Hifter campaign reveals power of Libyan Islamist militias

Khalifa Hifter has done it again, but this time, perhaps a little bit more wisely. Last February, the same man appeared on TV to announce what amounted to a coup d’état, declaring the General National Conference annulled, suspending the government and calling for new elections. But nothing actually happened, and the general disappeared into thin air. He suddenly reappeared on May 16 to launch what he called Operation Dignity to rid Libya of Islamist militias suspected of being behind many assassinations, particularly in Benghazi.

Hifter seems to have learned a lesson from his last attempt, but still misses the point, lacks political vision and is hardly aware of what chaotic Libya needs. When he intelligently declared his "war on terrorism," a catchy slogan domestically and abroad (particularly in Benghazi, where murder is a daily occurrence), he never anticipated the kind of support he would command inside the divided country.