WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The U.S. military has sought to recruit Libya for a North African counter-insurgency program.

U.S. European Command has been discussing the inclusion of Libya in the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Initiative. The program was meant to include most of the nations in North Africa in an effort to prevent infiltration by Al Qaida-aligned groups.

So far, the program, an expansion of the earlier Pan Sahel Initiative, includes Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia. But Eucom has been discussing Libyan participation in the initiative.

"The overall approach is straightforward: build indigenous capacity and facilitate cooperation among governments in the region that are willing partners in the struggle with Islamic extremism in the Sahel region," Eucom commander Gen. James Jones said.