Obama Seeks Closer Military Ties With Libya
Gene Cretz, the U.S. ambassador to Libya, said Tuesday that the United States is hoping to "put some flesh" on the bones of American efforts to deepen ties between these two former foes.
He outlined a number of steps the two countries might take in the coming year, including closer military-to-military relations, U.S. training of Libyan forces, a new trade agreement, and a human rights dialogue.
The goal, he said, was to build a working relationship that can survive the "vicissitudes of politics" -- a thinly veiled reference to the mercurial ways of Libyan strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi, whose most recent call for a "jihad" against Switzerland has complicated his country's drive to fully rejoin the international community after years of isolation.
Cretz made the remarks at an invite-only luncheon organized by the Middle East Institute and underwritten by Bechtel and Coca-Cola. Libya's man in Washington, Ali Aujali, also spoke at the event, and the two men had kind words for one another in front of the crowd of 36 people.
9 comments:
Pastorius,
One wonders what parallel universe Obama is living right now.
Reagan sent military jets to quiet Quaddafi--bho bows....if not literally than figuratively...
C-CS
Christian Soldier,
I think Reagan would be ashamed of Obama. Off course given the fact that Reagan was a conservative republican, I don't know if Obama would even care. Although I think FDR would consider him a coward. Maybe he'd care about that, than again, who knows.
Phew, I am SO glad he is ON this. Such an important issue...our relationship with Libya.
Forget unemployment, no space program, the growing parasite class, drug gangs in our cities, troops dying in Afghanistan, underwear bombers on our planes...THIS is the stuff he needs to be concerned with
manager? Community organizer. It's the only real job he ever held.
Au Contrare - Radio Netherlands reports:
Libya and US in war of words
Rocky relations between the US and Libya took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when Tripoli demanded an apology from a US envoy who criticised Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. The Libyan foreign ministry is furious about comments made by Philip Crowley who denounced the Libyan leader’s decision to declare a holy war on Switzerland.
Gaddafi’s outburst against Switzerland was the latest episode in an ongoing row between the two countries, which dates back to the arrest of his son Hannibal in 2008 for allegedly beating up two members of his staff in a Geneva hotel. In a speech to mark the birthday of the prophet Muhammad, he criticised Switzerland’s decision to ban the construction of minarets and on Wednesday the Mohammed Baayou said Libya would impose a 'total' economic embargo on the country.
Rambling address
US Assistant Secretary Philip Crowley has been summoned by the Libyan foreign ministry for his caustic comments on the speech. At a briefing in Washington he compared Gaddafi’s latest outburst with his rambling address to the United Nations last year, describing it as “… Lots of words and lots of papers flying over the place, not necessarily a lot of sense.”
Tripoli responded by escalating the war of words, saying trade agreements between the two countries will suffer as a result – it comes shortly after the US completed its first trade mission to the country since an embargo was lifted in 2004.
Damien-I think bho is out for bho-his alinsky training blinds him to the truth...and makes him a well-spoken coward...who hates the U.S.
C-CS
Anonymous,
Apparently, the angrier people are with the U.S., the more Obama wants to apologize to them and to be their friend.
It's a pattern, if you haven't noticed.
yeah, I've noticed. I've noticed. Sigh.
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