Libya agrees to dismantle WMD programs

[Tienshin]

In what has to be considered a huge coup in stopping the proliferation of WMD "Libya's maverick leader Muammar Gaddafi caught the world by surprise on Friday when Tripoli announced it would abandon its weapons of mass destruction programs."

Further Details (http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=reutersEdge&storyID=4025434)

[TheSaint]

Geez I wonder what would convince him that having WMDs would be detrimental to his country.......

[EinBebop]

Libya seeks reward for banned weapons (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=564&ncid=564&e=1&u=/nm/20031220/ts_nm/libya_dc_12)

[RZetlin]

I wonder if the American government is playing with fire again just like they did with Saddam before he took power over Iraq.

Moammar Gadhafi isn't exactly a boy scout. Libya (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3762401/) is linked to the 1988 bombing of an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

You know this could have easily gone the other way. The Bush adminstration could have accused Libya of not showing all it's WMD and invade.

[Tienshin]

I wonder if the American government is playing with fire again just like they did with Saddam before he took power over Iraq.

Moammar Gadhafi isn't exactly a boy scout. Libya (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3762401/) is linked to the 1988 bombing of an airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland.

You know this could have easily gone the other way. The Bush adminstration could have accused Libya of not showing all it's WMD and invade.

1. Gadhafi is already in power, and has been there for decades. He isn't being backed vis a vie another country as was Saddam...since at the time Iran was judged to be a bigger threat. However, even then the US policy was one of "dual containment" that is, while Saddam was erroneously misjudged to be the lesser of two the threats, the government was still wary of him. As the adage goes: The enemy of my enemy is my friend. In fact, he isn't being "backed" at all by the US in the sense that we are validating and supporting his regime. But now, by entering the world stage countries can press Libya diplomatically for additional reforms within its borders.

2. Libya has acknowledged the Lockerbie bombing and turned over the suspects five years ago and has agreed to pay financial compensation to the families of the victims.

3. No, it wouldn't have gone the other way with the US invading Libya. Since the eighties Libya, hasn't had a high profile internationally in the same way that Iraq had. In fact militarily Libya has not presented itself to be a threat to the region, nor has it exerted itself as such. International scrutiny for Libya revolved around its WMD programs, suspected terrorist ties, etc.

[RZetlin]

I just got this creepy feeling 10 years from now, President Jeb Bush will say "We didn't know he was that bad when we helped him!"

[TheSaint]

I just got this creepy feeling 10 years from now, President Jeb Bush will say "We didn't know he was that bad when we helped him!" You may call it creepy but I call it heaven.http://forums.toonzone.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Tienshin]

I just got this creepy feeling 10 years from now, President Jeb Bush will say "We didn't know he was that bad when we helped him!"

Lemme get this straight:

You have a creepy feeling that in ten years we may regret helping Gadhafi DISMANTLE his country's WMD program?

:yawn:

[RZetlin]

Lemme get this straight:

You have a creepy feeling that in ten years we may regret helping Gadhafi DISMANTLE his country's WMD program?

:yawn:

No, my point is the American government have a habit of helping out questionable governments, but it always bites America in the ass later on.

To give a current example of this, it seems that American's ally Pakistani is helping Iran to build nuclear weapons (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3770729).

[TheSaint]

No, my point is the American government have a habit of helping out questionable governments, but it always bites America in the ass later on.

To give a current example of this, it seems that American's ally Pakistani is helping Iran to build nuclear weapons (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3770729). I think it goes to show you that you can't trust foreigners.

[Pilmedium]

It's been a slow process, but it looks like Libya is about to join the international community.

That could mean that other countries will need to compromise with Libya sooner or later.

from a website that is linked to in this thread
The Libyan statement said the aim was to turn the Middle East and Africa into a nuclear-free area.

Whether they really think that way or not, it would take a lot of international cooperation for that to happen. It is not realistic, because some countries might want to ignore that.

[Squall]

Gadhafi saw the writing on the wall after we took Saddam Heussein into custody. Same goes for the mullahs in Iran. :)

The message is, "If you support, or turn a 'blind eye' to terrorism in your country, and build & stockpile weapons of mass destruction at the same time, expect to hear from the U.S. and her allies in the near future."

:D

[wonderfly]

Libya under Gadhafi has been very much a hermit nation for the last 15 years...they had been pretty much exiled from the international community, and now they're being let back in under parole, so to speak...

I don't worry as much about WMD's from his country as I have from others...what they really need to enforce is to make Gadhafi hold an election...can't stand people who nominate themselves "President for Life"...

Pakistan needs to do the same thing.

[Morpheus]

Pakistan is a nation of idiots if they think helping Iran will do any good for the world.