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| US allows oil groups into Libya |
| 2004-02-27 |
| Africa as a whole will be an important focus this decade ... Libyan oil isn’t a new factor, but active US engagement across the board in Africa could be .... The US on Thursday said it would let US oil companies reopen negotiations with the Libyan government over potentially lucrative oil leases that have been off- limits since Washington imposed sanctions on the government of Muammer Gadaffi in 1986. The concession was among measures announced by the White House on Thursday to reward Libya for deciding to renounce weapons of mass destruction and compensate the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. Libya will get investment and access to our markets, and oil is just the start .... The US said it would lift all restrictions on Americans travelling to Libya, allowing visits for the first time in 23 years, and would invite Tripoli to re-establish partial diplomatic relations by sending permanent representatives to Washington. "While more remains to be done, Libya’s actions have been serious, credible and consistent with Colonel Gadaffi’s public declaration that Libya seeks to play a role in ’building a new world free from [weapons of mass destruction] and from all forms of terrorism’ ", the White House said. Testifying before the Senate foreign relations committee, William Burns, secretary of state for near eastern affairs, said on Thursday he remained concerned about Libya’s continued involvement in African countries, particularly the regimes in Zimbabwe and Liberia. Yup. gonna need a short leash for a while "US Libyan relations can only be rebuilt if we develop confidence in the Libyan regime’s commitment to repudiate its past support for terrorism. We are still concerned about problems in Liberia and Zimbabwe." The White House announcement was delayed from Monday after Shukri Ghanem, Libya’s prime minister, said in a BBC interview his country had agreed to the Lockerbie settlement only to "buy peace". But on Wednesday Libya said it stood by its letter to the UN last August, which stated that it "accepts responsibility for the actions of its officials" in bringing down PanAm Flight 103. Four US oil companies - Occidental Petroleum and a coalition comprising ConocoPhillips, Marathon and Amerada Hess - hold oil leases in Libya |
| Posted by:rkb |
| #9 You betcha, mucky! |
| Posted by: chainey 2004-2-27 7:44:56 PM |
| #8 Cleaning up our "allies" mess again, and I'm getting tired of it. The mess has been around for fifty-odd years, was pretty much self contained, and could be ignored. Now that nearly anyone can access technology, the mess has become a dangerous one. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2004-2-27 1:40:27 PM |
| #7 --We OTOH know we'll be engaged with Africa a lot this coming decade. -- Cleaning up our "allies" mess again, and I'm getting tired of it. |
| Posted by: Anonymous2U 2004-2-27 1:12:44 PM |
| #6 Okay, I'm up for it! Where can I get an airline ticket from the USA, and how much is it? |
| Posted by: gromky 2004-2-27 12:11:44 PM |
| #5 If #2 light Budweiser stabilizes at $54 a bbl, I'm all for it! |
| Posted by: Doc8404 2004-2-27 12:02:14 PM |
| #4 Mucky, Bush is backing it too so he can sell more Budweiser in the Middle East. Gads, these Republicans have no shame. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-2-27 11:18:51 AM |
| #3 chainey leading the rush over there. |
| Posted by: muck4doo 2004-2-27 11:05:20 AM |
| #2 yup. another opportunity here: Gadaffi's at an age where people want to mentor and to have a legacy. He's said for a while now that he'd like his to be as a leader in Africa (the whole pan-Arab thing having turned out less than useful and anyway, not all Libyans are Arab). We OTOH know we'll be engaged with Africa a lot this coming decade. Win - win, if the colonel plays ball. |
| Posted by: rkb 2004-2-27 11:01:21 AM |
| #1 Must have allowed MO to get his learner's permit. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-2-27 10:29:32 AM |