Libya Receives US Seal Help To Recover Tanker
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/17/us-usa-libya-tanker-idUSBREA2G0AU20140317
Reports today from the Mediterranean coast off of Libya and Cyprus say US Seals successfully recaptured a commercial Libyan oil tanker “Morning Glory” pirated by 3 Libyans late Sunday. No shots, no casualties, and many praises from the Libyan government characterize the successful operation. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/17/world/africa/navy-seals-tanker/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Last week the Libyan parliament voted for dismissal of Prime Minister Ali Zeidan with a no-confidence vote following immediately upon first reports of the tanker capture from an eastern port controlled by the Libyan political faction that led the vote against the PM. http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/11/world/africa/libya-pm/index.html That pirated tanker sailed successfully last week from its Libyan port to Sidra, where it received a load of oil sought by a faction in Libya to fund its resistance in a military struggle for Libyan control. On a return course to Libya, it was peacefully boarded by the US commandos. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/world/middleeast/libya-oil-tanker.html?_r=0
HFS analysts have observed that reports from various world sources offer markedly different accounts of US involvement in the operation. The Roosevelt, a US aircraft carrier located in the region of the operation appears to have been the command and control center for the US forces. At the same time, ten days ago, the Libyan government threatened to bomb a North Korean tanker planning to supply oil to a Libyan rebel faction. http://article.wn.com/view/2014/03/08/Libya_threatens_to_bomb_North_Korean_tanker_if_it_ships_oil_/
Were the US forces merely observing, when the Libyan government happened to request help to recover the tanker? More cynical analysts might suspect the US of cherry picking which political faction to support by recovering a tanker full of valuable oil to hand over, as a means of securing a geopolitical foothold while Libya verges on civil war. The HFS analysts don’t go that far, not yet, but they’re watching with interest to see what US interests in the region might be developed.
What do you think?
