Libyan Opposition Leaders Slam U.S. Business Lobby's Deals With Gaddafi

[sabrina 1]

Libyan Opposition Leaders Slam U.S. Business Lobby's Deals With Gaddafi

NEW YORK -- A broad coalition of interests from oil companies, defense manufacturers and well-connected lobbying firms to neoconservative scholars and Harvard Business School professors has worked in recent years to advance a rapprochement with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and take advantage of business opportunities in the country, even in the face of the longtime international pariah's brutal repression of his people and his legendary belligerence.

Yet Libya's opposition leaders say that such efforts have harmed the interests of the North African country by helping enrich Gaddafi's family and close allies at the expense of the majority of Libyans, serving only to prolong Gaddafi's brutal reign. They also blame U.S. policy for prioritizing national security interests over issues of reform and human rights, the lack of which helped fuel the country's ongoing violent upheaval.

Soon after U.S. President George W. Bush dropped sanctions against Libya in 2004, when Gaddafi announced that he intended to give up weapons of mass destruction and expressed his eagerness to join the war on terror, U.S. and British oil producers and business interests jumped at the chance to expand into the country, which has been ruled with an iron fist by the unstable leader for some 40 years.

Some of the biggest oil producers and servicers, including BP, ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Chevron, Conoco and Marathon Oil joined with defense giants like Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, multinationals like Dow Chemical and Fluor and the high-powered law firm White & Case to form the US-Libya Business Association in 2005. The members of its executive advisory council each pay $20,000 in annual dues to the group, which is managed by the National Foreign Trade Council, a coalition that seeks to facilitate international opportunities for U.S. companies. Most of the group's members have lobbied the U.S. government since 2004 to protect their investments in Libya or to iron out business problems with the regime. Bilateral trade with Libya totaled $2.7 billion in 2010, compared to practically nothing in 2003 when sanctions were still in force.

They were all there, the usual suspects. The article names them all, like Tony Blair, Richard Perle and Dick Cheney who, according to the article, began working on Libya even before he became VP.

After Bush lifted the sanctions on Libya there was a mad frenzy by Corporate Entities, backed by their respective governments, to get to work as quickly as possible. Organizations were formed, such as the US-Libya Business Association whose founding Chairman, David Goldyn, was thought so highly of by SOS Hillary Clinton that she named him the State Department's coordinator for international energy affairs.


Gaddafi's son Mutassim, warmly welcomed to the State Dept. by SOS Hillary Clinton

Lobbying firms were hired to improve Gaddafi's image around the world.

Condi Rice went to Libya and was greeted warmly by its leader. She is reported to have received many generous gifts from Qaddafi.


SOS Condi Rice and Libyan Leader, Gaddafi


Tony Blair was working on the other side of the ocean to help legitimize Gaddafi and Libya so that profits could begin as quickly as possible.



Tony Blair embraces Gaddafi

Qaddafi had many, many friends in the International Community, all vying for the opportunity to benefit from his country's resources.



Nickolas Sarkozy with Gaddafi

And what could be better for business than a photo of the Libyan leader with the President of the U.S.?


President Obama shakes hands with Libyan Leader, Gaddafi

Miraculously the man who for years had been called a 'madman', the man who was widely known to have been behind the Lockerbie bombing, viewed as a pariah among nations, a man no respectable World Leader would be seen in the same photo with, was suddenly transformed. All was forgotten, at least by the Global Business World and its puppet governments.

But Wikileaks cables reveal that Qaddafi was difficult to deal with. He had certain demands that needed to be met before signing any business contracts with his newfound friends.

He knew their weaknesses and he took full advantage of them. Reading through some of those cables is eyeopening. Eg, Gaddafi had agreed to give up his WMD/Nuclear program in exchange for Libya being accepted into the International community.

Now he wanted to build Nuclear Energy plants. The cables show that discussions were held by the U.S. regarding whether or not this might be possible. He made it clear that if they refused, he had other options. You can read some of those cables HERE

3.(S/NF) The CDA noted media reports claiming the GOL Govt. of Libya had signed civilian nuclear cooperation agreements with France during President Sarkozy's visit to Tripoli in July 2007, and with Russia during President Putin's visit in April. (Note: As reported ref A, at the GOL's insistence, LIBYA and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding committing them to finalization of a formal cooperation agreement on civilian uses of nuclear energy by the end of 2008. The GOL hoped to sign the formal agreement during Putin's visit; however, no language was agreed to before the visit and Russia refused to sign without further consultations. Russian contacts here claimed the formal agreement - if signed - would only establish a general framework for future cooperation and would not/not be keyed to any specific projects. End note.) Siala averred that U.S.-LIBYA civilian nuclear cooperation would complement, not contradict, parallel efforts with France and LIBYA. Conceding she is not fully briefed on LIBYA's nuclear aspirations, she did not know how many reactor plants the GOL envisages building; however, she reiterated that desalination was a primary goal.

He also wanted 'lethal weapons' for his military. The above article, which is very long and very detailed, states that this year the U.S. Government had allotted some money for Libya's military. France and Britain however was supplying Libya with weapons. The arms dealers too were happy about Qaddafi's new status as a respected world leader.

The money was flowing, everyone wanted in on the game. Even the Entertainment Industry couldn't resist:

Wikileaks: Beyonce, Usher, Mariah Carey Party With Gadhafi

A paradise island getaway, private performances from A-list American celebrities like Beyonce and Usher, and "copious" amounts of alcohol -- this is what it's like to party with the Gadhafi family, according to leaked U.S. documents.

In U.S. State Department cables, posted on the website Wikileaks, U.S. officials say Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's son Mutassim threw two major New Years bashes at St. Barts island in the Caribbean, one in 2009 and the next the following year, with price tags reportedly over a $1 million each.

After the 2009 party, international media reported the lavish affair -- which included a purported $1 million private performance by Mariah Carey -- had been thrown by one of Mutassim's brothers, Saif al-Islam. Saif al-Islam quickly denied the report in a Libyan media outlet he owned, and just as quickly pointed the finger at Mutassim.

The 2010 party featured performances by Beyonce and Usher along with other performers that were not named in the cable.

Libya's Opposition Groups say that the embracing of Qaddafi by Big Business prolonged his stay in power. One of the business groups, criticized by the Opposition, called The Monitor eg, twice sent Richard Perle to interview Gaddafi for the purpose of writing a book about him. They really were intent on boosting his image.

Ibrahim Sahib, who was exiled in 1986 because he opposed Gaddafi, now leader of the Opposition Group says "We found ourselves at odds with the pressure groups of these American companies, and previous officials in other administrations that took part in these groups, they think about oil, they take their own interests into account -- they don't care about human rights. Without the support of Bush, there would be no oil concessions with Libya."

Another member of the Opposition, a software engineer named Mohamed Eljahmi whose brother died in custody after seven years in jail for calling for free elections, says he's outraged over the work that was done by these PR firms and lobbying firms to sanitize Gaddafi's image. "Gaddafi and his sons get a percentage of all these deals. So these deals don't benefit the average Libyan," Mohamed Eljahmi said. "There were no reforms, that was just an attempt to prolong the life of the regime. It was Gaddafi's attempt to fool the international community."

Bob Livingston who resigned from the Speakership after Larry Flint revealed his extra-marital affairs during the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal, was also in on the Libya feeding frenzy. His PR firm also worked for Qaddafi.

Most of this involvement by the U.S. with Libya was kept fairly quiet. Qaddafi was difficult to rehabilitate.

Still, Tony Blair, with the help of such people as Prince Andrew and the now infamous BP Corp. succeeded in meeting another Qaddafi demand. The release of the Lockerbie Bomber. Anything was possible once Libya agreed to give up its WMD program which made it possible for the Western Powers and Big Business to finally start benefiting from Libya's resources.

No one was worried about 'terror' when all that oil and money was at stake, but all the while they were helping this terrorist clean up his image, they were telling the rest of us that terror was their #1 Priority! The lies they tell, Blair, Bush and now Obama, to keep up the funding for their other business, war.

Our foreign policy is completely devoid of morality. I don't know what we can do about it but the plight of the people of Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Libya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and so many more, is directly the result of the greed of the Western powers.

They are silent now. Uttering platitudes and refusing to take any action that might stop their protege from slaughtering his people. In the beginning they were hoping their despots would survive. I doubt any of these profiteers were ever rooting for the people.

There was so much at stake for them.

So much money!

[Luminous Animal]

1. Excellent post.

[sabrina 1]

4. Thank you ~

[Luminous Animal]

6. Kick.

[Catherina]

2. France and Gaddafi

Thank you Sabrina. Excellent and important post. There's blame to go all around on this one. We the people all over the world need to put a stop to this. This isn't what we pay taxes for or ask our politicians to do in our name. I found this last night right before going to bed.



France and Qadhdhafi
""Depuis des dizaines d'années, le colonel Muammar Kadhafi est un excellent client des industries françaises d'armement. Après son arrivée au pouvoir, le 1er septembre 1969, à la suite du putsch qu'il avait dirigé contre le roi Idris Ier, Kadhafi n'attend que quelques mois pour acheter à Dassault 82 Mirage 5, en réalité un Mirage III modifié pour pouvoir conduire des attaques au sol. En juin 1973, les choses se détériorent un peu, puisque Kadhafi envahit la bande d'Aouzou, en territoire tchadien. Mais il ne faut pas six mois pour que la France et la Libye trouvent un terrain de réconciliation, sous la forme d'une vente de 32 intercepteurs Mirage F1-C."" (thanks Lama)
Posted by As'ad AbuKhalil at 7:43 AM


France and Qadhdhafi
"For decades, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has been an excellent customer for the French armaments. After taking office on 1 September 1969, following the coup he led against King Idris I, Gaddafi waited a few months to buy 82 Dassault Mirage 5's which are actually Mirage IIIs modified to conduct ground attacks. In June 1973, things deteriorated a bit after Qadhafi invaded the Aouzou Strip in Chad. It took less than six months for France and Libya to find grounds for reconciliation in the form of a sale of 32 Mirage F1-C interceptors. "
Posted by As'ad AbuKhalil at 7:43 AM

Rec'd.

[sabrina 1]

3. Yes, France and Britain also sold him weapons.

It's ironic that only now, when it's way, way too late, both France and Britain now state they will block arms sales to Libya. Sort of like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.

It would be far better if they pushed the UN to declare a no-fly zone over Libya but all they are doing is talking, talking about ridiculous sanctions, as if he cares at this point. Sanctions on whom?

You are right when you say there is enough blame to go around, the main suspects are the U.S. and Britain. Bush lifted the sanctions and that opened the door for all the others to come through.

It's clear that there is a worldwide group of profiteers who have their fingers in every country in the world. They joined forces to invade Iraq and Afghanistan and even as the Libyan people are fighting for their lives, U.S. Drones continue to terrorize the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

I agree we have to stop it, but there are so many of them. They are a Global conglomeration and are very powerful. Our only hope is that the PEOPLE of the world will now unite and make it more difficult for them. And thanks to Wikileaks we know a lot more about them.

Thanks Catherina for all your efforts. I can see why the U.S. and the rest of the Western powers are not doing much to stop the violence and from the beginning barely responded to the events in Egypt and elsewhere. I would be willing to bet that their first thoughts were re Tunisia and Egypt that they hoped the Dictators would survive so their interests would not be affected. And the same thing with Libya. That is why our president never really sounded enthusiastic about the people's victories. He seemed to be reading words from a script only when there was no other choice.

I kept looking for someone who opposed the policies, who tried to stop them, I'm sure there were some, but I couldn't find anyone to be honest.

Shame on all of them for what they've done.

[sabrina 1]

5. Russia was in talks to sell him nuclear energy, but so were others. Knowing

well what he was capable of.