering new depths of paralysis and incompetence, and the terrorist cells based in Benghazi are making a play for genuine power. The assassination of a militant secularist nationalist in Benghazi just after the assassination of of a […]
A Tale of Two Bombings: Libya too Weak, Egypt too Strong
On Tuesday, someone set up a Soviet-vintage 107 mortar launcher in a car outside the five-star Corinthia hotel in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, and lobbed a mortar from it, apparently by remote control. The launch caused the car to catch on fire. The mortar shell hit a residential apartment building and put a hole in the […]
Middle East Regional Contention over Egypt’s New Government
The change of government in Egypt produced starkly different reactions in various Middle Eastern countries, which tells us something about the situation there. With the exception of maverick member Qatar, the Gulf Cooperation Council, grouping six conservative Gulf oil monarchies, cheered loudest for the military coup made by Brig. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against elected […]