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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (12371)	4/5/2004 1:29:00 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 81568

This news item in "the Guardian" appeared was way before the invasion of Iraq where Bush put his doctrine of "pre-emptive" strikes into effect. And I didn't think the Bush propaganda considers Villepin as a friend of the US and has ridiculed everything he has said. This clearly states that Libya is Britain's victory in diplomacy not Britain's military victory. Bush did not have much to do with it. Minister in talks with Gadafy Staff and agencies Wednesday August 7, 2002 Foreign office minister Mike O'Brien was today holding talks with the Libyan president, Muammar Gadafy, in an attempt to enlist his support in the war against international terrorism. Mr O'Brien, who arrived in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, yesterday at the start of a three-day diplomatic mission, confirmed that Col Gadafy had agreed to meet him for face-to-face discussions. It was unclear even as late as yesterday whether the meeting would take place, and the move represents a further thawing of relations with the north Africa state after a freeze of almost two decades. "It is more likely Libya will move away from terrorism if it is part of the international community and that's why I am meeting with Col Gadafy," Mr O'Brien told the BBC ahead of today's talks. "We still have criticisms of Libya on human rights grounds and aspects of its foreign policy. But Libya is moving away from being an outlaw pariah state towards engagement with the west." Mr O'Brien was expected to be flown from Tripoli to the port city of Sirte for his meeting with Col Gadafy. He is the first British minister to visit Libya since policewoman Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan People's Bureau in London in 1983. Relations worsened between the two countries with Britain's support for US air strikes on Libya, and Libya's supply of arms to the IRA and its involvement in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. In recent years, however, Libya has sought to end its international isolation, handing over two intelligence officers for trial over the Lockerbie in a Scottish court which sat in the Netherlands, and paying compensation to the family of Ms Fletcher. Britain is now hopeful that Col Gadafy will be able to supply valuable intelligence about Osama bin Laden's al Qaida network to assist in the war against terrorism. Ahead of his audience with Col Gadafy, Mr O'Brien said it was in Britain's interest to persuade Libya to move away from terrorism and back into the arms of the international community. He told the Today programme that a Libya which no longer supported terrorism was "very much in Britain's interests". He added: "Our hard-headed judgment all along has been that we are more likely to achieve that by encouraging rather than isolating Libya. "It is more likely Libya will move away from terrorism if it is part of the international community and that's why I am meeting with Col Gadafy." Britain was making progress with Libya on some issues, including the Lockerbie bombing and al-Qaida, he said, but it was a "long haul". "Our judgment is that encouraging and establishing relations with Libya is more likely to produce results." Mr O'Brien told the programme that if Libya accepted its responsibilities over the Lockerbie bombing, renounced terrorism and paid compensation to the victims' families, "the UN will no doubt be in a position to bring them back into the international community". Liberal Democrat defence spokesman Menzies Campbell said it was a "sensible moment" for Britain to "explore whether relations could be put on better footing" with Libya. He said: "I don't know if he's entirely reconstructed as he is a man of unpredictability and eccentricity but it seems to me to be a sensible moment to explore whether relations could be put on a better footing." But it was the right time for Mr O'Brien to take the opportunity to talk with the Libyan leader to see if there had been a "sea change" in attitudes. Mr Campbell said Britain was adopting a "rational approach" in urging Libya to accept its responsibilities, such as compensation to Lockerbie victims and controls over weapons of mass destruction, before talking about a lifting of sanctions against the country. guardian.co.uk