Rupert Wieloch

IWM is hosting a “Meet the Author” event on Friday 21st April between 11 am and 4 pm when I am signing copies of Belfast to Benghazi and answering questions about the British Army and Modern War, including the revolution in Libya.

Other exciting exhibitions include: War of Terror; Fighting for Peace; Reflections on Helmand; and Syria: A Conflict Explored.

IWM is close to Waterloo Station in Lambeth Road, London SE1 6HZ – the nearest tube is Lambeth North.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-london/your-visit

In a positive step forward, the Libyan National Army has given permission for Benghazi’s Benina Airport to re-open.  This civilian airport has been closed since May 2014, but the civil aviation authority has said that air ambulance, humanitarian, VIP and general cargo flights can now be resumed. In 2011, these Sukhoi aircraft were disabled at the Benina military airbase to prevent them being used against civilian targets.  See Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi…

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belfast-Benghazi-Untold-Challenges-War/dp/1861515669

The HoL EU External Affairs Sub Committee has taken evidence on illegal migration stemming from Libya.  More than 1 million are in the pipe-line, with EU Operation Sophia criticised for “incentivising failure”.  The EU held the lead for Libyan border security in the porous Sahel after Gadhafi was overthrown, but failed to establish any control. This is one of the ten strategic security risks discussed in Chapter 6 of Belfast to Benghazi.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

It is reported that the commander of Tobruk’s Abdul Nasser Air Base was killed when his jet crashed into a house, whilst returning from a bombing raid today.  He was a brave man and our sympathies go to his family.  When I visited  Tobruk in February 2012, the Mig-21s were poorly maintained and there were insufficient specialist tools and parts, such as ejector seat cartridges.   See page 268 of Belfast to Benghazi:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Belfast-Benghazi-Untold-Challenges-War/dp/1861515669

On Monday and last Wednesday, experts at RUSI counter terrorism discussions highlighted the likelihood that an attack on an iconic target would get through.  Coincidence?

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

The British ambassador, Peter Millett, flew to Benghazi after the Libyan National Army recaptured the oil facilities at Ras Lanuf to meet its commander-in-chief, Khalifa Hafterat.  According to a high-ranking LNA source, Millett regretted that much had been said about the UK’s negative role in Libya.  It’s time to reopen the British Embassy in Tripoli to improve perceptions.

 

The Italian government is negotiating a deal with Niger – the main transit country for migrants travelling from the Horn of Africa through Libya to Europe.  Controlling the flow from the main portal of Agadez will make a significant difference and reinforce the EU naval operation in the Mediterranean.  Border Security in the ungoverned and porous Sahel was one of the ten strategic risks discussed in Belfast to Benghazi.  See pages 277 -287 for the others:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Belfast-Benghazi-Untold-Challenges-War/dp/1861515669

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met the head of the Libyan Presidency Council, Faiez Serraj, at the Human Rights meeting in Geneva yesterday.  Guterres said the UN would continue to do all it could to further Libyan attempts to find a political compromise after Serraj admitted Libya was guilty of the torture of unarmed civilians.  See pages 262 to 277 of Belfast to Benghazi for more on the UN and Human Rights abuses in Libya.

https://www.waterstones.com/book/belfast-to-benghazi/rupert-wieloch/9781861515667

Ben Farmer in the Daily Telegraph reports the Defence Secretary’s tardy warning to Putin about Libya, but Russia stayed in Tripoli when the West withdrew.  This photograph shows the foreign military advisors with the Chief of the Armed Forces after the revolution, including the Russian and Ukraine contingents.  See Belfast to Benghazi page 279 for more missed opportunities.  www.amazon.co.uk/Belfast-Benghazi-Untold-Challenges-War/dp/1861515669

In a BBC interview this afternoon, Laura Maxwell asked me about the most intriguing North Atlantic Council meeting since 9/11.  The US Security relationship with Russia is the most antagonistic since the Cold War at the same time that the US President has the best relationship with the Russian President in living memory.  This irony has the potential to cloud decision-making at a time when the West needs clarity.  If NATO splits, there will only be one winner…