New Libyan rebel leader spent much of past 20 years in suburban Virginia
source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/26/2136063/new-libyan-rebel-leader-spent.html#ixzz1HyqH3ost
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WASHINGTON -- The new leader of Libya's opposition military spent the past two decades in suburban Virginia but felt compelled - even in his late-60s - to return to the battlefield in his homeland, according to people who know him.
Khalifa Hifter was once a top military officer for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but after a disastrous military adventure in Chad in the late 1980s, Hifter switched to the anti-Gadhafi opposition. In the early 1990s, he moved to suburban Virginia, where he established a life but maintained ties to anti-Gadhafi groups.
Late last week, Hifter was appointed to lead the rebel army, which has been in chaos for weeks. He is the third such leader in less than a month, and rebels interviewed in Libya openly voiced distrust for the most recent leader, Abdel Fatah Younes, who had been at Gadhafi's side until just a month ago.
At a news conference Thursday, the rebel's military spokesman said Younes will stay as Hifter's chief of staff, and added that the army - such as it is - would need "weeks" of training.
According to Abdel Salam Badr of Richmond, Va., who said he has known Hifter all his life - including back in Libya - Hifter, whose name is sometimes spelled Haftar, Hefter or Huftur, was motivated by his intense anti-Gadhafi feelings.
"Libyans - every single one of them - they hate that guy so much they will do whatever it takes," Badr said in an interview Saturday. "Khalifa has a personal grudge against Gadhafi.... That was his purpose in life."
According to Badr and another friend in the U.S., a Georgia-based Libyan activist named Salem alHasi, Hifter left for Libya two weeks ago.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/26/2136063/new-libyan-rebel-leader-spent.html...
Khalifa Hifter was once a top military officer for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but after a disastrous military adventure in Chad in the late 1980s, Hifter switched to the anti-Gadhafi opposition. In the early 1990s, he moved to suburban Virginia, where he established a life but maintained ties to anti-Gadhafi groups.
Late last week, Hifter was appointed to lead the rebel army, which has been in chaos for weeks. He is the third such leader in less than a month, and rebels interviewed in Libya openly voiced distrust for the most recent leader, Abdel Fatah Younes, who had been at Gadhafi's side until just a month ago.
At a news conference Thursday, the rebel's military spokesman said Younes will stay as Hifter's chief of staff, and added that the army - such as it is - would need "weeks" of training.
According to Abdel Salam Badr of Richmond, Va., who said he has known Hifter all his life - including back in Libya - Hifter, whose name is sometimes spelled Haftar, Hefter or Huftur, was motivated by his intense anti-Gadhafi feelings.
"Libyans - every single one of them - they hate that guy so much they will do whatever it takes," Badr said in an interview Saturday. "Khalifa has a personal grudge against Gadhafi.... That was his purpose in life."
According to Badr and another friend in the U.S., a Georgia-based Libyan activist named Salem alHasi, Hifter left for Libya two weeks ago.
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/26/2136063/new-libyan-rebel-leader-spent.html...
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CarlosBobthe3rd
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A CIA Commander For Libyan Rebels
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27779.htm - 1 year ago
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