The 75-year-old's desire to rule Libya remains as strong as ever
He was hand in glove with the West as Colonel Gadaffi's regime was tottering to a disgraceful fall. The man actually held a top position in the forces that removed the bellicose tyrant in 2011. The Field Marshal can be described as a man who has seen it all.
Without the shadow of a doubt, Haftar knows a thing or two about Libya having served in the Libyan army under Muammar Gaddafi. He took part in the coup that brought Gaddafi to power in 1969. To cement his relationship with the West, he also spent nearly two decades in Langley, Virginia, in the US, gaining US citizenship. This was around 1990 after a stint serving as a prisoner of war in Chad.
It is well known that Libya has been in chaos since Gadaffi was removed with various warring factions fighting to gain ascendancy in the troubled country.
As leader of the Libyan National Army, perhaps the biggest fighting force in the civil war, Haftar has always seen himself as a unifying force for his country. He believes he is the only one who can bring the divided country together.
He therefore finally launched an attack five weeks ago promising to seize the capital Tripoli. When he began the offensive he surprisingly predicted that the UN-recognised government’s defences, controlled by a motley collection of lightly armed militias, would collapse before him.
The fight over Tripoli is still on as other warlords rallied their fighters to resist Haftar's troops.
President Sisi decided that Marshal Haftar would be the man to impose the same harsh order on Libya that he himself had on Egypt.
The Field Marshal is also backed by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia — Mr Sisi’s allies against liberal and the Muslim Brotherhood opposition. Egypt has, not unexpectedly, provided a military base and air support for his advance.
There is no doubt that only a strongman can successfully rule a country like Libya. It is just like Iraq. Iraq has known no peace since the fall of Saddam Hussein. The truth is that in Libya only a strongman, backed by a World power, can take the fight to the Islamists and bring a semblance of peace.
Rightly, Haftar has been dubbed "Libya's most potent warlord." He has confronted nearly every significant faction in Libya's conflicts. No one will therefore dispute the fact that Haftar has a "reputation for unrivalled military experience" and as being able to govern "with an iron fist".
It appears the US is playing the game gingerly probably because of the involvement of other World powers in the Libya imbroglio. However, the earlier it is accepted that Haftar, at least for now, is the only man who can bring the country together, the better for everyone especially the long-suffering people of the North African country.
