The Co-Secretary General of Transatlantic Parliamentary Group and former campaign advisor to the US President Donald Trump, Walid Phares, said the US is monitoring closely the “performance of Turkey” in north Syria, in Libya and other places across the world, saying in Libya, Turkey insists on supporting extremist political and military parties whose members, majority of them; are wanted by international judiciaries.
Speaking to Al-Blad Program on 218News on Wednesday, Phares said Turkey’s provision of drones and support for political and military parties in Libya go at odds with the interests of the US as well as its NATO allies.
“I am aware that of the majority of the public opinion in the US, members of the Senate and House of Representatives have qualms and questions about the behavior of Turkey and its harmful policies in Libya as well as other areas in the Middle East.” Phares explained.
He added that Trump is worried about the “performance of Turkey” and that the Libyan issue is not currently a priority for the US administration due to “confusion and hindrances” in the domestic affairs that are directed at Trump, let alone the efforts to impeach him that are about to “hit the Senate wall” as it wouldn’t approve of investigation the accusations made by the House of Representatives that is dominated by the Democrats, who are opposed to Trump.
“Libyan Partner” of Washington
Yet, Phares went on, despite the fact that Libya isn’t a top priority for the Trump administration, the important thing is the vision of the US administration regarding the Libyan conflict, “and that one is stable.”
“There are no new political changes that can make the US administration change its mind toward Libya. The call between Trump and the General Commander of the Libyan National Army, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar in last April means that the LNA is the Libyan partner of the US administration, which considers it, given the call, a reliable partner in fighting terrorism in Libya.” Phares added.
He said there is a negative US stance toward the military factions that are fighting against the LNA in Tripoli as most of its leaderships and fighters are wanted for international criminal investigations.
GNA and LNA in “US Eyes”
Phares said the Libyan parties have different ways of operations, so when the LNA as well as the House of Representatives have been pushing forward inside Libya to retake control of the cities, including the capital, from militias and outlaw armed groups having no lobbying groups to represent them abroad, the Presidential Council of the Government of National Accord managed to hire lobbyists abroad while it lost a lot inside Libya as it has no power in the country depending only on lobbying groups unlike the LNA and HoR.
“Cross-Sect” Revolution
Phares also talked about the ongoing revolution in Lebanon, saying the Lebanese people want to change the political elite and form a government of technocrats without partisan or sectarian involvement. He warned the Lebanese people of “possible conspiracy” against the revolution as Hezbollah and Iran and Syria-linked political parties did in the revolution that kicked out Syrian Army from Lebanon, when they plotted against the revolution between 2005 and 2008, with Hezbollah pointing weapons to the faces of Lebanese people, calling on Hezbollah not to repeat that again.
Imminent “Iranian Order”
Phares added that the power of people that took to the streets in Lebanon shows that the new revolution in the country is “Cross-Sect” and is made by a new generation that has no links to The Taif Agreement as well as the civil war ramifications that lasted for 15 years since 1975, saying he fears a looming order by Iran to Hezbollah asking to crack down on the protests and end the revolution as the question is whether or not Hezbollah would accept political changes that limit its influence and authority inside Lebanon, whose army has shown remarkable restraint in protecting the protesters.
“Obama’s Muslim Brotherhood” and “Trump’s Actions”
Phares said the worst mistake for Barack Obama was to strike a nuclear deal with Iran and to go easy on Muslim Brotherhood Group that tried to expand and have larger influences, hailing at the same time Egypt and its army for ending the rule of Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. He added that in the US, Trump has now different policies that those of Obama’s and that the majority of the Democrats want to regain the nuclear deal with Iran and to revive political partnerships with the International Muslim Brotherhood Group, which has a Qatari lobbying group in Washington and Europe, adding that Doha has been giving support for Muslim Brotherhood Group members and bodies as well as other political Islamist entities across the world.
A Look into the “Inside of Iran, Turkey”
Phares told 218News that there are both similarities and dissimilarities between the political Islamist groups ruling Iran and Turkey, as millions of Turks and Iranians are against their regimes but have no capabilities to make a move the topple them as the regimes rule with a “religious ideology” and millions of Iranians want a civilian lifestyle not a religious hegemony awaiting a people’s uprising. He also said that the Turks had shown rejection to Erdogan in many elections, the last of which was the municipality of Istanbul elections, yet those regimes are very strong in terms of security and that is why they can contain any uprisings or protests.
