2024-04-29 00:44:49
Former US special envoy and special coordinator for Libya Jonathan Weiner said US engagement is sporadic and insufficient in Libya due to what he called “pernicious neglect” that has characterized policy under President Donald Trump towards it at a time when Russia is expanding its influence in the region.
In an article published on the Middle East Institute website, Wanner attributed the reasons for the neglect to Trump’s response to initiatives from his Egyptian and Emirati counterparts, which in turn led to the paralysis of American policy and the effective nullification of American influence.
Weiner considered that the day-to-day management of the relationship with Libya has become largely in the hands of the American special envoy Richard Norland, with the hierarchy of power preoccupied with the Ukrainian-Russian war and Gaza.
Wanner noted that the administrations have failed to give America the tools necessary to more effectively confront Russian advances amid the triumph of “malign actors” in the status quo that have developed under the Russian umbrella.
Weiner stated that the current American policy regarding Libya has faltered by its complete reliance on the United Nations to carry the heavy burden in the elections, and its inability to determine how to deal with the problem posed by Haftar’s deal with Russia.
Weiner also called for the need to think about the tools it maintains to exercise its influence there in a way that benefits the Libyan people and helps stabilize the region by confronting what the Russians are doing to it.
Weiner referred to Russia’s efforts to establish a seaport along the eastern coast of Libya, considering it a sufficiently dangerous development for US national security, and urging Washington to consider using multiple coercive tools at its disposal.
Weiner commented on the African Corps, which Russia seeks to create to expand its influence, saying: It is necessary to address the Al-Jufra problem, which uses the base as an air bridge, whether to strengthen its position in the sub-Saharan Africa region, or to create intentional conditions to force the United States to retreat further there.
Weiner also believed that America needs to find Libyans to work with who are dissatisfied with the current situation and who are looking for political means.
And non-violently to change it.
Weiner stated that finding alternatives to the group of figures who have long successfully opposed elections is a prerequisite for any future UN-led operation in order to have any chance of enabling Libya to overcome the system of parallel governments and warlords whose main occupation is dividing the spoils.
Source: Middle East Institute website
2024-04-29 00:44:49