France and Italy Should Lead on Libya
Apart from Libyans themselves, they have most to lose if things get any worse.
Warlord on the march.
Photographer: Abdullah Doma/AFP/Getty Images
By withdrawing the small contingent of American forces from Libya, the Trump administration has signaled its reluctance to play the peacemaker in a rapidly deteriorating situation. The U.S. is right to step back. The best way forward is for France and Italy — outsiders with the most to lose if things get any worse — to set aside their differences and press for a peaceful resolution.
The militia of the Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar is threatening to take Tripoli by force and undo efforts by the United Nations to stabilize the oil-rich country. Meanwhile, France and Italy are bickering over who is to blame. France has long backed Haftar, seeing him as a bulwark against terrorism; Italy supports the UN-endorsed administration of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, counting on it to stop the waves of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.