ISIL takes control of part of Libyan city, beheads 12 police officers

ISIL takes control of part of Libyan city, beheads 12 police officers

Special to WorldTribune.com Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) jihadists beheaded 12 police officers in Sabratha, Libya on Feb. 24 after briefly taking over the city’s security headquarters. Taher al-Gharabili, head of Sabratha Military Council, told The Associated Press that ISIL gunmen “exploited a security vacuum” by deploying in the city center as the […]

Italy allows U.S. to use Sicily air base for drone missions in Libya

Italy allows U.S. to use Sicily air base for drone missions in Libya

Special to WorldTribune.com The Italian government has given the U.S. the go-ahead to fly armed drones out of an American base in Sicily for missions against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) in Libya. The drones are based at the Sigonella naval air station in Sicily, which is also a NATO and Italian air […]

Email: Clinton hoped for ‘soft landing’ after bringing Obama around on Libya

Email: Clinton hoped for ‘soft landing’ after bringing Obama around on Libya

Special to WorldTribune.com Hillary Clinton won praise from underlings for “turning POTUS around” on U.S. intervention in Libya, according to emails from the latest batch released from Clinton’s private server. The email to then-Secretary of State Clinton was sent by Anne-Marie Slaughter, who had served as Clinton’s director of policy planning. “I cannot imagine how […]

In blow to allies, Kerry walks back Gen. Dunford’s Libya statement

In blow to allies, Kerry walks back Gen. Dunford’s Libya statement

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct In another example of the Obama administration’s unwillingness to delegate authority and its inability to form a cohesive policy on fighting ISIL, Secretary of State John Kerry has publicly contradicted the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Joseph Dunford. Kerry has laid out U.S. strategy […]

Dunford: U.S., France planning ‘decisive military action’ in Libya

Dunford: U.S., France planning ‘decisive military action’ in Libya

Special to WorldTribune.com by Dr. Jack Caravelli, Geostrategy-Direct Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, met in Paris on Jan. 22 with his French counterpart, Gen. Pierre de Villiers, chief of France’s defense staff to discuss planning for a joint operation against Islamic jihadists operating in Libya. The two military leaders […]

Report: Sirte residents ecstatic as secret sniper picks off ISIL commanders in Libya

Report: Sirte residents ecstatic as secret sniper picks off ISIL commanders in Libya

Special to WorldTribune.com A skilled sniper is said to be assassinating Islamic State of Iraq and Levant’s (ISIL’s) top leaders in Libya. Three commanders at ISIL’s Libyan stronghold in Sirte have been shot dead from long range in recent weeks, according to a report by the London Telegraph, citing local Libyan media. Social media reports […]

Former Libyan official: ISIL got Gadhafi’s chemical weapons

Former Libyan official: ISIL got Gadhafi’s chemical weapons

Special to WorldTribune.com Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) has in its possession a portion of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s arsenal of chemical weapons, according to a former Libyan intelligence official. Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam, a cousin of Gadhafi, made the claim in an interview with the Egyptian Dream TV network on Jan. 18. His comments […]

Libya’s recognized parliament rejects UN-backed unity government

Libya’s recognized parliament rejects UN-backed unity government

Special to WorldTribune.com The internationally recognized parliament in Libya has voted against a UN-backed unity government. The parliament in Tobruk, also known as the House of Representatives, rejected the deal in a vote on Jan. 25. “We voted against endorsing the government and ask… to be presented with another government,” parliamentarian Ali al-Gaydi said. The […]

Migration of ISIL jihadists: Out of Syria . . . and into Libya

Migration of ISIL jihadists: Out of Syria . . . and into Libya

Special to WorldTribune.com By Gregory R. Copley, Editor, GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs January 2016 saw an acceleration of the movement of Daesh (asad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fi al-‘Iraq wash-Sham) — so-called Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) — fighters out of Syria and into Libya. There were profound reasons for this “flight to safety” by Daesh, […]

The foreign policy ‘vision’ at Obama’s last State of the Union cries for an opthalmologist

The foreign policy ‘vision’ at Obama’s last State of the Union cries for an opthalmologist

Special to WorldTribune.com By John J. Metzler UNITED NATIONS — President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address, the annual speech to a joint session of Congress, has emerged as more of a political pep rally than a clear overview of America’s standing in the world both domestic and foreign. The address was touted as […]