The Pentagon’s plan to take fresh military action in oil-rich Libya is part of a broad strategy to contain China’s rising influence in North Africa, says an American scholar and political analyst. US officials are “looking at military options” and “a range of other options” in Libya to stop the “metastasis” of Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group in the North African country, Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said on Wednesday.

Libya has been wrestling with violence and political uncertainty since the country’s former dictator, Muammar Gaddafi, was deposed and later killed in 2011, following a US-led air campaign.

US ruined richest African nation

Dennis Etler, professor of anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, argues that the new war plan is an ironic development since “the US orchestrated the destruction of Libya in 2011,” which led to “a catastrophic civil war, the spread of Daesh terrorism into a vital North African nation and the conversion of what was once the richest and most advanced African country into a failed state.”

“Libya, which prior to the US-backed NATO intervention, was one of Africa’s greatest proponents of development and unity has now become a purveyor of terrorism and regional instability in the Sahel, namely Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad, and Burkina Faso, as well as giving a big boost to the Boko Haram terrorist organization in bordering Nigeria,” Etler said in an interview with Press TV on Thursday.

“The spread of terrorism throughout the region and into Nigeria was given a great spur by the proliferation of Takfiri-influenced militia throughout Libya in the wake of the so-called Arab Spring which quickly transitioned into a bitterly cold Arab winter,” he continued.

“The US feigns alarm at these developments, bemoans the spread of terrorism in Libya and other neighboring parts of Africa, and proffers that it must intervene militarily to protect the region from further attacks and destabilization,” the analyst said. “This two-faced behavior of the US could not be more blatant.”

US creates chaos as rationale for war

Professor Etler contended that “this reveals the true intent of US machinations not only in North Africa but throughout the world; create conditions of chaos which can then be used as a rationale for direct military intervention with boots on the ground.” He argued that the United States does not need to engage in a “full-scale invasion or occupation,” adding that its objective is to have military presence in “as many countries as possible to be in a position to have better situational control of ground operations and air space.”

US sets sights on oil, China

As for Africa, Professor Etler said that beside oil, China’s growing influence is a major factor drawing the US into the continent. “For what purpose [does the US] go to these lengths to secure a military presence in North Africa and the adjoining areas of West Africa?” he asked. “Oil of course is one reason, but of equal importance is the US contention with China for influence in Africa.”

“China is on a peace offensive in Africa, spending tens of billions of dollars on developmental aid and infrastructure projects. Prior to the overthrow of Gaddafi, China had 35,000 nationals working in Libya on projects totaling $20 billion. During the NATO intervention, China evacuated all of its nationals and abandoned its projects. Libya now lies in ruins,” the analyst explained.

“China has now shifted its focus to neighboring Algeria, where it will fund the building of a $3.2 billion port in Cherchell, east of Algiers. Currently there are 35-40,000 Chinese working on various projects in Algeria, similar to the number previously recorded in Libya. China also has a large presence in Nigeria, subject to the depredations of Boko Haram,” he continued.

“The spread of terrorism into North and West Africa as well as other regions of the world gives the US the rationale to spread its military tentacles far and wide, which will aid it in its attempts to thwart China’s peaceful rise to domination through trade and developmental aid,” Etler said. “The only thing the US has to offer is military intervention, perpetual war and the devastation of one nation after another.”