The Foreign Service Journal, October 2005

reforming a legal and commercial framework which does not meet global standards. At this point, Libya is far from rich, but it does not lack capital. The government had an estimat- ed $25 billion in reserves in 2004, and revenues of $16 billion over and above its operating budget. The problem is how to invest pro- ductively in education and health, and get capital into the hands of entrepreneurs who will create jobs and become effective part- ners for foreign business interests. Libyan businessmen expressed concern that there was no apparent mechanism to do this, and that the trend was to funnel money through a few cronies of the regime who would create monopoly interests. Libya’s strategic détente with Europe and the U.S. makes the country safer from future military pressures or economic sanctions. NATO countries that formerly viewed it as a threat now want to cultivate common strate- gic and commercial interests. Of course, this also means that the regime no longer has the excuse of being under siege from a hostile world. U.S.-Libya Relationship Stalled A theme I heard over and over was that Libya had done so much — offering up its citizens for trial at The Hague, giving a generous settlement to the Pan Am 103 families, giving up its chemical weapons and its option to develop nuclear weapons — and had gotten so little in return. In fact, Libya has already gained a great deal, but three elements are still lacking: • Libya remains on the terrorism list; • The U.S. is delaying the issuance of visas in Tripoli; and • Relations are still well below the full ambassadorial level. Removal of Libya from the terrorism list was compli- cated by the serious allegation of a Libyan attempt two years ago to assassinate then-Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. While not denying Libyan involvement in some kind of anti-Abdullah agitation, Libyans I spoke with in April charged that the U.S. was seeking any excuse to delay the country’s removal from the terrorism list. They also said that Saudi Arabia was using this issue to put the U.S. on the defensive on at least one issue involving international terrorism. I suggested that Libya should find a way to resolve matters with its Saudi brothers. Shortly after his accession to the throne in August, King Abdullah pardoned the alleged Libyan intelligence agents it had under arrest. Since this seems to be the only instance of alleged Libyan culpabil- ity in international terrorism in recent years, Tripoli now expects movement toward full relations by the Bush administra- tion. In a strictly legal sense, the Bush administration could do so, but there is opposition from some members of Congress who espouse the grievances of American cit- izens dating back to 1986. The continued inclusion of Libya on the terrorism list has several practical effects, such as subjecting the sale of U.S. civil aircraft to onerous U.S. bureaucratic hurdles. More importantly, from the Libyan perspective, it constitutes an example of U.S. bad faith. The lack of visa issuance in Tripoli and Washington is the most immediate impediment to an expansion of con- tacts in the areas of commerce, tourism and education. The hold-up on the U.S. side is purely technical — lack of a secure facility for visa procedures. The U.S. Liaison Office in Tripoli, like diplomatic posts elsewhere, has to meet the rigorous security standards of the State Department. Greg Berry, the able Foreign Service officer in charge, indicated to me during my visit that the mission had located a property to the west of town with enough space to be set back from traffic, and negotiations are cur- rently under way to purchase the property. (Recently, zon- ing issues have arisen that are an additional complication.) Once the property issue is solved, the next step would be the entry of pre-fabricated buildings and equipment under diplomatic seal to ensure security. In the meantime, the Libyan Liaison Office chief in Washington, Ambassador Ali Aujali, appears to be subject to instructions that he insist upon reciprocal steps by the U.S. before he starts to issue visas. I explained the situa- tion to my high-level Libyan contacts, and suggested that this is an area where their interests would be better served F O C U S O C T O B E R 2 0 0 5 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 47 The lack of visa issuance in Tripoli and Washington is the most immediate impediment to an expansion of U.S.- Libyan contacts in the areas of commerce, tourism and education.