TERRORISTS JOIN
COALITION AGAINST
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Most Americans want to give President Bush a chance to wage a successful war against terrorism. But when terrorist regimes start joining the war against terrorism, questions should be raised in the media.
The Bush Administration has sought the assistance of Libyan terrorist dictator Moammar Gadhafi as part of its campaign. In a September 19th Boston Globe story by John Donnelly and Anthony Shadid, it is reported that "the Bush administration has sought and in some cases received help from four states considered sponsors of terrorism as it probes the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington…" One of those states is identified as Libya.
They went on to say that, "Some analysts wondered whether the Bush administration was making an overture to Libya when President Bush this week froze the assets of 27 groups and individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism, including the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. That group, which opposes the rule of the mercurial Moammar Gadhafi, had not previously been listed in US government publications, US officials confirmed yesterday."
So rather than identify and shun Gadhafi as the terrorist he is, the Bush Administration is now depicting his opposition as terrorists. This goes far beyond the Clinton policy of appeasing Gadhafi so that American oil firms can return to Libya and prop up the dictator. Rather than rehabilitate Gadhafi, the Bush Administration and Attorney General John Ashcroft have been urged by families of the Pan Am victims to seek the indictment of Gadhafi on mass murder charges. An international trial in the Pan Am 103 terrorism case resulted in the conviction of a top Libyan intelligence officer, thereby implicating Gadhafi himself in the scheme to murder 270 people, including 189 Americans. Gadhafi has admitted complicity in terrorism.
In the case of Libya, it looks like the Bush Administration has taken him off the hook for this mass murder so he can help catch another mass murderer - bin Laden. Is this what we're getting for $30 billion a year on U.S. intelligence activities? Equally significant, the Bush Administration allowed the United Nations to lift travel restrictions placed on Sudanese officials for haboring the terrorists who tried to assassinate Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1995. The U.S., which could have vetoed the resolution, abstained. The regime in Sudan has been blamed for the murder of almost two million people, most of them Christians. Congress had been considering a bill called the Sudan Peace Act to crack down on business dealings with the regime
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The Boston Globe reported that the administration had received help from four state sponsors of terrorism. But USA Today said it's more than that. A story by Jonathan Weisman on September 20th said U.S. diplomats have "reached out" to six of seven nations identified by the State Department as terrorist. They were Sudan, Cuba, Syria, North Korea, Iran and Libya. Iraq was the only country left out. It looks suspiciously like those governments are going to be forgiven for their crimes against America. That's something many Americans can't accept.