Libya Giving Up WMD's

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Libya is giving up its WMD program.

www.bbc.com

[Vance]

Never knew they had any... :cantbeli:

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

There was some speculation in the late 80's over chemical warfare agents being produced but never anything concrete, the greatest concern at the time was their sponsorship of terrorist groups, they do have a problem with Al Q and have been believed to have been cooperating with French, German and UK intelligence agencies on the matter.

[venture160]

in the mid 90's it was suspected that libya had an underground chemical weapons facility, that was directly connected to one of libya's oil pipeline tunnels, that was by chance, wide enough to fit a tank.....

[steel bonnet]

Well there`s ONE RAG head country that actually has owned up to it,Now can Iran,Syria,& all the rest step forward & be counted :D

See You Lie we`ll BOMB & Take over your country,You comply,well things will be just dandy :D

Simple really,shame The MiddleEast folks are too Simple to understand that :(

Ja
Steel Bonnet

[bishop1]

This could be my crack pipe speaking, but didnt Israel bomb a WMD factory there in the past decade ot two?

[UoUo]

This could be my crack pipe speaking, but didnt Israel bomb a WMD factory there in the past decade ot two?

Nope.....we did bomb...but not in lybia...we bomb the nuclear reactor in iraq....

Just think what if the gulf war start with a atomic bomb in the hand of the iraqis....

[Nizark]

you guys think catching saddam had anything to do with their decision to drop WMD?

[bishop1]

i think it probably did

[Dave the Dawg]

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/19/international/middleeast/19CND-LIBYA.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=

Bush Says Libya Will Allow Arms Inspections
By DAVID STOUT

WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 - President Bush announced today that Libya, which for decades has been estranged from the United States, had agreed to forsake weapons of mass destruction and to allow weapons inspectors from international organizations into the country.

Mr. Bush, in a stunning late-afternoon appearance, said Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi had notified diplomats from both the United States and Britain of its decision. Libya has been talking with the United States and Britain quietly for some nine months, the president said.

Washington has asserted in recent years that Libya was developing biological and chemical weapons and trying to upgrade its nuclear capabilities.

Mr. Bush said Colonel Qaddafi's promise, if kept, would mean the Libya ``has begun the process of rejoining the community of nations,'' a journey that would improve the lives of the country's people and lead ``over time'' to better relations with the United States. Libya is a relatively poor country of 5.5 million people.

He said Colonel Qaddafi ``publicly confirmed his commitment to disclose and dismantle all weapons of mass destruction programs in his country.''

``He has agreed immediately and unconditionally to allow inspectors from international organizations to enter Libya,'' Mr. Bush said. ``These inspectors will render an accounting of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and will help oversee their elimination.''

The president praised the decision by Libya, which was announced in London by Prime Minister Tony Blair minutes before Mr. Bush's appearance in Washington. Mr. Bush said Libya's new approach to the world - if it continues - could only lessen the threat of terrorism in the Middle East and around the world.

He said Libyan officials ``have provided American and British intelligence officers with documentation on that country's chemical, biological, nuclear and ballistic missile programs and activities.''

``Our experts in these fields have met directly with Libyan officials to learn additional details,'' Mr. Bush said.

In London, Mr. Blair said, ``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,'' according to The Associated Press. He said Libya agreed to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction and to limit the range of Libyan missiles to a maximum of 186 miles.

Over the last year, Libya has made overtures to improve its relation with the West. Earlier this year, it agreed to pay some $2.7 billion in damages to families of the 270 people killed in the 1988 bombing of a jetliner over Lockerbie, Scotland. For years, Libyan agents were suspected of engineering the bombing with Colonel Qaddafi's tacit approval. Libya formally accepted responsibility for the bombing in a statement to the United Nations in August.

Colonel Qaddafi has ruled the North African country since taking over from the royal family in a 1969 coup. His critics have long accused him of being sympathetic to terrorists.

In 1986, Libyan-sponsored terrorists bombed a nightclub in West Berlin, killing two American soldiers. Shortly thereafter, American bombers struck at Libya, in an apparent effort to kill the dictator.

[Nizark]

very south africa of them

[budanski]

Ahhh this war on Terror isnt working ;^)

[usa320]

Finally, some good news.

Not only did the war in iraq remove a horrid tyrant, eliminate terrorist activities and a massive military power, but it showed a clear and undisputable example of what will happen to countrys with WMD programs who actively support terrorism.

Well destroy your army, well find your leader.

There aint jack **** anyone can do to prevent it other than comply, and do the right thing,

Granted, i think Ghaddafi is still a shady character (read:asshole) but perhaps this is the first step in the right direction for him and his nation.

Iran and NK should take a close look.

Also i like the idea of secret negotiation- keeps the UN from bitching and keeps the french from complaining about war and ****.

[Whistler]

I guess the scenes of raggedy Saddam hiding in a hole with 1000s of troops bearing down on him put a little sense into Momar's head.

Good for Lybia. Lets hope the rest of them go like dominos.

[cut]

Ahhh this war on Terror isnt working ;^)

good old diplomacy, bet you I'll be loosing a few pro-war argumants thanks to this. :|

[Nizark]

yeah, **** the UN...havent done much to help us, ohh....EVER! Back door meetings is how things should be done.

[Argyll]

Quit your Bull**** bravado then and do something with NK!

[Mr Gently Benevolent]

Its doubtful if recent events in Iraq have had any great effect on Muammar as the WMD talks started about 9 months ago and there have been other talks on bringing Libya back into the fold. The US do have some issues with Libya apart from the Belle Angel bombing most of the US oil extraction and service companies were kicked out of Libya pretty early on in Qaddafi's rule. There has been a few attempts on Qaddafi and his families lifes by Al-Q and this may have spurred him into cooperating with European intelligence agencies. On a positive note the UK attempts to bring Libya back into the fold have been an all party affair with the Conservative Teddy Taylor frequently visiting Libya. I hope the US welcomes Libya back into the international community without restrictions it would be a good thing to have a moderate Muslim country on our side let face it Saudi and Kuwait are a poor substitute for allies.

[Mark Sman]

NK is really a delicate situation,. Their main man is quite probably completely off his rocker too. We need to negotiate with them, SK, China and Japan.

[Argyll]

What I find so bloody ironic here is that here's a state which openly funded terrorism,has terrorist training camps,and a WMD program,and a leader who Had sanction imposed on his country,is a dictator..........does anyone else see where I'm going with this?

A man who would have been able to provide for the right price a chemical or Bio weapon to a terror unit!

And this is the 1st time we hear about his WMD capabilities being openly discussed.........why was there no Coalition invasion on this madmans country?
A madman who was responsible for more civilian deaths through acts of terrorism than his Iraqi partner in crime!(debateable?)

Where was the "Intelligence" on this asshole?,and his WMD's and programs?

[steel bonnet]

Argyll,

Very Easy that one mate :D

We Never Sent the Coalittion forces into Libya because of the amount of WESTERN Workers there ;)

Has Canadians,US,UK,& also Former Soviets & then there`s More to that too.

So whilst the UN embargo/US embargo was against Libya,they still had a lot of folks employed there producing the oil & Gases there.

Also the average person on the Street,has No anomosity to the Westerners. There fairly friendly towards the Westerners there.

It was moreso Gadaffi himself this time.

Whilst Iraq has that many fruitcakes running around with & Without Power,they make better target :D


l do agree with you on the Openly Supporting Terrorism with ALL means at there disposal.That for that He needs to be punished.

Though whilst Libya provides jobs for the Western world,doubt that would happen .

Ja
Steel Bonnet

[96B]

Its doubtful if recent events in Iraq have had any great effect on Muammar as the WMD talks started about 9 months ago and there have been other talks on bringing Libya back into the fold. The US do have some issues with Libya apart from the Belle Angel bombing most of the US oil extraction and service companies were kicked out of Libya pretty early on in Qaddafi's rule. There has been a few attempts on Qaddafi and his families lifes by Al-Q and this may have spurred him into cooperating with European intelligence agencies. On a positive note the UK attempts to bring Libya back into the fold have been an all party affair with the Conservative Teddy Taylor frequently visiting Libya. I hope the US welcomes Libya back into the international community without restrictions it would be a good thing to have a moderate Muslim country on our side let face it Saudi and Kuwait are a poor substitute for allies.

While giving total credit to the WOT may be excessive, Iraq was certainly an example of what happens when you dont cooperate and end up on America's **** list. This in turn provided more of a reason for Libya to disarm their WMDs and allow inspectors in. Even though I watch the news quite often, I never heard anything mentioned about progress with Libya so this was somewhat of a suprise.

As for disarming NK, the only way that will happen is with military force and unless people find it acceptable to risk nuclear conflict then diplomacy comes first.

[Whistler]

What I find so bloody ironic here is that here's a state which openly funded terrorism,has terrorist training camps,and a WMD program,and a leader who Had sanction imposed on his country,is a dictator..........does anyone else see where I'm going with this?

A man who would have been able to provide for the right price a chemical or Bio weapon to a terror unit!

And this is the 1st time we hear about his WMD capabilities being openly discussed.........why was there no Coalition invasion on this madmans country?
A madman who was responsible for more civilian deaths through acts of terrorism than his Iraqi partner in crime!(debateable?)

Where was the "Intelligence" on this asshole?,and his WMD's and programs?

Maybe because you only listen to what the mainstream news talks about?

I've been reading up about Libya and possible WMD programs for a while. Its not new news in certain circles.

Although, Libya DID seem to be doing a better job of hiding things than the Iraqis.

But, if I brought this up 2 weeks ago then people would call me a warmoger that just wants to start another war with another poor Muslim country on false pretences.