[Libya Herald] Stability in Libya and continued US engagement in Libya is "absolutely essential" to the US, a senior US government official has said."It is in our national security interest to ensure Libya becomes a stable and democratic partner capable of addressing regional security challenges and advancing our shared interests," said US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Richard Schmierer, told a US Senate committee on Thursday.
He was speaking at a meeting of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs which was discussing the political, economic and security situation in Africa.
"We sometimes pay a little less attention to [North Africa] than I think we should," commented Senator Tim Kaine, Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs.
US politicians' emphasis on security was evident in the panels' composition and discussion, with Libya a key area of focus.
A major concern was how best to address the growing power of the militias over official security institutions, allowing what panellists agreed was a climate of instability that fostered increased terrorist activity in Libya and the region. Thomas Joscelyn, Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that it was, "clear that it's part of Al Qaeda's plan in Libya to co-opt and work with certain of these militias".
Responding to rumours after the 6 October raid by US special forces on Libyan soil that tossed in the slammer
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
alleged Al-Qaeda member Nazih Abdul-Hamid Al-Ruqai (also known as Abu Anas Al-Libi), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for African Affairs Amanda Dory reaffirmed that an international peacekeeping force in Libya was "not the approach that we are supporting". The US instead looked to fulfil Libyan requests to train a general purpose force as the core of a new Libyan Army.
The US is committed to training from 5,000 to 8,000 soldiers and the UK and Italia an additional 2,000 each.
Frederic Wehrey, Senior Associate in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, cautioned that a general-purpose force would only be effective if it had a clearly defined mission, effective civilian oversight, non-partisan, inclusive, and professional composition with members free of a criminal background and past human rights
When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much...
abuses, and was combined with concurrent programs to reintegrate former revolutionary fighters into civilian life.