Bush names first U.S. ambassador to Libya since 1972
WASHINGTON — The United States has appointed an ambassador to Libya
as part of an effort to normalize relations with the North African state.
President George Bush has nominated a diplomat who currently serves in
Israel as the next ambassador to Libya. Gene Cretz, deputy chief of mission
at the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv, must be confirmed by the Senate.
On July 11, the White House announced Bush's selection of Cretz to
become the first U.S. ambassador to Libya since 1972. Cretz also served as
deputy chief of mission at the U.S. embassies in Cairo and Damascus.
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Officials said the Bush administration has sought to engage in full
diplomatic and other relations with Libya. In 2004, the administration
opened a diplomatic office in Libya, and over the last year eased
restrictions on the sale of U.S. aircraft and dual-use systems to Tripoli.
Congress has been critical of the U.S. rapproachment with Libya. House
and Senate leaders said Libya has failed to honor its commitments,
particularly in relaying $2.7 billion in compensation to the families of the
270
victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Leading senators have suggested that they would withhold funding for a
new U.S. embassy in Tripoli. They said Libya has refused to honor its
pledge to destroy weapons of mass destruction, sever links to groups deemed
terrorist and account for a 1986 Berlin disco bombing that killed two U.S.
soldiers.
"Until Libya fully compensates the Pan Am families, no U.S. ambassador
should set foot in Tripoli," Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, said.
"We're serious about improving relations, but Libya needs to show that it
is, too. Paying off this long-overdue debt would be a start."
