Libya latest Arab Spring disappointment as unrest creates terrorist safe haven
With the unrest in Yemen dominating the headlines in recent days, a widening war among Libyas militant factions is pushing the North African nation higher on the list of failed states that provide safe haven for the regions terrorist groups just four years after a U.S.-backed campaign ousted former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
After the elation of the uprisings that toppled dictators in nearby Egypt and Tunisia, regional observers are describing the chaotic security landscape that has emerged in Libya as a kind of Syria 2.0 a poster child for what went wrong in many of the nations unsettled by the Arab Spring.
The situation is particularly vexing for the Obama administration, which provided much of the muscle of the NATO military campaign to oust Gadhafi. Now Libya is the violence-wracked home to two separate parliaments, each backed by its own militant factions, presenting a counterterrorism challenge beyond the U.S. ability to contain or control.
SEE ALSO: Yemen coup shows Obama lacks Middle East terror strategy, critics say
Analysts and U.S. intelligence officials say the number of militias operating in Libya has only surged over the past year, with one of the nations key oil ports in the northeastern city of Darnah controlled by jihadis and the Syria-based Islamic State movement gaining an increasing foothold in the nation.
While there is debate in U.S. national security circles over whether Libyas swirl of militias is focused on U.S. or European interests, officials are wary about the long-term implications of the security vacuum in the nation.
Libyas lawless operating environment and network of extremists, some of which are tied to al Qaeda and [the Islamic State], compounds the threat of plots on Western targets in the country and further afield, one U.S. intelligence official told The Washington Times.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to secrecy surrounding intelligence threat assessments, added that, owing to its strategic location, Libya provides ample training camps, weapons and ease of movement through the country to other jihadist fronts.
Private analysts say the risks are likely only to escalate.
The longer this situation continues, the more the extremists are able to utilize Libya for weapons smuggling and the creation of terrorist training camps, said Jason Pack, a researcher at Cambridge University and president of the private consulting firm Libya-Analysis.com.
Read this article:
Libya latest Arab Spring disappointment as unrest creates terrorist safe haven