The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has unveiled that the Libyan warlord, Khalifa Haftar, has hired ex-Clinton aide, Lanny Davis, and ex-Republican House Leader Bob Livingston, to lead a nearly $1 million effort to lobby the Biden administration for political support, as whom it described as “war criminal who led assault on Tripoli government” wants support ahead of December election.
WSJ added on Wednesday that the Russian-backed warlord, who is vying for power in Libya, had signed with Lanny Davis and former Rep. Robert Livingston (R., La.) to try to arrange meetings with officials at the White House, State Department and Congress before Libya’s national election scheduled for December, as per documents filed with the US Justice Department.
WSJ reiterated that human-rights organizations and international prosecutors had accused Haftar’s forces of war crimes, so the lobbying campaign is an effort by Haftar to regain some of the influence he has lost since the collapse last year of his 14-month long offensive against the country’s internationally-recognized government in Tripoli.
“Haftar now faces lawsuits in the US brought by Libyans accusing his forces of torture, summary killings and other war crimes during his military operations in Libya.” WSJ added.
Details of 1$-million Deal
According to WSJ, Hafter hasn’t declared his candidacy in the December election yet, but some analysts expect him to run. His forces still control much of the country, including the city of Benghazi and oil installations.
“Haftar has agreed to pay $160,000 a month total over six months for Messrs. Davis and Livingston’s services, and intends to visit Washington for meetings with senior U.S. officials “to advocate for the December 24, 2021 elections in Libya.” WSJ remarked.
It said that in a joint statement, Messrs. Livingston’s and Davis’s firms described their work as “limited to expressing Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar’s support of free and fair, UN-supervised elections on December 24 – to facilitate a peaceful, stable, unified, democratic Libya, under the rule of law.”
Messrs. Davis and Livingston told The Wall Street Journal that advisers for Haftar categorically denied the allegations against him in the US lawsuits, adding that “they would not have undertaken this representation” absent that denial.
Among the two men’s priorities will be to free Haftar from the label “warlord,” broadly applied to him over the years since he broke with the authorities in Tripoli and launched a rogue military campaign in 2014, according to WSJ, which added that Haftar’s military operations displaced tens of thousands of Libyans, and human- rights groups accused his forces of torture and indiscriminate shelling.
“An officer in Mr. Hafter’s army has been indicted by the International Criminal Court in 2017 for the alleged summary executions of 33 people.” It reiterated, referring to Mahmoud Al-Werfalli, who was assassinated in Benghazi in his car by sniper shots last March.
WSJ said the lobbyists will promote the notion that because Haftar has worked with the US in the past and was involved in efforts to overthrow Muammar Gadhafi, he should be regarded as a player in Libya’s future.
“Their ultimate goal is to win Haftar support from the West ahead of the December general election,” a person familiar with the arrangement told the WSJ.
Previous Lobbying Efforts
Haftar has hired other lobbyists to represent him in Washington in recent years and built inroads to the Trump administration, including during his 2019 assault on Tripoli.
Former President Trump called Haftar during the opening days of the conflict to voice his support for the commander’s vision for Libya, a conversation arranged by Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton.
WSJ indicated that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi also urged Trump to support Haftar during his war against the Tripoli government.
“Sisi has lost clout in Washington due to Egypt’s declining human rights record, forcing Mr. Haftar to rely on lobbyists to advocate for him in Washington.” WSJ explained, saying the Biden administration hasn’t stressed Libya in its overall foreign-policy approach, focusing instead on the military withdrawal from Afghanistan and confronting China.
While shifting focus on Libya, in last May; the Biden administration tapped the current ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, to become special envoy to the country.
