• Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Global logoCarnegie lettermark logo
DemocracyIran
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Frederic Wehrey"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "North Africa",
    "Libya"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security",
    "Military",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

In The Media

‘Our Hearts Are Dead.’ After 9 Years of Civil War, Libyans Are Tired of Being Pawns in a Geopolitical Game of Chess

The last time Libya’s war had the world’s full attention, it was being fought mainly by Libyans.

Link Copied
By Frederic Wehrey
Published on Feb 12, 2020
Program mobile hero image

Program

Middle East

The Middle East Program in Washington combines in-depth regional knowledge with incisive comparative analysis to provide deeply informed recommendations. With expertise in the Gulf, North Africa, Iran, and Israel/Palestine, we examine crosscutting themes of political, economic, and social change in both English and Arabic.

Learn More

Source: Time

The last time Libya’s war had the world’s full attention, it was being fought mainly by Libyans.

For much of 2011, young revolutionaries in mismatched fatigues clamored on anti-aircraft guns, and the narrative driving events was the Arab Spring, an uprising that promised to place the power in the hands of citizens long subjugated by despots.

Though Libyans shaped the ebb and flow of battle, they were hardly alone, even then: circling high above were foreign warplanes from the NATO-led coalition that kept at bay fighters loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. And contrary to some official denials, there were also “boots on the ground” in the form of foreign special operations forces and intelligence personnel, from France, Britain, the U.S., the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, who discretely channeled weapons and training to fractious anti-Gaddafi groups. In such meddling, there were already signs of a proxy rivalry that would explode into open warfare years later.

Read the Full Text

This article was originally published by Time.

About the Author

Frederic Wehrey

Senior Fellow, Middle East Program

Frederic Wehrey is a senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where his research focuses on governance, conflict, and security in Libya, North Africa, and the Persian Gulf.

    Recent Work

  • Article
    Parallel Climate Reckonings: Colonial Water Legacies and Indigenous Adaptation, from Morocco to the American West

      Frederic Wehrey, Charles H. Johnson

  • Commentary
    The Iran War Is a Stress Test for Gulf States

      Frederic Wehrey, Charles H. Johnson

Frederic Wehrey
Senior Fellow, Middle East Program
Frederic Wehrey
Political ReformSecurityMilitaryForeign PolicyNorth AfricaLibya

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

  • People standing on rocks in the ocean near the shore, with soldiers in the foreground
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Migration Wave That Embarrassed Morocco and Rattled Europe

    Most migrants may have left Ceuta, but the effects may linger.

      • Alejandro Rodriguez
      • Sarah Yerkes

      Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Sarah Yerkes

  • Supporters wave VOX and Spanish flags at the start of Patriots for Europe rally at Marriott Auditorium Hotel on February 08, 2025 in Madrid, Spain
    Paper
    How Populist Middle Powers Are—and Are Not—Reshaping Global Politics

    There is a transnational far-right populist movement that links middle powers in a global movement that extends well beyond Trump.

      • Christopher Chivvis

      Christopher S. Chivvis, Rohan Mukherjee, Milan Vaishnav

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Russia Is Exporting Its Fuel Crisis to Central Asia

    When faced with fuel shortages in the past, Central Asian governments could always count on additional supplies from Moscow. That safety net no longer exists.

      Galiya Ibragimova

  • Shadowed figure lighting grocery store shelves
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Five Years After His Power Grab, Tunisia’s President Has Only Achieved Failure

    Saied’s main accomplishment has been to destroy a decade’s worth of democratic progress.

      • Sarah Yerkes

      Sarah Yerkes

  • Port cranes at sunset
    Commentary
    Emissary
    The Drone Attack on Egypt and the Widening Middle East War

    The targeting of Damietta Port appears to be more than a mere security message.

      Amr Hamzawy

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Carnegie global logo, stacked
1779 Massachusetts Avenue NWWashington, DC, 20036-2103Phone: 202 483 7600
  • Research
  • Emissary
  • About
  • Experts
  • Donate
  • Programs
  • Events
  • Blogs
  • Podcasts
  • Contact
  • Annual Reports
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Government Resources
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.