On 21 July 2018, US President Donald Trump received the Italian Prime
Minister Giuseppe Conte, publicly confirming that he acknowledged Italy’s
pre-eminence in Libya.

By doing so, the White House undermined France’s efforts to appropriate
Libyan oil.

During the war that the Obama Administration brought into motion against
Libya, Silvio Berlusconi (Italy’s Prime Minister at the time), was the
only Western leader that tried to defend the Libyan Guide Muammar
al-Gaddafi. However, the Italian Parliament and the French Prime Minister
Nicolas Sarkozy, quickly brought him to heel.

Italy, once Libya’s colonial master, massacred the population of Tripoli
in 1911 and hanged Omar al-Mokhtar, leading the Libyan resistance at the
time. As Prime Minister of Italy, Berlusconi had negotiated reparations for
these crimes with Gaddafi.

Today, Silvio Berlusconi is a member of the Italian coalition that was
brought together with the help of Steve Bannon, Donald Trump’s former
advisor. It was this coalition that brought Giuseppe Conte to power.

Translation
Anoosha Boralessa