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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- KC-135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender crews from five bases on three continents provided aerial refueling support during the B-2 bomber mission which struck two Daesh training camps in Libya Jan. 18, 2017.

Two B-2 Spirit bombers dropped 500-pound GPS-guided bombs on the camps, which were being used to plan and train for attacks against U.S. and allied interests in North Africa and Europe.

A total of 15 tankers participated in the operation, enabling the B-2s to fly the more than 30 hours round-trip to the target from their home base at Whiteman AFB, Missouri. Planners at 18th Air Force and the 618th Air Operations Center at Scott AFB coordinated the tanker mission, ensuring the refueling aircraft were at the right place at the right time to get the bombers to and from the Daesh training camps.

Our goal was to find the aircraft to do the mission, said Lt. Col. James Hadley, 18th Air Force operations planner. The mobility enterprise flexed to put tankers from the U.S., U.S. European and U.S. Central Commands toward this effort. Everybody had a part in making this work, and it was very successful.

The 305th Air Mobility Wing at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, was one of the units that contributed tankers to the refueling mission. Col. Darren Cole, the 305th AMW commander, said several units had to come together from different locations and commands and function together as a team to make this mission happen.

Its a big team that has to execute things on time to make it work right, he said. Its pretty impressive to be able to hit a target globally at a moments notice with so many people participating.

Making sure the tankers and bombers meet at the right place and time is like choreographing a Broadway production, Hadley said.

When you get the request, you have to look at the whole enterprise, he said. Some tankers may already be in the right spot, some may have to be moved. The speed of the aircraft are completely different, so they wont all take off at the same time, and it takes several mid-air refuelings to make an air bridge. If one person is off, the whole mission can go awry.

Col. Clint Zumbrunnen, 305th Operations Group commander, said the 305th AMW keeps two aircraft on continuous alert just in case such a mission should come up. He said that, coupled with an efficient operations team, made sure the 305th would fly on time.

The crews grow up here being conditioned for short-notice missions, to show up, plan and get the fuel to the fight, Zumbrunnen explained. Our Current Operations team is also particularly skilled at making operations happen on short notice. It makes us particularly well-equipped to do this sort of mission.

Hadley said the stakes can be high.

If a tanker fell out you might have seen on the news how a couple of bombers had to land somewhere in Europe, he said. Or even worse, you might have seen a news report about two bombers lost in the North Atlantic. Our tanker fleet enables them to do what they do.

Using tankers sends a message to friend and foe alike, said Hadley.

They affect things on a global scale, he said. They tell our forces that we can support them where ever they are, and it tells our adversaries that we can find you and touch you on a moments notice.

Cole said hes proud of the role his Airmen played in this mission.

As always, they do an outstanding job when their nation calls upon them to do the tough tasks, he said. And it came off extremely well. Its air refueling that puts the global in global strike.

The Libya strike is just one example of how the command facilitates the tanker war against Daesh, said Brig. Gen. Lenny Richoux, 18th AF vice commander.

"The air bridge our planners and tanker crews create enable U.S. and allied strike aircraft to continuously hit Daesh, or any enemy, no matter where they hide," Richoux said.

"Missions like this one are merely one of many executed every day, he added. The mobility enterprise conducts a massive amount of planning every single day, and we coordinate with customers around the globe for each mission. America's air refueling tanker capability are one of the key missions that set us apart from every other Air Force in the world. Everyone needs air refueling and we deliver it."

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Air Force refuelers enable B-2 strike against Daesh in Libya - 62nd Airlift Wing

JOHN EDENS

Last updated20:52, January 19 2017

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Gaddafi's 42-year rule ended in bloodshed in 2011.

North Africa is a long way from New Zealand.

But back in the 1980s, Libya leader Muammar Gaddafi was making overtures in the South Pacific and the Central Intelligence Agency believed the dictator was trying to build a network.

Adeclassified CIA report gives a snapshot of the political intrigueand international interest as the Libyan leader sought to undermine the West.

Col Muammar Gaddafi. The CIA was concerned about the leader's overtures in the South Pacific during the 1980s.

In the 1980s, Gaddafi - who was brutallykilled on the streets of a Libyan townin 2011 as his 42-year ruleended in bloodshed - was an international pariah and vocal critic of the west.

READ MORE: * CIA files: Political intrigue, Australian 'dismay' * CIA files: UFOs, telepathy, and Kaikoura * Trump on Gaddafi: 'I made a lot of money' * Gaddafi dead, who pulled the trigger?

In the South Pacific, Libyaintensified its efforts to expand contacts and influence, according to the1987 CIA report.

The CIA writer said the effort by Gaddafi (also spelt Qadhafi) was part of his desire to usurp the west, lead a revolution against its imperialist powers, and promote a third world revolution.

Tripoli used its bureau in Canberra and KualaLumpur to contact pro-independence movements in Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

"Libya is supporting elements in French New Caledonia, expanding diplomatic relations with Vanuatu ... and sponsoring the travel of South Pacific and Southeast Asian delegates to Libya's annual liberation conference.

"In ourjudgement Tripoli will also carefully scrutinise the new government in Fiji as yet another opportunity to gain influence, because the recently elected coalition says it is intent on adopting a non-aligned foreign policy."

The CIA believed these overtures were part of the Libyan leader's plan to contact leftist groups, guerrillas, and terrorist organisations in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe.

Libya was bombed by the US in 1986, as the Reagan administration accused Gaddafi of direct involvement in international terrorism.

The CIA believed the Libyans were trying to build a network in the South Pacific.

"Qadhafi has grandiose plans for this network. He has stated publicly that he is trying to forge a united front of 'revolutionary forces' to engage in a 'collective struggle against imperialism.

"In our judgment he has more immediate aims - to promote his radical ideology and burnish his revolutionary credentials ... to cultivate indigenous radicals and identify potential surrogates to carry out violent activities."

The policy in the Pacific appeared to have originated in a Libyan organisation known as the Anti-Imperialism Centre, which worked to help resistance groups and expand Libya's foreign reach.

Australian prime minister Bob Hawke, at the time, cancelled diplomatic visas for Libyan officials due to unspecified clandestine activity in the region, a 1987 New York Times report said.

New Caledonia was one target.

"Libyan officials have publicly stressedthat they share the view of the South Pacific island nations that this French territory should be independent. We believe that Qadhafi'spublic proposal of a campaign to 'liberate' French colonies, including New Caledonia, is partly a reaction to French support for pro-Western governments in Africa."

Libya would likely seek to identify with any local grievances against the west and old colonial powers to establish, or attempt to establish, ties with resistance groups or pro-independence movements in New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.

However, efforts in secret were likely to be made difficult by Australia and New Zealand.

"Libyan arrogance and unpredictability also are likely to hinder Tripoli's search for clients. Libyan insistence that 'armed struggle' is the only means of Third World liberation offends many groups and small democracies."

In the "sanitised" report several pages were redacted.

The file was released as part of the CIA's new online 25-year-old archive release of "non exempt" declassified material.

-Stuff

Excerpt from:
CIA files: Libyan efforts to build a South Pacific united revolutionary front - Stuff.co.nz

Click image to enlarge.

U.S.-backed Libyan partners are prioritizing the protection of their interests in Libyas ongoing civil war over the fight against Salafi-jihadi groups. Misratan militias aligned with the UN-brokered Government of National Accord (GNA) and supported by U.S. air power seized Sirte from the Islamic State of Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) in December 2016. The fall of Sirte re-activated the ground conflict between the Misratans and Libyas other most powerful faction, the Libyan National Army (LNA), over military, political, and economic dominance in Libyas post-revolution power vacuum. The protraction of Libyas civil war preserves the conditions that allowed ISIS and al Qaeda to take root and expand in Libya.

Libyas rival factions are jockeying for power in oil-rich central and southern Libya. Misratan militias used the Sirte campaign to both fight ISIS and extend their influence into central Libya. The Misratans eastward movement brought them into direct competition with the LNA, which similarly expanded into central Libya in September 2016. The Misratans and the LNA have since deployed forces to potential frontlines in contested regions, limiting the resources that they can apply to counter ISIS and al Qaeda-linked militants in western Libya and Benghazi. Continued escalation is likely, following an LNA airstrike on a Misratan plane in al Jufra and clashes over military sites near Sebha.

The growing LNA-Misratan conflict plays in favor of ISIS and al Qaeda as LNA and Misratan militias divert resources from the fight against them. Both groups are benefitting from the time and space created by the current conflict to reset and prepare for future attacks.

ISIS and al Qaeda should be able to recover from recent losses in the current environment. They are also able to initiate new operations that will strengthen both groups in the long term. ISIS and al Qaeda use Libya as a key regional hub and a base on the Mediterranean. These groups will use the freedom of movement provided by Libyas civil war to pursue core objectives that include breaking North African states, expanding safe havens and governance, and attacking Europe. The resurgence of ISIS in Libya would undermine U.S. counterterrorism policy, which relies on containing ISISs regional affiliates while defeating the group in its core terrain.

Excerpt from:
Fighting Forces in Libya: January 2017 - Critical Threats Project

Libya Dialogue Tunis meeting postponed till Sunday Libya Herald The UN-brokered Libya Dialogue which was expected to meet in Tunis today, Wednesday, has now been postponed until Sunday. It is the second time in a week the meeting has been put off. The group had intended to meet last week in Ghadames but that ...

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Libya Dialogue Tunis meeting postponed till Sunday - Libya Herald

As a businessman, it is really no surprise that President-elect Trump wants to do the international relations equivalent of letting the market right itself in preferring stable governments in lieu of struggling democracies. However, if Mr. Trump is to rely on that kind of thinking, it is also imperative for him to recognize the opportunities that present themselves when a market is being disrupted. Just like New York real estate in the 1980s or tech stocks today, being able to successfully navigate a disrupted market is vital for success in either business or Trumps foreign policy.

Just such a disruption is going on today in Libya. Finally freed of the long reign of Qaddafi, Libya is at a crossroads. Without the intervention of an eleventh-hour investor in the form of American attention, the sad truth is that all of Libyas growth will find its way to ISIL or to Russian pockets.

Currently, many are poised to support Khalifa Haftar in his bid for power in Libya. The fact that Russian President Vladimir Putin is one of Haftars most steadfast supporters may not be enough to dissuade Mr. Trump, nor are the facts that Haftar has a questionable leadership record including being investigated by international bodies for war crimes, he has accused the United States of supporting terrorists, and routinely attacks pro-democracy forces that oppose him.

Therefore, Mr. Trump should look to the Libya that a Haftar in power would create. For a man who craves stability over all else in his foreign policy, the mobilization of Russian military assets into the central Mediterranean would be a complete disruption of NATO doctrine, as well as place Russian ships along the shipping lanes from the Persian Gulf via the Suez Canal. Additionally, those forces that oppose Haftar are not going to give up the fight easily a continued and bloody civil war would rage on just a few hundred miles from Europe.

Put simply, the status quo offers no stability, and the longer that Mr. Trump waits, the more his options dwindle. If Mr. Trump wants long-term stability in Libya, with the promise of denying ISIL a major base as well as access to some of the worlds most economically-viable oil fields, he will have to act. Luckily for Libyans, the best way forward for stability in their country involves a healthy dose of democracy, though not the one that they have been reluctantly pushed through by the UN. Libya today has three non-functioning but competing governments: The General National Congress in Tripoli, The House of Representatives in Tobruk, and the Government of National Accord also huddled in Tripoli.

For many, the current Government of National Accord (GNA) has fatal structural, legal, and political defects that will eventually cause it to collapse. Recognizing its imminent collapse, the GNA should be disbanded. The House of Representatives and the General National Congress would be offered a face-saving task of facilitating new rollingelections in areas under their control. Rolling elections are indeed practiced in several countries including in the US presidential primaries.

The existing and well-respected Libyan High National Elections Commission will be in charge of the process and will have final say in all procedural aspects. Elections will be conducted in regions deemed to be secure enough to hold elections. As regions elect new representatives, a new House of Representative is formed in a phased process. As evidenced by the fact that it derives its power from the people, the new House of Representatives (even with only a few districts voting) possess sovereignty and will be responsible for administering all resources, especially military aid and petroleum receipts.

In exchange for conducting fair and free elections, regions would receive additional funding, allowing them to set up the essential services for the population that allows a stable society to be formed. As none of this is happening in Libya right now, and none of it is likely to happen under a Haftar or a GNA administration, these steps guarantee further stability in the country all the while ensuing democracy. Of course, in order to limit in-fighting among factions within Libya, the criteria of fair and free would be policed by strict international oversight. The prospect of receiving full budgets would motivate regions to quickly conform to the process and conduct elections. Many (if not most) Libyans are becoming desperate. The man in the street will exert pressure on GNC and HoR officials to make certain that clean elections are conducted. No official will be able to obstruct the process in the face of this pressure. As towns and cities receive full budgets and international aid, neighboring districts will race to catch up and become part of the new HoR. This is the perfect carrot and stick plan that will work in todays Libya.

Finally, to further make sure that the voices of the people are being met and not those of demagogues with links to the Qaddafi regime or to present day oligarchy, there would be limits to the financial resources that candidates are allowed to use in their bids for office, as well as a prohibition on candidacy for those who have held high leadership positions in the last several years. Those who fail to adhere to these rules, or attempt to incite instability through unrest or petroleum manipulation, would find themselves not only responsible to Libyan authorities, but also to international tribunals.

This process will give the Libyan people a chance to drain their own swamp, move closer to a functioning democracy, restore security, and be ready to do business with the outside world. This is exactly the Art of the Deal that both Libyans and Mr. Trump will want.

While this model may seem a bit cumbersome to Mr. Trump, it is really quite in line with the qualities that he campaigned upon: an outsider who is freed from external restraints and is eager to clean up town. In any event, by restricting the resources available to those playing political tug of war in Libya and at the same time offer rolling elections, Mr. Trumps desired outcome of increased stability and doing business comes about much quicker.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Libya Observer

Read more:
Libya: Ticking Clock with Dwindling Options | The Libya Observer - The Libya Observer