Libya
VP Warren, Political Playlists, Rosie Perez on Muhammad Ali
June 10, 2016:
1. What Kind of VP Would Elizabeth Warren Be?
2. Hockey Legend Gordie Howe Dead at 88
3. In Rare Bipartisan Agreement, Congress Takes On Toxic Chemical Reform
3. Libya Fights to Oust ISIS
4. Films to Catch and Skip at the Box Office This Weekend
5. What the Presidential Candidates Are Playing on the Campaign Trail
6. Rosie Perez, ‘First Lady of Boxing,’ Remembers Muhammad Ali
The Hunt for Qaddafi’s Golden Gun
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On October 20th, 2011, Libyans celebrated in the streets of Sirte after the death of Muammar el-Qaddafi, the unstable dictator that ruled Libya for more than 40 years.
In the center of that celebration was Mohammed al-Bibi, who just so happened to find Qaddafi’s golden revolver—a decadent gift from his son.
The picture of al-Bibi holding up the gun (below), wearing a New York Yankees baseball hat, became one of the most iconic images of the Libyan Revolution—a symbol of the end of a brutal dictatorship, and the liberation of the Libyan people.
But in the years since, the city where Qaddafi was captured has become a de-facto ISIS capital, with the rest of the country teetering between two unstable governments vying for power.
Gabriel Gatehouse, foreign correspondent for BBC News, was at the scene of Gaddafi’s death in 2011. He traveled back to Libya to track down the gold-plated gun once more, and see if it still represents a new future for the country.
Check out Gatehouse’s report about the golden gun below.
Libya Airstrikes: A New Era in America’s War Against ISIS?
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More than 30 people have been killed in a U.S. airstrike carried out against the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The strike, which came early Friday, comes as ISIS tries to consolidate its power in the country, and as Libya commemorates its five-year anniversary of the Arab Spring uprising against former dictator Muammar el-Qaddafi.
Is President Obama opening a new front in the war against ISIS? For answers, we turn to Eric Schmitt, national security correspondent for our partner The New York Times.
Libya Struggles in The Fight Against ISIS
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This week, officials revealed that French special forces have been helping Libyan troops push back the Islamic State, a group that has terrorized the already fractured country.
Just as reports emerged that Libyan forces made key headway against ISIS in Benghazi, it was also reported that the terrorist organization beheaded 12 combatants in the western city of Sabathra on Wednesday before being pushed back.
During a CNN-hosted town hall event in South Carolina this week, Hillary Clinton defended U.S. involvement and tried to view the situation optimistically.
“They had an election and it was a good election,” said Clinton. “It was a fair election. It met international standards. That was an amazing accomplishment for a nation that had been so deprived for so long. This doesn’t happen overnight. And yes it’s been a couple of years. I think it’s worth European support, Arab support, American support to try to help the Libyan people realize the dream that they had when they went after Qaddafi. ”
Libyan journalist Rami Musa, who is reporting for the Associated Press, joins The Takeaway to discuss the Libyan perspective on international involvement.
For Clinton, Faded Hopes and Failures in Libya
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Perhaps the most influential decisions of Hillary Clinton’s tenure in the State Department came in 2011 and 2012, as the Arab Spring spread to Libya. As secretary of state, Clinton helped convince President Obama that the U.S. had to get involved.
According to reporting by Scott Shane, national security reporter for Takeaway partner The New York Times, Clinton was a deciding factor in the president’s decision to intervene. Then-Secretary of Defense Robert Gates told Shane and his co-author Jo Becker, “I’ve always thought that Hillary’s support for the broader mission in Libya put the president on the 51 side of the line for a more aggressive approach.”
By July 2012, the mission seemed a success: Libyan forces had ousted Muammar el-Qaddafi, and the country held its first democratic elections that month. As Clinton noted at the time, “After more than four decades of authoritarian rule, men and women from every corner of Libya are beginning to determine their own future and it will be the will of the people, not the whim of a dictator.”
Today the country has devolved into tribal factions and has become a training ground for the self-proclaimed Islamic State. Shane examines the decisions leading up to the Libyan intervention, the state of the country today, and what Clinton’s actions might portend for her foreign policy should she win the Democratic nomination and the presidency.
What you’ll learn from this segment:
Why Clinton wanted to intervene in Libya and how she influenced Obama.
Why Libyan leaders have failed to unify the country.
What the situation in Libya says about her foreign policy outlook.