Overview
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted Lt. Gen. Saddam Haftar in Washington on Monday, where the two discussed US-backed efforts to unify Libya’s military, economic and political institutions.
- The plan associated with White House adviser Massad Boulos is still under negotiation and envisions keeping Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah in office while elevating Saddam Haftar to a senior national executive role, but no final agreement has been signed.
- Washington has already brokered practical confidence-building steps, including a unified spending deal for public wages and the National Oil Corporation and US-led joint military drills in Sirte earlier this year.
- Regional intelligence chiefs and foreign states from the UAE to Turkey and Italy have stepped up engagement with both camps, and Boulos has suggested a signing ceremony in Washington with President Trump if an accord is reached.
- Critics and analysts warn the short-term US initiative could entrench unelected elites, undercut the UN’s election roadmap, and shape who controls Libya’s oil revenues and public institutions if the deal sidelines broader public participation.