U.S. President George W. Bush has nominated Gene Cretz, a top U.S. diplomat in Israel to be American ambassador to Libya, according to a statement by the White House available Thursday. Cretz is deputy chief of mission in Tel Aviv. He has also served as deputy chief of mission in Damascus, and held another top post in Cairo, the White House said in the statement. The latest nomination for Cretz, due to be confirmed by the Senate, occurred when Washington is trying to close its relations with Libya after years of conflict.
Frances Fragos Townsend, Bush's counterterrorism adviser, met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in Libya on Monday to call for bilateral cooperation on combating terrorism. The United States renewed diplomatic relations with Libya in June 2004 following a 25-year rupture, after Kadhafi's announcement in December 2003 to give up attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Source: Xinhua
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