French covert operations in Libya revealed
Date
2/29/2016 12:21:25 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) On February 24 2016 French newspaper Le Monde reported that France is pursuing secret operations in Libya. These operations are supposedly being conducted by the DGSE (The General Directorate for External Security) France’s external intelligence agency that is composed of Special Forces and the Action Division. Whereas the Special Forces conduct discreet operations for which France nonetheless takes full responsibility the Action Division is involved in exclusively covert operations. According to Le Monde France is engaging in operations in Libya via the Action Division of the DGSE that is to say it is operating under total secrecy without formalizing its missions.
According to Itele after this revelation French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian immediately called for an investigation of the Directorate for Defense Protection and Security (DPSD) in order to identify and punish those responsible for leaking this information citing that such was tantamount to service-espionage against the French army.
Currently Libya does not have a government capable of providing for its national security as fighting between the Muslim Brotherhood in Tripoli and liberals and residual Muammar Gaddafi forces in Tobruk continues while ISIS gains ground across the country. Due to this lack of a government many countries are unable to launch legal military operations in Libya with UN support. With the case being as it is states seeking to fight ISIS in Libya are forced to be content with covert operations.
The US and France have shown the greatest willingness to take action. Since the beginning of the revolution in Benghazi Libya on the February 17 2011 France has been directly involved in Libya. Here the U.S Department of State made publicemails from Sidney Blumenthal to Hillary Clinton which reveal that France’s economic and political interests in Libya are shared with the US. According to Mediapart the DGSE has actively worked on the ground to create a transition government in Libya in the form of the National Transitional Council (NTC) during which time French sociologist Bernard-Henri Levy acted as the trade representative of the Elysee. Levy later joined the Clinton Foundation and during the Libyan revolution he partnered with some American businessmen to try to carve out markets in post-Gaddafi Libya.
Overtime tensions between groups in Libya have steadily increased and as ISIS gains more ground many are left wondering whether the US France or even Italy will stage a new intervention in the country.
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