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Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2004 3:25 AM
Subject: [panafricanperspective] Re: Libyan ties to Bush


There has been contact between the Libyan authorities and the US government
off and on for some time; both indirect and direct.

One of the main conduits for indirect contact is the consultant (ex-state
department functionary) Herman Cohen; he has been working for some time
lobbying
his DC friends, contacts and associate to get the embargo of Libya
lifted....

There has been increased official contact since the Lockerbie deal brokered
by S. Africa - Mandela and the Saudis; after the 9-11 attack contact
increased
around the question of sharing intelligence, since part of the network
involved in Al Queda tried to assassinate Col. Ghadafi and is veru hostile
to what
they see as Libya's unIslamic regime.

The American petroleum companies forced out of Libya by the Reagan
administration, along with the Libyans themselves had have the goal of
reestablishing
normal trade relations and ending the embargo.

I have inserted the following article written by Gamal Nkrumah on the
subject
for Al Ahram --
you might also log into the Libyan english news services from time to time
to
get their slant on things:
http://www.jamahiriyanews.com/displayNews.php?lang=en&day=mon&tim=pm


ARTICLE by Gamal:

Return to the fold?



Libya's decision to end weapons of mass destruction programmes will open up
the country's economy to American investors, reports Gamal Nkrumah

"Come and see... We don't want to hide anything," Libyan leader Muammar
Gaddafi proclaimed as he announced plans to scrap all weapons of mass
destruction.

President Hosni Mubarak expressed surprise that Libya was in possession any
weapons of mass destruction in the first place, though he pronounced the
Libyan
initiative "useful". The reactions of other African and Arab leaders was
similarly muted.

In sharp contrast, the news was warmly received by Western powers. Praise
was
heaped on the Libyan leader.

"When leaders make the wise and responsible choice, when they renounce
terror
and weapons of mass destruction, as Colonel Gaddafi has now done, they serve
the interest of their own people and they add to the security of all
nations,"
US President George W Bush said in response to Gaddafi's overtures. "As
Libya
becomes a more peaceful nation, it can be a source of stability in Africa
and
the Middle East. Should Libya pursue internal reform, America will be ready
to help its people build a more free and prosperous country," Bush added.

"This courageous decision by Colonel Gaddafi is an historical one. I applaud
it," concurred British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Washington and London hope that other nations will follow suit -- except,
one
presumes, Israel.

Washington's staunchest Western ally, Britain, has already resumed
diplomatic
relations with Libya and maintains extensive commercial and economic ties
with the North African country. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
described
Gaddafi as "statesmanlike and courageous".

Initially there was much confusion over whether the Libyans wanted to
dismantle WMD facilities or simply invite inspectors to see if the country
possesed
such weapons. But in separate interviews with the BBC and CNN Gaddafi
clarified
the issue.

The Bush doctrine of pre-emptive strikes seems to have yielded results,
Western media pundits insinuated. Others poured scorn on Gaddafi's
non-proliferation diplomacy.

Gaddafi, speaking on CNN in an interview broadcast on Monday, invited
international inspectors to visit Libya and decide for themselvs if the
country
possessed a WMD programme.

"We have no intention to make these weapons of mass destruction. But there
are many rumours, many accusations, propaganda against Libya, particularly
in
this field, and we have to stop this propaganda against us," the Libyan
leader
complained.

Gaddafi stressed that the international community should not only target
Arab
and Muslim countries for inspection. He said that the world should focus
instead on Israel's nuclear capabilities.

"Why are you accusing us and using propaganda? You exercise terrorist
policies against the Libyan people," he said in a veiled reference to the US
airstrike against Libya in 1986 which resulted in the death of Gaddafi's
adopted
daughter and the destruction of his palace.

The Libyan people have long suffered the debilitating impact of the
international embargo, but UN sanctions were lifted this year and foreign
companies --
mostly European and Asian -- descended on the country to make up for lost
time.

The US, however, has so far remained adamant in its refusal to lift
sanctions.

Libya, a member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),
is entirely dependent on the export of oil and has benefited from the
relatively high prices of oil and natural gas recently.

Libya clinched a deal in September in which it agreed to compensate the
families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of the PAN-AM airliner over the
Scottish village of Lockerbie. Libya declined to admit responsibility for
the
Lockerbie airliner bombing, but pledged to collaborate more closely with the
US and
other Western powers in containing terrorism.

Libya's agreement to sign a protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) permitting intrusive spot checks of nuclear sites was welcomed by
international experts in the field.

The Libyan decision "was a step in the right dirction," said the director
general of the UN International Atomic Agency (IAEA) Mohamed El-Baradie,
scheduled to visit Libya next week. El-Baradei will head the team of nuclear
inspectors that will visit several sites in the sprawling desert country.

Libya's renunciation of WMDs inevitably drew parallels with Iraq's
ostensibly
uncompromising stance. Iraq, too, had denied it possessed such weapons.

"Iraq could have been handled also with continuous containment," said former
UN chief weapons inspector Hans Blix. He said that the Iraqis probably
destroyed whatever weapons they had after the 1991 Gulf war, which is
precisely what
the regime of Saddam Hussein consistently maintained.

© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved



Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 25 - 31 December 2003 (Issue No. 670)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/670/fr1.htm




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