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Headlines : InternationalU.S. Restores Diplomatic Ties to Libya
It should be a happy day for the north African state. Libya has long been on the margins on the political stage. That all could change.
Since the Sept. 11th attacks, which were denounced by Mr. Qaddafi, American officials have praised Libya’s cooperation in the pursuit of terrorists.
[Posted By atrain]Republished from the New York Times
The United States has decided to restore full diplomatic relations with Libya and remove it from the list of countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced this morning.
Ms. Rice called the moves “tangible results that flow from the historic decisions taken by Libya’s leadership in 2003 to renounce terrorism and to abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs.”
She also used the occasion to hold out hope for improvement in the current standoffs between the Bush administration and Iran and North Korea, which have been accused of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
“Just as 2003 marked a turning point for the Libyan people so too could 2006 mark turning points for the peoples of Iran and North Korea,” Ms. Rice said in a statement. “Libya is an important model as nations around the world press for changes in behavior by the Iranian and North Korean regimes.”
Libya came forward in December 2003, disclosing its secret nuclear and missile programs and promising to cooperate fully with international investigations. American officials say the information gleaned from Libyan records was crucial in tracking the reach of the illegal proliferation network run by A.Q. Khan, Pakistan’s top nuclear scientist.
The United States…
Posted by atrain
Ari Paul has written for The American Prospect, In These Times, Tikkun, Z, Punk Planet, openDemocracy.net, Reason and other newspapers and magazines. He is also a reporter for The Chief-Leader, a New York weekly covering labor in the city.
Hmmm…That “Give us your oil and we’ll get along fine” attitude by America seems to be working.
One thing I can say about Qaddafi : he has gone through the hoops of scrutiny for 20 years and came out clean. Restoring diplomacy with Libya … was about time.
Still think that Monopoly is the dullest game that exists. The world looks like a board game and a pretty dull and depressing one at that.
Muammar has been on the recieving end of Amerikan “Diplomacy” before, cost him a family member and I believe the use of most of the left side of his body, in one of those cases where the US found it completely legal and resonable to try and murder the leader of another nation that it did not agree with by droping large amounts of munitions on his compound and damn the inocent bystanders.
No wonder he was so quick not to make himself, or his country, a target in the looming “War On Terror”.
So nice that after cripling him and murdering his adopted daughter the US now recognises his little country diplomaticaly. Aint they sweet.
BTW – The Panam bombing that Lybia suffered so much for is pretty well proven to be another CIA black op to try an frame Iran, cool hey.