A decade after a bloody revolution that led to the death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi and chaos in its wake, Libyans appear ready to turn a new page. A new Government of National Unity has been formed, and elections are planned for the year’s end. Even Khalifa Haftar, a militia leader strongman, appears willing to play along for now.
What does this mean for the United States, whose recent history in Libya includes helping overthrow Gadhafi but also having an ambassador be killed? Your host talked to a senior Biden administration official for some insights. The official requested anonymity given the sensitive nature of the issue.
Q) What do Americans need to know now about what’s going on in Libya?
A) Libya has a chance to achieve a more stable and prosperous future right now. And what is inspiring is to see so many Libyans make such a sincere effort in incredibly difficult circumstances to recover their sovereignty and move their country forward. That’s the case in the plan to hold a national election at the end of this year on Dec. 24, to agree on a ceasefire, call for all of these foreign forces and mercenaries to leave, and to give Libya a chance to write the next chapter. Q) Often times these things fall apart. You have militias, strongmen, other countries and mercenary groups and I could go on forever. Why should we have more hope this time than in the past?
A) I certainly agree that there are a lot of risks that the Libyans need to manage and we need to help them where we can to do so… Where I think this is different is the intensity and the universality of the Libyan commitment to achieve a more stable and prosperous future. The violence of recent years, the manipulation by foreign actors, the civil conflict, the pernicious influence of armed groups and militias that you described, the perception that Libya’s considerable wealth is not always distributed fairly or transparently – all of these factors have led to a moment where a critical mass of Libyans have said enough, enough of that path that the country has been on. And in a really dramatic way they are reasserting their sovereignty … It’s worth a shot, frankly, and worth investing in however we can to try and see it through.
Q) How confident are you that Haftar is a going to cooperate, because he’s been a bit of a wild card in the past? A) Gen. Haftar’s position or that of anybody’s, frankly, is a question that the Libyan people need to decide through the December election, through the electoral process. That’s why our focus is making sure that these elections come together, that they are credible and fair and well-secured and the technical requirements are met, that the political imperative is answered, so that Libyans can find their voice …
Q) How confident are you that other countries are going to allow for this stability to take hold? What sort of pressure is the U.S. pursuing?
A) With respect to the foreign actors, this administration is upping its game diplomatically. We are doing that to talk to a range of foreign partners about how important it is to support these December elections, and how important it is to respect the Libyan ceasefire agreement which calls for the withdrawal of all foreign forces and all foreign mercenaries. That’s absolutely a conversation that we are having with great energy with our foreign partners so that we can try to work together to respect that Libyan vision.
Q) Are we going to be spending money to help Libya? What is our role in terms of helping Libya get through this transition process? A) The Congress has made certain allocations for particular programs, including technical support for elections, efforts to improve good governance and promote better public financial management. … The bigger story here is Libya is fundamentally a country with a tremendous amount of resources. Its challenge is being able to sustain and stabilize its energy output to effectively manage the economy so that those considerable resources are used to the benefit of the Libyan people. There have been some encouraging steps in that direction. For example, the progress in recent months toward the unification of the Central Bank of Libya … But again, there is a long road ahead in order to really promote the transparent management of revenues and ensure that all Libyans see it that way, that they believe they are benefiting.
Q) I’m hearing Libyan officials really would love to see the U.S. reopen its embassy there as soon as possible in Tripoli. What are the odds we’re going to be able to do that anytime soon?
A) Our intent is to do prudent planning to resume more regular diplomatic activities inside Libya … As security and resource considerations allow, we’re going to do the smart planning that’s necessary to see that we’re able to do more of our diplomacy inside Libya. In terms of reopening an embassy, it’s premature. I can’t speak to that in detail at this time.