FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Since
1969, Qadhafi has determined Libya's foreign policy. His principal
foreign policy goals have been Arab unity, elimination of Israel,
advancement of Islam, support for Palestinians, elimination of
outside--particularly Western--influence in the Middle East and
Africa, and support for a range of "revolutionary" causes.
After
the 1969 coup, Qadhafi closed American and British bases on Libyan
territory and partially nationalized all foreign oil and commercial
interests in Libya. He also played a key role in promoting the
use of oil embargoes as a political weapon for challenging the
West, hoping that an oil price rise and embargo in 1973 would
persuade the West--especially the United States--to end support
for Israel. Qadhafi rejected both Soviet communism and Western
capitalism, and claimed he was charting a middle course.
Libya's
relationship with the former Soviet Union involved massive Libyan
arms purchases from the Soviet bloc and the presence of thousands
of east bloc advisers. Libya's use--and heavy loss--of Soviet-supplied
weaponry in its war with Chad was a notable breach of an apparent
Soviet-Libyan understanding not to use the weapons for activities
inconsistent with Soviet objectives. As a result, Soviet-Libyan
relations reached a nadir in mid-1987.
After
the fall of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, Libya concentrated
on expanding diplomatic ties with Third World countries and increasing
its commercial links with Europe and East Asia. Following the
imposition of UN sanctions in 1992, these ties significantly diminished.
Following a 1998 Arab League meeting in which fellow Arab states
decided not to challenge UN sanctions, Qadhafi announced that
he was turning his back on pan-Arab ideas, one of the fundamental
tenets of his philosophy.
Instead,
Libya pursued closer bilateral ties, particularly with North African
neighbors Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco. It has also sought to develop
its relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, leading to Libyan involvement
in several internal African disputes in the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea and
Ethiopia. Libya has also sought to expand its influence in Africa
through financial assistance, ranging from aid donations to impoverished
neighbors such as Niger to oil subsidies to Zimbabwe, and through
participation in the African Union. Qadhafi has proposed a borderless
"United States of Africa" to transform the continent
into a single nation-state ruled by a single government. This
plan has been greeted with skepticism. Libya has played a helpful
role in facilitating the provision of humanitarian assistance
to Darfur refugees in Chad.
Terrorism
Libya has taken significant steps to mend its international image
and renounced terrorism in a letter to the UN Security Council
in August 2003. In 1999, the Libyan government surrendered two
Libyans suspected of involvement in the Pan Am 103 bombing, leading
to the suspension of UN sanctions. On January 31, 2001, a Scottish
court seated in the Netherlands found one of the suspects, Abdel
Basset al-Megrahi, guilty of murder in connection with the bombing,
and acquitted the second suspect, Al-Amin Khalifa Fhima. Megrahi’s
conviction was upheld on March 14, 2002.
UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003 following Libyan compliance with its remaining UNSCR requirements on Pan Am 103, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation. Libya paid compensation in 1999 for the death of British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher, a move that preceded the reopening of the British Embassy in Tripoli, and paid damages to the families of the victims in the bombing of UTA Flight 772. With the lifting of UN sanctions in September 2003, each of the families of the victims of Pan Am 103 received $4 million of a maximum $10 million in compensation. After the lifting of U.S. IEEPA-based sanctions on September 20, 2004, the families received a further $4 million.
On November
13, 2001, a German court found four persons, including a former
employee of the Libyan embassy in East Berlin, guilty in connection
with the 1986 La Belle disco bombing, in which two U.S. servicemen
were killed. The court also established a connection to the Libyan
government. The German government has demanded that Libya accept
responsibility for the La Belle bombing and pay appropriate compensation.
A compensation deal for non-U.S. victims was agreed in August
2004. U.S. victims continue to pursue their claims in federal
court.
By 2003, Libya appeared to have curtailed its support for international terrorism, although it may have retained residual contacts with some of its former terrorist clients. In August 2004, the Department of Justice entered into a plea agreement with Abdulrahman Alamoudi, in which he stated that he had been part of a 2003 plot to assassinate Saudi Crown Prince Abdallah (now King Abdallah) at the behest of Libyan government officials.
In 2005, the Saudi Government pardoned the individuals accused in the assassination plot. During the 2005 UN General Assembly session, Foreign Minister Shalgam issued a statement that reaffirmed Libya's commitment to the statements made in its letter addressed to the Security Council on August 15, 2003, renouncing terrorism in all its forms and pledging that Libya will not support acts of international terrorism or other acts of violence targeting civilians, whatever their political views or positions. Libya also expressed its commitment to continue cooperating in the international fight against terrorism. On June 30, 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
U.S.-LIBYAN
RELATIONS
The United States supported the UN resolution providing for Libyan
independence in 1951 and raised the status of its office at Tripoli
from a consulate general to a legation. Libya opened a legation
in Washington, DC, in 1954. Both countries subsequently raised
their missions to embassy level.
After
Qadhafi's 1969 coup, U.S.-Libyan relations became increasingly
strained because of Libya's foreign policies supporting international
terrorism and subversion against moderate Arab and African governments.
In 1972, the United States withdrew its ambassador. Export controls
on
military equipment and civil aircraft were imposed during the
1970s, and U.S. embassy staff members were withdrawn from Tripoli
after a mob attacked and set fire to the embassy in December 1979.
The U.S. Government declared Libya a "state sponsor of terrorism"
on December 29, 1979.
In May
1981, the U.S. Government closed the Libyan "people's bureau"
(embassy) in Washington, DC, and expelled the Libyan staff in
response to a general pattern of conduct by the people's bureau
contrary to internationally accepted standards of diplomatic behavior.
In August
1981, two Libyan jets fired on U.S. aircraft participating in
a routine naval exercise over international waters of the Mediterranean
claimed by Libya. The U.S. planes returned fire and shot down
the attacking Libyan aircraft. In December 1981, the State Department
invalidated U.S. passports for travel to Libya and, for purposes
of safety, advised all U.S. citizens in Libya to leave. In March
1982, the U.S. Government prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil
into the United States and expanded the controls on U.S.-origin
goods intended for export to Libya. Licenses were required for
all transactions, except food and medicine. In March 1984, U.S.
export controls were expanded to prohibit future exports to the
Ras al-Enf petrochemical complex. In April 1985, all Export-Import
Bank financing was prohibited.
Due to
Libya's continuing support for terrorism, the United States adopted
additional economic sanctions against Libya in January 1986, including
a total ban on direct import and export trade, commercial contracts,
and travel-related activities. In addition, Libyan Government
assets in the United States were frozen. When evidence of Libyan
complicity was discovered in the Berlin discotheque terrorist
bombing that killed an American serviceman, the United States
responded by launching an aerial bombing attack against targets
near Tripoli and Benghazi in April 1986. Subsequently, the United
States maintained its trade and travel embargoes and brought diplomatic
and economic pressure to bear against Libya. This pressure helped
to bring about the Lockerbie settlement and Libya’s renunciation
of WMD and MTCR-class missiles.
In 1991,
two Libyan intelligence agents were indicted by federal prosecutors
in the U.S. and Scotland for their involvement in the December
1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103. In January 1992, the UN Security
Council approved Resolution 731 demanding that Libya surrender
the suspects, cooperate with the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 investigations,
pay compensation to the victims' families, and cease all support
for terrorism. Libya's refusal to comply led to the approval of
UNSC Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992, imposing sanctions designed
to bring about Libyan compliance. Continued Libyan defiance led
to passage of UNSC Resolution 883--a limited assets freeze and
an embargo on selected oil equipment--in November 1993. As noted
in the terrorism section above, UN sanctions were lifted on September
12, 2003, after Libya fulfilled all remaining UNSCR requirements,
including renunciation of terrorism, acceptance of responsibility
for the actions of its officials, and payment of appropriate compensation
to the victims’ families.
On December 19, 2003, Libya announced its intention to rid itself of WMD and MTCR-class missile programs. Since that time, it has cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya has also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In recognition of these actions, the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Libya. The U.S. terminated the applicability of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act to Libya and the President signed an Executive Order on September 20, 2004 terminating the national emergency with respect to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctions. This action had the effect of unblocking assets blocked under the Executive Order sanctions. Restrictions on cargo aviation and third-party code-sharing have been lifted, as have restrictions on passenger aviation. Certain export controls remain in place.
U.S. diplomatic personnel reopened the U.S. Interest Section in Tripoli on February 8, 2004. The mission was upgraded to a U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, 2004, and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. The establishment in 2005 of an American School in Tripoli demonstrates the increased presence of Americans in Libya, and the continuing normalization of bilateral relations. Libya re-established its diplomatic presence in Washington with the opening of an Interest Section on July 8, 2004, which was subsequently upgraded to a Liaison Office in December 2004 and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. Neither country has yet appointed an ambassador.
On May 15, 2006, the State Department announced its intention to rescind Libya’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in recognition of the fact that Libya had met the statutory requirements for such a move: it had not provided any support for acts of international terrorism in the preceding six-month period, and had provided assurances that it would not do so in the future. On June 30, 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Principal U.S. Officials
Charge d'Affaires--Ambassador William Milam (ret.)
Deputy Principal Officer--John Christopher Stevens
The U.S. Embassy in Libya is temporarily located at the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souk al-Thulatha, Al-Gadim, Tripoli (tel. 218-21-335-1848, fax 218-21-335-1847).
The U.S. consular representative's office is also located at the in the Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel (tel. 218-91-220-0125, fax 218-21-335-1838, email consulartripoli@yahoo.com). Limited services are available for U.S. citizens.
