“Tripoli is [the LNA'] strategic objective in its operation to combat terrorism," LNA spokesman Ahmed al-Mismari said in a December 2016 interview with Sputnik. “The main forces of [Islamist] militants are concentrated in the city, hidden under other names."

This created tensions between Haftar and his former U.S. benefactors, pushing him closer to Russia. The United States – along with its own allies, such as the United Arab Emirates – publicly supports the GNA and its fight against Islamic State’s franchise in Libya.

After Islamic State began to exploit Libya’s chaos, the Pentagon did return to the country. Between August and December 2016, the U.S. Marine Corps and Air Force pounded terrorist targets in and around the city of Sirte, approximately 350 miles by road from Benghazi. In January 2017, B-2 stealth bombers flew a marathon mission to attack camps the fleeing militants had set up further south.

But Hafter and his staff downplayed the sincerity and impact of U.S. military activities in Sirte on behalf of the GNA. “Not the U.S. and not any other party can free Sirte from [Islamic State], only our forces can,” al-Mismari said at one press conference. On top of that, he labeled the whole affair pre-election propaganda for the government in Tripoli.

In June and November 2016, the Libyan warlord also made trips to Moscow to meet with Russian foreign and defense ministry officials rather than reach out to the Americans. Also in November 2016, he spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu via satellite from the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the Mediterranean Sea.

The exact details of these discussions are unclear, but they reportedly included arranging arms shipments and training courses for LNA forces. The group already has a significant number of armored vehicles and its own air force. Getting information from surveillance drones flying out of Egypt would give Haftar’s troops another edge over their opponents.

More firepower and intelligence would be especially important in light of recent events. On March 3, 2017, the Islamist Benghazi Defense Brigades launched a spectacular series of attacks on oil facilities the LNA controls in the country’s so-called “Oil Crescent.”

But as Russia is no doubt aware, its support for Haftar and his independent objectives, which threaten to spark a deeper civil war, runs counter to American priorities in the region. For years now, Washington's goal has been a stable, unified, pro-U.S. Libya focused on defeating multi-national terrorists. The new reality of Moscow's presence hasn’t been lost on officials in Washington.

During a hearing before members of the Senate Armed services Committee on March 9, 2017, U.S. Marine Corps General Thomas Waldhauser, head of U.S. Africa Command agreed that the Russians were attempting to gain sway over whomever ultimately gained the most power in Libya and that this was not in America’s best interests. In addition, he agreed with Senator Lindsey Graham’s (R-S.C.) assessment that Moscow’s push in North Africa mirrored its policy in Syria, where Russian troops have been critical to the survival Assad’s regime.