.

NEWS AND VIEWS THAT IMPACT LIMITED CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT

"There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be to trust no man living with
power to endanger the public liberty." - - - - John Adams

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Russia & Egypt look to arm Libya against Islamists



A World Gone Mad, Part 18

  • Comrade Obama has cut off arms to anti-Islamists in Libya and Egypt and wants to overthrow the government of Syria that is fighting against ISIS.
  • Meanwhile Russia is arming Egypt and Syria against Islamists and is working with Egypt to get weapons to anti-Islamists in Libya.


CAIRO — The Libya dossier has now risen to the top of the priority list of the administration of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, following an increase in the number of kidnappings and the killing of Egyptians at the hands of armed militias affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) in Libya. 

The latest such incident resulted in the slaughter of 21 Egyptian Copts on the Tripoli coast, leading to intervention and mediation by Cairo to bolster the Libyan army’s capabilities in confronting the militias.

During Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Cairo Feb. 9, the Libyan army’s chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Abdulrazek Al Nadoori, also arrived in the Egyptian capital in an unannounced visit, in which he met with Russian officials to sign agreements for the supply of Russian weapons to the Libyan army.

Col. Ahmed al-Mismari, the spokesman for the Libyan chief of staff, told Al-Monitor, “Arming the Libyan army was a point of discussion between the Egyptian and Russian presidents in Cairo.”
Mismari emphasized the importance of Russian weapons in the Libyan army’s efforts to fight the terrorists and armed militias that now control large swaths of Libyan territory. 

He said, “We have had Russian arms contracts valued at tens of billions of dollars, dating back to before the revolution on Feb. 17 [2011], which, if implemented, would lead to a quick victory by the Libyan army. Since its inception, the Libyan army’s armament came from the east  from Russia — and we have the military and technical expertise to immediately begin using said armament.” He added that Russia was Libya’s best choice for weapons at this point.
Libya’s military command continues to suffer as a result of UN Security Council Resolution 1973, adopted March 17, 2011, which barred the arming or munitioning of the Libyan army and imposed many other sanctions, including a no-fly zone over Libya.
An Egyptian diplomatic source familiar with the recent Egyptian-Russian negotiations told Al-Monitor, “Consensus exists between the Egyptians and Russians concerning the Libyan crisis and the intervention needed to resolve the situation, by backing the civilian administration represented by the elected parliament, the transitional government of Abdullah al-Thinni and the Libyan national army.”

Military and security expert Khaled Akasheh told Al-Monitor, “The problem now is not confined to who will supply the Libyan army with weapons, for everyone knows that the Russians are ready and willing to do so and expeditiously enter into military contracts."

Read more: Al-Monitor.com





No comments: