The problem with the US power-sharing plan for Libya

(Karim Mezran, Dario Cristiani – Atlantic Council) Even as it continues negotiations over the Iran war, Washington has also been—somewhat surprisingly—at the forefront of diplomatic efforts to end another, albeit low-intensity, conflict: the one in Libya. As noted by Frederic Wehrey and Jalel Harchaoui, US involvement in Libya has long oscillated between neglect and fleeting moments of attention for decades, but the second Trump administration has shown a strong interest in the oil-rich country. Yet this renewed activism is less the result of a coherent institutional strategy than of the initiative of one individual: Massad Boulos, US President Donald Trump’s senior advisor for Arab and African affairs. Indeed, Trump himself—alongside major figures within his administration from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Secretary of Energy Chris Wright—has shown limited direct engagement with the Libyan dossier. Paradoxically, Libya’s relatively low strategic priority within the administration created the conditions for Boulos to operate with a degree of autonomy rarely seen on other foreign policy matters. Since July 2025, Boulos has increasingly focused on Libya after achieving early diplomatic successes in the Great Lakes region, particularly between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. As his momentum elsewhere began to stall, especially on Sudan, Libya emerged as a possible arena in which a tangible diplomatic success could still be achieved. This activism also aligned with the broader economy-first logic of the Trump administration, especially toward resource-rich countries seen primarily through the lens of energy, infrastructure, and investment opportunities. But by essentially brokering a power-sharing agreement among entrenched interests, Boulos’s initiative—if it comes to pass—will not solve Libya’s deeper problems. – The problem with the US power-sharing plan for Libya – Atlantic Council