Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 5, 2019

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN: A US citizen wants to overthrow a US-backed government in Libya. Here's why

After several days of aggressive military advances, the spotlight is on Libya once again. For a long time it's been both the most strategically relevant yet most overlooked country in the Mediterranean. Now, some decisive maneuvers by a renegade general could pierce, or further complicate, the cloud of chaos that has descended on Libya since the 2011 civil war.

At the heart of this is Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, now leading the current move by forces from the east of the country towards the capital Tripoli. Haftar is, to be polite, the ultimate pragmatist. He supported Moammar Gadhafi in his 1969 coup, then found himself in Langley, Virginia in the 90s where he gained US citizenship, before returning to overthrow Gadhafi in the 2011 conflict. Since then, he has been one of many strongmen claiming pre-eminence in the nation's descent into disarray, based in the city of Benghazi and exerting most of his control in eastern Libya.

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Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- April 5, 2019

Libya, a country divided: From Gaddafi to Haftar, how did they get here? -- Jez Fielder, Euronews/Reuters

Libya: The road from revolution to civil war -- Chase Winter

Ultranationalists to play kingmakers after Israeli election -- Tania Krämer, DW

Russian influence in the Gulf has its limits -- Nikolay Kozhanov & Leonid Issaev, Al Jazeera

Xi’s ‘China Dream’ vs Trump’s ‘America First’ -- Behzad Abdollahpour, Asia Times

Tiananmen Square and Youth Day: China braces for a year of significant yet difficult anniversaries -- Michael Walsh, ABC News Online

Facebook bans foreign political ads in the lead up to the Australian election -- Ariel Bogle, ABC News Online

Venezuelan Remittances Don’t Just Save Lives -- Shannon O'Neil, Bloomberg View

Comedian rips up the play book in Ukraine election success -- Matthias Williams & Margaryta Chornokondratenko, Reuters

Expert: Russia to remain crucial feedstock supplier despite spat with Brussels -- Hardy Graupner, DW

Still a need for Nato in a changing world -- SCMP Editorial

For NATO, China Is the New Russia -- Matthew Karnitschnig, Politico EU

The Democrats are Now Looking Elsewhere for Trump's Undoing -- W. James Antle III, National Interest

Trump keeps making threats he doesn't follow through on -- Tom Rogan, Washington Examiner

The next financial crisis will be worse than the 2008 crash. Here’s how the world can prepare for it -- Frank Jurgen-Richter, SCMP