Posted on 03/24/2004 7:52:01 AM PST by maquiladora
MADRID, Spain -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold talks this week in Libya with Moammar Gadhafi, British officials said on Wednesday, marking improved relations as Libya scraps its banned weapons programs.
Blair's visit is a significant step in reinstating Libya in the world community after its pledge in December to dismantle its nuclear, chemical and biological programs.
"We will be using the visit to continue the process of bringing Libya into the international mainstream, and to make clear that we will be trying to get Libya's relationship with the European Union developed in the months ahead," a senior official accompanying Blair said Wednesday on condition of anonymity.
"It was part of our agreement with Libya that we and the United States would act quickly to bring them back and show them the rewards of cooperation with the international institutions," the official added.
Seif el-Islam Gadhafi, son of the Libyan leader, had told reporters in Qatar on Monday that Blair would go to Libya, but British officials had delayed confirming the report.
Britain has a long history of grievances with Gadhafi, who supplied shiploads of weapons to the Irish Republican Army in the 1980s. Britain broke off diplomatic relations with Libya in 1984, after British policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was killed by a shot fired from a window of the Libyan embassy, or "people's bureau," in London, and relations hit bottom after Libya was implicated in the bombing of a Pam Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, in 1988.
Britain restored diplomatic relations with Libya in 1999, and Britain has taken a lead diplomatic lead in ending Libya's isolation.
The U.N. Security Council ended sanctions against Libya last September after Gadhafi's government took responsibility for the Lockerbie bombing and agreed to pay compensation to relatives of the victims.
A further breakthrough came in December, when Gadhafi announced his country would scrap its weapons of mass destruction.
Libya has moved swiftly to fulfill its promise. It has shipped hundreds of tons of equipment associated with its nuclear program to the United States and is allowing international inspectors to destroy or secure its chemical stockpiles.
The British official, who brief reporters in Madrid, said "a number of British companies stand to gain from a more normal relationship."
He said Shell may soon sign a heads of agreement on gas exploration rights off the Libyan coast in the days ahead, and British Aerospace was negotiating about providing civil aviation facilities for Libya.
Asked if Britain would push for an end of the EU arms embargo against Libya, he said, "I think it will mean that in time."
Just happened right out of thin air, did it? No diplomacy by any particular countries? No regional threats weighing in on the matter? Libya just had a "came to Jesus" moment. How beautiful.
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed just gave up.
My paychecks are bigger just because...
He remembered 1988, when President Reagan responded to the Pan Am bombing. That missile went right through his house, if I recall. I think the near death experience, gave him a new perspective. Diplomacy is great, when you have a large stick.
Actually it was for the discotech bombing in Germany. PanAm was in Dec '98 and Germany bombing was in early April and US response was mid April. There was tention (minus two SU-22's) earlier over international water distances on the Gulf of Sidra.
My point is that after we gave one good hard hit to Libya, Omar was no longer dancing in the streets. Before that, he was a daily staple on the 6 o'clock news, hyping American-hatred. (Geez, I think that was even before television "news" stations existed.) We didn't have to deal with him after that.
He's laid low for twenty years. When we went back into aggressively letting the world know "we're not going to take it", he basically had his "Second-Jesus-moment". This is a different era, but Reagan nipped it in the bud during that one. IMHO, it was a culmination of events that required it.
Our being in Afghanistan and Iraq are also a culmination of events. 9-11 was the straw that broke the camel's back. Had we learned from history, we would have struck after the first World Trade Center bombing, or the attack on the U.S.S. Cole.
Fortunately, this administration isn't sitting on the sidelines. The fact there are people protesting our own defence is ludicrous. Don't we all want to live in a peaceful world? It is much easier to negotiate when you are in an offensive position. Unfortunately, you need to beat some people up, before you can do that.
This new generation of terrorists didn't learn to hate America overnight. They have grown up on it. They are acting on that hatred, and we have to respond. By responding to Libya, we quieted Omar down. By responding to the new breed of terrorists, we may be able to take him in. The best we can hope for is that it doesn't take twenty more years to come to a solution to our current world situation.
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