Nonproliferat Subcommittee on Terrorism

Libya's Terrorist Descent Nonproliferat Subcommittee on Terrorism

Since the U. S.-led NATO intervention in 2011, Libya has completely spiraled out of control and has become a regional and international security threat. The regime of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi helped in the fight against international terrorism. That is not to say that Gaddafi was a good guy. He was a ruthless dictator who sponsored terrorism in the 1980s. But Gaddafi eventually realized that he was the target of terrorists himself and he changed course to side with us against the cancer of terrorism. By 2008, U. S. military leaders were calling Libya a top U. S. ally in combating transnational terrorism. Fast forward to today, and Libya is a virtual incubator of terrorist groups, hosting all stripes of jihadi organizations including ISIS and al-Qaeda. It was U. S. policy that transformed Libya into the complete failure that it is today. In 2011, we decided to intervene in Libya and establish no-fly zones to aid Libyan rebels plotting against Gaddafi. Gaddafi was ultimately killed in October 2011. Gaddafi's ouster unleashed chaos in the country. Long-simmering political, regional and ethnic divisions suddenly emerged and set Libya on a path toward disaster.