US Hands Libya Embassy Over to Rebels

The Libyan Transnational Council has now taken official control over the Libyan Embassy in Washington D.C. after the United States recognized the Council as the rightful government of Libya on July 15th. Ali Aujali, who resigned in February after siding with the opposition, will remain the ambassador from Libya.

All that is between Aujali and his ambassadorship is some bureaucratic wrangling. According to a state department official, all diplomats will have to go through this process, but the other perk of reviving relations with Libya is that $13 million in Libyan funds will be unfrozen.

The money trail throughout the Libyan conflict has been rather interest to follow. During the infancy of the civil war in March, the Transnational Council established the Benghazi Central Bank (BCB). The BCB was immediately recognized by NATO members as Libya’s representatives for monetary policy. Additionally, the Transnational Council is first in line to receive frozen assets of the Gaddafi regime, said to be worth around $100 billion. France just recently announced that it would be giving 181 million Euros to the TNC.

All of this tends to look like just another Western effort to maintain its imperial status, which happens to be slowly diminishing.