In an interview with “US-L” program on 218News, the former US Deputy Secretary of Defense, and former US Ambassador to Turkey, Eric Edelman, spoke in detail about the seriousness of the Turkish intervention in Libya, and the current and future US position to deal with the Libyan crisis.
American Absence
Edelman stated that the United States has been absent for nearly a decade, and has not played a leadership or diplomatic role in the region, but now, it is undergoing a major reassessment for a role that should have been palyed by the United States 12 years ago. He said there is an opportunity under the leadership Joe Biden, if elected, to see a stronger effort on diplomacy.
On the American role in Libya, Edelman said that Washington is the only one that can speak to all parties to the Libyan crisis and those involved in it.
“I don’t think that we will witness any major transformations in Washington’s dealings with Libya before the elections, except in the event of some catastrophic events. I agree with the Washington Post’s assessment that Trump is letting other leaders act as they please.” He added.
Edelman said that it is difficult for the United States to have great influence at the present time because of the elections and Coronavirus, and also it is very difficult to be able to impose a solution that does not resort to arms when others militarize the conflict, stressing the need for America to engage at much higher levels to deal with the Libyan issue as well as deal with the eastern Mediterranean crisis more broadly.
America’s Military Presence in Libya
He stressed that there is no need for an American military presence in Libya, while it would be good to have a military presence in the region in general, as the Libyan issue needs more participation by the senior leadership, from the president himself, the secretary of state or his deputy.
Edelman saw that Trump in his phone calls with many world leaders, telling each of them you are free to do what you have to do in Libya, and he admires the so-called strongmen such as Putin, Erdogan, and Sisi, but in light of the current conditions in Libya, the position of neutrality is considered insufficient for a great power such as the US.
He said that the Obama administration made a huge mistake when it took its hands off Libya after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, and the United States did not use its political or military power to try to push for an international solution in Libya, indicating that America’s absence enabled other powers to make matters much worse because they started the militarization of the conflict, as the intervening parties brought in mercenary proxies, harming the Libyan people, and the prospects for peace and development.
“The Syrianization of Libya”
Regarding the field developments in the country, Edelman expressed his concerns that what is happening now is the “Syrianization” of Libya, as Erdogan creates the possibility of a spiral of violence that will develop into a broader and more widespread conflict.
He stressed that since Erdogan’s military intervention in Libya, the situation has worsened, and what he has done is an integral part of a more aggressive policy pursued by Turkey throughout the eastern Mediterranean.
He explained that the Turkish intervention is a threat to Libya and the Libyan people, and ultimately represents a threat to US national security and to the prospects for a peaceful negotiated solution in Libya because it is a threat that attracts other players and constitutes a threat to the regional security and to Europe.
Edelman pointed out that the conflict in Libya has destabilized Italian politics to a very large extent, given that Libya has become a hotbed of migration to southern Europe, and Russia and Turkey have seriously destabilized the region as a whole. The conflict in Libya has already spread to neighboring countries.
He noted that Erdogan was not very enthusiastic about the overthrow of Gaddafi because he was in fact the recipient of the precious Muammar Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights, with a monetary reward that he did not return until after the revolution.
Erdogan Harmed Turkey
Edelman stressed that Erdogan took Turkey in a very negative path, and took it away from being a secular, democratic society towards a more authoritarian and tyrannical government by brutal authoritarian measures.
He believed that “punishing Erdogan would be beneficial. We have a specific law and I do not understand why this does not apply to the Turkish Halkbank as well.” He considered that the task of Putin and Erdogan at this stage is to show prestige and influence and to be seen as the main players in the region.
Deterring Erdogan
Eric Edelman said that Erdogan has ambitions to revive the Ottoman caliphate, but the caliphate institution is not suitable for the twenty-first century, and he used hostility to America as a political tool, but the Biden campaign is well aware of Erdogan’s means. There is no reason to believe that Biden will be affected by the way Trump has been affected.
Edelman added that if Biden wins, there will be a change in policy towards Turkey and we will not see as much flexibility with Erdogan as we saw in the Trump era, stressing that sanctions are one of the tools that the United States can use against Turkey.
Regarding Turkey’s negatives, Edelman mentioned that it interfered in Syria and engaged in very unhelpful ways, and was sponsoring Islamic groups in Syria, in addition to using some of these Islamic agents to intervene in the Libyan civil war, stressing that Turkey’s intervention in Syria and Libya destabilizes the region and has enormous negative consequences.
The Mercenaries Dilemma
Edelman said that mercenaries in Libya create persistent problems that make managing the conflict indefinitely more difficult, stressing that a negotiated solution must include a condition that the parties which brought mercenaries must be responsible for their removal from the country.
He believed that it is not possible to maintain the flow of oil while the civil war continues, likening that to the situation of the cart before the horse, and yet energy resources will be what enables Libya to stand on its feet again once the war ends, according to Edelman.
American Diplomacy in Libya
Former US Deputy Defense Secretary Eric Edelman said that the US ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, is a skilled, highly capable US diplomat who can do a lot, but he needs support from the government at a high level to carry out his mission, and the US government is now busy with other things, such as the Covid-19 pandemic at home, and the issue of the election of the president.
Edelman pointed out that the humanitarian situation in Libya, with the continuation of the fighting, is sufficient to justify diplomatic intervention to reach a solution, and that the presence of an American envoy could be useful for trying to resolve the Libyan conflict in a peaceful manner so that it does not become a source of another conflict in the region.
Edelman hoped to see a more active American role in dealing with the problem that Libya faces today because the conflict in Libya threatens the entire eastern Mediterranean region and threatens the interests of the United States, as it is very important for the United States to restore its naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean due to the activities of Russia and Turkey.
