A B-2 Spirit stealth bomber. Image: skeeze (CC0 1.0)
The western military intervention in Libya in 2011 led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi regime and precipitated the country's collapse into disorder and insecurity. Years of factional fighting ensued, which continues to this day.
One element of a chaotic situation was the spreading influence of Islamist ideas. Several Islamist-leaning militias were active in Libya, and elements among them would be greatly influenced by the rise of ISIS. After the Gaddafi regime's overthrow and the setting up of weak successor governmental bodies, militias supported by Washington and backed by United States airpower forced ISIS-leaning Islamists in Libya onto the defensive. At the same time, the US-led air-war against ISIS in Iraq and Syria was making the Libyan front all the more significant for ISIS and its affiliates. The west's military strategy, by treating the various Islamist groups as a unified adversary even when local circumstances were different, actually strengthened connections between them (see "Libya's war, history's shadow", 24 March 2011).
