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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lorne who wrote (6423)	12/31/2003 8:26:16 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15987

..why economic sanctions for so many years did NOT have any affect on moomar or sadam and military force did? What proof do you have to back your claim that military force in Iraq had an effect on Col. Gaddafi? YOu asked me for proof for the pressure from the Libyan oil barons, didn't you? So I am asking you for your proof. We all know that militarily the US would not be in a position to sustain military fronts in Iraq, Afghansitan and them Libya. So Gaddafi instead should be emboldened to not allow inspectors in. Instead he did.

To: lorne who wrote (6423)	1/3/2004 2:20:11 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 15987

Lorne, the Bushies would like to toot their horn and claim that they beat Gadaffi down with the capture of Saddam. But is it that the Bushies have negotiated with the terrorists as this news item portrays. Lockerbie payout held to ransom by Gaddafi JOHN INNES THE Libyan government has threatened to withhold compensation payments promised to the families of Lockerbie bombing victims. The regime of Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi stepped up its bid to force Washington to lift economic sanctions against Tripoli when Shukri Ghanim, the prime minister, revealed that unless trade between the two countries was restored by 12 May, they would not be bound to pay the remaining £3.4 million to each family of those killed. The relatives of the 270 victims of the 1988 bombing, including 11 on the ground in Scotland, have been paid about £2.2 million each over the past month as part of a deal between the Libyan government and lawyers in the United States. But a further amount will be paid to the families only on the condition that the US lifts the economic sanctions and removes Libya from its list of terrorist nations. Although the United Nations voted on 12 September, 2003, to lift full international sanctions against Libya, prompting the initial part of the Lockerbie settlement, the US abstained from voting on the matter, claiming that its own sanctions would remain in force because of continuing concerns about Libya's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and its human rights record. Yesterday, Mr Ghanim said the US should lift sanctions immediately to allow the compensation saga to end . He said: "The agreement says that eight months after the signing, if US sanctions are not removed, then the additional six million US dollars for each family of victims will not be paid. So of course this would be for the good of the families of the victims, but we will leave this to the decision of the Americans." Last month, Libya offered to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programmes and it is widely believed Tripoli expects the full restoration of trade with the US as the key reward for doing so. It is also understood that Libya expects financial compensation for turning over nuclear materials claiming that some former Soviet states have received payouts for similar co-operation. But US State Department sources claimed last night that it was the seizure by Britain and the US of an illegal shipment of uranium-enrichment equipment bound for Libya that sealed Colonel Gaddafi's decision to dismantle his nuclear weapons programme. It is understood the intercepted parts were being delivered to Libya in early October on a German-owned freighter that was diverted to an Italian port. It is believed the seizure came as part of a US-led international effort to halt commerce in weapons of mass destruction that was launched in May. If Washington moved to lift sanctions immediately, it would allow US oil companies to return to Libya by spring, and pave the way for unfreezing £560 million in assets that Libyan officials claim are held in US banks. Speaking recently to The Scotsman, the lawyer who negotiated the Lockerbie compensation deal said fears that the relatives of the Lockerbie bombing victims will never receive the full compensation settlement promised by Libya were premature. Jim Kriendler, a leading New York lawyer, who helped to orchestrate the £1.85 billion Lockerbie settlement, said that constructive dialogue between the US and Libya in the coming months would most likely lead to a full compensation deal. He said: "It is very likely that a full settlement in this case will be reached." This article: thescotsman.co.uk