High-level U.s. Delegation Concludes Visit To Libya

Steven Sahiounie, journalist and political commentator

On April 20-21, a high-level U.S. delegation conducted a two-day visit to Tripoli and Benghazi. A series of meetings were held between Libyan officials and the American delegation. US President Donald Trump has tasked the State Department and the Pentagon to develop plans to help solve some of Libya’s challenges.

The delegation included Vice Admiral J.T. Anderson, Commander of the U.S. Sixth Fleet; Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland; and Chargé d’Affaires Jeremy Brent.

On April 20, the U.S. delegation met in Tripoli with senior Libyan military and civilian officials, including Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Mohammed Al-Haddad; Presidential Council member Abdullah Al-Lafi; Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Taher Al-Baour; Deputy Defense Minister Abdul Salam Al-Zoubi; National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister Ibrahim Al-Dabaiba; and Head of the Audit Bureau Khaled Shakshak.

On April 21, the delegation moved to Benghazi, where they met with Lieutenant General Khairi Al-Tamimi, Secretary-General of the General Command; Major General Khalid Haftar, Chief of Staff of Security Units; and Major General Shaib Al-Saber, Chief of Staff of the Libyan Naval Forces, alongside other senior military officials.

The meetings in Tripoli and Benghazi are part of Washington’s intensified diplomatic and military engagement in Libya in recent months. The U.S. Embassy stated that both visits discussed “ways to enhance military cooperation between the U.S. and Libya” and reaffirmed U.S. support for “Libyan efforts to unify military institutions.” The Embassy emphasized Washington’s commitment to “partnering with Libyan leaders nationwide across political, economic, and security fields to achieve lasting peace and national unity.”

The U.S. delegation’s visit coincided with remarks by Trump’s advisor, Massad Boulos, revealing that the Trump administration is developing a plan for Libya. Proposed solutions include a unified governance project involving all Libyan factions.

“This was a very productive trip, and I am grateful to all the countries and leaders who hosted us. This initiative is a reflection of President Trump’s commitment to Africa, and his desire for regional peace. Our team’s efforts are a product of his vision to see an Africa that is anchored in shared economic opportunities, not in conflict. And President Trump believes strongly that all parties involved are ready for peace. Now, he expects all parties to demonstrate that readiness through action” said Senior Advisor for Africa Massad Boulos on April 17 from the State Department in Washington, DC delivered in a digital press briefing following a tour of five African countries.

The visit followed a surprise announcement by Libya’s Central Bank on April 17, that the heads of the Tripoli and Benghazi governments, Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh and Osama Hammad, agreed to meet for urgent economic reforms, including a unified budget to counter an anticipated financial collapse. Observers noted potential external pressures driving this reconciliation, given their recent public accusations over financial mismanagement.

The U.S. delegation’s meetings were held aboard the USS Mount Whitney, the Sixth Fleet’s command ship.

International relations expert Ramadan Al-Nafati noted that the inclusion of Special Envoy Norland and Chargé d’Affaires Brent signals broader U.S. objectives beyond military affairs. He highlighted that the Tripoli meetings involved both military and political figures from the internationally recognized government, while the Benghazi talks were limited to military leaders. Al-Nafati interpreted this as a message that Washington engages politically through Tripoli’s government but pragmatically deals with eastern military leaders like Khalifa Haftar.

Al-Nafati emphasized that U.S. moves align with economic interests, citing efforts to unify Libya’s budget amid its financial crisis. He suggested U.S. pressure likely facilitated the Dbeibeh-Hammad meeting, noting Trump’s history of leveraging economic crises. “We wouldn’t be surprised by intensified U.S. interest in Libya’s energy sector, where over 70% of oil and gas remains untapped,” he added, aligning with Boulos’ remarks on Trump’s “comprehensive vision” for Libya.

In Trump’s first term, he tried to unravel many of the policies and foreign wars that were engineered by President Barack Obama, under the umbrella of the ‘Arab Spring’. The current chaos and dysfunction, bordering on economic collapse is due to the Obama-designed US-NATO attack on Libya for regime change in 2011, which overthrew Qaddafi and destroyed Libya, which has never recovered.

The war on Libya used US-NATO airpower, while ground troops were Al Qaeda terrorists brought in from various international locations, including the Battalion commander Mahdi al-Harati, a duel Irish-Libyan citizen of Dublin.

Harati was placed in command of the Tripoli Brigade, in what has remained for 14 years a divided Libya, with Tripoli’s government headed by officials aligned with the Muslim Brotherhood, which was the power base behind the Syrian armed rebels, which finally overthrew President Assad. Harati left Libya and set up command of terrorists in Syria and fought there until 2012.

Obama utilized the same playbook in Libya and Syria. Both were regime change attacks that used Islamist terrorists, both domestic and imported, to kill civilians and government officials, while leaving the country destroyed and looted of resources. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ordered stockpiles of Libyan government weapons to be shipped to Turkey and then sent to Idlib, Syria which became the command center of the armed opposition to Assad.

Trump is a businessman and may see the huge potential of restoring security across Libya which could result in exploiting the Libyan energy resources. US businesses could profit from a safe and calm Libya.

President Putin of Russia observed the US-NATO attacks on Libya and Syria. Putin has tried to counter the destructive attacks in both countries by offering security and humanitarian help to the suffering civilians. Russia has followed the UN Charter which states all countries must fight Al Qaeda and ISIS where they find them, but the US has used them at times as military assets when useful to US goals, as was the case in Libya and Syria.

Russia’s policy on Islamist terror groups has resulted from decades of devastating terror attacks across Russia. Bus and airport attacks, Shopping Mall mass attacks, and many more terror atrocities have been carried out in Russia by Islamist groups.

The Obama war on Libya resulted in a split of the country, with one capital in Tripoli, which is Islamist leaning, but recognized by the UN as the legitimate government.

To offset the Islamic Tripoli group, Commander Haftar, an anti-Islamist military officer launched attacks in May 2014. Haftar announced in July 2017 that Benghazi had been cleared of Islamist fighters.

The Libyan Political Agreement of 2015 divided the country into two rival regimes in the years following Gadhafi’s overthrow. The regimes include the Libya Dawn, supporters of the Islamist-led General National Congress which is based in Tripoli, and the House of Representatives in Tobruk.

This has remained the divide of the country, which Trump seeks to bring together in a unified manner involving political, military, and economic sectors.

With the country on the brink of economic collapse, the Trump plan might be viewed favorably as it is focused on security and economic improvements.

Steven Sahiounie is a two-time award-winning journalist.