Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Inside The Pentagon
May 15, 2008
Pg. 1
The United States is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Libyan government that will open the doors to formal military engagement following years of strained relations, according to a senior military official in the Joint Staff.
The Libyans are “certainly ripe for engagement,” the official told Inside the Pentagon.
The United States should “promote and award” their efforts at reform and reintegration into the international community, he said in an interview from his Pentagon office. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Libya’s at a very nascent stage in terms of mil-to-mil cooperation with us,” the official said. “We’re, I think, very close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Libyan military, which is a prerequisite for us to begin any sort of official mil-to-mil relationship with them.”
Discussions between the United States and Libya have been ongoing for at least 18 months, the official said. He added the Libyan government, which has “no stated concerns except they wish for more progress” in forging an agreement, has the final draft. The official predicted it will be signed in two to three months.
A spokeswoman for the Libyan embassy in Washington said Ambassador Ali Aujali was uncertain about the signing date. The embassy made no further comments about the pending deal.
Washington is on the verge of striking a military relationship with Tripoli because certain longstanding grievances against the North African country have been removed from the table, the senior Joint Staff official explained.
Since the United States rescinded Libya’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006, Libya has continued to cooperate closely with the United States and the international community on counterterrorism efforts, according to the State Department’s annual terrorism report, released April 30.
Libya renounced its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and accepted responsibility for previous acts of terrorism including the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub, the official told ITP. The country also released Bulgarian nurses held for years on charges they infected hundreds of Libyan children with the HIV virus, he added.
A number of U.S. court cases seeking compensation from Libya for its past support for terrorism remain unresolved, the report indicates.
“Libyan officials are engaging with the courts and, at [U.S. government] urging, are continuing settlement talks with the claimants, including the families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of Pam Am flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of the La Belle nightclub in Berlin,” the State Department writes.
But the report suggests Libya and the United States have a common enemy. Last November, Egyptian cleric and al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced a merger last November between his group and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). “In an audiotape, al-Zawahiri urged AQ fighters to topple the government of Libya, describing Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi as an ‘enemy of Islam’ and criticizing Qadhafi’s 2003 decision to renounce [weapons of mass destruction] and terrorism,” the State Department writes.
Once the memorandum is signed, the United States may “sit down and start to frame with the Libyan military those types of things they would like to do with us,” the senior Joint Staff official explained.
Initially, the United States expects to boost Libya’s air force fleet purchased before the “relationship went south,” he said. The country has some C-130 aircraft and would likely seek help in training pilots and obtaining repair parts, he said.
In general, Libya would probably want to buy U.S. military equipment, he added.
Qadhafi’s government is also particularly interested in assistance on counterterrorism issues, he said.
Like other countries in the region, including Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, Libya is concerned about local terrorist groups as well as nationals returning home after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the official maintained.
Al Qaeda aims to exert influence in the northern tip of the continent as part of its desire to create an “overarching caliphate,” the official explained, referring to an Islamic form of government.
“And they recognize it,” he said of governments in North Africa. “They’ve seen the challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan and they don’t want the same challenge on their border. Once again, it’s been a very unifying aspect of working with these countries.”
The United States tracks instances of terrorism in the area, noting the occasional improvised explosive device or vehicle bombing that occurs, the official said. But he hesitated to describe incidents of insurgent violence as a significant spike in North Africa, noting the increased focus on the region may make the violence more apparent.
U.S. foreign military sales provide countries with needed radios, night-vision systems and capabilities for information management and information operations that help counterterrorism and border security, he said.
Beyond the military, the official contended, the State Department and other agencies like the FBI may also provide countries counterterrorism assistance like “forensic evidence exploitation and things like that,” he said.
-- Fawzia Sheikh
May 15, 2008
Pg. 1
The United States is close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Libyan government that will open the doors to formal military engagement following years of strained relations, according to a senior military official in the Joint Staff.
The Libyans are “certainly ripe for engagement,” the official told Inside the Pentagon.
The United States should “promote and award” their efforts at reform and reintegration into the international community, he said in an interview from his Pentagon office. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.
“Libya’s at a very nascent stage in terms of mil-to-mil cooperation with us,” the official said. “We’re, I think, very close to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Libyan military, which is a prerequisite for us to begin any sort of official mil-to-mil relationship with them.”
Discussions between the United States and Libya have been ongoing for at least 18 months, the official said. He added the Libyan government, which has “no stated concerns except they wish for more progress” in forging an agreement, has the final draft. The official predicted it will be signed in two to three months.
A spokeswoman for the Libyan embassy in Washington said Ambassador Ali Aujali was uncertain about the signing date. The embassy made no further comments about the pending deal.
Washington is on the verge of striking a military relationship with Tripoli because certain longstanding grievances against the North African country have been removed from the table, the senior Joint Staff official explained.
Since the United States rescinded Libya’s designation as a state sponsor of terrorism in June 2006, Libya has continued to cooperate closely with the United States and the international community on counterterrorism efforts, according to the State Department’s annual terrorism report, released April 30.
Libya renounced its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and accepted responsibility for previous acts of terrorism including the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of a Berlin nightclub, the official told ITP. The country also released Bulgarian nurses held for years on charges they infected hundreds of Libyan children with the HIV virus, he added.
A number of U.S. court cases seeking compensation from Libya for its past support for terrorism remain unresolved, the report indicates.
“Libyan officials are engaging with the courts and, at [U.S. government] urging, are continuing settlement talks with the claimants, including the families of the victims of the 1988 bombing of Pam Am flight 103 in Lockerbie, Scotland, and the 1986 bombing of the La Belle nightclub in Berlin,” the State Department writes.
But the report suggests Libya and the United States have a common enemy. Last November, Egyptian cleric and al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri announced a merger last November between his group and the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG). “In an audiotape, al-Zawahiri urged AQ fighters to topple the government of Libya, describing Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi as an ‘enemy of Islam’ and criticizing Qadhafi’s 2003 decision to renounce [weapons of mass destruction] and terrorism,” the State Department writes.
Once the memorandum is signed, the United States may “sit down and start to frame with the Libyan military those types of things they would like to do with us,” the senior Joint Staff official explained.
Initially, the United States expects to boost Libya’s air force fleet purchased before the “relationship went south,” he said. The country has some C-130 aircraft and would likely seek help in training pilots and obtaining repair parts, he said.
In general, Libya would probably want to buy U.S. military equipment, he added.
Qadhafi’s government is also particularly interested in assistance on counterterrorism issues, he said.
Like other countries in the region, including Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, Libya is concerned about local terrorist groups as well as nationals returning home after fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the official maintained.
Al Qaeda aims to exert influence in the northern tip of the continent as part of its desire to create an “overarching caliphate,” the official explained, referring to an Islamic form of government.
“And they recognize it,” he said of governments in North Africa. “They’ve seen the challenges in Iraq and Afghanistan and they don’t want the same challenge on their border. Once again, it’s been a very unifying aspect of working with these countries.”
The United States tracks instances of terrorism in the area, noting the occasional improvised explosive device or vehicle bombing that occurs, the official said. But he hesitated to describe incidents of insurgent violence as a significant spike in North Africa, noting the increased focus on the region may make the violence more apparent.
U.S. foreign military sales provide countries with needed radios, night-vision systems and capabilities for information management and information operations that help counterterrorism and border security, he said.
Beyond the military, the official contended, the State Department and other agencies like the FBI may also provide countries counterterrorism assistance like “forensic evidence exploitation and things like that,” he said.
-- Fawzia Sheikh