Fans of Uncle Sam

TRIPOLI, Libya -- The walls of the Advancement Primary School are decorated with cheerful murals of a bunny rabbit, a hatching chick -- and a wolf wrapped in an American flag, blood dripping from its fangs.

This is a country where rioters drove out the United States by setting fire to its embassy a quarter-century ago. A nation that has suffered for decades under U.S. sanctions. A place that until Thursday, most Americans could not legally visit.

Yet Libyans are among the world's most unabashed fans of all things American.

Movie theaters show "Predator 2." Software shops sell "Donald Trump's Real Estate Tycoon." Couples sit at cafes sipping Coca-Cola and listening to Christina Aguilera.

Recent overtures by Libya to the United States brought the lifting of the 23-year-old travel ban, as well as the prospect of a suspension of U.S. trade sanctions and of a restoration of diplomatic relations. For most Libyans, it can't come soon enough.

Big Macs, American cars

"You may not know much about Libya, but we know everything about America," said Awatef al-Mezuwki, 28. "The young generation tries to talk like Americans. They say, 'Hi, guy,' 'Hi, man.' We have been waiting for the Americans for 30 years.

"Now we will have American cars," she said excitedly. "We will have McDonald's here!"

U.S. companies used to pump oil from the Libyan desert, American tourists plied the streets of ancient cities and Wheelus Air Base sprawled across the eastern suburbs of Tripoli.

But then came Moammar Gadhafi's 1969 coup. The United States closed the air base in 1970, withdrew its ambassador in 1972, and all American staff in 1979 when the embassy was torched.

But change is in the air. In recent months Gadhafi has renounced terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. Members of the U.S. Congress have visited and said they hoped relations can be restored soon.

On Thursday, the ban on Americans traveling to Libya was lifted. The White House said U.S. companies that were in Libya before the sanctions can begin negotiating their return, pending the end of sanctions.

Dreams of seeing America

Americans are here, but keep a low profile. European oil company workers say groups of U.S. officials began arriving last year for brief stays.

American influence is spreading everywhere. Libyan government offices sport air conditioners with the brand name "Power USA." Young Libyans dream of trips to the United States.

"The United States is very famous. Nobody can say they don't know it," said Faysal Abdul Hamid, 36, who owns an Internet cafe in Tripoli.

Abdul Hamid is a devoted fan of all things American -- Kenny Rogers, Elvis Presley and westerns on Turner Classic Movies, beamed to his house by satellite.

"I follow all the sports -- NBA, tennis. Andre Agassi is my love. Of course we know Bill Gates, the king of Microsoft," he said. "I want to get there one day, at least to see it. Maybe next year. I think things are getting better."

'Very nice people'

At the Sea Breeze Golf Club, built by the Americans on the eastern edge of Wheelus, the regulars miss their old golf buddies.

Once a well-kept 18-hole course, Sea Breeze is now a muddy, nine-hole field of weeds.

Mohammed Sayed, 51, caddied for the wife of a U.S. wing commander until the military pulled out in 1970. Showing off his 1968 Wilson clubs, Sayed reminisces.

"Very nice people," he said. "Sometimes they made problems, when they got drunk and threw bottles at us. Some looked at us like we were animals because we were poor and had no shoes. But me -- nobody could hate me, because I was a caddy."

Mufta Hussein, 64, worked at the U.S. base as a housing clerk. "After work we always played golf," he said. "We beat the American people. Write that in your paper: We played the American people and we beat the American people."

Hussein looks at Libya's changes with great hope, and sees the possibility of a reunion with old friends.

"I hope they are still alive. I would like to see them and play golf with them," he said.

He lit up with a grin and added: "I'll win, too."

Niko Price is correspondent-at-large for The Associated Press.