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While international and regional efforts are focused on fighting militants in Syria and Iraq, one country is quickly emerging as an immediate danger to its neighbors, to most of North Africa and perhaps to Europe. Libya is already a failed state; a divided country with two governments and two parliaments and hundreds of tribal factions fighting under different banners. In the wake of the chaos and break out of violence that followed the overthrow and summary execution of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, government institutions began to collapse and factional confrontations gripped most of Libya. Attempts to keep Libya united and maintain a political process failed repeatedly and militant groups, belonging to various tribes, quickly divided the country among themselves. Today a coalition of various Islamist factions, the Dawn of Libya, is in control of Tripoli. In the past few days, the air force of the National Libyan Army began bombing selected targets in the capital and other towns in the west of the country. In Benghazi, Libyas main city in the east, militants belonging to Ansar Al-Shariah, designated by the UN as a terrorist group, are fighting a bloody war over control of the city against the forces of retired Gen. Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan army. The Libyan uprising against Gaddafis rule in February 2011 would not have succeeded without the intervention of western forces. NATO air force; comprised mostly of US, French and British planes, destroyed Gaddafis militias and provided essential logistical aid to armed rebel groups from various tribes. But no sooner had the regime collapsed than western support for a sustainable political process began to wane. Following the killing of US ambassador in Benghazi in September 2012, allegedly by Al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists, western presence in the country was quickly reduced. Today most foreign embassies remain closed. Special UN envoy to Libya Bernardino Len has failed to launch a national dialogue between various factions. The General National Council in Tripoli, associated with Islamist forces and controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood, has been reinstated through a controversial ruling by a constitutional court two weeks ago, which effectively dissolved the elected parliament, which has been relocated to Tobruk. As the country slipped into civil war, a newcomer emerged on the scene in Libya. Fighters loyal to the Islamic State (IS) have taken control of the city of Derna in the east in the past few weeks. This is the closest IS- controlled city to Europe; about 200 miles from the EUs southern shores. Reports say that IS militants include Libyan militants who had returned from Syria and Iraq in addition to other fighters from North Africa. The militant faction in Derna calls itself the Barqa provincial division of the Islamic State, which is the Roman name given to eastern Libya. Many tribes in the east are calling for a state of their own in the Barqa province, which includes Benghazi and most of Libyas oil fields in the east. The chaos in Libya will go on for many years. The current military campaign, by the national army and Haftars forces, is unlikely to succeed in chasing out Islamist rebels and uniting the country. Naturally the destabilization of Libya threatens its neighbors. Last week Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi urged the United States and Europe to provide assistance to the Libyan army in its fight against militants. Egypt believes that Libyan militants are providing Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis in Sinai, another group now affiliated with the Islamic State, with weapons and fighters. The long desert border between Egypt and Libya is a security nightmare for the Egyptian army, which has been waging a bloody war against militants in Sinai. El-Sissi believes that concentrating military efforts on Syria and Iraq will make Libya an attractive option for IS militants. Egypt and the UAE denied reports that their air force had carried out strikes against militants in Libya. But UAEs Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed was quoted last week as saying that his country had a huge responsibility in getting Libya on the right side. He added, We believe especially that the countries that played a role in getting rid of Gaddafi, first of all, should have played a far bigger role the day after. They havent. But with the United States and its allies caught up in an extended military campaign in Syria and Iraq it is difficult to see a change in policy to encompass Libya in the fight against IS militants anytime soon. Furthermore, providing air cover to the Libyan army will not be enough to dislodge Islamist fighters from key positions, as the two-month allied bombardment of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border has proven. Libya has indeed become a huge geopolitical liability. Addressing the complex problem there will require regional and international effort. Failure to realize that the Libyan situation will get more complicated in the coming weeks will force Americas allies to act unilaterally. Egypt and the UAE are already doing that. But will it be enough? Email: [emailprotected]

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Libya emerges as a new challenge

13-72420 Abisuk Sinsaeng v. Eric Holder, Jr.
A citizen of Thailand petitions for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals #39; decision finding that his conviction constituted an aggravated felony for obs...

By: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

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13-72420 Abisuk Sinsaeng v. Eric Holder, Jr. - Video

Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters he has called for an after-action review to identify and isolate the criminal elements who rioted in Ferguson, Missouri inthe wake of a grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the August 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

"I was disappointed that some members of the community resorted to violence rather than respecting what I thought were the really heartfelt words of Michael Brown Sr. and the wishes that he expressed about how he wanted his son's memory to be honored with nonviolence," Holder told reporters Tuesday. "It is clear, I think, that acts of violence threaten to drown out those who have legitimate voices, legitimate demonstrators and those acts of violence cannot and will not be condoned."

Holder was flanked by Justice Department officials as he read from a prepared statement. He said he is being briefed about the situation on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri by Justice Department officials who are overseeing the ongoing federal civil rights investigations, and also briefed President Obama. He reiterated that the federal civil rights investigations are ongoing and will be completely independent of the local investigation.

He also said he was "encouraged" by the peaceful protesters on the streets, and said that Justice Department officials will remain in contact with the leaders of those protests to help isolate "those individuals who are inclined toward violence."

"The way in which we have made progress in this country is when we have seen peaceful nonviolent demonstrations," Holder said. "That has led to the change that has been the most long lasting and the most pervasive."

The Justice Department will also be implementing pilot programs five unnamed cities that will aim to build trust between communities and law enforcement. Holder did not take questions from reporters, and moved on to a meeting with Justice Department officials about Ferguson.

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Holder speaks about next steps for Ferguson

The fact that outgoing Attorney General Eric Holder has prosecuted more people under the Espionage Act than all previous attorneys general combined is an inescapable legacy of his time in office. All of those cases were brought against government workers or contractors accused of leaking classified information to the media, which led Trevor Timm, co-founder of the Freedom of the Press Foundation, to call Holder the worst Attorney General for the press in a generation.

Recently, Holder has seemed intent on escaping that title. Several weeks after announcing his plans to step down, he said during an interview at the Washington Ideas Forum that his biggest mistake in office was naming Fox News reporter James Rosen as a co-conspirator to commit espionage in one of the leak investigations.

And in the latter half of his time in office, Holder has expressed support for a media shield law and rewritten the Department of Justices guidelines to tighten rules for subpoenaing reporters during criminal investigations.

But the Obama administration has undoubtedly tilted the legal landscape against leakers and national security reporters. If Holder wants to change that, he will have to unpave a long road of specific policies laid down by the DOJ during his tenure, not simply express remorse and draw up broad new guidelines.

In 2010, Thomas Drake, Shamai Leibowitz, Chelsea Manning, Stephen Kim, and Jeffrey Sterling were all charged under the Espionage Act. Taken as a block, those prosecutions set the precedent that the government could use a law written in 1917 with double agents in mind as a weapon in the fight against modern leakers of national security information.

With the Espionage Act, Holder chose a tool that could potentially be very dangerous to journalists, because it is vague enough to criminalize all kinds of information dissemination. Writing specifically about Mannings disclosures to Wikileaks, Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of the Lawfare blog, notes that by its terms, it criminalizes not merely the disclosure of national defense information by organizations such as Wikileaks, but also the reporting on that information by countless news organizations.

That was not a problem in several of the early cases. Leibowitz quickly pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 months in prison. The charges against Drake fell apart in 2011, and he pled guilty to a misdemeanor. In 2012, John Kiriakou, a CIA officer, was charged under the Espionage Act but convicted under a different law and sentenced to 30 months in prison. The investigations into Sterling, Kim, and Manning, however, have dragged on much longer and carry implications for press freedoms beyond their membership in the group of Espionage Act cases.

The investigation of CIA officer Jeffrey Sterling is based on a chapter in a 2006 book by New York Times reporter James Risen, in which he writes about American attempts to undermine Irans nuclear program. Risen was first subpoenaed to testify against his source for the chapter, suspected to be Sterling, under the Bush administration, but he fought the order until it expired in 2009.

In 2010, however, Holders DOJ renewed the subpoena against Risen. Soon after, the government anticipated and began arguing against Risens attempt to quash the subpoena on the grounds of his reporters privilege. In an argument filed in May 2011, the DOJ wrote, there exists neither a First Amendment nor a common law reporters privilege that shields a reporter from his obligation to testify, even if the reporters testimony reveals confidential sources and information.

The government was still making that argument in the spring of 2013, when Holders pattern of involving journalists in leak investigations took center stage in the national media.

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Eric Holders lasting damage to press freedom

Attorney General Eric Holder takes his seat as he attends the ceremonies for the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, in the East Room of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) more >

The Justice Departments civil rights investigation in Ferguson will be thorough, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday, adding that law enforcement must work to restore trust and foster understanding.

Mr. Holders comments come the day after a grand jury decided not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the death of black teenager Michael Brown. The announcement set off a wave of protests around the country and rioting in Ferguson.

Mr. Holder said he was disappointed that some members of the community resorted to violence, and that the acts of violence threaten to drown out those that have legitimate voices.

The way weve made progress in this country is weve seen peaceful, nonviolent demonstrations, the attorney general said.

Problems of racial mistrust arent isolated to Ferguson, and Mr. Holder said the Justice Department is launching pilot programs in five cities to help build better relationships between the police forces and the communities they serve.

Department officials said they would announce the five cities within the coming days.

This isnt just about talking, Mr. Holder said of the program. We want to make sure concrete steps are taken.

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Eric Holder promises 'thorough' civil-rights probe in Ferguson