Libya's capitulation

Muammar Qadhafi in front of a statue of a hand that has a U.S. warplane in its grip in Tripoli, Libya. A file picture. - AMR NABIL/AP

Libya's announcement that it will dismantle its unconventional weaponry and throw open its nuclear facilities for international inspection is seen by the U.S. as a vindication of its doctrine of pre-emption.

THE surprise announcement by the Libyan government on December 19 that it was voluntarily divesting itself of unconventional weaponry is being portrayed as a great diplomatic victory for Washington and London. Significantly, the decision came less than a week after the capture of Saddam Hussein.

Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi was the first Arab head of state to be targeted for assassination by the American government. Qadhafi had a narrow escape when American jets bombed his residence in 1986, killing one of his daughters. Libya was also part of the "Refusal Front" along with Syria, Iraq and Iran - countries that refused to kowtow to American hegemony until recently. Libya's capitulation under sustained pressure from the West comes just after Iran's agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. Iraq has been reduced to rubble and will not pose a threat to anyone in the foreseeable future. As for Syria, American pressure on the country is bound to intensify.

Following the Libyan announcement, United States President George W. Bush and his close ally, British Prime Minster Tony Blair, addressed their nations at around the same time, gloating over what they consider to be a vindication of their `doctrine of pre-emption'. Both the leaders said that the Libyan government's decision was an admission that the country was trying to develop a large arsenal of unconventional weapons. Arab commentators and Libyan exiles have said that the West wants to portray Qadhafi as "a rogue leader" who came to his senses and repented before it was too late. In its statement the Libyan government said that it would dismantle the weapons and submit the country to international inspections.

Both Bush and Blair said that Libya would be rewarded. The sanctions put in place at the behest of the West have crippled the Libyan economy. Bush expressed the hope that "other leaders will find an example" in Libya's actions. Suggesting that Qadhafi had no other choice, Bush said: "In words and deeds we have clarified the choices left to potential adversaries." Describing his government's actions as "a wise decision and a brave step", Qadhafi said: "Libya will now play its international role in building a new world free of weapons of mass destruction and all kinds of terrorism."

American and British officials admit that Libya was not anywhere near acquiring nuclear weapons capability. Like many other countries, Libya had limited stockpiles of chemical weapons. Besides, it had obtained from North Korea Scud-C type missiles with a range of 800 kilometres. Qadhafi has denied that Libya had nuclear, radiological or biological weapons. However, he said that Libya did have the technology and programmes to develop them. Other countries, he said, should take Libya's lead and "prevent any tragedy from being inflicted on their peoples".

Ever since Qadhafi came to power in 1969, Libya has been the target of destabilisation by the West. The first thing that Qadhafi did after assuming power in a bloodless coup was to kick out the Americans and the British from their military bases in the country. Qadhafi was one the main movers behind the "oil boycott" organised by Arab countries to protest against America's support for Israel in the 1973 war. The Libyan leader has been liberal with his petrodollars in the cause of Third World solidarity.

In the past couple of years there were enough indications that Qadhafi was going out of his way to meet the demands of the West. His government handed over the two Libyan suspects in the Lockerbie Pan Am bombing to a Scottish court. Libya made two separate multi-million-dollar settlements with families of the Pan Am victims and the relatives of those killed in the crash of a French airliner over Niger. However, Washington and London said that international sanctions on Libya would be lifted only after the government disavowed publicly all links with terrorist groupings. In any case, Qadhafi has no love lost for militant Islamic groupings. He has ruthlessly cracked down on such outfits in Libya. In his radical days, the Libyan leader did not hide his sympathies for radical groupings such as the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and the secular Palestinian militant groupings.

There was speculation that Qadhafi had blinked after the recent events in Iraq. But it is now revealed that American and British officials were holding high-level secret talks with Libyan officials before the war in Iraq started. In recent years, Qadhafi has been trying to change his image. He announced his disenchantment with fellow Arab leaders, preferring to focus his considerable energies on sub-Saharan Africa. Qadhafi was one of the prime movers behind the African Union, the revamped version of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which held its first summit two years ago. There are reports that one of the factors that influenced Qadhafi to shift gears was the growing threat from homegrown militants who are disillusioned by more than three decades of personalised rule.

With Libya and Iran apparently falling in line, there are growing calls for Israel, the world's fifth largest nuclear power, also to disarm, so that West Asia becomes a nuclear-free region. The office of technology assessment for the U.S. Congress has concluded that Israel has "undeclared offensive chemical warfare capabilities" and is "generally reported as having an undeclared offensive biological warfare programme". The Libyan paper Al Jamahiriya has demanded that the international community exert pressure on Israel to eliminate its weapons of mass destruction. "Israel's weapons should no longer escape checks by Blix and El Baradei," the paper said, referring to former United Nations chief arms inspector Hans Blix and the head of the IAEA, Mohamed El Baradei. Israel has been considered a de facto nuclear power since 1969. Experts believe that it has more than 200 nuclear warheads.