Not Everyone’s Happy About Proposed Libya-U.S. Terrorism Settlement

[WSJ_law_blog]

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi listens to speeches during the opening of the African Union Summit in Khartoum Sudan, Jan. 23, 2006. (AP Photo/Sayyid Azim)


The big international news of the afternoon: The Bush administration and Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s government are close to reaching a comprehensive agreement to settle all outstanding claims tied to Libya-related terrorism from the 1980s, reports the WSJ’s Jay Solomon.
The agreement reportedly calls for Tripoli to make a single payment of more then $1 billion to a U.S. government-administered entity. That entity would oversee the compensation for victims of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 and other terrorist attacks tied to Gadhafi’s regime. Congress, in turn, is close to passing legislation that would allow President Bush to grant Libya a waiver from any future litigation tied to past terrorism acts. “If this passes?all of the victims could be paid out by the fall,” said Jim Kreindler (Dartmouth, Columbia law), whose law firm represents 130 victims of the Pan Am bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. “All the plaintiffs with legitimate claims are in favor of the agreement.” (Kreindler (Dartmouth, Columbia law) is also the co-chair of the 9/11 Plaintiffs’ Committee)

To be sure, a waiver from future litigation is no small concession, and some folks are pretty upset about it. Back in January, we noted that Henry Kennedy, a federal judge in D.C. ordered Libya and six of its officials to pay about $6 billion in damages to the families of seven Americans who were killed in the bombing of a French airplane — UTA 772 — in 1989. Crowell & Moring, led by Stuart Newberger, sued the Libyans pursuant to the ?terrorism exception? of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act — a law that strips terrorist states of their immunity from lawsuits.

This afternoon, Crowell & Moring sent a letter to Capitol Hill, which includes the following passage:

We are the American families whose loved ones were murdered by Libya in September 1989 when Libyan agents placed a suitcase bomb on board UTA Flight 772 which blew up over the African desert on its way to Paris, killing all 170 innocent people on board. We speak out today to oppose passage of the “Libyan Claims Resolution” Bill pending before the House of Representatives. Over seven years ago we filed a lawsuit under U.S. law to hold Libya accountable for this act of murder and aircraft sabotage, and to obtain a judicial award for fair compensation. Libya and its lawyers have vigorously defended the case from the beginning, and this past January 2008 the federal court in Washington, D.C. issued a judgment against the Libyan State, the only federal court judgment to be awarded against Libya in such cases. . . .
We, of course, support those who already have settled their claims against Libya and hope they achieve a full measure of justice — but any settlements by other victims should not be at the expense of those who have fought and won in the courts. The courts have decided that Libya carried out the UTA 772 attack, and has awarded us compensation under the rule of law. This Bill will invalidate the court’s judgment, and allow Libya to avoid a court judgment. This simply cannot be what Congress intends. We are optimistic that Congress will work with all U.S. victims of Libyan terrorism to enforce U.S. court judgments on their behalf.

Update: We just got a call from Stuart Newberger of Crowell & Moring, the lawyer for the UTA 772 victims, who explained the letter to Congress. “Our only purpose was to express concern to the Senate and the House and express that we hope they understand what they’re doing. They’re invalidating a federal court ruling where Libya has been held accountable for blowing up a jumbo jet and killing 170 innocent civilians.”

Libya:
The U.S. Air and Sea Attacks on Libya in 1986

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accusing Libya of masterminding the West Berlin descotheque bombing on 5 April 1985, the USA carried out a military air-and-sea attack on the Gulf of Sirte on 24 March 1986 in which three aircraft carriers participated. The US actions against Libya started long before 1986 and continued long after that year:

In 1972 Washington refused to conduct any dialogue or any diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level with Libya, on 30 May 1973, a US aircraft entered Libyan air space during the maneuvers of the Sixth Fleet, in 1974 the delivery of 8 DC 1309 planes to Libya was blocked, despite the previous payment of $60,000 in cash, on 3 January 1975 the US Secretary of State threatened to use force against oil-producing countries, in 1977 the Pentagon put the Jamahiriya on its list of enemies of the USA., in 1978 the USA waged an undeclared economic war against the Jamahiriya with the aim of discontinuing Libya's export business, including the delivery of Boeing planes for civilian air traffic, in 1981 the US navy jets shot down two Libyan Air Force jets over the Mediterranean and a lot more actions against Libya followed.

On 25 March 1986 the USA violated the UN Charter and international law when Navy planes in the Mediterranean near the Gulf of Sirte bombarded civilian targets in the Gulf of Sirte and a Coast Guard boat which was on a routine reconnaissance trip. Furthermore, a Coast Guard ship which was also on a routine reconnaissance trip in Libyan territorial waters was also attacked. The brutal result of this adventure was the death of the entire crew - 10 men - of the Coast Guard boat. The crew of the Coast Guard ship - 42 men - survived the attack and were swimming to shore when the US Navy eliminated them.

On April 14, 1986, the United States launched an air attack against targets in Libya.

The American official justification for the 1986 air and sea raids on Libya was self-defence, but up to date there has not been any evidence of Libya's involvement in the Berlin bombings which means the 1986 attacks were planned long before the Berlin incident . Many civilians were killed because of the USA attacks on Libya in 1986. The American writer Jim Taylor in his book "Man or Myth" writes: "History tells us that about 175 years ago, pasha-led pirates ensconced in Tripoli demanded and received tribute from American ships on the shores of that Mediterranean port city. But in today's "New World Order" it is the United States of America that is using piracy against the small nation of Libya via both vituperative rhetoric and murderous military attacks that would do justice to the Japanese treachery culminating in the 1941 surprise attack upon Pearl Harbor. Was not President Ronald Reagan's vicious raid on Libya in the middle of the night to make an attempt to kill the leader of Libya also a "surprise attack?" Was it not planned in secret at the White House in exactly the same manner as the Japanese naval command prepared for the Pearl Harbor attack? There was not even any American ambassador in Tripoli to discuss matters with as the Japanese diplomats did in November of 1941. Why were the Japanese called traitorous at Pearl Harbor while the Americans sent to kill civilians in Tripoli were called patriotic? I fail to see the difference between the two sneak attacks ........ Even if Libya had done wrong, two wrongs do not make it right--nor do they make it even. "

The official justification for the 1986 air and sea raid on Libya , as stated by the American president Ronald Reagan, and echoed by his Cabinet, was self-defense (to prevent any more terrorist attacks on American citizens abroad.) The American Christopher Ficek wrote in his page " ...... this U.S. military intervention remains a unique situation. Never before in American history had the fight against terrorism been the primary justification for committing U.S. troops to direct combat. Since the 1986 incident, there have been no other interventions of this sort. All other actions have been fought under a banner of a different color. Libya, therefore, is an anomaly and an exception to the rule. During the Cold War, 1949-1991, every U.S. intervention was framed by the polarization of the time, the struggle of the United States versus the Soviet Union. Libya broke this time-tested mold. Even the chaos of the post-Cold War era has not produced this type deviation from the traditional foreign intervention pattern. The U.S. has not used of armed force to combat terrorism since the Libya incident. Because of this stark break with the tradition of U.S. foreign policy, one must wonder if the fight against terrorism is really the primary cause of the Libya attack. "
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


8.5.2008

News report: the American-Libyan relations improved, but problems persist

2006-04-16 08:47:53 xinhuanet.com 2006-04-16 08:47:53

Tripoli, April 15 / Xinhua / Libyans commemorated Friday night and at dawn today / Saturday / For the first time in twenty years, the anniversary of U.S. raid on Libya in the administration of artistic ceremony attended by a large U.S. singer Lionel Ritchie and Spanish opera singer Jose Carreras.

Libya confirmed that it celebrates the anniversary of the American aggression on Libya this year to provide a message of peace to the world.

Her daughter Aisha Gaddafi Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a speech she delivered at the beginning of the ceremony "today licking its wounds but we will not forget to raise the banner of peace together and not the slogan of destruction Luke one of the organizers, "We will not forget the painful anniversary, but do not want to be prisoners, and prisoners of the past. We want to present live music and express boat again with the world."

The United States has launched air raids against Tripoli and Benghazi second Libyan cities, in the April 15, 1986 after accusing Libya of supporting terrorism, the raids have left 41 dead.

And moving the process of normalizing American-Libyan relations forward after twenty years of American raids on Libya, even though they had not been completed yet final.

The U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack last Thursday "we have a goal of full normalization of our relations with Libya", stressing "we have made progress in this direction. . He said that the United States are not yet ready to withdraw Libya from the list of countries that support terrorism, which listed in the December 29, 1979 after the sabotage of the U.S. embassy.

After a few weeks of the declaration Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction in December 2003 Tripoli and Washington has diplomatic relations that were severed following the sabotage of the U.S. embassy in Tripoli in 1979.

The opening of the American interests section in Tripoli on the eighth of February 2004 before they turn into a "liaison office" on June 28 of the same year. In September 2004, the United States lifted economic sanctions on Libya. And allowed the lifting of U.S. sanctions for the American oil group Occidental, Chevron and Hess assume we return to Libya. . But U.S. diplomatic representation in Tripoli has not lived up to the point of the Embassy.

Meanwhile, McCormack granting Tripoli hope in this area, stressing that the U.S. State Department visited e soon to be published its annual report on countries that support terrorism. ". He said that "there are some obligations to be met in Libya on the basis of laws and procedures that define a" state which supports terrorism, saying, "We are not ready at present for withdrawing from this list."

He Abdel Atti Ibrahim Obaidi, Secretary of European Affairs of the Libyan General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation, in a speech delivered today at the International Symposium on the American aggression on Libya that the Libyan-American relations in spite of what appears from what positives there are two themes will remain in the dark cloud prospects for relations, namely : Continued development of Libya on the list of state sponsors of terrorism despite the implementation of all international obligations and commitments that they have accepted voluntarily to the United States.

He stressed that the continued survival of Libya on the list of states that sponsor terrorism is to tarnish the U.S. administration and challenge the credibility rather than abuse of Libya.

The second matter is the failure of the United States in any practical step to reward Libya for its initiative to get rid of voluntary internationally proscribed weapons.

Such U.S. policy toward Libya doubt that other nations that possess weapons of mass destruction programs in the United States credibility and raises questions about the objectives of this policy.

A Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that cooperation between his country and the United States "is not sympathy" but "mutual interests and mutual fear and security in the fight against terrorism" including "the extradition and exchange of wanted terrorists."

He explained that Tripoli "We need to America so as not to antagonize it requires us to enter our markets," noting that this time is "time parity relations and common interests" and that "America has calculated the expense of Libya and Libya calculated expense as well as America and Europe."


End of report




but we do not want to be prisoners, and prisoners of the past. we want to present live music and express boat again with the world.

regards
abdulmagid fatouh




CopyRight: وكالة انباء شينخوا CopyRight: Xinhua News Agency
webmaster@xinhua.org webmaster@xinhua.org

at the end if we still looking for

one of the most Thinkers\nd wiseers in the united state comes to libya to help and support the relation with libya and usa this person is [condliza rise]
so this is cleares message that USA weked up to solve all the problem with libya and start new white page in the history of the relation
i wish u get my pointe and have deeply look to all the issue
regards
fatouh

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Accusing Libya of masterminding the West Berlin descotheque bombing on 5 April 1985, the USA carried out a military air-and-sea attack on the Gulf of Sirte on 24 March 1986 in which three aircraft carriers participated. The US actions against Libya started long before 1986 and continued long after that year:

In 1972 Washington refused to conduct any dialogue or any diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level with Libya, on 30 May 1973, a US aircraft entered Libyan air space during the maneuvers of the Sixth Fleet, in 1974 the delivery of 8 DC 1309 planes to Libya was blocked, despite the previous payment of $60,000 in cash, on 3 January 1975 the US Secretary of State threatened to use force against oil-producing countries, in 1977 the Pentagon put the Jamahiriya on its list of enemies of the USA., in 1978 the USA waged an undeclared economic war against the Jamahiriya with the aim of discontinuing Libya's export business, including the delivery of Boeing planes for civilian air traffic, in 1981 the US navy jets shot down two Libyan Air Force jets over the Mediterranean and a lot more actions against Libya followed.

On 25 March 1986 the USA violated the UN Charter and international law when Navy planes in the Mediterranean near the Gulf of Sirte bombarded civilian targets in the Gulf of Sirte and a Coast Guard boat which was on a routine reconnaissance trip. Furthermore, a Coast Guard ship which was also on a routine reconnaissance trip in Libyan territorial waters was also attacked. The brutal result of this adventure was the death of the entire crew - 10 men - of the Coast Guard boat. The crew of the Coast Guard ship - 42 men - survived the attack and were swimming to shore when the US Navy eliminated them.

On April 14, 1986, the United States launched an air attack against targets in Libya.

The American official justification for the 1986 air and sea raids on Libya was self-defence, but up to date there has not been any evidence of Libya's involvement in the Berlin bombings which means the 1986 attacks were planned long before the Berlin incident . Many civilians were killed because of the USA attacks on Libya in 1986. The American writer Jim Taylor in his book "Man or Myth" writes: "History tells us that about 175 years ago, pasha-led pirates ensconced in Tripoli demanded and received tribute from American ships on the shores of that Mediterranean port city. But in today's "New World Order" it is the United States of America that is using piracy against the small nation of Libya via both vituperative rhetoric and murderous military attacks that would do justice to the Japanese treachery culminating in the 1941 surprise attack upon Pearl Harbor. Was not President Ronald Reagan's vicious raid on Libya in the middle of the night to make an attempt to kill the leader of Libya also a "surprise attack?" Was it not planned in secret at the White House in exactly the same manner as the Japanese naval command prepared for the Pearl Harbor attack? There was not even any American ambassador in Tripoli to discuss matters with as the Japanese diplomats did in November of 1941. Why were the Japanese called traitorous at Pearl Harbor while the Americans sent to kill civilians in Tripoli were called patriotic? I fail to see the difference between the two sneak attacks ........ Even if Libya had done wrong, two wrongs do not make it right--nor do they make it even. "

The official justification for the 1986 air and sea raid on Libya , as stated by the American president Ronald Reagan, and echoed by his Cabinet, was self-defense (to prevent any more terrorist attacks on American citizens abroad.) The American Christopher Ficek wrote in his page " ...... this U.S. military intervention remains a unique situation. Never before in American history had the fight against terrorism been the primary justification for committing U.S. troops to direct combat. Since the 1986 incident, there have been no other interventions of this sort. All other actions have been fought under a banner of a different color. Libya, therefore, is an anomaly and an exception to the rule. During the Cold War, 1949-1991, every U.S. intervention was framed by the polarization of the time, the struggle of the United States versus the Soviet Union. Libya broke this time-tested mold. Even the chaos of the post-Cold War era has not produced this type deviation from the traditional foreign intervention pattern. The U.S. has not used of armed force to combat terrorism since the Libya incident. Because of this stark break with the tradition of U.S. foreign policy, one must wonder if the fight against terrorism is really the primary cause of the Libya attack. "
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


8.5.2008

News report: the American-Libyan relations improved, but problems persist

2006-04-16 08:47:53 лªÍø_´«²¥Öйú ±¨µÀÊÀ½ç 2006-04-16 08:47:53

Tripoli, April 15 / Xinhua / Libyans commemorated Friday night and at dawn today / Saturday / For the first time in twenty years, the anniversary of U.S. raid on Libya in the administration of artistic ceremony attended by a large U.S. singer Lionel Ritchie and Spanish opera singer Jose Carreras.

Libya confirmed that it celebrates the anniversary of the American aggression on Libya this year to provide a message of peace to the world.

Her daughter Aisha Gaddafi Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in a speech she delivered at the beginning of the ceremony "today licking its wounds but we will not forget to raise the banner of peace together and not the slogan of destruction Luke one of the organizers, "We will not forget the painful anniversary, but do not want to be prisoners, and prisoners of the past. We want to present live music and express boat again with the world."

The United States has launched air raids against Tripoli and Benghazi second Libyan cities, in the April 15, 1986 after accusing Libya of supporting terrorism, the raids have left 41 dead.

And moving the process of normalizing American-Libyan relations forward after twenty years of American raids on Libya, even though they had not been completed yet final.

The U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack last Thursday "we have a goal of full normalization of our relations with Libya", stressing "we have made progress in this direction. . He said that the United States are not yet ready to withdraw Libya from the list of countries that support terrorism, which listed in the December 29, 1979 after the sabotage of the U.S. embassy.

After a few weeks of the declaration Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction in December 2003 Tripoli and Washington has diplomatic relations that were severed following the sabotage of the U.S. embassy in Tripoli in 1979.

The opening of the American interests section in Tripoli on the eighth of February 2004 before they turn into a "liaison office" on June 28 of the same year. In September 2004, the United States lifted economic sanctions on Libya. And allowed the lifting of U.S. sanctions for the American oil group Occidental, Chevron and Hess assume we return to Libya. . But U.S. diplomatic representation in Tripoli has not lived up to the point of the Embassy.

Meanwhile, McCormack granting Tripoli hope in this area, stressing that the U.S. State Department visited e soon to be published its annual report on countries that support terrorism. ". He said that "there are some obligations to be met in Libya on the basis of laws and procedures that define a" state which supports terrorism, saying, "We are not ready at present for withdrawing from this list."

He Abdel Atti Ibrahim Obaidi, Secretary of European Affairs of the Libyan General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation, in a speech delivered today at the International Symposium on the American aggression on Libya that the Libyan-American relations in spite of what appears from what positives there are two themes will remain in the dark cloud prospects for relations, namely : Continued development of Libya on the list of state sponsors of terrorism despite the implementation of all international obligations and commitments that they have accepted voluntarily to the United States.

He stressed that the continued survival of Libya on the list of states that sponsor terrorism is to tarnish the U.S. administration and challenge the credibility rather than abuse of Libya.

The second matter is the failure of the United States in any practical step to reward Libya for its initiative to get rid of voluntary internationally proscribed weapons.

Such U.S. policy toward Libya doubt that other nations that possess weapons of mass destruction programs in the United States credibility and raises questions about the objectives of this policy.

A Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi that cooperation between his country and the United States "is not sympathy" but "mutual interests and mutual fear and security in the fight against terrorism" including "the extradition and exchange of wanted terrorists."

He explained that Tripoli "We need to America so as not to antagonize it requires us to enter our markets," noting that this time is "time parity relations and common interests" and that "America has calculated the expense of Libya and Libya calculated expense as well as America and Europe."


End of report




but we do not want to be prisoners, and prisoners of the past. we want to present live music and express boat again with the world.

regards
abdulmagid fatouh




CopyRight: وكالة انباء شينخوا CopyRight: Xinhua News Agency
webmaster@xinhua.org webmaster@xinhua.org

at the end if we still looking for