Kadhafi son says US committed to protecting Libya

AFP ^ | December 24, 2003

[Shermy]

CAIRO (AFP) - The son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has said the United States has committed itself to providing security for the country and that US officials will travel there soon to ascertain its needs.

Seif al-Islam, in comments published Wednesday in the Saudi-owned daily Asharq al-Awsat, also said British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush would visit Libya in 2004.

Islam said Washington had "committed itself to protecting us from any sort of attack" and that there had been "consultations to conclude security and military accords that would lead to joint military maneuvers in the future."

American military officials "will come to Libya soon to apprise themselves of its military protection requirements," he added.

Last Friday, Libya won plaudits from the international community, including longtime foes London and Washington, with a surprise announcement that it was renouncing longstanding efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.

Blair described the announcement, which followed nine months of secret talks between Libya and Britain and the United States, as "courageous" and "historic".

Bush said the move by Libya, long a pariah on the world stage, would help bolster security worldwide, adding that Libya had begun "the process of rejoining the community of nations".

Referring to Tripoli's decision, Islam said factories for the production of missiles, mostly Scud-Bs with a range of 300 kilometres (185 miles) that had been built jointly with the former Soviet Union and North Korea "will not be dismantled or destroyed."

However, he reaffirmed that "programs for the production of chemical, biological and nuclear arms would stop," except those that are for defensive purposes and which will be submitted to "international surveillance."

Referring to the upcoming visits, Islam said "the British premier will visit Tripoli at the beginning of next year, followed by a visit by US President George Bush.

"I foresee (the Bush visit) happening after the lifting of US sanctions, which I believe should happen within three months at most," he told the London-based newspaper by telephone from Tripoli.

In a separate interview published in another Saudi-owned daily, Al-Hayat, Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem said the weapons programs the country was now abandoning had been designed for defense, "given that that countries (in the Middle East such as Israel possess nuclear and mass destruction weapons."

He expressed hope that the Libyan decision would inspire the international community to press Israel to abandon these arms, "which are an obstacle to a just and comprehensive peace in the region."

He also denied speculation that Libya's decision was based on "what happened in Iraq," attacked by a US-led coalition in March over still unproven allegations that it possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Washington on Monday cautiously raised the prospect of lifting sanctions against Libya after Kadhafi's decision.

"As Libya's policy changes, Libya's behavior changes, Libya's circumstances change, we'll be willing to look at those things," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

"At some point, we may be in a position to make some changes."

Washington and Tripoli have not had diplomatic relations since 1981.

The US government banned the import of Libyan crude oil in 1982 and in the following years imposed extra trade, export and investment bans.

More sanctions were imposed for Libya's alleged support for terrorism in 1986, including a total import-export ban, and expanded economic and travel embargos.

Libya is also on a US blacklist as one of seven states accused of supporting terrorism.

As for Britain, diplomatic relations were severed in 1984 after a British policewoman was shot dead from inside the Libyan embassy during an opposition demonstration in London. Relations were reestablished in 1999.

The United Nations suspended sanctions against Tripoli in 1995, but did not fully lift them until September of this year when Libya admitted its role in bombing of a US airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland in December, 1988, which killed 270 people, and began to pay compensation.

[polemikos]

His "throne" is a plastic patio chair.

[marron]

"The son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has said the United States has committed itself to providing security for the country and that US officials will travel there soon to ascertain its needs."

If one was paying attention, Khaddafi has actually been hinting at this for some time, so its not a complete surprise. I was surprised anyway. I pride myself in seeing things coming before they do, and while I sort-a saw it coming it still made my head spin around. It hasn't entirely stopped spinning.

Khaddafi first signalled the change back when he launched a tirade against his Arab brother-states for their failure to support Libya, and announced that Libya was thenceforth an African country, not an Arab one. His remarks that were more-or-less supportive of the US on the Afghan war and the overall war on terror, his earlier decision to hand over the Lockerbie suspects followed by his recent decision to pay off the families of the victims told me that he was ready to come out of isolation.

I have met Americans who worked in Libya during the embargo, although not recently, but I assumed that Americans were still there. He never let politics get in the way of his oil industry, and US oil workers seldom do either.

If this opens the door for US firms to operate there openly, that will be good news for some of us. Actually, it probably means that the wages will come down, so maybe thats good news for Khadaffi.

[hoosierham]

Anyone with eyes to see will note that Islamic fanatics KILL the usual military dictator in order to put the mullahs firmly in charge. They definitely believe and practice "civilian" control of the military. Khadaffy simply looked at his best chance for survival and just maybe is also able to understand that a supposed culture that uses and demands suicide by its followers is a losing one.

[Grampa Dave]

Krazy Kadaffy is not stupid.

The $oddomite stood up against GW and tried to stand up the military power of our military and look at what happened to him, twice.

Krazy Kadaffy on the other hand will get the US military to protect him if he cooperates.

[Heatseeker]

It'd be nice, but that family is one big bowl of flakes. Get some bases and buy some friends in their government, then arrange for the Colonel to have a car accident somewhere.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

This is bigger than it may seem, Qaddafi is simply the first of many who will realign to position themselves with the "strong horse" they now perceive the US to be. This is precisely what Victor Davis Hanson has predicted would happen, first humiliation, which could not have been accomplished without the very public whipping of Saddam, then fear, then capitualation. We are witnessing the process which will ultimately defeat terror.

We live in interesting times!

[AdmSmith]

A 1998 attempt by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group to assassinate Kadhafi led Libya to crack down on Islamist opposition and reportedly issue an arrest warrant for bin Laden. Kadhafi has shared intelligence on AQ for many years and he and his son understand that the logical consequence of our mutual interest to get rid of the islamists is to cooperate 100 % with the West. The threat to his throne is fundamentalist islam.