Libyan-American relations: between past tragedies and future ambitions (Part One)

Libyan-American relations have been characterized by a hostile nature between the two countries since the first years of the independence of the United States of America, despite the distance and the absence of any hotbeds of conflict, whether geographical or political, since the eighteenth century, in which the United States of America appeared as a rising country on the international stage with limitless economic and military capabilities after it It emerged from fierce internal and external wars for its independence on (July 4, 1776 AD).

First stop
The rising power on the international scene did not hide its interest in the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the shores of the countries of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya. Eight years had passed since its independence until the American Congress took the decision in 1784 AD to appoint a special committee for negotiations in order to conclude special agreements with North African countries consisting of ( Benjamin Franklin – John Adams – Thomas Jefferson) ((All of them became presidents of the United States of America)) This committee reached an agreement with Morocco in 1786 AD, but failed in Libya and Algeria, despite (Adams’) proposal to increase the fees that the United States of America committed to paying to the coastal countries. The southern Mediterranean Sea ((However, Jefferson proposed establishing a military force with the amounts that would be paid to protect American ships in the Mediterranean Sea. In the year 1791 AD, the Congressional Committee approved the proposal of Jefferson, who was Secretary of State at the time, and approved the proposal that was implemented in 1794 AD by establishing six warships. To be used against Libya and Algeria, which was later considered the basis for building the American Sixth Fleet because the number of its ships was six. In 1787 AD, the United States agreed with Tunisia to pay an amount of 107 thousand dollars as a fee in exchange for not attacking American ships in the Mediterranean, and on November 4, 1796 AD, an agreement was reached. An agreement with Libya under which the United States of America pays (56,000) thousand dollars.

After the construction of the American fleet was completed, the United States of America reneged on its promises, and the North African countries objected to this reneging, but the United States insisted on not paying the agreed upon royalties. In 1801 AD, the United States of America declared war on Libya, which was the first declaration of war it declared against a foreign country after its independence from Britain. .

In implementation of this announcement, four warships were sent to the Mediterranean, led by Commander Richard Wall, who was the first commander of an American fleet in the Mediterranean, who failed in his attack on Tripoli, which was considered the first American failure in the Mediterranean, as a result of which he was forced to retreat to Gibraltar, which… He was forced to leave after the attack of Moroccan and Algerian forces and was replaced by Commander Richard Morris, who besieged Tripoli in 1802 AD. But the Algerian and Moroccan naval forces moved against him, so he was forced to withdraw. Then he renewed his siege of the shores of Tripoli in May 1803 AD, and also in September of the same year, despite the replacement of the fleet command under the leadership of Commander (Edouard Brill) and then (Commander Samuel Barron), at the insistence of the United States to put its hand on these warm shores, which it did not succeed in, but it made Of these battles on the shores of Tripoli, it is the title of the anthem of its freedom that its soldiers sing to this day (1) (From the halls of Montzuma, to the shores of Tripoli, we fight the battles of our country, in the air, on land, and at sea, we fight for right and freedom first, and we defend our high honor, and we are proud that we are worthy of the name United States Marines
From the Halls Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli, We fight our country`s battles ln the air, on land, and sea, First to fight for right and freedom, And to Keep our honor clean, We are proud to claim the title of UNITED STATES MARINE) (2)

The Montezuma Halls are the National Palace in the capital of Mexico, which fell into the hands of the American forces. The “sea soldiers” were at the forefront of the occupation forces that seized the National Palace – the headquarters of the President of the Republic of Mexico – and it was later known as the “Montezuma Halls” in reference to Montezuma II, the last Aztec emperor before The Spanish colonial campaign in 1521, and the war resulted in the United States seizing vast Mexican lands and annexing them to its lands, which are known today as (California – Ottawa – most of the lands of Colorado and Nevada – and all of the lands of Texas). This anthem played a historical role that establishes the memory of the epics of the war. The fierceness on the shores of Tripoli, and a tune is still played from time to time with different musical hymns that are in harmony with the ramifications of politics and the rules of the international coalition, which always chooses appropriate times to strike its victims.

The capture of the fighting ship (Philadelphia), as the nucleus of a rising naval power, on May 2, 1803, had a profound impact on American public opinion, especially since the number of captured sailors on board reached 308 sailors, including military personnel, marksmen, administrative staff, doctors, technicians, and other specialties necessary to carry out the naval campaign. This aroused the ire of many American writers and journalists who expressed their opinions about this campaign and the conditions of the sailor prisoners. Many European leaders also expressed their desire to mediate, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. However, Youssef Al-Qarmali rejected all European mediation to release the prisoners except on April 6. June 1805 AD, after the United States requested to stop the war, pay a fine to Libya, and exchange prisoners between the two countries. The prisoners were transported on board the ship (Al-Dustour) to Malta (3).
A number of American prisoners who were on board the ship Philadelphia recorded their testimonies regarding this incident in detail in many books, newspapers, and interviews after their release.

These historical facts have not left the minds of American policy makers, who have aimed, since the inception of the United States of America, to pay exaggerated attention to Libya under different types and forms of interventions that began military at the beginning of the eighteenth century and then political in the middle of the nineteenth century. After the end of World War II and the insistence of (Eisenhower, the American President) to reject (Stalin’s) request that Libya be part of Russia’s share in the talks of the United States of America with (Russia – and Britain) after the victory in World War II. American diplomacy in the United Nations General Assembly also contributed to the failure of Bevin Sforza’s project to divide Libya and the motivation of its diplomats to ratify Libya’s independence in the United Nations General Assembly, so that Libya, since its independence on December 24, 1951 AD, would become a fertile field for the success of American ambitions in Libya, which it had failed to achieve since 1801 AD and afterward, and to limit the role of British and French competitors. she has .

Second stop
2- State of independence
The fragile state of independence could not withstand the demands of building a state and fulfilling the needs of citizens in light of the scarcity of resources and the refusal of many countries to lend them to fulfill their job obligations, so it was forced to achieve the American dream that began in (1801) (4) and rent areas of Tripoli’s lands to establish an American base between Tripoli. And Tajoura (Howells) to be a place to control the country’s capabilities and direct its local and regional policies in exchange for money, in addition to allowing the Americans to use Libyan lands for their regional and tactical interventions, as they were given vast areas to train their soldiers or soldiers of the countries allied with them in western Libya, south of Zuwara in the Al-Watiya region, as a shooting and training base. And other sites on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, which enabled the United States to develop its economic expansion in Libya and provide the emerging state with financial assistance through the fourth point program of the (Marshall Project, branching off from the Truman Doctrine). On the basis of this program, the United States of America concluded a general agreement. On June 15, 1951, with the governments of Great Britain and France as administering states, and with the interim government of Libya on January 21, 1952, and on the basis of these agreements, the United States of America began to provide one million dollars to Libya for the development of agriculture and the exploitation of water resources, and for the development of education and health services as well. To implement this agreement, the Libyan-American Department for Technical Assistance was formed, which had connections with United Nations experts, and the American “assistance” was in fact a reward for using military bases on Libyan soil.
The Libyan-American agreement, like the treaty with England, gave the status of law to the presence of American forces in the country over the course of 20 years, and the agreements granted the United States of America unlimited rights to use Libyan lands for military targets (including conducting topographical works and aerial surveys in any region of the country) and the establishment of a radio mast in the Misrata region, and radars in the Tripoli, Derna and Tobruk region. In addition, a television station was established at the Howells-Field base. This agreement was officially approved on 10/30/1954.
However, unlike the treaty signed with England, which did not give the right to ownership and use of leased lands except to England, the agreement signed with the United States of America took into account the joint ownership of the lands leased by the United States of America and the joint use of them by both Libya and the United States. The United States and a third party with whom Libya concluded a treaty of friendship and alliance, and the Americans obtained the right to use the purchased lands in order to train small military units for other countries. The Americans used this right extensively later in order to prepare flight crews for the military air bases of some NATO countries. Above the Howells-Field base (which is the name that has been officially given to the navigation airport since 1964). In addition, if the treaty concluded with England offered the possibility of reconsidering it after ten years, the agreement with the United States of America did not stipulate such This possibility, and the United States of America committed to pay one million dollars in exchange for leasing Libyan lands, and as a result of the agreement, the United States specified the location of its armies at the Howells-Field military base, and obtained the right to establish a bombing airport in Al-Watiya (60 km south of Zuwarah).
In the throne speech delivered by King Idris (on November 9, 1954), he described the agreement with the United States of America as a great victory for the Libyans. In fact, it was a victory for the United States of America, which won the right to maintain in Libya any number of armies and any type of military technology, and by right. Using Libyan territory for its aggressive goals, moreover, it was allowed to qualify and train NATO countries’ military personnel in weapons testing stations and fields.
In the statement published in March 1957 on the occasion of the arrival of the Vice President of the Republic and his advisor to Libya, Libya’s agreement to cooperate with the United States of America was expressed (in defense against any armed attack that the forces of international communism might direct against any country in the Middle East). However, studying the statement It confirms that Libya was counting on additional American (aid).
Accepting Libya (the Eisenhower Doctrine) meant that the government would implement an open pro-American policy, which could be accepted despite the national voices opposing these reckless policies, which paved the way for junior officers to seize the reins of government without resistance and amid overwhelming popular support on September 1. 1969 AD.

(1) Radwan Abu Shweisha (At Bab al-Bahr, Unknown Footnotes from History – Tripoli)
(2) The diary of the doctor Jonathan Codrey in the Western Citadel of Tripoli (1803-1805), translated and commented by Abdul Karim Abu Shuwairib. Publications of the Libyan Jihad Center against the Italian Invasion (Tripoli 1982)
(3) Introduction to the Journal of the Center for Studies in the Islamic World, Series of Political and Strategic Studies, pp. 9 et seq.
(4) Rifaat Al-Sayyid Ahmad, Journal of the Center for Islamic General Studies, Political and Strategic Studies Series, pp. 79 et seq.

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