New Libyan rebel leader spent much of past 20 years in suburban Virginia
- McClatchy Newspapers
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WASHINGTON The new leader of Libya's opposition military spent the past two decades in suburban Virginia but felt compelled - even in his late-60s - to return to the battlefield in his homeland, according to people who know him. Khalifa Hifter (Heftar) was once a top military officer for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, but after a disastrous military adventure in Chad in the late 1980s, Hifter switched to the anti-Gadhafi opposition. In the early 1990s, he moved to suburban Virginia, where he established a life but maintained ties to anti-Gadhafi groups. Late last week, Hifter was appointed to lead the rebel army, which has been in chaos for weeks. He is the third such leader in less than a month, and rebels interviewed in Libya openly voiced distrust for the most recent leader, Abdel Fatah Younes, who had been at Gadhafi's side until just a month ago.
Read more: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/03/26/1936931/new-libyan-rebel-leader-spent.html#ixzz1HlQAOfPA
