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Home > WikiLeaks Reveals EU Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees
________________________________________
WikiLeaks Reveals EU Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees
By Branko Marcetic [1] / AlterNet [2]
March 3, 2016
With far-right sentiment on the rise across Europe, the once widespread
sympathy for African and Middle Eastern migrants has evaporated, leaving
them facing vitriol and violence from the citizens of the countries they
hope to make their new homes. Now, a recent document release by WikiLeaks
[3] has put the spotlight on further bad news for refugees: the EU's plans
for military action against refugee boats coming from Libya, with the
ultimate goal of entering Libyan waters and possibly even operating inside
the country.
On February 17, WikiLeaks released a six-monthly EU report on Operation
Sophia, the EU's military effort launched in May last year to halt the flow
of migrants coming to Europe through the Mediterranean and break up the
people-smuggling industry thriving in North Africa and the Middle East.
Dated Jan. 29, 2016, the report outlines the progress thus far and the next
steps for the 22 member nations involved in the operation.
"From a military perspective, we are ready to move to phase 2B (Territorial
Waters) where we can make a more significant impact on the smuggler and
traffickers' business model," states the report.
Before this can happen, however, the operation needs a "legal finish" in the
form of an invitation from the Libyan government, the report notes. The only
problem is that the Libyan government doesn't technically exist. After
Muammar Gaddafi was deposed in 2011 and the initial euphoria of regime
change dissipated, Libya devolved into a chaotic power struggle between two
rival governments and a rash of local tribes and militias allied with, but
not necessarily fighting for the interests of these same governments.
The report acknowledges this issue and presses the EU to "apply diplomatic
pressure appropriately to deliver the correct outcome"-namely, a pliant
Libyan government that would give the EU permission to operate in its
territory. Following that, the EU would seek UN backing for its move into
Libyan waters.
The report makes mention of an unspecified "phase 3" of the operation, which
WikiLeaks speculates could be a reference to sending ground forces into
Libya itself. While the report and earlier EU documents released by
WikiLeaks regarding the operation are scant on details about the phase, one
passage in the EU defense chiefs' military plan [4] released in May last
year does provide a clue.
"The IMD [Initiating Military Directive] should also emphasize the need to
calibrate military activity with great care, particularly within Libyan
internal waters or ashore [emphasis mine], in order to avoid destabilizing
the political process by.creating a perception of having chosen sides," the
document states.
This theory is also bolstered by a strategy paper [5] for the EU's
anti-smuggling campaign that was obtained by the Guardian last year, which
stated: "A presence ashore might be envisaged if agreement was reached with
relevant authorities."
"Moronic and delusional"
As part of Operation Sophia, named [6] after a baby born to a rescued Somali
refugee last year, the EU is empowered to disrupt human smuggling and
trafficking networks by intercepting, seizing and eventually destroying
smugglers' boats. The EU hopes this will act as a deterrent to other
smugglers.
Once the next phases of the operation are approved, EU forces will also
likely begin targeting smugglers' facilities [7] on shore in Libya, as well
as destroying smugglers' boats before they're sent on their journeys. As the
leaked strategy paper makes clear, the phases could eventually involve a
variety of operations.
"The operation would require a broad range of air, maritime and land
capabilities," the paper states. "These could include: intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance; boarding teams; patrol units (air and
maritime); amphibious assets; destruction air, land and sea, including
special forces units."
It also states that land operations could involve "action along the coast,
in harbor or at anchor [against] smugglers' assets and vessels before their
use."
In some ways, this is an improvement from European countries' previous
policy, which often involved what were known as "pushback operations":
forcing refugee boats to turn around and return the way they came. These
were often life-threatening to the migrants on board. The Greek coast guard
has been known [8] to try to push the often overcrowded migrant boats back
by creating waves, or even damaging the boats in order to force them to
leave. In one instance [9], when a Greek coast guard vessel towed a packed
migrant boat back to the Turkish coast in bad weather, the boat capsized,
killing 12 people on board.
While less callous than these measures, the EU's military campaign still
carries a lot of risk. When large European ships and rickety
smuggler-provided boats cross paths, even small errors can lead to
unnecessary deaths, as when a Greek coast guard vessel struck a wooden
refugee boat in October last year [10]. Eight people drowned in that
incident, including four children.
There's also the fact that the operation is unlikely to act as an effective
deterrent to smuggling. Smugglers have a habit of abandoning vessels when
authorities approach, and their boats are cheap and easily replaceable. More
importantly, it's not smugglers who drive smuggling, but rather the push
factors forcing refugees to make the trip to Europe in the first
place-something the EU report doesn't acknowledge.
"Migrants are recruited via social media, coaxers or by travel agent
services run by smuggling networks outside Libya," the report states.
Such language implies that refugees are hapless victims with little agency
who are tricked into making deadly voyages. As indicated in the report, the
EU believes stopping the flow of refugees is partly a matter of "dissuading
the migrants," and calls for "a comprehensive package of PSYOPS products
targeted at local communities, based on coercive as well as on positive
messages."
In reality [11], the refugees making the journey across the Mediterranean
have far more agency then they're given credit for. The fact that they
choose to undertake such a dangerous voyage is a sign of desperation, not
gullibility. As long as the conditions driving refugees to escape still
exist-such as chaos in Syria or violent anarchy [12] in Libya-people will
look for ways to get out. If the EU blocks the route out of Libya, they'll
likely turn to other, more dangerous routes.
These are just some of the many reasons one expert [13] deemed the EU plan
"moronic and delusional."
Dragged back into Libya
The other risk the EU's military campaign carries is that of further
embroiling the West back in Libya. As the EU strategy paper [5] made clear,
European forces are likely to have frequent run-ins with terrorists if
operating on Libyan soil and waters. An attack on EU forces could easily
drag countries into the fight against Libyan terrorists.
Already, there are signs that the West is being pulled back into Libya as a
result of the military intervention that just five years ago was declared
[14] a resounding success. Having become a safe haven for ISIL and other
extremists in the anarchy following Gaddafi's fall, the United States has
been launching air strikes [15] and sent limited troops [16] into the North
African state, while the UK has been preparing [17] its own re-intervention
into the country.
The internal documents released by WikiLeaks may reveal a possible
divergence in vision between these two countries and the EU. In the United
States and the UK, where ISIL is regularly hyped as a major existential
threat, military intervention in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East is
justified on the basis of stopping terrorism. But if these documents are any
indication, this is far from the minds of the EU's top military brass.
The issue of extremists coming into Europe from Libya is never brought up in
the EU report, and gets only a single mention in the documents, in the form
of one line in the EU defense chiefs' 10-page military plan: "The potential
presence of hostile forces, extremists or terrorists such as Da'esh should
also be taken into consideration."
It's a reflection of the fact that in mainland Europe, the destabilizing
effect of the arrival and subsequent accommodation of huge numbers of
refugees is viewed as much more of an existential threat than terrorism, at
least to those in power. The surge of migrants-over 929,000 arriving in
Europe in 2015 according to the report-has put the EU's open border policy
under pressure and is straining its member states' humanitarian impulses.
Already, it has led to the eruption of ugly, racist violence [18] and
precipitated a rise [19] in the popularity of far-right hate groups.
Regardless of their motivations, it seems both the United States and the EU
see military force as the answer to their respective problems. As long as
this is seen as the solution, the refugee crisis is sure to be with us for a
long time yet.
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Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [20]
[21]
________________________________________
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/world/wikileaks-reveals-eu-planned-military-action-a
gainst-libyan-refugees
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/branko-marcetic
[2] http://alternet.org
[3] https://wikileaks.org/eu-military-refugees/EEAS/EEAS-2016-126.pdf
[4]
https://wikileaks.org/eu-military-refugees/EUMC/eu-military-refugee-plan-EUM
C.pdf
[5]
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/migrant-crisis-eu-plan-to-strik
e-libya-networks-could-include-ground-forces
[6]
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/operation-sophia-what-new-eu-naval-mission-targetin
g-mediterranean-people-smugglers-1523125
[7] https://euobserver.com/foreign/128743
[8]
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/535005/EXPO_STU(2015)
535005_EN.pdf
[9]
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/30/greece-investigate-pushbacks-summary-exp
ulsions
[10]
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/international/europe/2016/02/21/con
tested-waters-natos-new-aegean-migrant-mission/80708692/
[11] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/ten-borders
[12] http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde19/1578/2015/en/
[13]
http://europe.newsweek.com/eu-trafficking-plans-moronic-delusional-say-gover
nment-advisers-327705
[14]
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/oct/28/intervention-libya-succ
ess
[15] http://www.reuters.com/article/libya-security-idUSKCN0VS1A5
[16]
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/01/23/Report-UK-U-S-Ru
ssian-troops-in-Libya.html
[17]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-demands-to-know-
british-war-plan-against-isis-in-libya-a6858386.html
[18]
https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/373/ressort/politics/article/anti-re
fugee-tensions-escalate
[19]
http://www.newsweek.com/anti-islam-organization-pegida-exporting-hate-across
-europe-426805
[20] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on WikiLeaks Reveals EU
Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees
[21] http://www.alternet.org/
[22] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > WikiLeaks Reveals EU Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees
WikiLeaks Reveals EU Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees
By Branko Marcetic [1] / AlterNet [2]
March 3, 2016
With far-right sentiment on the rise across Europe, the once widespread
sympathy for African and Middle Eastern migrants has evaporated, leaving
them facing vitriol and violence from the citizens of the countries they
hope to make their new homes. Now, a recent document release by WikiLeaks
[3] has put the spotlight on further bad news for refugees: the EU's plans
for military action against refugee boats coming from Libya, with the
ultimate goal of entering Libyan waters and possibly even operating inside
the country.
On February 17, WikiLeaks released a six-monthly EU report on Operation
Sophia, the EU's military effort launched in May last year to halt the flow
of migrants coming to Europe through the Mediterranean and break up the
people-smuggling industry thriving in North Africa and the Middle East.
Dated Jan. 29, 2016, the report outlines the progress thus far and the next
steps for the 22 member nations involved in the operation.
"From a military perspective, we are ready to move to phase 2B (Territorial
Waters) where we can make a more significant impact on the smuggler and
traffickers' business model," states the report.
Before this can happen, however, the operation needs a "legal finish" in the
form of an invitation from the Libyan government, the report notes. The only
problem is that the Libyan government doesn't technically exist. After
Muammar Gaddafi was deposed in 2011 and the initial euphoria of regime
change dissipated, Libya devolved into a chaotic power struggle between two
rival governments and a rash of local tribes and militias allied with, but
not necessarily fighting for the interests of these same governments.
The report acknowledges this issue and presses the EU to "apply diplomatic
pressure appropriately to deliver the correct outcome"-namely, a pliant
Libyan government that would give the EU permission to operate in its
territory. Following that, the EU would seek UN backing for its move into
Libyan waters.
The report makes mention of an unspecified "phase 3" of the operation, which
WikiLeaks speculates could be a reference to sending ground forces into
Libya itself. While the report and earlier EU documents released by
WikiLeaks regarding the operation are scant on details about the phase, one
passage in the EU defense chiefs' military plan [4] released in May last
year does provide a clue.
"The IMD [Initiating Military Directive] should also emphasize the need to
calibrate military activity with great care, particularly within Libyan
internal waters or ashore [emphasis mine], in order to avoid destabilizing
the political process by.creating a perception of having chosen sides," the
document states.
This theory is also bolstered by a strategy paper [5] for the EU's
anti-smuggling campaign that was obtained by the Guardian last year, which
stated: "A presence ashore might be envisaged if agreement was reached with
relevant authorities."
"Moronic and delusional"
As part of Operation Sophia, named [6] after a baby born to a rescued Somali
refugee last year, the EU is empowered to disrupt human smuggling and
trafficking networks by intercepting, seizing and eventually destroying
smugglers' boats. The EU hopes this will act as a deterrent to other
smugglers.
Once the next phases of the operation are approved, EU forces will also
likely begin targeting smugglers' facilities [7] on shore in Libya, as well
as destroying smugglers' boats before they're sent on their journeys. As the
leaked strategy paper makes clear, the phases could eventually involve a
variety of operations.
"The operation would require a broad range of air, maritime and land
capabilities," the paper states. "These could include: intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance; boarding teams; patrol units (air and
maritime); amphibious assets; destruction air, land and sea, including
special forces units."
It also states that land operations could involve "action along the coast,
in harbor or at anchor [against] smugglers' assets and vessels before their
use."
In some ways, this is an improvement from European countries' previous
policy, which often involved what were known as "pushback operations":
forcing refugee boats to turn around and return the way they came. These
were often life-threatening to the migrants on board. The Greek coast guard
has been known [8] to try to push the often overcrowded migrant boats back
by creating waves, or even damaging the boats in order to force them to
leave. In one instance [9], when a Greek coast guard vessel towed a packed
migrant boat back to the Turkish coast in bad weather, the boat capsized,
killing 12 people on board.
While less callous than these measures, the EU's military campaign still
carries a lot of risk. When large European ships and rickety
smuggler-provided boats cross paths, even small errors can lead to
unnecessary deaths, as when a Greek coast guard vessel struck a wooden
refugee boat in October last year [10]. Eight people drowned in that
incident, including four children.
There's also the fact that the operation is unlikely to act as an effective
deterrent to smuggling. Smugglers have a habit of abandoning vessels when
authorities approach, and their boats are cheap and easily replaceable. More
importantly, it's not smugglers who drive smuggling, but rather the push
factors forcing refugees to make the trip to Europe in the first
place-something the EU report doesn't acknowledge.
"Migrants are recruited via social media, coaxers or by travel agent
services run by smuggling networks outside Libya," the report states.
Such language implies that refugees are hapless victims with little agency
who are tricked into making deadly voyages. As indicated in the report, the
EU believes stopping the flow of refugees is partly a matter of "dissuading
the migrants," and calls for "a comprehensive package of PSYOPS products
targeted at local communities, based on coercive as well as on positive
messages."
In reality [11], the refugees making the journey across the Mediterranean
have far more agency then they're given credit for. The fact that they
choose to undertake such a dangerous voyage is a sign of desperation, not
gullibility. As long as the conditions driving refugees to escape still
exist-such as chaos in Syria or violent anarchy [12] in Libya-people will
look for ways to get out. If the EU blocks the route out of Libya, they'll
likely turn to other, more dangerous routes.
These are just some of the many reasons one expert [13] deemed the EU plan
"moronic and delusional."
Dragged back into Libya
The other risk the EU's military campaign carries is that of further
embroiling the West back in Libya. As the EU strategy paper [5] made clear,
European forces are likely to have frequent run-ins with terrorists if
operating on Libyan soil and waters. An attack on EU forces could easily
drag countries into the fight against Libyan terrorists.
Already, there are signs that the West is being pulled back into Libya as a
result of the military intervention that just five years ago was declared
[14] a resounding success. Having become a safe haven for ISIL and other
extremists in the anarchy following Gaddafi's fall, the United States has
been launching air strikes [15] and sent limited troops [16] into the North
African state, while the UK has been preparing [17] its own re-intervention
into the country.
The internal documents released by WikiLeaks may reveal a possible
divergence in vision between these two countries and the EU. In the United
States and the UK, where ISIL is regularly hyped as a major existential
threat, military intervention in Libya and elsewhere in the Middle East is
justified on the basis of stopping terrorism. But if these documents are any
indication, this is far from the minds of the EU's top military brass.
The issue of extremists coming into Europe from Libya is never brought up in
the EU report, and gets only a single mention in the documents, in the form
of one line in the EU defense chiefs' 10-page military plan: "The potential
presence of hostile forces, extremists or terrorists such as Da'esh should
also be taken into consideration."
It's a reflection of the fact that in mainland Europe, the destabilizing
effect of the arrival and subsequent accommodation of huge numbers of
refugees is viewed as much more of an existential threat than terrorism, at
least to those in power. The surge of migrants-over 929,000 arriving in
Europe in 2015 according to the report-has put the EU's open border policy
under pressure and is straining its member states' humanitarian impulses.
Already, it has led to the eruption of ugly, racist violence [18] and
precipitated a rise [19] in the popularity of far-right hate groups.
Regardless of their motivations, it seems both the United States and the EU
see military force as the answer to their respective problems. As long as
this is seen as the solution, the refugee crisis is sure to be with us for a
long time yet.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Report typos and corrections to 'corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx'. [20]
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.[21]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/world/wikileaks-reveals-eu-planned-military-action-a
gainst-libyan-refugees
Links:
[1] http://www.alternet.org/authors/branko-marcetic
[2] http://alternet.org
[3] https://wikileaks.org/eu-military-refugees/EEAS/EEAS-2016-126.pdf
[4]
https://wikileaks.org/eu-military-refugees/EUMC/eu-military-refugee-plan-EUM
C.pdf
[5]
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/13/migrant-crisis-eu-plan-to-strik
e-libya-networks-could-include-ground-forces
[6]
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/operation-sophia-what-new-eu-naval-mission-targetin
g-mediterranean-people-smugglers-1523125
[7] https://euobserver.com/foreign/128743
[8]
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/535005/EXPO_STU(2015)
535005_EN.pdf
[9]
https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/01/30/greece-investigate-pushbacks-summary-exp
ulsions
[10]
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/international/europe/2016/02/21/con
tested-waters-natos-new-aegean-migrant-mission/80708692/
[11] http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/ten-borders
[12] http://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/mde19/1578/2015/en/
[13]
http://europe.newsweek.com/eu-trafficking-plans-moronic-delusional-say-gover
nment-advisers-327705
[14]
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/oct/28/intervention-libya-succ
ess
[15] http://www.reuters.com/article/libya-security-idUSKCN0VS1A5
[16]
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2016/01/23/Report-UK-U-S-Ru
ssian-troops-in-Libya.html
[17]
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-corbyn-demands-to-know-
british-war-plan-against-isis-in-libya-a6858386.html
[18]
https://global.handelsblatt.com/edition/373/ressort/politics/article/anti-re
fugee-tensions-escalate
[19]
http://www.newsweek.com/anti-islam-organization-pegida-exporting-hate-across
-europe-426805
[20] mailto:corrections@xxxxxxxxxxxx?Subject=Typo on WikiLeaks Reveals EU
Planned Military Action Against Libyan Refugees
[21] http://www.alternet.org/
[22] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
