Will Trump boost Khalifa Haftar? – Menas Associates

Fuente Web

It is difficult to see how long the international community and western Libyan powers can continue with a process that excludes the most important player in the east.

Khalifa Haftar’s position has obviously been bolstered significantly of late as a result of his September takeover of the oil export terminals. This has enabled the field marshal to extend his control more firmly across the east.

The Haftar camp also believes that the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency will make a difference to the situation on the ground in Libya. Trump’s anti-Islamist stance has certainly left some in the east expecting greater US support for Haftar against the powers in Tripoli and against the Presidency Council.

Some House of Representatives MPs, including Jaballah Al-Shibani, have tried to reach out to Trump. Al-Shibani explained on pro-Haftar television channel Al-Hadath in November, ‘After the damage we received by Hillary Clinton and [the Obama] administration and after all the wrongdoing she advocated in our country, we decided to show our unconditional support for Donald Trump.’

Al-Shibani asserted that someone in Trump’s campaign team had promised him and other MPs that the Libyan crisis would be ‘one of the Trump administration’s priorities, emphasising that they will support the Libyan Army with the needed military equipment because they are looking for who can bring back stability and security in Libya.’

Al-Shibani also declared, ‘Trump believes in strong and powerful men and he has good relations with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and the Egyptian President Abdelfattah El-Sisi, which will pave the way for good relations with Libya as well.’

Other than in relation to the presence of the Islamic State group, however, Libya is unlikely to be a top policy priority for the president-elect. Nevertheless, many easterners believe that the Trump presidency will help to alter the balance of power inside Libya in Haftar’s favour.