Recent events in Libya made me curious about who Khalifa Haftar is.
Today I came across this article in France24:
From alleged connections to the CIA to possible plans to overthrow the government, there is a sense of mystery surrounding Khalifa Haftar, the rogue general whose forces led an attack on the Libyan parliament in Tripoli Sunday.
Tripoli has accused the former rebel commander of attempting to stage a coup when his forces, backed by warplanes, helicopters and rocket fire sent lawmakers running for their lives as they ransacked the legislature and demanded parliament’s suspension.
http://www.france24.com/...
which led me to this article from May 17, 1991 in the New York Times:
For two years, United States officials have been shopping around for a home for about 350 Libyan soldiers who cannot return to their country because American intelligence officials had mobilized them into a commando force to overthrow Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader.
Now, the Administration has given up trying to find another country that will accept the Libyans and has decided to bring them to the United States.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
and then to this CNN article from April 4, 2011:
(CNN) -- His story reads like a political thriller. Once a confidant of Moammar Gadhafi and then his sworn enemy, he led a band of Libyan exiles trying to overthrow the Libyan regime before being spirited in secrecy to the United States when things went bad. His name is Khalifa Haftar.
He has lived in Virginia for 20 years but now he's back in Libya, trying to knock the rebel force into some kind of shape.
http://edition.cnn.com/...