The American Withdrawal from Wheelus Base, Libya 1970

Abstract

The paper covers the importance of Wheelus base in Libya and its importance to the bilateral relations between Libya and America from the independence of Libya in 1951 to the Revolution of 1969. The study investigates the American withdrawal in 1970 concentrating on the regional local and international variables that resulted from the revolution or were concurrent to it that pushed the Nixon administration to withdraw. One of these variables was American petroleum interest in the area and the fear from being subjected to danger. The new Libyan regime at that time adopted a nationalistic policy by supporting the Egyptian president Jamal Abdul Nasser and launching enmity towards Israel .