Diplomatic Outlook for US-Libya Relations
Event Featuring:
Overview
The first panel of the conference dealt with the diplomatic future of the United States and Libya. David Welch expressed a desire for concrete, open discourse and an improvement of relations with Libya, but also recognized several obstacles to the normalization of relations. Ambassador Ali Aujali expressed concerns and willingness to cooperate and stressed that relations are strengthened by business and bilateral concessions. The panel agreed that relations between Libya and the United States are mutually beneficial, and the establishment of a thriving US-Libya relationship would create a more easily accessible Middle East.
Event Summary
Ambassador David Mack began the panel by recounting his experiences as a young diplomat in Tripoli. He explained that, for the past two hundred years, American-Libyan relations have had periods of conflict, periods of cooperation, and long times of neglect and ignorance. Negotiations and small steps forward beginning in 1998 proved that a relationship would be possible, but required “discretion, patience, persistence, and precision.” According to Mack, American and Libyan diplomats have the necessary skills to make this relationship work. He introduced the keynote speaker and respondent, respectively Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Welch and Ali Aujali, Libyan Ambassador to the United States.
Assistant Secretary Welch was pleased with the political context of Libyan-American relations regarding the status and progress of negotiations and the benefits the policy change will have for trade with Libya. He mentioned the May 15, 2006 announcement by President Bush that Libya would be removed from the American list of nations that harbor terrorism, as well as the May 31 opening of the first American Embassy in Tripoli in thirty years. US-Libyan relations have made remarkable strides, especially since the 2003 abandonment of all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs by the Libyan government. The fact that Libya has proven itself to have not provided “sponsorship or comfort” to terrorist groups, coupled with satisfactory assurances that Libya does not plan to do so in the future, has earned Libya approval for trade and diplomatic relations with the United States.
Welch went on to say that, while relations have been re-established with Libya, caution and care must be exercised in talks. Libya may have satisfied initial criteria for relations and negotiations, but there are still several key issues that must be addressed, such as human rights and Libya’s relations with terrorist states. Past and future transgressions by the Libyan government will be dealt with in bilateral, mature, and careful negotiations, but absolute agreement between the United States and Libya is neither expected nor required. Assistant Secretary Welch ended on an optimistic note, with hopes of relations with Libya helping to “shape a new future” in the Middle East.
Ambassador Ali Aujali of Libya, the first Libyan Ambassador to the United States in a generation and a half, began with a brief history of US-Libya relations since the 1970s. He chronicled the transitions from a small Libyan office within the United Arab Emirates embassy, to a liaison office and finally, after the May 15th retraction of Libya’s designation as a terrorist state, a full-fledged embassy in Washington. Aujali went on to stress that healthy relations take perseverance, sincerity, and most importantly time to succeed on cultural and political levels.
The Ambassador also commented on Tripoli’s qualms regarding settlements for the families of victims of the PAN AM 103 “Lockerbie” incident, as well as the accessibility of American universities to Libyan students. The status of the “Benghazi Six”, a group of health workers from Bulgaria and Palestine who are accused of intentionally infecting thirty Libyans with HIV, was also mentioned as a sticking point in US-Libya relations. Ambassador Aujali sees Libya as a possible model for Iran and North Korea to emulate in creating an atmosphere conducive to reconciliation and partnership with the United States. The panel closed with a short reaffirmation of commitment to the establishment and growth of Libyan-American relations.
About this Event
This panel took place at "US- Libya Re-Engagement: The Path Forward" at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace on June 23, 2006. The US-Libya Business Association and the Middle East Institute jointly sponsored this event.
Speaker Details
Ambassador David Mack served as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. As Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs under President George H.W. Bush, Ambassador Mack directed relations between the United States and twelve other governments, including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. He provided political support for Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and promoted U.S. business interests in the Arab world. Ambassador Mack is the current Vice President of the Middle East Institute and Associate Chairman of the USLBA.
Ambassador C. David Welch was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs on March 18, 2005. He served as U.S. Ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt from August 2001 to March 2005. A career Foreign Service Officer, Mr. Welch served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. In that position he played a leading role in directing U.S. policy toward Iran, Iraq, and Libya. Mr. Welch negotiated a cease-fire between warring Kurdish parties in northern Iraq, including by traveling personally to northern Iraq in the aftermath of heavy fighting there in 1996-97. He speaks Spanish and Arabic, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Foreign Service Association. Mr. Welch has received several awards from the State Department for exceptional service.
Ambassador Ali Aujali was named Chief of the Libyan Interests Section in Washington, DC in 2004, after serving as the Charge d'Affairs at the Libyan Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. While serving in Canada, Ambassador Aujali founded the Libya-Canada Business Council. He has held a variety of positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tripoli, including deputy director general of the Americas Department, director general of the North and South Americas Department, and director general of European Affairs. Ambassador Aujali was sworn into his post immediately after the historic renewal of relations between the United States and Libya on May 15, 2006.
Attributions
Abdallah Zihni prepared this event summary. He is a rising senior at the City University of New York's Queens College campus, majoring in Political Science with a focus on Middle East Politics. He is fluent in Egyptian-dialect Arabic and will be studying in Cairo during the Fall 2006 semester. Abdallah is a Programs Department intern at the Middle East Institute. This event summary was co-edited by John Pollock and Julia Shatz, who are both also interns at the Middle East Institute.
