Defense One has highlighted the series of meetings held by Libya’s former ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Aref Anayed, in the United States with a number of National Security Council officials in Washington, presenting himself as the politician who will lead the transition after Hiftir’s entry to Tripoli; This made him ridiculed by some officials.
One US official likened Anayed to the founder of the Iraqi National Congress (INC), Ahmed Chalabi, who helped the United States invade Iraq after he talked about Saddam Hussein’s possession of weapons of mass destruction, which later turned out to be a lie
The contents of the meetings
Anayed talked about his ability to bring the Libyan tribal factions together under the name of the “National Unity Government” and that he has strong tribal relations throughout Libya that make him a person capable of uniting all Libyans
The opinion of officials in Anayed
Officials at the National Security Council questioned the validity of Nayed’s claims and his ability to gather Libyans and his presence on the ground in Libya, according to the site
For his part, a former official in the National Security Council who was working on Libyan issues ,said that Anayed seeks to present himself as a person who can resolve these issues, and speaks intelligently and presents himself well, wondering can he really be a civilian equivalent to Hiftir ?!
Lack of Trust
The report, citing informed US sources, said Anayed made it clear that Hiftir had given him personal assurances that he would allow national elections if he succeeded in taking Tripoli
The same sources said that although he presented himself as close to Hiftir, Washington did not trust what Hiftir wanted, especially after he expressed interest in leading the country himself, according to the site” Defense One “
