President Bush announced Friday evening that Libya leader Muammar Gadhafi has publicly confirmed his commitment to dismantle all weapons of mass destruction in his country. Bushâs announcement at the White House followed a similar one moments before by British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London. Gadhafi confirmed his country has sought in the past to develop weapons of mass destruction capabilities, Blair said. Blair said Britain and the United States had been engaged in talks with Libya for nine months. "Libya came to us in march following successful negotiations on Lockerbie to see if it could resolve its weapons of mass destruction issue in a similarly cooperative manner," the prime minister said in the northern English city of Durham. "Libya has now declared its intent to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction completely and to limit the range of Libyan missiles to no greater than 300 kilometers." The actions entitle Libya to ârejoin the international community,â Blair said. Blair said Gadhafi had promised that the process would be "transparent and verifiable."
The U.N. Security Council ended U.N. sanctions against Libya Sept. 12 after Gadhafiâs government took responsibility for the bombing of a Pan Am passenger jet over Lockerbie, Scotland, and agreed to pay families of the 270 victims $2.7 billion. The councilâs decision was largely symbolic, since the United Nations had temporarily suspended its embargo in April 1999. But the United States has kept its own 17-year embargo in place. Washington has said Libya is actively developing biological and chemical weapons, upgrading its nuclear capabilities and seeking ballistic missiles to deliver weapons of mass destruction, for which it is receiving help from countries that sponsor terrorism. "This decision by Col. Gadhafi is a historic one and a courageous one and I applaud it," said Blair.
Looks like somebody got the message after all ...
| Muammar got the message two years ago. He's been inching his way toward this position since 9-11 â he's bright enough to realize that the world has changed, and enough time has gone by to show him that Bush means business. The Talibs are gone, Sammy is gone, but Sudan and Yemen both remain in business without sacrificing their sovreignty (though I think Sudan's edging back toward openly allying with the other side). As I've said before, Muammar's decided he's a great African leader, not one of the Arab League talk-fest lemmings. His concerns are more dynastic at this point. |
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