"I knew I should have gone potty before I left the tent."
Posted on 08/31/2002 7:01:36 PM PDT by knighthawk
CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Eager to shake off his pariah image, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi said Saturday his country is no longer a rogue state and has even detained some Islamists suspected of links with the al-Qaida terror network.
In a two-hour speech on Libyan national television, Gadhafi condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, saying: ``We have never seen such a horrific and terrifying act performed in such an exhibitionist manner.''
But he warned the United States and Britain against any invasion of Iraq to topple President Saddam Hussein, saying ``the collapse of the Iraqi regime will turn Iraq into another Afghanistan.''
``Saddam Hussein's regime is better for them. It is a strong regime'' that will not allow Islamic extremists to take over, he said.
Gadhafi said that Libya's policy toward the United States and Israel will now follow the line of the African Union — a new grouping of African nations to which Libya belongs.
``Now, no one can say Libya is a rogue state. There is no Libyan policy. This is an African policy ... which represents Libya and Lesotho (alike),'' Gadhafi said, referring to a country at the opposite end of the African continent.
His speech marked the anniversary of the 1969 coup in which he took power.
``In the old days, they called us a rogue state. They were right in accusing us of that. In the old days, we had a revolutionary behavior ... We acted like an independent state and we put up with the consequences of our action,'' he said to a crowd of several thousand in the south Libyan city of Sibha.
He then disclosed that Libya had detained some Islamic fundamentalists and former fighters from Afghanistan who were thought to be connected to al-Qaida, the group blamed for the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington.
Gadhafi had previously said he would cooperate with the war on terrorism, but he had not spoken of detaining people linked to al-Qaida.
He said the detainees — he did not say how many there were — would be treated the same way the United States treats its terror suspects at its Guantanamo Bay base in Cuba.
Although Gadhafi condemned the Sept. 11 attacks, he urged America and Britain to undergo ``political change'' toward Arabs and Muslims.
``If you Americans and Britons continue to provoke (the Muslims), you will regret it,'' he said in the speech, which was monitored in Cairo.
A U.S.-British attack on Iraq, he said, would give a ``big boost'' to Osama bin Laden.
``He will say: 'I had every reason (for targeting America). The Muslim world is targeted','' Gadhafi said.
Libya acquired the reputation of a rogue for its hosting of terrorist organizations, such as that of Abu Nidal, the Palestinian militant who died of a gunshot wound in Iraq this month. It was implicated in the blowing up of an American airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1988 and the bombing of a West Berlin discotheque in 1986. It remains on the U.S. State Department list of countries that support terrorism.
He said Libya would follow the African Union policy toward the United States and ``the Zionist entity (Israel).'' He added that some African countries had diplomatic relations with Israel and others did not.
Gadhafi is an ardent champion of the African Union — which had its founding summit in Durban, South Africa, in July — and is known to be vying for influence in the new organization with South African President Thabo Mbeki.
Gadhafi was one of the first to propose that African states discard the old Organization of African Unity and forge closer links in a union, which has placed greater emphasis on democracy and economic development.
Now we know why the UN wants Libya to head the human rights committee: Libya is willing to tell people oppression is better for them!
This is a sick joke.
Many people will assume that this is from The Onion. 8^)
African empire appears to be his goal.
I'm not endorsing him by any means. I think he's aged better than Fidel Castro, by comparison, though.
While Saddam most assuredly will not let Jihadists take over his country, he seems to have no qualms at all about allowing them to set up terrorist training facilities.
"I knew I should have gone potty before I left the tent."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.