US Planning To Train Libyan Security Forces in Bulgaria

According to Reuters, the U.S.
is planning to train
Libyan security forces. The news comes as the Libyan government
continues to struggle with Islamists and militias that are impeding
attempts to restore some sort of order in the wake of Gaddafi’s
removal from power in 2011.

The instability in Libya has been highlighted by recent
kidnappings and violent clashes involving militias.

Last month, the
prime minister was kidnapped and later released, and yesterday
Libya’s
deputy director of intelligence was kidnapped at Tripoli
Airport.

Although many of the militias fought together to remove Gaddafi
from power, the BBC notes
that many remain in control of the towns where they formed.
Recently, Militia groups from Misrata were ordered to leave Tripoli
following violent clashes with protesters.

According to Army Col.
Steve Warren,  Libyan security forces will be trained in
Bulgaria. Admiral William McRaven has said that this training will
come with risks.

From
Reuters:

“Right now as we go forward to try and find a good way to build
up the Libyan security forces so they are not run by militias, we
are going to have to assume some risks,” McRaven told the forum
late on Saturday.

“There is probably some risk that some of the people we will be
training with do not have the most clean records. But at the end of
the day it is the best solution we can find to train them to deal
with their own problems.”

It is understandable that McRaven is wary of the risks involved
in training Libyan security forces. Coalition personnel have been
killed in so-called insider attacks
in Afghanistan.
Sixty-four coalition troops were killed in such attacks last
year in Afghanistan, and according to reporting
from the AP at the end of last month “insider attacks by Afghan
troops, or insurgents in their uniforms, have left 15 foreign
soldiers dead this year.”

Although plans still need to be finalized, it looks like Libyan
security forces could be receiving training from Americans for some
time. According to Reuters, Bulgaria’s defense minister said in
September that the U.S. plans to train Libyan forces in Bulgaria
for up to eight years.