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U.S.-Libyan Relations - 1980-1992 - Qadhafi vs America

During the presidency of Ronald Reagan, U.S.-Libyan relations grew increasingly hostile, due largely to Qadhafi's support for terrorism. Citing Libyan support for international terrorism and "disregard for the norms of international behavior," the United States ordered Libya to close its People's Bureau in Washington, and in October 1981, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution urging President Ronald Reagan to conduct "an immediate review of concrete steps" to be taken in response to Libya's actions supporting terrorism. In 1973, Libya had claimed sovereignty over the Gulf of Sidra, but few countries recognized the claim. The United States contested the claim by having the 6th Fleet conduct periodic "freedom of navigation" exercises there.

During one such exercise on August 19, 1981, two Libyan Su-22 fighters attacked two F-14s from the U.S.S. Nimitz, and the Libyan fighters were shot down. Security around President Reagan and senior U.S. officials was increased in December 1981, after reports that Libya had sent assassination squads to the United States. On March 4, 1982, Qadhafi warned of "war in the full sense of the word," if the United States entered the Gulf of Sidra, and on March 10, the United States banned imports of Libyan oil and stated that licenses would be denied for exports of high technology, for items on the commodity control list, and for oil and gas technology and equipment to Libya. The United States supported its close ally, the United Kingdom, after the latter broke relations with Libya.

The British severance of relations resulted from Libya's refusal to cooperate with an inquiry into gunshots fired from the Libyan Embassy that killed British police officer Yvonne Fletcher and wounded 11 demonstrators. Colonel Qadhafi announced in 1984 that Libya would send troops and arms to support Nicaragua's Sandinista government, and 6 months later, President Reagan spoke of a "confederation of terrorist states" that was "engaged in war against the government of the United States," a confederation that was said to include Libya, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Nicaragua.

Libya's support and praise for the Abu Nidal Organization's terrorist attacks on the Rome and Vienna airports on December 17, 1985, further damaged U.S.-Libyan relations. In January 1986, President Reagan imposed a ban on nearly all trade with, travel to or from, and loans and credits to Libya, and Libyan assets were frozen. On March 24, a Libyan missile base at Sirte fired on U.S. Navy aircraft over the Gulf of Sidra. U.S. Navy aircraft sank two Libyan patrol craft and attacked the missile base. On April 9, a bomb exploded in the LaBelle Discotheque in West Berlin, killing 3 people and wounding 230. Two of the dead and 50 of the wounded were U.S. military personnel. The U.S. Government soon charged that the Government of Libya and its East Berlin People's Bureau were involved in the planning and execution of the attack.

On April 15, in Operation El Dorado Canyon, Air Force FB-111s based in England, and Navy A-6s and A-7s from the 6th Fleet, attacked military and terrorist-related targets in Tripoli and Benghazi. One FB-111 and its crew of two were lost, and Libyan casualties included Qadhafi's adopted daughter. Libya responded by firing missiles at a U.S. Coast Guard station on Lampedusa Island but none of the missiles hit the island. At the Tokyo Economic Summit in May 1986, the G-7 heads of state identified Libya as a state supporting terrorism, and called for arms embargoes against states supporting terrorism.

Libya's production of chemical weapons and continued support for terrorism further isolated the North African nation from the international community. On September 14, 1988, the Department of State announced that Libya was "on the verge of full-scale production" of chemical weapons in a factory at Rabta. Libyan Foreign Minister Jadallah Azouz al-Talhi denied U.S. claims, but in January 1989, the West German Government accused two companies of violating export laws when they took part in building a chemical factory in Rabta. Libyan authorities then reported in March 1991 that a fire caused extensive damage to the Rabta chemical plant, and that they suspected U.S., Israeli, or West German sabotage. President George H. W. Bush denied any U.S. involvement and, in April, film footage supplied by a French commercial satellite firm showed that the reported fire was a hoax. In February 1993, the New York Times reported that Libya was building an underground chemical weapons factory disguised as a water project in the Tarhunah Mountains. Libya denied the report.

The December 21, 1988 bombing of Pan American Flight 103 marked perhaps the lowest point -- and one of the most sensitive issues -- in U.S.-Libyan relations. When Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, 270 died, and investigators concluded that the bomb was in a suitcase that had traveled from Malta to Frankfurt. By 1991, British authorities had indicted Libyan intelligence agents Abdel-Basset Ali Mohammed al-Meghrabi and Al-Amin Khalifa Fhima for the Lockerbie bombing. The Government of Libya refused the British request for extradition of the two suspects. In January 1992, the United States and Great Britain pressed for and obtained UN Security Council Resolution 731, which demanded that Libya extradite the suspects in the Lockerbie bombing to the United States or Great Britain or face economic sanctions. Libya rejected the resolution. In March 1992, the Security Council adopted Resolution 748, which called upon Libya to comply with Resolution 731 by April 15 or face mandatory sanctions. Resolution 748 also called upon Libya to demonstrate that it had ceased to sponsor terrorist activities. The sanctions went into effect after Libya failed to comply.

Shortly after the UN sanctions went into effect, Colonel Qadhafi indicated that he was amenable to a better relationship with the United States and the West, but still did not conform to UN Resolutions 731 and 748. In May 1992, the Government of Libya announced that it would end its connections with terrorist groups, invite UN representatives to verify that it had done so, and would no longer allow its territory or citizens to be used for "terrorist acts. Then in June, Libya's General People's Council agreed that the Lockerbie suspects could be tried abroad in a "fair and just" court. Colonel Qadhafi said in a 1993 interview that he was ready to seek a more conciliatory approach to the United States; however, Libya still had not fulfilled the demands of UN Resolutions 731 and 748. On November 11, 1993, the UN Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 883, which froze Libya's foreign assets, banned sales of equipment for its petroleum industry, and extended restrictions on its aviation industry. The sanctions took effect on December 1. In 1996, President William J. Clinton signed into law the Iran and Libya Sanctions Act, which was aimed at foreign companies investing in Libya's oil industry or selling arms and aviation or oil equipment to Libya.