U.S. reopens embassy in Libya

The U.S. ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, raised an American flag over a reopened embassy in Tripoli on Thursday, The Washington Post reports.

Embassy staff was forced out of the country seven months ago, and the old embassy was destroyed in May by forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi. Cretz's former residence will serve as the U.S. embassy until a new permanent location is found.

"I never thought I’d come back, and I’m overjoyed,” Cretz said.

From the Post:

Cretz praised the Transitional National Council, the temporary government that steered the six-month rebellion, and said he was confident in its ability to form a cohesive government and bring Libya’s diverse — and highly armed — militias under control.

Cretz told the Post that the U.S. hopes to send a defense attaché to Libya soon, and restart educational and scientific exchange programs. Cretz expressed both worries and hope about the future of the country.

“Nobody knows now what the political fabric of this country is going to look like after 42 years in which there was no political fabric,” Cretz said. “So I think there is a genuine cause to be concerned that things could go wrong.”

“Let’s give the Libyans a chance to move their society forward and to have a political process,” he also said. “They’ve never had one.”

According to The New York Times, Cretz told reporters that about two weeks ago, he participated in a conference call with around 150 American companies looking to do business in post-Gaddafi Libya.

We know that oil is the jewel in the crown of Libyan natural resources, but even in Qaddafi’s time they were starting from A to Z in terms of building infrastructure and other things” Cretz said. “If we can get American companies here on a fairly big scale, which we will try to do everything we can to do that, then this will redound to improve the situation in the United States with respect to our own jobs.”