War Lord: Khalifa Haftar and the Future of Libya

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Haftar's National Army, still without official recognition from the government, has managed to gain the allegiance of a number of pro-government armed groups (some of which are probably reconsidering their position at this point), but has failed to get the all-important support of Libya's tribes, which continue to withhold their commitment to one side or the other of the ongoing conflict. For now, both Ansar al-Shari'a and Haftar's National Army claim to be receiving new weapons, promising another round of the urban warfare that is beginning to inflict severe damage on some neighborhoods of Benghazi (Libya Herald, July 29). Unless and until General Haftar and/or the new Libyan government can bring both trained troops and the nation's influential tribes on board with the anti-Islamist program, Libya will remain a gathering point for international jihadis and Libyan fighters returning from the battlefields of Syria and Iraq, something the defeated forces allied to the national government may find themselves powerless to prevent. h) Libya’s relation with British broke off after a British police women was shot dead outside Libyan embassy in London;

Oakes, John (2014). Libya: The History of Gaddafi's Pariah State. Stroud: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-7108-2. g) Colonel Gaddafi supported many militant outfit financially, the most notable being Irish Republican Army(IRA) j) After renouncing his nuclear ambition, Colonel Gaddafi commented that technology had come from nuclear bazaar in PakistanO'Connor, Anahad (29 August 2009). "Qaddafi Cancels Plans to Stay in New Jersey". The New York Times . Retrieved 28 February 2011. In 2009 Vanity Fair wrote "Since completing his transition from international pariah to statesman, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi—the longest-serving leader in both Africa and the Arab world—has brought color and his own eccentric panache to the drab circuit of international summits and conferences. Drawing upon the influences of Lacroix, Liberace, Phil Spector (for hair), Snoopy, and Idi Amin, Libya’s leader—now in his 60s—is simply the most unabashed dresser on the world stage. We pay homage to a sartorial genius of our time." [30]

IANS (2013-09-24). "Gaddafi formed special department to find prostitutes". Business Standard India . Retrieved 2023-02-04.

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Woodward, Bob (1984-04-29). "Qaddafi's Authority Said to Be Weakening". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286 . Retrieved 2023-06-25. The Gaddafi Family Tree". BBC News. 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016 . Retrieved 13 July 2017. PORTER, HENRY; DAVIDSON, ANNABEL. "Colonel Qaddafi—A Life in Fashion". vanityfair.com. Vanity Fair . Retrieved 22 May 2023.

With the capture of most of the city (excluding a part of the airport still controlled by Haftar's forces), Ansar al-Shari'a leader Muhammad al-Zahawi declared on July 30 that "Benghazi has now become an Islamic emirate" (Radio Tawhid, July 30; al-Jazeera, July 31). Haftar insisted that his forces had only conducted a "tactical withdrawal" from parts of Benghazi and that the Islamist claimi to control the city was "a lie": "There is a difference between control and looting and thefts. After the Special Forces withdrew from the Special Forces' camp, [the Islamists] tried to steal what they could steal" (al-Arabiya, July 30; July 31). Since mid-July, the Shura Council has taken five military bases in the Benghazi region, including the main Special Forces camp in Benghazi, overcoming strikes from Libyan jet fighters and helicopters in their advance (al-Jazeera, July 31). Benghazi's main police station was also abandoned after being shelled by Shura Council forces. For now, the oil-fields of eastern Libya remain in production, but as part of a much diminished national rate of 500,000 barrels per day (b.p.d.), as opposed to a normal 1.4 million b.p.d. (Reuters, July 29). Oil accounts for some 95 percent of state revenues in Libya. I was really interested to read this because as much as I grew up knowing Gaddafi's name, I know very little about his regime and the impact on Libya as a whole. Unfortunately(?), this turned out to be a history of Libya as a whole rather than focusing on the Gaddafi era. And while it WAS interesting to learn about the Roman colonisation of Libya, the medieval period, the impact of World War II etc etc, what I WANTED was more about Libya's recent history.Blundy, David; Lycett, Andrew (1987). Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution. Boston: Little Brown & Co. ISBN 978-0-316-10042-7. In 2011 during the revolution Gaddafi invited the New York Times to Tripoli to see his clothing collection. [31] Following the Islamist victory, Muhammad Sawwan, the leader of Libya's Hizb al-Adala wa'l-Bina (Justice and Construction Party, the political arm of Libya's Muslim Brotherhood), condemned Haftar's Operation Dignity as armed interference with the political process and insists the poor showing by Islamists in parliamentary election results has nothing to do with the violence in Benghazi and Tripoli: "The parliamentary elections were held on the basis of the individual system. Therefore, talking about progress of one current and the defeat of the other is baseless" (al-Sharq al-Awsat, August 1).

i) It’s was alleged that Libya had a hand in blowing up Pan Am Flight in Scotland where all passenger and crew were dead a b "Moammar Gadhafi Won't Stay in Bedford Tent After All". ABC. 23 September 2009 . Retrieved 28 February 2011.

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Gaddafi described himself as a "simple revolutionary" and "pious Muslim" called upon by God to continue Nasser's work. [14] Gaddafi was an austere and devout Muslim, [15] although according to Vandewalle, his interpretation of Islam was "deeply personal and idiosyncratic." [16] According to his cousin Ahmed Gaddaf al-Dam, Muammar was very devout and described him as theologically and politically close to Salafism. [17] Gaddafi often interrupted meetings with other heads of state to pray at the appropriate times. [18] Religion also played a major role in his political theories. [19] But who is Khalifa Haftar, and how has he become the most powerful leader in Libya? How has this unknown commander raised an army from scratch, controlled the powerful Libyan tribes and gained the support of powerful international players? Is he good for Libya, or a terrorist threat? Mirak-Weissbach, Muriel (2012). Madmen at the Helm: Pathology and Politics in the Arab Spring. Reading: Ithaca Press. ISBN 978-0863724541.