Al-Hayat: Do you think that there is a plan to turn Libya into a courtyard to dump fighters from Syria and Iraq?
Jibril: Rather a courtyard to dump the terrorist members from around the world. Some may think that my interpretation is unrealistic. This country has become the third-largest country in the Arab world after the partition of Sudan, with a population of 6 million people only. It possesses [great] natural resources but lacks a state. This is a black hole for Europe and for illegal immigration. The United Nations reports indicate imminent danger to Europe as a result of illegal immigration from Africa. In the absence of a state, a limited population and a wide surface area, the international community may think it is better to divide Libya into smaller entities and each entity can control its inhabitants. This may be a solution to the problem of illegal immigration for them, even at the expense of the sovereignty and aspirations of the Libyans. This would make it easier for local authorities to control the presence of extremist members from all corners of the world in their respective areas. Yet the biggest danger is that the lack of a unified military force to confront IS may lead it to ally with other terrorist organizations such as Boko Haram and Al-Shabab fighters in Somalia. In this case, the world will not be able to stop terrorism, which would be a threat to the entire world.
The third option
Al-Hayat: Some now are nostalgic for previous regimes after the outcome of the Arab Spring revolutions.
Jibril: Some now believe that the return of previous regimes and dictatorships would be more merciful than the current situation. The previous regimes were unacceptable and what is happening now is unacceptable so a third option must be considered. Had it not been for the performance of the fallen regime, we would not have gotten to this jungle of mass murders; we are facing the outcomes of this crisis. Had these regimes achieved a fraction of a real human development project, the Arab citizens — whether in Libya or Syria — would not be killing each other like monsters. This is the result of the lack of institutions and the lack of human development. We should not compare one injustice to another or one authoritarian regime to another. The world is currently in a transitional phase. Those regimes did not build generations or minds. Nostalgia for [the previous regime] is not the result of longing for past achievements, but only because the present is unjust.