Egypt gearing up for major attack on militants in Libya

Egypt gearing up for major attack on militants in Libya

Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper told lawmakers last week that the United States needs to “step up” its game and acquire more intelligence surveillance of Libya. Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren added the Islamic State is turning existing terrorist organizations on the ground in Libya into long-distance supporters, but its presence there remains “somewhat in the initial stages.”

“A lot of this is rebranding in an effort to gain more attention, potentially gain additional resources,” he said.

Although Libya falls just outside Gen. Allen’s area of command, it shares a border with Egypt, and the military’s war-fighting authority opens the door for the United States to assist in the hunt for Islamic State militants operating inside Libya.

Although President Obama’s proposed AUMF comes with loose limitations on dispatching troops for an extended period of time, it gives the president the ability to interpret the AUMF’s “enduring offensive ground combat operations” however he sees fit, said Gordon Adams, professor of foreign policy at the American University’s School of International Service.

“The jury is still out, but, personally, I see nothing in the president’s language that would inhibit him from doing whatever he thinks is necessary,” he said.

Congress needs a concrete description of what the U.S. military would be willing to do to pursue Islamic State threats in other countries, according to Steve Ganyard, president of global security consulting firm Avascent International and former military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense. The longer that conversation fails to take place, the longer countries like Egypt — who are beginning to see Islamic State supporters multiply within their borders — will be left to fend for themselves.

The shared interest between the two countries is “strong and clear,” added Michael O’Hanlon, a national security and defense policy analyst at the Brookings Institution.

“This is a moment where Egyptians are feeling threatened, and they want to know who’s with them,” said Lincoln Bloom, former assistant secretary of state and the chairman of Washington-based think tank the Stimson Center.

Still, there is little indication that Congress will be able to approve the authority the U.S. military needs or pass a revised AUMF before the next election, Mr. Ganyard said.

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