News Libya Ceases Development of NBC Weapons

[Adam]

Interesting. Libya has declared it is ceasing all development of NBC weapons, and limiting the range of its missiles. Rather nice of them. And no threat of invasion and exploitation was required!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3335965.stm

 

[GENIERE]

Quite amazing in fact!

The why of it is hard to know. The colonel has been putting feelers out and acting in a positive way for some time. What do you think Adam? Is it in response to gunboat diplomacy, despite gunboat diplomacy or an aging leader finally trying to do the right thing for his people?

 

[Adam]

Well, this is a state which openly claimed responsibility for blowing up an airliner (the USA also did this, of course, but that is for another thread).

Personally I think Gadaffi simply saw that the USA is out there throwing bombs around to get its way, and realizes he can't possibly stand up to such force when it comes to Libya's turn at the top of the list. Better to go with the flow than get crushed, I guess.



PS: If you're wondering: On July 3, 1988 the U.S. Navy warship the Vincennes was operating within Iranian waters, providing military support for Iraq in the ongoing Iran/Iraq war. During a one-sided battle against a small number of lightly armed Iranian gunboats, the Vincennes fired two missiles at an Iranian Airbus, which was on a routine civilian flight. All 290 civilians onboard were killed. To which George Bush Senior said “I will never apologize for the United States of America — I don’t care what the facts are.”

 

[GENIERE]

Confucius - "Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes."

 

[enigma]

Originally posted by Adam
And no threat of invasion and exploitation was required!

*chuckle*

Maybe he saw the writing on the wall?

Gadaffi's no idiot. I've met someone who spoke with him at length years ago before he gained power (working on an engineering project in Lybia near where the then-minor-officer Gadaffi was stationed).

The word he used to describe him was: 'brilliant'

And that was coming from I guy who I consider brilliant.

 

[Nommos Prime (Dogon)]

When Is the US signing?

Libya has never claimed that they were the responsible party for Lockerbie. Never.
This is not to be confused with them paying “reparations”.
Libya simply paid compensation to the victims of Lockerbie’s families because of international “pressure” in the form of Cruise Missiles being regularly lobbed at them, and the threat of International Food Sanctions etc.
Libya has also never planned to develop WMDs. Pressure was simply “to sign”.
http://au.news.yahoo.com/031219/2/n079.html
“It is one of the things that was negotiated with them," he added, referring to months of secret diplomacy on the part of the United States and Britain to persuade Libya to abandon its covert weapons program.”

As for the old Colonel, his amazing social insights contained within “The Green Book” should be required reading for all in the West.