|government=National Transitional Council
|language=Arabic, Italian, English
|president-raw=noneNuri Busahmein
|area=679,359 sq. mi.
|pop=67,036000,914000 (2020) |pop-basis=(2007 estimate)
|gdp=72.7 billion
|gdp-year=(2007 estimate)
==People==
[[File:Libyan people.jpg|left|280px]]
Libya has a small population in a large land area. Population density is about 50 persons per sq. km<sup>2</sup>. (80/sq. mi.) in the two northern regions of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica, but falls to less than one person per sq. km<sup>2</sup>. (1.6/sq. mi.) elsewhere. Ninety percent of the people live in less than 10% of the area, primarily along the coast. More than half the population is urban, mostly concentrated in the two largest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi. Thirty-three percent of the population is estimated to be under age 15.
Native Libyans are primarily a mixture of Arabs and Berbers. Small Tebou and Touareg tribal groups in southern Libya are nomadic or semi-nomadic. Among foreign residents, the largest groups are citizens of other African nations, including North Africans (primarily Egyptians and Tunisians), West Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans.
*Religion: Sunni Muslim 97%.
*Languages: Arabic is the primary language. English, French, and Italian are understood in major cities.
*Education: Years compulsory--9compulsory—9. Attendance--90Attendance—90%. Literacy (age 15 and over who can read and write)--total population 82.6%; female 72% (2003 est.). *Health (2007 est.): Infant mortality rate--22rate—22.82 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy--total expectancy—total population 76.88 yrs.; male 74.1 yrs.; female 78.58 yrs.
*Work force (2006 est.): 1.787 million, an estimated 500,000 of whom are sub-Saharan African foreign workers.
== Geography ==
[[File:Oasis in Libya.JPG|left|280px]]
Total area: 1,759,540 sq km<sup>2</sup>, slightly larger than Alaska. Coastline: 1,770 km. Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior. Terrain: mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions.
Environment - current issues: desertification; limited natural freshwater resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, brings water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities.
==Government and Political Conditions==
===Gaddafi regime 1969 - 2011===
[[File:Flag of Libya.png|thumb|Flag of Libya under Gaddafis tenure]]
[[File:Arms of Libya.png|thumb|Coat of Arms of Libya under Gaddafis tenure]]
Prior to the 2011 revolution, Libya's political system was in theory based on the political philosophy in Gaddafi's Green Book, which combined socialist and Islamic theories and rejected parliamentary democracy and political parties. In reality, Gaddafi exercised near total control over major government decisions. For the first seven years following the revolution, Colonel Gaddafi and 12 fellow army officers, the Revolutionary Command Council, began a complete overhaul of Libya's political system, society and economy. In 1973, he announced the start of a "cultural revolution" in schools, businesses, industries, and public institutions to oversee administration of those organizations in the public interest. On March 2, 1977, Gaddafi convened a General People's Congress (GPC) to proclaim the establishment of "people's power," change the country's name to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, and to vest, theoretically, primary authority in the GPC.
[[File:Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi in Dimashq.jpg|thumb|left|Muammar Gaddafi.]]
In 1988, faced with rising public dissatisfaction with shortages in consumer goods and setbacks in Libya's war with Chad, Gaddafi began to curb the power of the revolutionary committees and to institute some domestic reforms. The regime released many political prisoners and eased restrictions on foreign travel by Libyans. Private businesses were again permitted to operate.
In the late 1980s, Gaddafi began to pursue an anti-Islamic fundamentalist policy domestically, viewing Islamist fundamentalism as a potential threat to the regime. Gaddafi's security forces launched a preemptive strike at alleged coup plotters in the military and among the Warfallah tribe in October 1993. Widespread arrests and government reshufflings followed, accompanied by public "confessions" from fundamental Islamist opponents and allegations of torture and executions. The military, once Gaddafi's strongest supporters, became a potential threat in the 1990s. In 1993, following a failed coup attempt that implicated senior officers, Gaddafi began purges of Islamists from the military periodically, eliminating potential rivals and inserting his own loyal followers in their place. ===NATO war on Libya 2011 ===:''Main article : [[Libyan uprising 2011]]'' On March 21, 2011, [[President Obama]] announced he ordered U.S. military force operations in Libya.<ref>https://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20038391-503544.html</ref> A week later the ''[[Washington Post]]'' included these paragraphs:{{Cquote|"It’s almost a certitude that at least part” of the Libyan opposition includes members of [[al-Qaeda]], said Bruce Riedel, a former senior CIA analyst and adviser to President Obama. Riedel said that anti-Gaddafi elements in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi have had “very close associations with al-Qaeda” dating back years....I would hope that we now have a good sense of the opposition in Libya and can say that this is 2 percent, not 20 percent,” Riedel said. “If we don’t, then we are running the risk of helping to bring to power a regime that could be very dangerous.<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/libyan-opposition-includes-a-small-number-of-al-qaeda-fighters-us-officials-say/2011/03/29/AFRlXWyB_story.html</ref>}}[[File:Libya Muammar-Gaddafi-and-President-Obama.jpg|300px|right|thumb| A 2010 photo of Gaddafi and Obama at the G8 Summit in Italy. This was the first time in Gaddafi's 40-year rule that he met with a sitting U.S. president.]] This set off a fierce debate in the [[Obama administration]] over the wisdom of arming terrorists.<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/30/world/africa/30diplo.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss</ref> It is now known sometime prior to March 31, 2011,<ref>https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/31/world/africa/31intel.html?_r=2&hp</ref> at the urging of [[Secretary of State]] [[Hillary Rodham Clinton]] and over the objections of his National Security Council, Obama signed a Presidential Finding authorizing support for the rebel jihadis.<ref>https://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/30/us-libya-usa-order-idUSTRE72T6H220110330</ref> [[Julian Assange]] said:*{{Assange Clinton Libya}} Gaddafi wrote to Obama and told him he bore no ill will. "We have been hurt more morally than physically because of what had happened against us in both deeds and words by you," he wrote. "Despite all this you will always remain our son whatever happened. We still pray that you continue to be president of the USA. We endeavour and hope that you will gain victory in the [[Presidential Election 2012|new election campaign]]."<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/06/gaddafi-obama-nato-libya?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487</ref> By October 2011, [[Libyan rebel fighting group]]s with support from the U.S. and [[NATO]], overtook the capital of Tripoli and toppled the government. Gaddafi was captured and brutally and sadistically murdered.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPzeLLL9V-c Leading from behind - a critique of Obama foreign policy]</ref> The jihadis were immediately recognized by the [[Obama administration]] and the U.N. as the legitimate government. Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, chairman of the National Transitional Council, announced that [[Sharia]] will be the source for all legislation in Libya and that all laws conflicting with Sharia are null and void.<ref name="Sharia">[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8861608/Libya-Al-Qaeda-flag-flown-above-Benghazi-courthouse.html Libya: Al Qaeda flag flown above Benghazi courthouse - Daily Telegraph]</ref> Abdel Rahim al-Kib, the country's interim prime minister, echoed Jalil's words a couple of days later.<ref>[http://www.presstv.ir/detail/207953.html New Libyan PM backs Islamic sharia law]</ref> Around the same time these statements were made an Al Qaeda flag was flown above the Benghazi courthouse, and reports were surfacing that the Libyan jihadis imposed Sharia law in some parts of the country even earlier.<ref name="Sharia" /> A church bombing by the end of 2012 left two dead,<ref>[https://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/30/us-libya-bomb-church-idUSBRE8BT09S20121230 Attack on Libyan church building kills two,] ''Reuthers,'' Dec 30, 2012.</ref> and in February 2013 four foreign nationals were arrested for distributing Bible pamphlets. They may face the death penalty.<ref>[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/17/libya-arrests-suspected-foreign-missionaries Libya arrests foreign 'missionaries' Four foreign nationals accused of distributing Christian literature, a charge that could carry the death penalty], Chris Stephen guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 February 2013.</ref>
===Libyan courts prior to Sharia law===
The Libyan court system under Gaddafi and prior to the institution of [[Sharia]] law in 2012 consisted of three levels: the courts of first instance; the courts of appeals; and the Supreme Court, which is the final appellate level. The GPC appointed justices to the Supreme Court. Special "revolutionary courts" and military courts operated outside the court system to try political offenses and crimes against the Gaddafi regime. "People's courts," another example of extrajudicial authority, were abolished in January 2005. Libya's justice system at that time was nominally based on Sharia law. 2013 the Libyan Congress voted for Introducing [[Sharia]] law.<ref>https://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2013/12/06/Libya-Bows-to-Sharia</ref>
===Foreign Relations===
====1969 - 2011Gaddafi era====After 1969, Gaddafi determined Libya's foreign policy. His principal foreign policy goals were Arab unity, elimination of Israel, advancement of a [[secular]]ized brand of Islam, support for Palestinians, elimination of outside--particularly Western--influence outside—particularly Western—influence in the Middle East and Africa, and support for a range of "[[revolution]]ary" causes.
After the 1969 coup, Gaddafi closed American and British bases on Libyan territory and partially nationalized all foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya. He also played a key role in promoting the use of oil embargoes as a political weapon for challenging the West, hoping that an oil price rise and embargo in 1973 would persuade the West--especially West—especially the United States--to States—to end support for Israel. Gaddafi rejected both Soviet communism and Western capitalism, and claimed he was charting a middle course.
[[File:Boys Libyan Arabs WC.jpg|thumb|left|Boys, Libyan Arabs, 2006.]]
Libya's relationship with the former Soviet Union involved massive Libyan arms purchases from the Soviet bloc and the presence of thousands of east bloc advisers. Libya's use--and use—and heavy loss--of loss—of Soviet-supplied weaponry in its war with Chad was a notable breach of an apparent Soviet-Libyan understanding not to use the weapons for activities inconsistent with Soviet objectives. As a result, Soviet-Libyan relations reached a nadir in mid-1987.
After the fall of the [[Warsaw Pact]] and the Soviet Union, Libya concentrated on expanding diplomatic ties with Third World countries and increasing its commercial links with Europe and East Asia. Following the imposition of UN sanctions in 1992, these ties significantly diminished. Following a 1998 Arab League meeting in which fellow Arab states decided not to challenge UN sanctions, Gaddafi announced that he was turning his back on pan-Arab ideas, which had been one of the fundamental tenets of his philosophy.
One of the longest-standing issues in Libya's relationship with the European Union and the international community was resolved in July 2007 with the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor who had been convicted in 1999 of deliberately infecting over 400 children in a Benghazi hospital with the HIV virus. The six medics were sentenced to death in 2004, a sentence that was upheld by the Libyan Supreme Court but commuted in July 2007 by the Higher Judicial Council to life in prison. Under a previous agreement with the Bulgarian Government on the repatriation of prisoners, the medics were allowed to return to Bulgaria to finish their sentence, where upon arrival the Bulgarian president pardoned all six. The Benghazi International Fund, established by the United States and its European allies, raised $460 million to distribute to the families of the children infected with HIV, each of whom received $1 million.
===Relations ==Cooperation with the United Statesinternational conventions 2003 - 2011=====On December 19, 2003, Libya announced its intention to rid itself of WMD and MTCR-class missile programs. Gaddafi pledged to cooperate with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward those objectives. Libya under Gaddafi also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and then became a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
In recognition of these actions, the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Libya under Gaddafi. The United States supported U.S. terminated the UN resolution providing applicability of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act to Libya and the President signed an Executive Order on September 20, 2004 terminating the national emergency with respect to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctions. This action had the effect of unblocking assets blocked under the Executive Order sanctions. Restrictions on cargo aviation and third-party code-sharing have been lifted, as have restrictions on passenger aviation. Certain export controls remain in place. U.S. diplomatic personnel reopened the U.S. Interest Section in Tripoli on February 8, 2004. The mission was upgraded to a U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, 2004, and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. The establishment in 2005 of an American School in Tripoli demonstrates the increased presence of Americans in Libya, and the continuing normalization of bilateral relations. Libya re-established its diplomatic presence in Washington with the opening of an Interest Section on July 8, 2004, which was subsequently upgraded to a Liaison Office in December 2004 and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. On May 15, 2006, the State Department announced its intention to rescind Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in recognition of the fact that Libya had met the statutory requirements for Libyan independence such a move: it had not provided any support for acts of international terrorism in 1951 the preceding six-month period, and raised had provided assurances that it would not do so in the status future. On June 30, 2006, the U.S. rescinded Libya's designation as a state sponsor of terrorism. In July 2007, Mr. Gene Cretz was nominated by President Bush as ambassador to Libya. ====NATO aggression===={{See also|Libyan war|Obama war crimes}}[[File:Power-rice-rodham-clinton-2.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Architects of the humanitarian catastrophe in Libya - [[Samantha Power]] (top) [[Susan Rice]] (left) and [[Hillary Clinton]] (right). President Obama initially billed US intervention "to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe," however after [[Gaddafi]]'s murder the Black-African slave trade re-emerged in open slave markets in Libya.<ref>https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/14/africa/libya-migrant-auctions/index.html</ref> NATO was used to give cover for the Obama administration's direct involvement.]]In 2011 NATO lent its office name to [[Western]] [[globalist]]s to wage a war of aggression in [[Libya]] totally outside NATO's purview and mission.<ref>https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/really-know-libyan-slave-trade/</ref> As a direct consequence of NATO's illegal intervention, the black African slave trade was reborn in Africa.<ref>https://fair.org/home/media-nato-regime-change-war-libya-slave-markets/</ref> UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1973 of March 17, 2011 followed on the heels of Gaddafi's public threat on March 2, 2011, to throw western oil companies out of Libya, and his invitation on March 14 to Chinese, Russian, and Indian firms to produce Libyan oil in their place.<ref>''[http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/3/12/7661/Business/Economy/Gaddafi-offers-Libyan-oil-production-to-India,-Rus.aspx Gaddafi offers Libyan oil production to India, Russia, China,] Agence France-Presse, March 14, 2011.</ref> China, Russia, India and Brazil all abstained on UNSC Resolution 1973. Resolution 1973 authorized strict limitations, according to international law, on NATO as the organization with responsibility for the implementation of the resolution. Particularly, it provided only for a naval blockade enforcing the arms embargo, and enforcement of a no-fly zone. On March 29, 2011, Russian envoy [[Dmitry Rogozin]] commented after a meeting with NATO officials in [[Brussels, Belgium]], that Russia expressed deep concern over the interpretation of the Security Council's resolution, as some countries have effectively turned it into an approval for ground operations.{{Cquote|[[Moscow]] has many questions about how the UN Security Council’s resolution is being carried out...First of all, there are reports that civilians have been killed in the air strikes. This is odd if you consider the message of the resolution, which says that the foreign forces’ actions should protect civilians. So it’s hard to comprehend how you can protect civilians by killing them....we demanded that the UN Security Council be fully informed about the actions of the alliance in Libya at Tripoli all times... We have reports of air strikes against convoys far from the front line. This is a consulate general far cry from the UN Security Council resolution.<ref>http://rt.com/news/coalition-libya-nato-russian-envoy/</ref>}}The French and the British described plans for a wargames exercise for an attack on Libya in November 2010, in the end they used those military assets that had been mobilized for the real thing 3 months ago. NATO doesn't just go and bomb a country over night, these things are planned far in advance, and in this case there is conclusive evidence that there have been plans for this for many many years.<ref>[https://lizziesliberation.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/letter-from-libya-to -a legation-close-friend/ Letter from Libya to a close friend] June 4, 2011. </ref> Despite France taking the lead role in the intervention, the Congressional Research Service reports, "Only the United States and NATO possess the command and control capabilities necessary for coalition operations enforcing the no-fly zone over Libya opened ." France only recently rejoined the NATO alliance, in 2008, after a legation 40-year absence. The Congressional Research Service, which analyzes information and prepares reports for members of Congress, also states,{{Cquote|In spite of statements underscoring NATO unity on steps announced to date, the initial planning and operational phases were also marked by significant levels of discord within Europe and [[NATO]] on the aims and future direction of the mission. A key point of contention was reportedly the amount of flexibility that NATO forces would be granted to protect civilians and civilian areas, as called for in Washingtonparagraph 4 of UNSCR 1973. Reports indicate that French officials insisted on maintaining the ability to strike ground forces that threatened civilian areas, DCwhile their [[Turkish]] counterparts vocally opposed any targeting of ground forces. Adding to the strain within NATO, NATO ally [[Germany]] abstained from UNSCR 1973 and, opposed to any potential [[combat]] operation, on March 23, withdrew its naval assets in 1954the [[Mediterranean]] from NATO command. Both countries subsequently raised Throughout the first week of operations, other European allies contributing to the mission, including Italy and Norway, expressed increasing frustration with the lack of agreement within NATO, with Norway refusing to deploy its fighter jets unless under they were under NATO command and control.<ref>Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya):Background and Issues for Congress, ''Congressional Research Service,'' March 30, 2011, p. 20 pdf.</ref>}}[[File:NATO air strike on Tripoli Libya.jpg|right|250px|thumb|NATO air strike on Tripoli, Libya.]]Of Nato's 28 members, 14 are said to be "actively participating," but only 6 have provided military support. Of the 22-country [[Arab League]], whose appeal prompted the United Nations to vote on intervention, only [[Qatar]] and the [[United Arab Emirates]] are involved. Of the 192 members of the [[UN General Assembly]], who all have a legal "responsibility to protect" civilians attacked by their missions own governments, only [[Sweden]] has responded.<ref>http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/19/libya-mission-military-advisory-team</ref> NATO planes and ships began striking cities and military installations in Libya in mid-March, 2011. Allied military officials have spoke of the need for escalation to embassy help protect Libyan civilians and called for Gaddafi to step down. Libyan officials said that NATO is picked sides in a civil war and complained that strikes on Gaddafi's Tripoli compound were attempts to assassinate the leader of a sovereign country. NATO launched its largest airstrike against Moammar Gaddafi's regime on May 24, 2011, with at least 15 massive explosions rocking the Libyan capital. [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/french-officials-france-and-britain-to-use-attack-helicopters-in-libya/2011/05/23/AFTF909G_story.html?hpid=z2] On May 15, two months into the NATO bombing campaign against loyal Gaddafi's forces, Britain's top military commander said that the Libyan leader could remain “clinging to power” unless NATO broadened its bombing targets to include the country's infrastructure.<ref>http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/libya/index.html</ref> On Jun 18, 2011 Prime minister of Libya Al-Baghdadi al-Mahmoudi accused NATO of a "new levelof aggression" over the past 72 hours in which he said the military alliance intentionally targeted civilian buildings, including a hotel and a university. "It has become clear to us that NATO has moved on to deliberately hitting civilian buildings. ... This is a crime against humanity," he told reporters in the capital. Libya's Health Ministry released new casualty figures that put the number of civilians killed in NATO air strikes through to June 7 at 856.<ref>[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/gaddafi-rages-at-nato-after-bombing-2299509.html Gaddafi rages at NATO after bombing.]</ref> EU Member of Parliament Clare Daly reminded her fellow lawmakers: {{quotebox-float|“The NATO intervention in Libya, carried out in the name of protecting freedom, democracy and human rights, is one we’d do well to remember as NATO plays out its [[proxy war]] in Ukraine in the name of, you’ve guessed it, freedom, democracy and human rights...What happens after NATO intervenes in your country on this basis?...Terror, [[death]], [[lawlessness]], [[rape]], poverty, [[starvation]]…Libya is a country riven by conflict, its [[economy]] shattered, its population – formerly the [[wealth]]iest in Africa – ridden and mired in [[poverty]]...Migrants are bought and sold in [[slave]] markets...It’s a country of mass graves, of [[crimes against humanity]]...This is NATO’s legacy”.<ref>https://twitter.com/ClareDalyMEP/status/1597954104889778176</ref>}} ====Relations with the United States====
[[File:Tripoli Libya.JPG|thumb|left|300px|Tripoli.]]
After Gaddafi's 1969 coup, U.S.-Libyan relations became increasingly strained because of Libya's foreign policies supporting international terrorism and subversion against moderate Arab and African governments. In 1972, the United States withdrew its ambassador. Export controls on military equipment and civil aircraft were imposed during the 1970s, and U.S. embassy staff members were withdrawn from Tripoli after a mob attacked and set fire to the embassy in December 1979. The U.S. Government designated Libya a "state sponsor of terrorism" on December 29, 1979.
In August 1981, two Libyan jets fired on U.S. aircraft participating in a routine naval exercise over international waters of the Mediterranean claimed by Libya. The U.S. planes returned fire and shot down the attacking Libyan aircraft. In December 1981, the State Department invalidated U.S. passports for travel to Libya and, for purposes of safety, advised all U.S. citizens in Libya to leave. In March 1982, the U.S. Government prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil into the United States and expanded the controls on U.S.-origin goods intended for export to Libya. Licenses were required for all transactions, except food and medicine. In March 1984, U.S. export controls were expanded to prohibit future exports to the Ras Lanuf petrochemical complex. In April 1985, all Export-Import Bank financing was prohibited.
Due to Libya's continued support for terrorism at that time, the United States adopted additional economic sanctions against Libya in January 1986, including a total ban on direct import and export trade, commercial contracts, and travel-related activities. In addition, Libyan Government assets in the United States were frozen. When evidence of Libyan complicity was discovered in the Berlin discotheque discothèque terrorist bombing that killed two American servicemen, the United States responded by launching an aerial bombing attack against targets near Tripoli and Benghazi in April 1986 (Operation El Dorado Canyon).<ref>Historical Atlas of the U.S. Navy, by Craig L. Symonds, the Naval Institute, 1995</ref> Subsequently, the United States maintained its trade and travel embargoes and brought diplomatic and economic pressure to bear against Libya. This pressure helped to bring about the Lockerbie settlement and Libya's renunciation of WMD and MTCR-class missiles. [[File:Libya Muammar-Gaddafi-and-President-Obama.jpg|300px|right|thumb| A 2010 photo of Gaddafi and Obama at the G8 Summit in Italy. This was the first time in Gaddafi's 40-year rule that he met with a sitting U.S. president.]]In 1991, two Libyan intelligence agents were indicted by federal prosecutors in the U.S. and Scotland for their involvement in the December 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103. In January 1992, the UN Security Council approved Resolution 731 demanding that Libya surrender the suspects, cooperate with the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 investigations, pay compensation to the victims' families, and cease all support for terrorism. Libya's refusal to comply led to the approval of UNSC Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992, imposing sanctions designed to bring about Libyan compliance. Continued Libyan defiance led to passage of UNSC Resolution 883--a limited assets freeze and an embargo on selected oil equipment--in November 1993. UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003, after Libya fulfilled all remaining UNSCR requirements, including renunciation of terrorism, acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials, and payment of appropriate compensation to the victims' families.
On December 19In 1991, 2003, Libya announced its intention to rid itself of WMD and MTCR-class missile programs. Since that time, it has cooperated with two Libyan intelligence agents were indicted by federal prosecutors in the U.S., and Scotland for their involvement in the U.KDecember 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103.In January 1992, the International Atomic Energy AgencyUN Security Council approved Resolution 731 demanding that Libya surrender the suspects, cooperate with the Pan Am 103 and UTA 772 investigations, pay compensation to the Organization victims' families, and cease all support for terrorism. Libya's refusal to comply led to the Prohibition approval of Chemical Weapons toward these objectivesUNSC Resolution 748 on March 31, 1992, imposing sanctions designed to bring about Libyan compliance. Continued Libyan defiance led to passage of UNSC Resolution 883—a limited assets freeze and an embargo on selected oil equipment—in November 1993. UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003, after Libya has also signed fulfilled all remaining UNSCR requirements, including renunciation of terrorism, acceptance of responsibility for the IAEA Additional Protocol actions of its officials, and has become a State Party payment of appropriate compensation to the Chemical Weapons Conventionvictims' families.
In recognition of these actions, =====Relations with the U.S. began the process of normalizing relations with Biden regime=====[[File:Biden Libya. The U.S. terminated the applicability of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act to Libya jpg|right|300px|thumb|]]{{See also|Libyan war}}In 2010 and 2011 the President signed an Executive Order on September 20[[Hillary Clinton]] [[State Department]], 2004 terminating working with [[NATO]] allies (particularly France), triggered a crisis in Libya during the national emergency with respect Obama administration’s intentional effort to Libya and ending IEEPA-based economic sanctionsremove [[Muammar Gaddafi]] from power. This action had was a key element to the effect of unblocking assets blocked under [[Arab Spring]] ([[Islamist Spring]] or [[Color Revolution]]) that flowed from the Executive Order sanctions. Restrictions on cargo aviation and third-party code-sharing have been lifted[[Cairo]], [[Egypt]], as have restrictions on passenger aviation. Certain export controls remain in placespeech of President Obama a year prior.
UHillary Clinton, [[Susan Rice]] and [[Samantha Power]] ([[R2P]]) were the architects of the destabilization plan.S. diplomatic personnel reopened After the U.S. Interest Section in Tripoli on February 8, 2004. The mission country was upgraded to a destabilized and thrown into severe violent crisis by the U.S. Liaison Office on June 28, 2004, and to a full embassy on May 31, 2006. The establishment in 2005 of an American School in Tripoli demonstrates the increased presence of Americans support for radical Islamists in eastern Libya([[Benghazi]] region), and the continuing normalization of bilateral relations. Libya re-established its diplomatic presence in Washington with the opening of an Interest Section on July 8President Obama then signed (Feb, 2004, which was subsequently upgraded to 2011) a Liaison Office national emergency declaration in December 2004 and regard to a full embassy on May 31, 2006the destabilized [[Libya]] his administration created.
On May 15Five years later, 2006in April 2016, President Obama expanded the State Department announced its intention to rescind Libya's designation as emergency declaration to extend the 2011 declaration and envelop a state sponsor larger portion of terrorism in recognition of the fact that Libya had met [[North Africa]], under the statutory requirements for such a move: it had not provided any support for acts auspices of international terrorism expanded threats from [[AQIM]] (al-Qaeda in the preceding six-month periodIslamic Maghreb). This extension allowed the state dept to frame actions in neighboring Egypt, and had provided assurances that block any effort to counteract Obama’s mid-east policy which was established to support the [[Muslim Brotherhood]]. In April 2016 it was presumed Hillary Clinton would not do so in win the futureelection and continue the policy. On June 30, 2006 A full twelve years after Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton destabilized Libya throwing it into a tribal civil war, Joe Biden signs an executive order continuing the extension of the U.S. rescinded National Emergency with regard to Libya:<ref>https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2023/02/17/it-never-ends-joe-biden-extends-2011-national-security-emergency-over-libya-through-2023/</ref>:'s designation as a state sponsor '[…] “The situation in Libya continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of terrorismthe United States, and measures are needed to protect against the diversion of assets or other abuses by members of Qadhafi’s family, their associates, and other persons hindering Libyan national reconciliation. In July 2007 :''For this reason, Mrthe national emergency declared on February 25, 2011, and expanded on April 19, 2016, must continue in effect beyond February 25, 2023. Gene Cretz was nominated by President Bush as ambassador to Libya Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency declared in Executive Order 13566.
=== Libyan uprising 2011 ===:''Main article : [[Libyan uprising 2011]]''This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.
==Economy==
[[File:Libya Irrigation project pipes.jpg|thumb|320px|The world's largest irrigation project is the largest water construction scheme ever undertaken; it extends 4000km into the Sahara desert and transports 6,500,000 m cubed of fresh water every day, providing an almost unlimited supply to the Libyan population, for municipal, industrial and agricultural use.]]
The government dominates Libya's socialist-oriented economy through complete control of the country's oil resources, which account for approximately 97% of export earnings, 75% of government receipts, and 54% of the gross domestic product. Oil revenues constitute the principal source of foreign exchange. Much of the country's income has been lost to waste, corruption, conventional armaments purchases, and attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction, as well as to large donations made to developing countries in attempts to increase Gaddafi's influence in Africa and elsewhere. Although oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, the government's mismanagement of the economy has led to high inflation and increased import prices. These factors resulted in a decline in the standard of living from the late 1990s through 2003.
*Real GDP (2000$2000, 2006): $46.451 billion.
*GDP per capita (PPP, 2006): $12,204.
*Real GDP growth rate (2006): 5.6%.
*Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, gypsum.
*Agriculture: Products--wheatProducts—wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle; approximately 75% of Libya's food is imported.*Industry: Types--petroleumTypes—petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement.
*Trade: Exports (2006 est.)--$37.02 billion f.o.b.: crude oil, refined petroleum products. Major markets (2005)--Italy (38%), Germany (15.1%), Spain (9.3%), Turkey (6.2%), France (6.2%), U.S. (5.2%). Imports (2006 est.)--$14.47 billion f.o.b.: machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods. Major suppliers (2003)--Italy (21.2%), Germany (10.2%), Tunisia (5.9%), Turkey (4.8%), U.K. (4.8%), France (4.7%), South Korea (4.6%), China (4.5%).
* Oil - proved reserves: 47 billion bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
For most of their history, the peoples of Libya have been subjected to varying degrees of foreign control. The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Byzantines ruled all or parts of Libya. Although the Greeks and Romans left impressive ruins at Cyrene, Leptis Magna, and Sabratha, little else remains today to testify to the presence of these ancient cultures.
The Arabs conquered Libya in the seventh century A.D. In the following centuries, most of the indigenous peoples adopted Islam and the Arabic language and culture. The Ottoman Turks conquered the country in the mid-16th century. Libya remained part of their empire--although empire—although at times virtually autonomous--until autonomous—until Italy invaded in 1911 and, in the face of years of resistance, made Libya a colony.
In 1934, Italy adopted the name "Libya" (used by the Greeks for all of North Africa, except Egypt) as the official name of the colony, which consisted of the Provinces of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fezzan. King Idris I, Emir of Cyrenaica, led Libyan resistance to Italian occupation between the two World Wars. From 1943 to 1951, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were under British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy relinquished all claims to Libya.
On November 21, 1949, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution stating that Libya should become independent before January 1, 1952. King Idris I represented Libya in the subsequent UN negotiations. When Libya declared its independence on December 24, 1951, it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa to gain independence. The United States supported the UN resolution and raised the status of its office at Tripoli from a consulate general to a legation. Libya opened a legation in Washington, DC, in 1954. Both countries subsequently raised their missions to embassy level. Libya was proclaimed a constitutional and a hereditary monarchy under King Idris.
[[File:Synagogue in Yefren Libya 2009.jpg|thumb|Synagogue in Yefren.]]
The discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income from petroleum sales enabled what had been one of the world's poorest countries to become extremely wealthy, as measured by per capita GDP. Although oil drastically improved Libya's finances, popular resentment grew as wealth was increasingly concentrated in the hands of the elite. This discontent continued to mount with the rise throughout the Arab world of Nasserism and the idea of Arab unity.
===Libya under Gaddafi===
On September 1, 1969, a small group of military officers led by then 28-year-old army officer Mu'ammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi staged a coup d'état against King Idris, who was exiled to Egypt. The new regime, headed by the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), abolished the monarchy and proclaimed the new Libyan Arab Republic. Gaddafi emerged as leader of the RCC and eventually as de facto chief of state, a political role he still plays. The Libyan government asserts that Gaddafi currently holds no official position, although he is referred to in government statements and the official press as the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution."
The new RCC's motto became "freedom, socialism, and unity." It pledged itself to remedy "backwardness", take an active role in the Palestinian Arab cause, promote Arab unity, and encourage domestic policies based on social justice, non-exploitation, and an equitable distribution of wealth.
Gaddafi founded the World Islamic Call Society, an umbrella organization with a global reach largely funded by Gaddafi to educate people about Islamic thought and culture.<ref>[http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/organizations/world-islamic-call-society World Islamic Call Society]. berkleycenter.georgetown.edu</ref> The organization has working relationships with [[UNICEF]], [[UNESCO]] and the [[Roman Catholic Church]].<ref>[http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Religion/?id=3.0.2816354411 Vatican: Annual Muslim-Catholic dialogue conference underway]. 2003.</ref>
An early objective of the new government was withdrawal of all foreign military installations from Libya. Following negotiations, British military installations at Tobruk and nearby El Adem were closed in March 1970, and U.S. facilities at Wheelus Air Force Base near Tripoli were closed in June 1970. That July, the Libyan Government ordered the expulsion of several thousand Italian residents. By 1971, libraries and cultural centers operated by foreign governments were ordered closed.
In the 1970s, Libya claimed leadership of Arab and African revolutionary forces and sought active roles in international organizations. Late in the 1970s, Libyan embassies were redesignated as "people's bureaus," as Gaddafi sought to portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular will. The people's bureaus, aided by Libyan religious, political, educational, and business institutions overseas, exported Gaddafi's revolutionary philosophy abroad.
Late in the 1970s, Libyan embassies were redesignated as "people's bureaus," as Gaddafi sought to portray Libyan foreign policy as an expression of the popular will. The people's bureaus, aided by Libyan religious, political, educational, and business institutions overseas, exported Gaddafi's revolutionary philosophy abroad. [[File:Benghazi University Libya.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Benghazi, where violent protests against the Gaddafi regime were instigated in February 2011.]]Gaddafi's confrontational foreign policies and use of terrorism, as well as Libya's growing friendship with the U.S.S.R., led to increased tensions with the West in the 1980s. Following a terrorist bombing at a discotheque discothèque in West Berlin frequented by American military personnel, in 1986 the U.S. retaliated militarily against targets in Libya, and imposed broad unilateral economic sanctions. [[File:Benghazi University Libya.jpg|thumb|left|300px|Benghazi, where mass protests against Gaddafi occurred in February 2011.]]After Libya was implicated in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) passed in 1992 and 1993 obliged Libya to fulfill requirements related to the Pan Am 103 bombing before sanctions could be lifted. Gaddafi initially refused to comply with these requirements, leading to Libya's political and economic isolation for most of the 1990s. Gaddafi's Islamic Call Society focus shifted to "build foundations of cooperation and dialogue among cultures and religions" and not just Islamic proselytizing.<ref>[http://daawacomplex.com/cms/en/about-libya About Islamic Call Society],</ref>
In 1999, Libya fulfilled one of the UNSCR requirements by surrendering two Libyans suspected in connection with the bombing for trial before a Scottish court in the Netherlands. One of these suspects, Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, was found guilty; the other was acquitted. Al-Megrahi's conviction was upheld on appeal in 2002. In August 2003, Libya fulfilled the remaining UNSCR requirements, including acceptance of responsibility for the actions of its officials and payment of appropriate compensation to the victims' families. UN sanctions were lifted on September 12, 2003. U.S. International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)-based sanctions were lifted September 20, 2004.
Gaddafi's Islamic Call Society gave the Anglican Church of Christ the King in Tripoli a church building on the downtown square to compensate for the one lost at the time of the 1969 Revolution. The government paid for all the renovations and repairs, and provided housing for the [[vicar]].<ref>[http://www.arabwestreport.info/year-2001/week-19/8-libyan-government-supports-anglican-church-tripoli The Libyan government supports the Anglican church in Tripoli,] Munir Hanna Anis Armanius, Religious News Service from the Arab World, May 16, 2001.</ref> On December 19, 2003, Libya publicly announced its intention to rid itself of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR)-class missile programs. Since that time, it has Gaddafi cooperated with the U.S., the U.K., the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons toward these objectives. Libya has also signed the IAEA Additional Protocol and has become a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. These were important steps toward full diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Libya. ===Libya after Gaddafi===Since the death of Gaddafi, Libya sinks into chaos. Different militias such as the Libyan offshoot of the [[Islamic State]], but also Gaddafi-supporter are fighting each other and are operating against the government. Important militias include:*Libyan government:*National Security Directorate (police):*Libyan National Army (government army)::*Al-Saiqa (an elite of the Libyan National Army):*Al-Zintan Revolutionaries' Military Council (allied to the Libyan government)*Al-Qaqa Brigade (Islamists)*Al-Sawaiq Brigade (Islamists)*Libya Revolutionaries Operations Room (Islamists)*Ansar al-Sharia Brigade (Islamists; were involved in the [[Benghazi Attack]])<ref>http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/libya-on-the-brink-after-militia-violence-in-tripoli</ref><ref>https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-19744533</ref> ==References==<references/>
== External links ==
*[http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/americas-secret-plan-to-arm-libyas-rebels-2234227.html America's secret plan to arm Libya's rebels.] ''The Independent'', UK.
*[http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2055251,00.html Why Libya's Uprising Is Bad for the World Economy.]
*[http://articles.boston.com/2011-04-14/bostonglobe/29418371_1_rebel-stronghold-civilians-rebel-positions False pretense for war in Libya?]
*[http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/mar/21/libyan-schoolchildren-message-visiting-media Libyan schoolchildren on message for visiting media.]
*[http://www.ufo-blogger.com/2011/03/libya-war-us-invading-libya-for-oil.html Libya War - U.S Invading Libya For Oil Says, Louis Farrakhan.]
*[http://rt.com/news/syria-libya-gunmen-mercenaries-643/ From Tripoli to Damascus:Arab wild geese take wing.]
*[httphttps://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/25/clinton-says-hands-tied-on-disciplining-staffers-over-benghazi-calls-for-change/] ==References==<references*[http:/>/middle-east-info.org/league/libya/libya.htm Libya at Middle East Info]
{{African Countries}}
[[Category:Libya]]
[[categoryCategory:Muslim-Majority Countries]]