United States Uses Egypt, Saudi Arabia to Aid Libyan Rebels

While the Obama administration has kept to a hands-off policy where the Libyan Civil War is concerned, at least Egypt is participating covertly and Saudi Arabia is being asked to lend a hand on behalf of the United States.

According to the Strategy Page, a hundred members of Egypt's elite commando force, Unit 777, are operating inside Libya, aiding the rebels with advice and assistance against the motley force of mercenaries and loyal Libyan Army troops still fighting on behalf of Muammar Gaddafi. Unit 777 has been trained by various Western special ops units, such as Delta Force from the United States, and is considered top notch. Unit 777's usual role has been to conduct counter insurgency operations inside Egypt against the Muslim Brotherhood.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has requested that Saudi Arabia provide arms for the Libya rebels. The idea is that the Libyans would be provided with much-needed anti-tank missiles, anti-aircraft missiles, and mortars through an air pipeline that would be set up between Saudi Arabia and Benghazi, the main Libyan city held by the rebels.

The two developments would seem to be part of a new phase in Obama administration strategy to begin to facilitate aid for the Libyan rebels without having too many American fingerprints all over it. Officially it would be two Arab Muslim states providing support for the Libyan rebels and not the Americans, avoiding what the Obama administration believes is the stigma of American intervention in the Muslim world.

The policy would appear to be just a little too clever by half, however. One does not know whom the Obama administration thinks it is fooling. In the conspiracy-addled Middle East, people see nefarious plots that are not actually there all the time. Indirect aid funneled through or provided by two Arab countries will be spotted for what it is in a heartbeat.

The policy has two downsides. First, those people who resent American intervention in the Muslim world will still resent it, though both Egypt and Saudi Arabia will certainly be brought in for their share of the blame. Second, those people who would be expected to appreciate America coming to the aid of people fighting for their freedom now likely won't, instead reserving their gratitude for the surrogates. Thus the Obama administration, in its desire to avoid appearances, gets the worse of both worlds.

Sources: Egypt Quietly Invades Libya,Strategy Page, March 6th, 2011

America's secret plan to arm Libya's rebels, Robert Fisk, The Independent, March 7th, 2011