On 18 May, a US diplomatic delegation led by Joey Hood, the US Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, arrived in Tripoli. In a press conference with the GNU Minister of Foreign Affairs Najla Mangoush, Hood underlined the commitment of the US to diplomatic engagement in Libya. Hood stated that he and the US Ambassador and Special Envoy to Libya Richard Norland had held ‘productive talks’ with Dabaiba and Mangoush on how the US can ‘support the interim Government of National Unity as it takes the necessary steps toward ensuring free and fair elections in December’. According to Hood, the goal of the US via its Libya policy is to incentivise all ‘foreign military forces’ to leave the country and to help create a sovereign, stable, and unified Libya. Hood also emphasised the importance of the electoral roadmap and called for the clarification of the constitutional basis for elections as soon as possible.The visit by the US delegation follows the appointment on 10 May of the current US Ambassador to Libya Richard Norland as the Special Envoy to Libya. According to the State Department, Norland's appointment strengthens his ability to promote international support for a political solution to the Libyan conflict and provides greater gravitas for the work he was already doing.In short, this is the highest-level visit by a State Department official since 2014 so it signals a relative uptick in US engagement in Libya. Hood’s reference to the ‘interim’ nature of the GNU, the need for elections in December, and the constitutional basis indicate that Washington’s approach is intended to align with recent efforts by the UN, EU and UK to put pressure on Dabaiba and other Libyan actors to commit fully to elections on 24 December. This suggests that the Biden administration may now be committing to greater involvement on the Libyan file, in contrast to the Trump administration, and articulating ‘red lines’ on issues like elections, foreign mercenaries, etc. It may be symbolic that Hood called on ‘foreign military forces’ to leave Libya while appearing on stage with Mangoush, whose recent appeals for all foreign forces, including those of Turkey, have been highly controversial in western Libya. This appears to indicate tacit US support for Mangoush and her stance towards the military presence of Turkey as well as other foreign actors.
US Acting Assistant Secretary of State visits Tripoli to affirm support for 'interim' GNU