UK to offer Libya military help

[emad]

From BBC News:

Tony Blair is set to offer British military training for Libyan troops when he meets Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. BBC political editor Andrew Marr says the idea is to help persuade Libya it does not need weapons of mass destruction to defend itself. As the Libya trip was confirmed, the Tories claimed they would distress families of Lockerbie bombing victims. Tory Michael Ancram described the trip timing - shortly after the Madrid memorial service - as "astonishing".

The Lockerbie bombing killed 270 people and their families are divided on the wisdom of the Libya talks. Mr Blair's meeting comes after Libya announced in December that it was ending its weapons of mass destruction programmes. Swire, whose daughter died at Lockerbie, welcomed the talks A senior official travelling with the prime minister said: "We will be using the visit to continue the process of bringing Libya into the international mainstream and to make clear that we will be trying to get Libya's relationship with the European Union developed in the months ahead."

The talks were announced last month but were briefly put in doubt when Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem said his country had "bought peace" when it agreed to pay $2.7bn compensation to the Lockerbie victims' families - rather than accepting guilt. Libya's Foreign Minister, Abdulrahman Shalgam later reaffirmed that his country did accept responsibility.

At prime minister's questions deputy Tory leader Michael Ancram told Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott the prime minister's visit was "highly questionable" and its timing even more so. Britain had suffered from Libyan support for terrorism through Lockerbie, the murder of Wpc Yvonne Fletcher and backing for the IRA, he said. "Welcome as Libya's commitment to disarmament is, we should never forget the victims of Gaddafi's sponsorship of terrorism. "Don't you at least agree that if the Prime Minister does meet with Colonel Gaddafi, he should sup with a very long spoon?"
The prime minister should also raise the issue of Colonel Gaddafi's support for Robert Mugabe's regime in Zimbabwe, he added. But standing in for the prime minister, Mr Prescott said it was right to continue talks which had brought a breakthrough over Libyan weapons programmes. It was a matter of judgement, he said, adding: "I think the judgement that you talk to these people is absolutely important."

More:http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3563473.stm

[ZR2]

1. Great job U.K

Train more people that are going to be fighting against you in 10 years.

[Cooley Hurd]

2. Brilliant, aren't they?

Arm the guy who had planned to torpedo the QE2 before. I know... sell him torpedoes! Great idea! :eyes:

[emad]

3. Irony not lost on most of Planet Earth....

What gets me is that, on the morning of 9/11, there was an early morning announcement on BBC Radio News that we should get ready for an imminent announcement that new evidence about the Lockerbie bombing (that Libya has 'admitted' to) was to be made public.

They said that forensic evidence recently authenticated by UK Terrorism police had found proof that the Lockerbie bomb had been loaded at Heathrow airport, and not Frankfurt. And that additional evidence showed a break-in at the cargo storage area at Heathrow airport had found links to dissident Porvisional IRA gang members who had been training with FARC guerillas in Colombia.

Then 9/11 struck and the story was wiped...