Why is the us in libya
A History Of U.S.–Libya Relations
in 2011 a nato-led coalition militarily
intervened in Libya helping
anti-government fighters remove longtime
leader Muammar Gaddafi and today Libya
is a bit of a mess and a lot of that has
to do with its relationship with the
United States when Libya first became an
independent country in 1951
self-appointed king Idris the first
welcomed British and American military
bases on Libyan soil in exchange for aid
some years later oil reserves were
discovered and foreign companies moved
in to extract and profit and sure Libya
benefited but at the price of its own
economic independence so in came an army
officer by the name of Muammar Gaddafi
who in 1969 overthrew King Idris his
vision Olivia for the Libyans by the
Libyans Gaddafi was feeling the pan-arab
as' socialist fever that was overtaking
the region in the 1960s he wanted Libya
to be economically independent and the
way to do it
seize the means of production oil
production that is foreign military
bases were shut down and the National
Oil Corporation was established and 1973
turned out to be a pretty busy year
Gaddafi attempted to nationalize oil
demanding that all foreign companies
negotiate new contracts that would
benefit Libya or get out
Gaddafi also use Libya's oil as a
political bargaining chip the
arab-israeli war was raging and Libya
introduced in oil embargo against any
country supporting Israel and it didn't
take long for OPEC countries to follow
suit and basically create an
international panic especially in the
United States the 70s ended with the
u.s. listing Libya as a quote state
sponsor of terrorism after a mob set
fire to a US embassy in Tripoli in the
80s Ronald Reagan's presidency meant a
stronger foreign policy towards an
anti-israel pro-soviet Libya today we
have done what we had to do if necessary
we shall do it again in addition to
sanctions Reagan authorized the bombing
of Tripoli and Benghazi the move was in
retaliation for a 1986 attack on a
German nightclub
that killed and injured dozens of US
servicemen in 1988 Libya was accused of
being behind the bombing of Pan Am
flight 103 over Lockerbie Scotland 270
people were killed
Libya refused to cooperate with UN
investigations and that meant everyone's
favorite political tool more sanctions
then in the late 90s and early 2000s
Libya began taking steps towards opening
up a bit more in 2003 UN sanctions were
lifted after Libya accepted
responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing
and agreed to pay two point seven
billion dollars in compensation to the
victims families
shortly after Olivia took even more
steps to shrug off its image as a
dangerous state working with the United
Nations to prove that it wasn't
interested in developing weapons of mass
destruction the United States took
notice and lifted sanctions from Libya
and also try to normalize relations and
part of that normalization oil in
January 2005 Libya allowed US companies
in for oil exploration the first time
since u.s. companies left in 1986 and a
year later probably coincidentally the
u.s. took Libya off of its state
sponsors of terrorism list and while
this is happening Libyans were getting
fed up they were fed up with decades of
Gaddafi's brutal rule and with waiting
for the oil wealth to trickle down so in
2011 along with the rest of the region
Libya erupted in protests thousands came
out into the streets of Benghazi in
February of that year against Gaddafi's
autocratic rule protests were met with
violence and the situation quickly
became a bloody civil war between forces
loyal to Gaddafi and rebel groups and
less than a month later the UN approved
a nato-led military intervention helping
ring in a new era for Libya but that new
era hasn't looked so hot intervening
powers didn't come to Libya with a plan
and while elections did take place in
2012 the country has since only
deteriorated warring militias contested
leadership decreased oil output and Isis
have all led to the country's collapse
and now the US has resumed military
strikes in Libya this time against Isis
so will Libya ever be allowed to stand
on its own
