Haftar is known for his courage, which some describe as bordering on recklessness at times. This trait has been with him since his days under his former boss, friend, and comrade, the late Muammar Gaddafi, whom he helped bring to power in the 1969 coup. Sources and Haftar’s own interviews, after 2011, show that he highly admired Gaddafi for many years. Their bond, based on shared pan-Arabist ideals rather than tribal loyalty (as they belonged to different tribes), was a valuable currency in Gaddafi’s Libya. Both men were young admirers of then-Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was the iconic figure of the pan-Arab movement.
This shared ideology was a foundation for their early military cooperation. In the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, for instance, Libya provided crucial aid to Egypt in the form of military jets, missiles, oil, and cash. Haftar himself was a commander in the Libyan contingent that supported the Egyptian forces in their successful crossing of the Suez Canal.
A suicidal mission: With such a personality, it was perhaps not unusual — yet still surprising — when General Khalifa Haftar launched his Operation Dignity in May 2014. At the time, Benghazi and most other cities in Eastern Libya were already in the grip of terror groups, including Al-Qaeda (AQ), ISIS, and the newly emerging Ansar al-Sharia. Derna, for example, had a major jihadist presence through the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council, and a year later, ISIS fully seized control of Sirte in the center of the country.
Daily assassinations of military officers, security personnel, and activists had become routine. People were killed leaving mosques, on their way to work, or simply after posting something on social media. What Haftar embarked on was a seemingly suicidal mission. He had no more than an estimated 150 men, mostly former Gaddafi-era officers. He was outnumbered, outgunned, and out-financed. Yet, he stood in front of his house and announced his determination to “liberate” Libya. Not many people took him seriously; even those who joined him had doubts, but they had no other option.
The foundations of his power: This reputation for calculated risk and personal courage is the very foundation of Haftar’s power. For many in Eastern and Southern Libya, his actions were not a political power grab but a heroic crusade to save the country from chaos. They credit him with leading the bloody and protracted fight to expel extremists, culminating in the LNA’s formal liberation of Benghazi in 2017 and Derna in 2018. It is a narrative that has resonated deeply with a population exhausted by years of violence and instability.
In this light, his supporters argue that he has not only saved the areas he controls but has also embarked on a huge rebuilding project. They contend that his administration has rebuilt war-devastated cities, with Derna, despite the recent floods, having been almost entirely transformed into a more modern city than it used to be. Benghazi is now a completely new city with new roads, bridges, and housing units, and its university, the oldest in Libya, has been completely renovated.
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