Following the Money in Libya

[Disir]

"Libya’s collapse has damaged its sovereign wealth along with its ability to function as a country."

Elisabeth Braw
October 10, 2015

LONDON. Muammar Gaddafi may have had many shortcomings, but grant him this: there was only one of him. When the Libyan Investment Authority was set up in 2006 to manage the country’s new oil wealth, it faced plenty of challenges, not least the idiosyncratic wishes of the Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution of Libya as to where the money should be invested. But at least there was no doubt about who was ultimately in charge. By contrast, today uncertainty seems to define the LIA, with two competing leaders each maintaining that they run the fund. Libya’s new unity government, announced on October 9, has put the leadership dispute into sharp focus.

“LIA should be above Libyan political infighting,” AbdulMagid Breish told the National Interest. “We’re responsible for the assets of the Libyan people. Institutions such as LIA, the Libyan Central Bank, and the Libyan Oil Corporation should not represent one side or the other.”


Following the Money in Libya

Yes, it was all about the money.

 

[P F Tinmore]

Libya had tons of gold. Who has it now?

 

[Disir]

That is the $64 million dollar question.

 

[waltky]

ISIS goin' after Libya's oil...

Islamic State’s thirst for oil highlighted by attacks in Libya
Monday, January 4, 2016 - Seek lucrative territory to fund global ambitions

The Islamic State’s main branch in Libya launched attacks Monday near a key oil export terminal on the Mediterranean, the latest in a growing offensive that national security sources say underscores the terrorist group’s desire to seize lucrative territory in the war-torn North African nation to fund its global ambitions. Although the Libyan “province” of the Islamic State has not fully seized control of any major oil operations, the group claimed Monday to have taken over the strategic coastal town of Ben Jawad before clashing with security forces around the nearby Es Sider export terminal. The terminal sits near the heart of Libya’s “oil crescent,” a stretch of coastline between Benghazi and the central city of Sirte, which emerged months ago as the first significant stronghold for the Islamic State outside of its base in Syria and Iraq.

Libya descended into chaos after the fall of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011, and rival governments and the militias that support them have since fought for control of the nation and its energy reserves. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, has seized on the security vacuum to grab territory in the nation. The latest developments suggest the group is now pushing from Sirte eastward into the oil crescent, which is home to several ports and storage facilities, including one at the town of Ras Lanuf, where a storage tank was set ablaze during Monday’s clashes. “They’ve had control of areas like Sirte for a while, and if they can now actually seize control of Es Sider and a few other towns like Ras Lanuf they could be running the port there,” said Seth Jones, who heads the International Security and Defense Policy Center at the Rand Corp.

Ras Lanuf is home to oil refineries and storage facilities in Libya. Islamic State militants on Monday set a storage tank ablaze as they pushed eastward into the “oil crescent.”​

But Mr. Jones said it’s unclear whether the Libyan outpost will be able to follow the success of the Islamic State’s central operation in Syria and Iraq, where the group has financed itself for more than a year by smuggling oil from nearby fields and refineries. “Right now, it looks like they’re pushing just to increase territorial control of areas, particularly in the north of Libya,” he said. “What’s unclear is how much of this is a result of them actually trying to take or destroy oil infrastructure.”

The Long War Journal noted Monday that the Libyan branch of the Islamic State has repeatedly targeted the country’s oil infrastructure, some of which has been shut down for months because of violence. “As in Iraq and Syria, the ‘caliphate’ seeks to control key Libyan oil fields, refineries, ports and other facilities,” wrote Thomas Joscelyn, who edits the journal, produced by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “It remains to be seen if today’s attacks, which are testing local security forces, lead to further advances.”

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See also:

ISIS tunnels: How ISIS militants evade airstrikes in Ramadi
Mon January 4, 2016 - Local tribal leaders: ISIS still controls as much as 25% of key Iraqi city of Ramadi; Militants dig network of tunnels to escape airstrikes

The battle for the key Iraqi city of Ramadi has opened a window into the resilience of ISIS. It took months of daily onslaughts before Iraqi forces and the U.S.-led coalition were able to expel the militants from the city center recently. Despite this setback, ISIS still controls as much as 25% of Ramadi, local tribal leaders say. And fighting continues to rage in pockets throughout the city. So how does ISIS evade airstrikes? In Ramadi, as in many ISIS strongholds, the answer lies below the ground. "During our advance to cleanse the area, they would distract us and disappear," Maj. Gen. Sami Kathim, commander of Iraqi Counter Terror Services, told CNN.

Part of a special operations unit, Kathim's team was among those tasked with hunting the militants. "We discovered they were ducking down and hiding into the tunnels." The tunneling isn't exactly a feat of engineering, but it's a priority in ISIS towns. First the militants take territory, then they dig it up. At about 10 meters (more than 30 feet) below ground, the tunnels are no more than a meter or 2 wide (3.2 to 6.5 feet). "They are dug between houses so that they can cross the street without the planes seeing them. They go down and split off into separate tunnels. This tunnel we're looking at here goes on for a kilometer," Kathim said, pointing to one of the passageways. "Some others are 700, 800 meters."

What lies beneath the ground is proving critical to battles waged from above. The soldiers have already found a high-ranking ISIS commander hiding in the network of tunnels under Ramadi's streets. "The areas that they are preparing to entrench in and defend, they make sure all the tunnels are interconnected," a soldier told CNN. "There is even electricity running inside the tunnels." Makeshift shelters hide the movements of militants where the tunnels reach the surface. And clearing the tunnels can be painstakingly slow as well as life-threatening. The troops have to ensure they are not rigged with explosives or booby-trapped. The first man to venture inside is "carrying the lives of all of his comrades with him," Kathim said.

How does ISIS evade airstrikes in Ramadi? - CNN.com

 

[Tehon]

Libya had tons of gold. Who has it now?

I bet Hillary has an idea where it is. This email was from the latest batch of FOIA releases following her email scandal.

https://www.foia.state.gov/searchap...learedMeta/31-C1/DOC_0C05779612/C05779612.pdf
On April 2, 2011 sources with access to advisors to Salt al-Islam Qaddafi stated in strictest confidence that while the freezing of Libya's foreign bank accounts presents Muammar Qaddafi with serious challenges, his ability to equip and maintain his armed forces and intelligence services remains intact. According to sensitive information available to this these individuals, Qaddafi's government holds 143 tons of gold, and a similar amount in silver. During late March, 2011 these stocks were moved to SABHA (south west in the direction of the Libyan border with Niger and Chad); taken from the vaults of the Libyan Central Bank in Tripoli. This gold was accumulated prior to the current rebellion and was intended to be used to establish a pan-African currency based on the Libyan golden Dinar. This plan was designed to provide the Francophone African Countries with an alternative to the French.franc (CFA). (Source Comment: According to knowledgeable individuals this quantity of gold and silver is valued at more than $7 billion. French intelligence officers discovered this plan shortly after the current rebellion began, and this was one of the factors that influenced President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to commit France to the attack on Libya

I also find it interesting that saving Libyans from Qaddafi didn't make the list of reasons Sarkozy wanted to attack Libya.

From the same release;

According to these individuals Sarkozy's plans are driven by the following issues:
a. A desire to gain a greater share of Libya oil production,
b. Increase French influence in North Africa,
c. Improve his intemai political situation in France,
d. Provide the French military with an opportunity to reassert its position in the world,
e. Address the concern of his advisors over Qaddafi's long term plans to supplant France as the dominant power in Francophone Africa)