Libya: Haftar goes for Tripoli

[Zinneke]

Is Haftar still considered the relatively culturally liberal/secular choice in Libya or have I fallen behind the news?

No, and he never was.

I mean, he is modestly secular by Libya standards, but he is absolutely not liberal by any stretch of the imagination.

But then nor was Napoleon, yet in the context of the liberalisation of the French state he was a key part of it, all things considered (I'm not going into his foreign expeditions). Haftar can at least play that role more effectively the Egyptian and the Algerian army leaders have done in the past.

At this point the country needs a government Europe can make deals with with a reasonably secular codified legal structure. It can go back to tribal divisions when the migration flows stabilise. 

[Zinneke]

Is Haftar still considered the relatively culturally liberal/secular choice in Libya or have I fallen behind the news?

No, and he never was.

I mean, he is modestly secular by Libya standards, but he is absolutely not liberal by any stretch of the imagination.

But then nor was Napoleon, yet in the context of the liberalisation of the French state he was a key part of it, all things considered (I'm not going into his foreign expeditions). Haftar can at least play that role more effectively the Egyptian and the Algerian army leaders have done in the past.

At this point the country needs a government Europe can make deals with with a reasonably secular codified legal structure. It can go back to tribal divisions when the migration flows stabilise. 

He won’t do any of that, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tries to form a Junta government with sham elections. It is fact at this point that military men never behave any different from the last regime, like ever.

I'm not discounting that, I'm saying that there's more likely a chance that he advances Libya towards modern statehood than similar military regimes around them ever did. Hence the whole "Haftar is the secular voice" Schtick that the media is coming out with. They're oversimplifying but the alternative to Haftar is unsustainable.