USS Mount Whitney arrives in Libya

The USS Mount Whitney sailed into Tripoli’s harbour on Sunday, bringing with it a high-powered American delegation led by Vice Admiral J.T. Anderson who commands the US Navy’s Sixth Fleet. The US Embassy in Libya says the ship is on a diplomatic mission that will take it to both Tripoli and Benghazi.

Joining Vice Admiral Anderson are US Special Envoy Richard Norland and Chargé d’Affaires Jeremy Brent. They’re in Libya to talk about ways to “enhance security cooperation between the United States and Libya, improve regional security, and reaffirm US support for a unified Libya,” according to the embassy’s statement.

While in Tripoli, the American officials met with key Libyan defence figures aboard the ship, including Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Salam Zubi and Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed al-Haddad, who brought along officers from Libya’s Air and Naval Staff.

Libyan Express learned from government insiders, who asked not to be named, that Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah and Presidential Council officials also had a smaller, separate meeting with the Americans before the ship headed off to Benghazi.

Next on the agenda are meetings in Benghazi with retired Major General Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam, who leads forces in eastern Libya. Though the embassy hasn’t directly linked the visit to Libya’s complex internal politics, sources close to the discussions say it’s likely connected to joint military exercises that Washington plans to hold between 22 April and 30 April, which will involve military commands from both Tripoli and Benghazi.

Building bridges between Libya’s divided military

This visit is just the latest chapter in months of efforts by Washington and European capitals to create a unified Libyan military that brings together fighters from the country’s divided east and west regions. US embassy staff have been regularly sitting down with military officials from both the Government of National Unity in Tripoli and Haftar’s command in Benghazi.

The groundwork for this unity push was laid in early February when Lieutenant General John Brennan, Deputy Commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM), travelled to both Tripoli and Benghazi. During his visit, Brennan met separately with Prime Minister Dbeibah and General Haftar before stopping by the headquarters of the Libyan Joint Military Commission in Sirte.

A source close to the commission told Libyan Express that Brennan presented a plan to start building a unified force by appointing four officers – two from eastern Libya and two from western Libya – to lead a joint command.

By the end of February, the US Embassy announced that American air forces had conducted “air activity” off Sirte’s coast. They described this as an effort aimed at “strengthening military integration between eastern and western Libya” and “improving air defence and air traffic control capabilities.”

The embassy called these activities an important step towards “reunifying Libya’s military institutions” and emphasised that “the U.S.-Libyan defence partnership will make our two countries stronger, in cooperation with our Libyan partners from across the country.”

The Mount Whitney’s visit appears to be building on these earlier efforts as part of Washington’s methodical approach to healing Libya’s military divisions, which have persisted since 2014.