I write this today at the start of a new year and new
possibilities for the Libyan Nation. In
2011 with help from the rest of the world, the Libyan people finally managed to
rid themselves of the backward and inbred House of Gadhafi and their mafia like
political structure. Sure, Gadhafi
cloaked himself in the dogma of revolutionary democracy, his Green Book, and a
so-called “state of the masses” but his government was a kingdom in everything
but name. Gadhafi had overthrown his
King and put himself and then one of his sons in line of succession to the
Chair.
Now, due to infighting, corruption, and outright stupidity
the Libyans are facing the prospect of a foreign sponsored regime headed by one of Gadhafi’s ex-flunkies: Col.
Hefter. Hefter was there with the group
of Gadhafi plotters in 1969. Hefter led
the disastrous campaign in Chad which his brother leader Gadhafi so foolishly
embarked upon. Col. Hefter was captured
along with his men due to the complete incompetence of Hefter and his command. Once he was disowned by his patron Gadhafi,
Hefter realized that he was against the Jamahiriya. The CIA then saved him and he joined up with
the rest of the unsuccessful National Front for the Salvation of Libya who were
one of the groups opposed to the regime of Gadhafi. He lived for many years in the same area as
the Headquarters of the CIA in the Eastern USA.
During the 2011 revolution which toppled Gadhafi, Col. Hefter
returned to try and regain his spot in the Libyan limelight. After the death of Gadhafi, rather than work
to ensure that a new generation of military men took charge, leaders not so
burdened by the baggage that Hefter carries and the failed Soviet training that
he received, Hefter tried to increase his power. His family apparently also wanted in on the
action. One of his own sons is reputed
to have been shot during an attempt to make an unauthorized cash withdrawal
from a bank. In early 2014, not happy
with his position, Hefter announced a stillborn coup attempt which was totally
rejected by the Libyan people but even then he wasn’t ready to retire.
Hefter is a man of limited military successes but does have
name recognition and is a known entity in the Libyan military-political
sphere. His ongoing and three year plus
Operation Dignity hasn’t fully pacified Benghazi but he has hijacked the Libyan
political process and does have patrons among the Gulf Cooperation Council,
Egypt, Russia, France, and possibly others.
Rather than pursue a course of national reconciliation and peace, Hefter
paints everything as a black and white struggle against what he sees as a
radical religious threat. Col. Hefter
rather than putting the interests of the Libyan Nation first, puts his, his
family’s, and his tribe’s well-being and position as the paramount
concern. He has refused to meet the UN
sponsored Prime Minister Mr. Faez Sirraj and his military administration has
been busy replacing elected officials with military governors.
The internationally recognized parliament, the House of
Representatives has dragged their feet and impeded every opportunity for a
public and open debate and vote on accepting the Government of National
Accord. It is obvious to even the most
partisan observer that the HOR will not and cannot accept the GNA because that
would mean the Hefter would lose power and his project is likely to fail. Hefter promises to eliminate the threat of
political Islam which many liberals, secularists, and so called progressives
want to see happen. However, in spite of
decades of Gadhafi’s Jamahiriya utilizing severe repression, torture, and
executions this was not accomplished.
Anti-Democratic strains of political Islam should be
confronted but not with the failed policies of the past. The younger generations and population in
general must not be given a binary choice to the political future they want and
that will bring much needed improvements culturally and economically. Any convicted criminal with or without a
religious agenda deserves to be punished and resisted but there must be a free
exchange of ideas and a free debate about the political future of Libya and
Col. Hefter and his backers do not offer that to the Libyans. Col. Hefter wants to impose his worldview and
enrich himself and his family at the expense of the Libyan nation and he must
be stopped.
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