US diplomatic mission could soon return to Libya, military official says

Six years after a deadly attack on the US consulate in Libya’s Benghazi, conditions on the ground may prompt the return of a US diplomatic mission to Libya, according to Colonel Adam Chalkley, commander of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response Africa.

“There were indications that… recent improvements in the landscape and the operating environment of Libya were suggestive that a reintroduction of a diplomatic mission was on the near horizon,” Chalkley was quoted by Military.com as saying.

He explained that his task force’s goal is to prevent a repeat of “another event” like the 2012 Benghazi attack – “a flashpoint that is going to result in the loss of US diplomatic blue chips or loss of life.”