The renaissance of a colonial army

A year ago, after having demolished the state of Libya with 10,000 air attacks and infiltrated special forces, NATO concluded the operation Unified Protector by eliminating Mouamar el-Kadhafi himself at the hands of their secret services. But the war didn’t end there. The fractures with which foreign powers had sought to unhinge the state of Libya had widened and spread. At Bani Walid, encircled and bombarded by the Misrata militia, the entire population is resisting. Tripoli only controls a small part of this "New Libya", which is prey to armed confrontations between different militias, homicides and ’disappearences’. According to president Mohamed Magarief, this state of affairs is due to "delays and negligence" in the creation of a national army. But he can stop worrying – the problem is about to be dealt with. Not in Tripoli, but in Washington.

The United States, after having directed operation Unified Protector, is currently taking charge of the protection of the "New Libya" by providing it with a new army. The Pentagon and the State Department are already busy forming a Libyan "elite force" of 500 men, intended to be the central core around which the new army can be constructed. Initial financing is 8 million dollars, recuperated from the reduction of aid to Pakistan for its "anti-terrorist operations."

The official mission of this "elite force", whose formation has already been approved by Congress, will be to "confront and destroy terrorist and violent extremist organisations." The selection of members of this "elite force" is already under way by functionaries from the Pentagon, the State Department and the CIA, through a screening process which will evaluate physical capacities, mindset and especially the attitude towards the United States.

Preferential skills – knowledge of English (or better still, American, or North American English), the language in which they will be given their orders. They will be trained and consequently commanded by United States special forces, who will be transferred to Libya from Pakistan and Yemen.

A strategic ’coup’ by Washington.
– First of all, the troops selected, trained and commanded by the Pentagon will only nominally be Libyan - in reality, they will occupy the same role as was once occupied by indigenous colonial forces.
– Secondly, since it will take years to create a Libyan army, the deployment of United States special forces in Libya will not be transitory, but permanent. The USA will therefore have their own military bases in Libya, linked to those already in Sicily - Benghazi and other cities are already being overflown by drones which take off from Sigonella (Sicily) and are controlled from the USA. These bases will also serve for operations not only on Libyan soil, but in other parts of the continent (where AfriCom is carrying out 14 major "military manœuvres" this year), and also in the Middle East (where Libyan militia are already infiltrated in Syria.)
– Thirdly, the USA dispose of a power structure which is not only military, but also political and economic, which will guarantee them privileged access to Libyan oil.

And the European allies? They may be called upon to lend a helping hand, while
always remaining under the control of the USA. A hefty contribution may be offered by Italy, which benefits from thirty years experience of colonial domination in Libya and the use of Askaris. In Ethiopia, under the command of Italian officers, they carried out the massacres which paved the way for the Empire.