The Americans changing heart: Making friends with Gadhafi of Libya

Rice Arrives in Libya to Meet Gadhafi

By JAY SOLOMON
September 5, 2008 2:09 p.m.

TRIPOLI, Libya — Putting to rest 40 years of enmity, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Libya Friday with a pledge to develop broad strategic relations with the government of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, once seen as among the world’s most dangerous.

Ms. Rice’s trip to Tripoli, the first by a U.S. secretary of state since John Foster Dulles in 1953, marks the culmination of five years of back-and-forth diplomacy between Washington and Tripoli. Libya is in the process of being reintegrated into the global community after Col. Gadhafi renounced terrorism and his pursuit of nuclear and chemical weapons in 2003.

Libya has also committed to paying more then $3 billion to the American victims of Tripoli-linked terrorist attacks, including the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people.

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Condoleezza Rice landed in Tripoli Friday, marking the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to Libya in more than a half-century.

Still, Libyan officials have chafed over the failure of the Bush administration to send a high-level emissary to meet Col. Gadhafi, saying it illustrated Washington’s ambivalence toward cementing ties with their revolutionary state.

Col. Gadhafi has offered mixed signals about his desire for close ties with Washington. At a national day speech in Benghazi this month, the Libyan leader said: “We neither want friendship nor animosity with America, they should just leave us alone.”

In an interview with Al Jazeera last year, the Libyan leader referred to the secretary of state as “Leeza, Leeza, Leeza …” He added: “I support my darling black African woman. I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders.”

On Friday, Ms. Rice said Washington’s rapprochement with Libya now stands as a model for the U.S.’s ability to make peace with even its most fervent foes if they’re willing to abide by international laws and norms. U.S. officials have specifically cited the ability of North Korea and Iran to follow the Libyan model, if they agreed to suspend their nuclear programs and renounce terrorism.

“I do believe that this demonstrates that the United States has no permanent enemies. It demonstrates that if countries are prepared to make strategic changes in direction, the United States is prepared to respond,” Ms. Rice said en route from Portugal to Tripoli, the Libyan capital, Friday.

Ms. Rice’s visit to Libya is expected to fuel accelerated strategic and economic engagement between the U.S. and Libya, which is experiencing 9% annual economic growth thanks to high oil prices.

U.S. diplomats traveling with Ms. Rice are seeking to sign a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Libya in the coming months to enhance bilateral trade between the U.S. and Libya, particularly in the oil and gas sector. Washington is also currently negotiating a Military Memorandum of Understanding with Tripoli that could allow for a sharp increase in military sales to the North African country.

U.S. energy and defense companies have been critical of the slow pace of Washington’s diplomatic rapprochement with Col. Gadhafi. They have voiced fears that European and Chinese firms are stealing lucrative Libyan business contracts from American firms that have been handcuffed by legal and political barriers.

“We’re looking at ways to work with and to develop [the business framework] better,” said David Welch, assistant secretary of state for Near East affairs, Tuesday. “We think that will help Libya as it will attract more business interest in their country.”

Despite Libya’s long-held reputation as a supporter of terrorism, American officials now describe Col. Gadhafi’s government as among its most active partners in combating terrorism and weapons proliferation world-wide.

U.S. intelligence officials say information gleaned from the Libyans was instrumental in shutting down the rouge nuclear arms network run by the Pakistani scientist, Abdul Qadeer Kahn. U.S. counter-terrorism officials say Tripoli has been particularly helpful in cutting off the flow of foreign fighters moving into Iraq and Afghanistan from North African countries.

“They’ve been good team members and partners on that,” said Dell Dailey, the State Department’s coordinator for counterterrorism, Wednesday. “They’ve also been good team members on looking inside their own borders for potential foreign fighters.”   

Hurdles remain that could hobble the U.S.-Libya relationship. In May, Mr. Welch concluded an agreement with Libya that seeks to bring to closure all outstanding legal claims against Col. Gadhafi’s government tied to past terrorism attacks. The pact specifically calls for the establishment of an independent fund backed by Libyan assets to cover outstanding U.S. claims. Libyans who said they suffered from a 1986 U.S. military strike on Tripoli and Benghazi could also be covered, U.S. officials said.

Some American lawmakers say they will seek to limit the U.S.-Libyan rapprochement if Tripoli doesn’t make good on this commitment. Democratic Sens. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Carl Levin of Michigan have pressed Ms. Rice to use her meeting with Col. Gadhafi to push for a final resolution of the claims issue.

“We expect that a primary purpose of your trip will be to press the Libyans to follow through on this agreement,” the two lawmakers said in a statement released Thursday.

U.S. diplomats said the Bush administration will continue to press Libya on human rights and its treatment of political dissidents. Ms. Rice is expected to raise with Col. Gadhafi the status of Fathi al-Jahmi, a political dissident who has been jailed intermittently since 2002 because of his criticism of the Gadhafi regime.

Mr. Jahmi’s cause has particularly been championed by Sen. Joseph Biden, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Democratic vice-presidential candidate.

“I think you can be confident that we have a long record of having discussed this [Mr. al-Jahmi’s case] with the Libyan government,” Mr. Welch said. “And one sign of a maturing relationship is that each side can be honest to each other about such things.”

Write to Jay Solomon at jay.solomon@wsj.com

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Published by Chief Editor Korir, African Press International – API /Source.online.wsj