page_title: Libya–United States relations
section_title: Post-Gaddafi Libya (2011–present)
hierarchical_section_title: Libya–United States relations / History / Post-Gaddafi Libya (2011–present)
caption_attribution_description: Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Steven Goldstein and Libyan Foreign Affairs Under Secretary for Political Affairs Lutfi Almughrabi sign the Memorandum of Understanding on cultural property protection, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 2018. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
context_page_description: Libya–United States relations refers to the bilateral relations between the State of Libya and the United States of America. Relations are today cordial and cooperative, with particularly strong security cooperation only after the 2012 attack on the US liaison office or mission in Benghazi. Furthermore, a Gallup poll conducted in March and April 2012 found that Libyans had "among the highest approval" of US leadership in the entire Middle East and North Africa region.
  However, for decades prior to the 2011 Libyan Civil War, the countries were not on good terms and engaged each other in several military skirmishes. The Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi funded terror operations against the United States, most notably the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, to which the United States retaliated by bombing Libya, and the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
  When the Libyan civil war broke out in 2011, the United States took part in a military intervention in the conflict, aiding anti-Gaddafi rebels with air strikes against the Libyan Army.
context_section_description: The United States' first direct contact with the anti-Gaddafi opposition came on March 14, 2011 when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with National Transitional Council leader Mahmoud Jibril in Paris. The US took longer than other leading NTC allies to formally recognise the council as Libya's legitimate authority, but it did so on July 15, and it granted accreditation to Ali Aujali as the Libyan Ambassador to the United States on August 15. Later that month, the US led an effort at the United Nations to repeal parts of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 in order to allow unfrozen Libyan assets to be transferred to the interim government. When the civil war came to an end in October, US President Barack Obama pledged to work with the new Libyan government as a partner, and said the United States was "committed to the Libyan people".
  US relations with the new Libyan government were thrust into the spotlight on September 11, 2012 when gunmen attacked and firebombed the US liaison office/mission in Benghazi, killing 4 Americans including Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Libya's interim leader Mohammed Magarief quickly condemned the attack and apologised to the US, describing it as "cowardly" and pledging to bring the killers to justice. Demonstrations denouncing the attack and supporting the United States were held in Benghazi the next day, with protesters mourning Stevens and signs declaring him 'a friend to all Libyans'. Libya cooperated with the US to investigate the attack, closing Benghazi's airspace for several hours to allow US drone patrols over the city on September 14.
  December 2, 2013, the United States and Libya entered into the U.S.-Libya Declaration of Intent, a declaration intended to increase cooperation in law enforcement investigations and fulfill international crime-fighting obligations.
  On 27 May 2014, the United States advised all U.S. citizens in the country to leave immediately. Citing the unstable and unpredictable security situation in Libya, the United States also warned its citizens to avoid travel to the country.
caption: Representatives sign a Memorandum of Understanding on cultural property protection in 2018
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