{Washington (AFP) – US President Barack Obama has asked key advisors to draw up options for ratcheting up the fight against the Islamic State group, including opening a new front in Libya.}<\/p>\n
Eighteen months after a US-led coalition began airstrikes against IS in Iraq and Syria, multiple administration sources said Friday that the White House wants to speed up and broaden the effort.<\/p>\n
Efforts will deepen to retake Raqa in Syria, Mosul in Iraq and to check the jihadists’ growth in Afghanistan, but there is an increasing focus on Libya.<\/p>\n
Potential options are said to range from intensified air strikes to participation in a UN-backed ground force that would help take on Libya’s estimated 3,000 Islamic State fighters.<\/p>\n
The Defense Department “stands ready to perform the full spectrum of military operations as required,” spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Michelle Baldanza told AFP.<\/p>\n
“We also continue to work with the international community to mitigate conflict in Libya, promote stability, and strengthen governance.”<\/p>\n
Officials caution that Obama has not yet been presented with concrete military plans, though the security situation is acute.<\/p>\n
“Action in Libya is needed before Libya becomes a sanctuary for ISIL, before they become extremely hard to dislodge,” said one US defense official.<\/p>\n
“We don’t want a situation like in Iraq or Syria.”<\/p>\n
Since rebels and Western airpower toppled Moamer Kadhafi’s regime in 2011, the country has effectively lacked a government.<\/p>\n
In the chaos a disparate group of foreign fighters, homegrown militiamen, tribes and remnants of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group have coalesced around the IS banner and gained a foothold.<\/p>\n
Jihadists have recently taken control of Kadhafi’s home town of Sirte, a strategic port near oilfields that could provide a lucrative source of income.<\/p>\n
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\nAn image from Islamist media outlet Welayat Tarablos on February 18, 2015 allegedly shows members of \u2026
\n– Next steps –<\/p>\n
Until now, US involvement in Libya has been limited to isolated airstrikes and the deployment of US special forces, who are building ties with local armed groups and providing intelligence.<\/p>\n
In November, an American F-16 fighter jet struck the eastern town of Derna, killing Abu Nabil — also known as Wissam Najm Abd Zayd al-Zubaydi — the local IS leader.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Obama convened his National Security Council to discuss current operations and the next steps.<\/p>\n
“The president directed his national security team to continue efforts to strengthen governance and support ongoing counterterrorism efforts in Libya and other countries where ISIL has sought to establish a presence,” according to a White House account of the meeting.<\/p>\n
Republicans, with one eye on November’s US presidential election, have pilloried Obama and one-time secretary of state Hillary Clinton for not doing more to prevent the Islamic State’s rise.<\/p>\n
“Congress has been calling for a real strategy from the president to defeat ISIS,” said a spokesman for House Speaker Paul Ryan.<\/p>\n
“We’ll see whether this is just more talk or if it will be backed up with the will and the resources necessary for victory.”<\/p>\n
Further steps — including ground operations — are likely to depend on Libyans’ ability to form a Government of National Accord, which the United Nations is still trying to bring together.<\/p>\n
“There needs to be a political solution to get a military solution,” said another defense official, echoing comments from diplomats.<\/p>\n
“We hope that there is the beginning of a political solution so that there is a legitimate government that can invite us to go after ISIL.”<\/p>\n
Washington is also looking to European nations — facing a more acute threat from the collapse of a country a short distance across the Mediterranean — to play a leading role, including former Libyan colonial power Italy.<\/p>\n
Obama will host the Italian head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, at the White House on February 8.<\/p>\n
France and Britain are also slated as possible contributors.<\/p>\n
Secretary of State John Kerry is expected to meet his European counterparts in Rome on February 2.<\/p>\n
“The idea is to have a coalition of nations,” a defense official said.<\/p>\n
Some security experts say the deteriorating situation on the ground may leave the administration few options but to launch a ground campaign, even if the long-term path is unclear.<\/p>\n
“The unfortunate reality is that this is a bad option, but it’s the only one,” said Patrick Skinner, a former CIA case officer now with The Soufan Group, a consultancy.<\/p>\n
IS-linked terror attacks from Turkey to Indonesia have sharpened concerns about the group’s reach and potency, even as it suffers losses in Mesopotamia.<\/p>\n
“They cannot let the Islamic State run Libya, they just can’t.”<\/p>\n
“They are holding really key spots. You can’t let the Islamic State have a port, that’s insane.”<\/p>\n
According to Karim Mezran, a Libya expert at the Atlantic Council, any government in Libya is unlikely to survive without foreign support and would have to invite in foreign troops.<\/p>\n
“Without an international force of support, there is no way the new government can ever get into Tripoli,” he said.<\/p>\n
Source:AP:[Obama looks to take fight to Islamic State in Libya->http:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/obama-looks-expand-islamic-state-fight-libya-220402406.html]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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