However , for decades prior to the 2011 Libyan Civil War , the countries were not on good terms and engaged each other in several military skirmishes . The Libyan government of Muammar Gaddafi funded terror operations against the United States , most notably the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing , to which the United States retaliated by bombing Libya , and the 1988 Lockerbie bombing
1988 Lockerbie bombing
Pan Am Flight 103
Libya–United States relations