Word: libya
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When I called on Libyan Leader Muammar Gaddafi in his Bedouin tent last year, he was at pains to explain how he and President Bush were on the same wavelength. In all his years as a bad boy in the eyes of the West, he said, Libya was simply doing what Bush did when he invaded Iraq. "Bush is saying that America is fighting for the triumph of freedom," Gaddafi said between sips of tea. "When we were supporting liberation movements in the world, we were arguing that it was for the victory of freedom. We both agree. We were...
...like the typical ramblings of the Libyan leader. But now, a year later, Gaddafi and Bush do apparently see eye to eye. On Monday, Gaddafi accomplished one of history's great diplomatic turnarounds when Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice announced that the U.S. was restoring full diplomatic relations with Libya and held up the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as "a model" for others to follow. Rice attributed the ending of the U.S.'s long break in diplomatic relations to Gaddafi's historic decision in 2003 to dismantle weapons of mass destruction and renounce terrorism as well...
...factors were also at work. Foremost among them was the collapse of the Soviet empire, which brought down Gaddafi's once-powerful friends in capitals like Moscow, Prague and Bucharest. Another important factor was the rise of Islamic fundamentalists in the Middle East, which resulted in extremist attacks in Libya and against Gaddafi personally...
...weapons industries lingering from the Soviet era. After Gorbachev, the Russian military complex stopped shipping AK-47s to the Middle East under the pretext of fighting capitalist imperialism. However, Russia’s brand-new capitalist mindset has led it to seek contracts with countries like Iran, Syria, and Libya to maintain capital inflow, and hence, some pride. Iranian leadership might lack legitimacy, but it has plenty of cash. Guess which nation got the contracts to build the reactors and turbines in sites like Bushehr. As Russia loses power politically and economically, the arrogance of its military interest groups grows...
...occupy seats on the Council and that countries which value and protect human rights will lose their seats after two years. There is no hope for effective human rights protections from a body whose members include, or have included in the past: Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, and Libya. To think that the new Council will bring any real improvement in the protection of human rights around the globe is naïve, and faulting the U.S. for its recognition of that is unfortunate. DREW M. THORNLEY Jasper, Ala. April...