Times Publications

A NEW US RELATIONSHIP
WITH LIBYA

In January 2009, the United States inked an agreement with Libya providing information exchanges on defense and security issues, as well as talks on the sale of military equipment. The Obama administration is unlikely to approve the sale of weapons systems to Libya; however, the provision of non-lethal military supplies is now possible.

At the same time, Washington must remain concerned with the potential ramifications of a rearmament program in a state with a history of involvement in its neighbor’s affairs. Given Libya’s recent renunciation of weapons of mass destruction, its talks with France and Russia aimed at peaceful nuclear cooperation also fall into the category of a permanent interest of the United States.

Regional Concerns
From the outset of the Libyan revolution, the Qaddafi regime took a strong interest in African affairs. Once the two suspects in the Lockerbie bombing were remanded into custody in 1999, Libyan initiatives in the region expanded as part of an attempt to create a United States of Africa, with Qaddafi as head of state. With Libyan foreign policy continuing to tout “Africa for the Africans,” Qaddafi in February 2009 was elected to a one-year term as chairman of the African Union.

Consequently, there is little support in Libya for US policies like the US Africa Command or the Trans-Saharan Counter-Terrorism Partnership. Conversely, there remains concern in Washington with Tripoli’s ongoing involvement in the domestic policies of numerous African states, from Uganda to Zimbabwe, together with its courtship of minority groups in the Sahel-Sahara region. Qaddafi’s proclivity to play the role of regional peacekeeper is often another area of uncertainty — and irritation — for American policymakers. Moreover, Qaddafi’s AU role gives him a bully pulpit to question Obama administration initiatives in Africa.Sahara region. Qaddafi’s proclivity to play the role of regional peacekeeper is often another area of uncertainty — and irritation — for American policymakers. Moreover, Qaddafi’s AU role gives him a bully pulpit to question Obama administration initiatives in Africa. Culture, Education, Science, and the Environment. On a more positive note, Libya and the United States have concluded or discussed several agreements related to cultural, educational, environmental, and scientific issues.

These include a scientific cooperation agreement and an education and culture protocol. Regarding education, it’s clearly in America’s interest to encourage Libyan students to study in the United States as thousands did in the 1970s. Currently, some 1,500 Libyans are studying in the United States, and the number is expected to swell in the future.

Issues related to science and the environment begins with Libya’s carbon output, which is the highest per capita in the region. In addition, most Libyan cities don’t have licensed landfills, and dust levels, which have increased 1,000 per cent in the last two decades, negatively influence air quality and environmentally sensitive areas, like coral reefs. Libya has established a few nature reserves and national parks; however, control and policing of them is spotty. Water tables in coastal areas continue to decline, adding to existing problems of salinity in previously tillable land.

Oil drives the Libyan economy

Finally, the depletion of underground aquifers, due to the Great Manmade River Project, threatens gigantic sink holes in the desert. Obama administration initiatives in soft policy issue areas like these offers opportunities for bilateral cooperation with limited political exposure or risk.

Human Rights and Democracy
The promotion of human rights and democracy are the two related policy areas where it will likely continue to prove difficult to find common ground. Until recently, the US government had largely ignored these issues, focusing first on the resolution of the Lockerbie affair and then on the renunciation of WMD. Questions of democracy and human rights did not become a regular part of the bilateral dialogue until 2003

when Secretary of State Colin L. Powell added them to the agenda. Since that time, Libya has taken small steps to improve its human rights record; however, much more needs to be done.

Moreover, meaningful democratic reforms have been virtually nonexistent, and there is no evidence that Libyan leader Qaddafi intends to move toward a representative democratic system anytime soon. Saif al-Islam al-Qaddafi, the leader’s eldest son by his second wife and his presumed successor, has been touting a new constitution, but the latest indications are that it will outline a kind of social contract, à la Jean-Jacques Rousseau, as opposed to a new and more democratic political system.

Although the current situation is no excuse for inaction, the most productive approach in the immediate future may be to engage in confidence-building while continuing to advocate progress in human rights and democratic reforms.

Progress will likely be slow, but the Obama administration should not be seen as legitimizing the present system of government. Washington could also assume a useful role as an active coordinator of efforts to promote democratic change. Several Western governments and NGOs have sponsored seminars or training sessions on democracy-related issues in recent years, but no one has attempted to coordinate these efforts to ensure they complement and reinforce each other.

In the closing days of the Bush administration, Libya and the United States embarked upon a new and very different relationship. The eventual parameters of this relationship are not clear and are unlikely to be so for years to come. Some elements of this new relationship are obvious — involving longstanding commercial, diplomatic, and security interests — while others are less certain and some perhaps not yet visible.

Most of these interests share common denominators in that they are complicated and require concerted action on both sides for progress to be made. In that regard, one of the most promising aspects of recent developments is U.S. recognition that Libya is a country with which the United States can expect to have the same normal relationship we might have with any other country. | << back to previous page