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An American embassy in Tripoli - -

By Editorial

Editorial

An American Embassy in Tripoli

Published: May 17, 2006

There's something about the news that the United States is renewing diplomatic relations with Libya after more than 25 years that justifiably leaves a lot of Americans feeling dissatisfied. For almost three decades, Libya has been synonymous with terrorism, fanaticism and undiluted anti-Americanism.

This is the country that used its vast oil wealth to finance Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi's fantasies of international revolutionary leadership by sponsoring coups, invasions, assassination attempts and terrorist atrocities across the world. Americans got a taste of Colonel Qaddafi's methods in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, an attack that killed 270 people. A year later, another Libyan terrorist bomb killed 170 people on a French airliner over Africa.

Libyans themselves have endured decades of assassinations, abductions and torture. Somehow, the idea that this can all be washed down the memory drain with new diplomatic flourishes doesn't seem right.

Yet the reality is that the world has changed immeasurably since the days when relations were so bad that President Ronald Reagan bombed targets in Tripoli and Benghazi after accusing Libya of ordering the German disco bombing that killed three people. There is the obvious: the Sept. 11 attack, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the crisis over Iran's nuclear ambitions. But beyond that, the truth is that Libya isn't so much of a player in the world of state-sponsored terrorism anymore.

In recent years, Colonel Qaddafi has withdrawn from direct involvement in international terrorism. He also agreed in 2003 to dismantle Libya's unconventional weapons programs, and all reports say he has done just that. In addition, he has apparently refrained from channeling any funds into financing weapons programs or terrorism.

Colonel Qaddafi's one-time protégé, Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president and warlord, has now been neutered and is behind bars, where he belongs. There is a strong case for easing Libya's economic isolation and improving the lot of its people.

But the Bush administration's decision to make nice with Libya does highlight the apparent schizophrenia of America's relations with other countries — like Iran. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in announcing on Monday the restoration of full diplomatic ties with Libya, called Libya an "important model as nations around the world press for changes in behavior by the Iranian and North Korean regimes."

That raises this question: Hasn't the breakthrough come about because the United States has held direct talks with Libyan officials? That certainly isn't the case with Iran. Perhaps it should be.



    
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