Libya’s Endless War Is What Happens If the U.S. Won’t Lead
With America reducing its global role, no foreign intermediary is powerful enough to compel warring parties to compromise.
When will Libyans put the guns down?
Photographer: Abdullah Doma/AFP/Getty Images
A solution to the civil conflict in Libya is the ultimate hot potato. A series of global and regional powers have tried to bring the warring sides together; Turkey and Russia were the latest to try and fail in Moscow on Monday. Now it’s Germany’s turn, and if it fails as well, the standoff is likely to go on until the collapse of one faction or both. The complex, multi-sided game playing out in Libya provides a window on how things work in a new, post-Pax Americana world. An assertive U.S., missing from the Libya deliberations as well as the action on the ground, is difficult to replace.
The Moscow talks were meant to consolidate a shaky ceasefire around the Libyan capital, Tripoli. Since last April, General Khalifa Haftar’s forces have been trying to take the city from the United Nations-supported Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj.