The United States warned Libya on Thursday that its climb down on weapons of mass destruction must be matched by a commitment to stop destabilising activities throughout Africa. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the Senate Foreign Relations committee that Libya’s agreement to stand down in its quest for banned weapons was a ‘real breakthrough.’ But he signalled that Libya could not expect a full relationship with Washington until it moderated its behaviour in other areas. "Libya, over the years, has shifted its attention and focus to different parts of Africa. When it sort of fails in one part of Africa, it sort of pops up elsewhere, fomenting difficulty. We have made sure that what we discussed is their activities in Africa, which must cease to be destabilising, cease to fund (alleged) despotic regimes and cease to cause trouble," Powell said. "We are not unmindful of the nature of that regime still, and we are not unmindful of some of the unhelpful activities they have participated in over the years, to include unhelpful activities in all parts of Africa."
| It's like he reads Rantburg... |
Powell did not elaborate on the Libyan activities to which he was referring, but in the past, the State Department has expressed concern at Libyan involvement in sub-Saharan Africa, and its role in disputes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia. Powell on Wednesday told the House International Relations committee that Libya was doing ‘very, very well’ in dismantling its weapons of mass destruction and has exceeded expectations. Meanwhile, Undersecretary of State John Bolton said that the United States was considering lifting sanctions on Libya but the timing would depend on how fast Tripoli dismantled its arms programmes. "The precise way in which the various applicable American restrictions on dealings with Libya will be removed is a subject we’ve been considering internally. We’ve discussed it with the Libyans and I think you’ll see it unfolding," Bolton said. But he told journalists in Berlin: "There’s no deadline or timetable that we’re operating under." |