Verdict out on Iraq-Libya link
Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon claimed yesterday the capture of Saddam Hussein was pivotal in pushing Colonel Muammar Gaddafi to destroy Libya’s weapons of mass destruction but the consensus on the issue is far from unanimous.
On Friday, Libyan leader Colonel Gadaffi said he would work with the United Nations to dismantle Tripoli’s covert nuclear weapons programme.
Mr Hoon told Sky News that Libya had learned from the “lesson” of the Iraqi dictator’s arrest.
Libya’s detente with international bodies was a “personal triumph” for Tony Blair and lent support to the policy of active engagement with rogue states like Libya and Iran, Mr Hoon argued.
He told Sky: “I don’t think you can separate out the relevance of military action in Iraq from the decision the Libyans have taken.
“We showed after Saddam Hussein failed to co-operate with the United Nations that we meant business, and Libya and I hope other countries will draw that lesson.’
But Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem dismissed Mr Hoon’s interpretation of events.
“Of course it is not Iraq, but it is better that we should not go into now calling names.
“We are thinking that it is better for us to tear our swords into bluchers, and this is something that should be appreciated by everyone.”
The comments come on the 15th anniversary of the terrorist bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland; an outrage for which Libya has accepted responsibility.
Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott said Libya’s new openness was a “diplomatic coup” and demonstrated that “you can intervene and have results and you can work through the diplomatic field.”
However, former International Development Secretary Clare Short took an antithetic view.
Writing in the Independent on Sunday, Mrs Short said arguments suggesting the victory in Iraq had prompted Colonel Gaddafi to end his nuclear programme were “unfounded.”
“Any pretence that this means that the tactics of their so-called ‘war on terror’ are succeeding is sadly false.
“Obviously the news about Gaddafi is welcome, but it has been a long process, and any suggestion that events in Libya are linked to the war in Iraq is unfounded.”
