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06/06/2004:

"He's Not the Only One..."

Gaddafi Regrets Reagan Died Without Facing Trial
By REUTERS
new york times

TRIPOLI, Libya (Reuters) - Muammar Gaddafi said Sunday he regretted that former U.S. President Ronald Reagan had died without ever being tried for 1986 air strikes that killed dozens of people, including the Libyan leader's adopted daughter.

``I express my profound regrets over Reagan's death before he appeared before justice to be held to account for his ugly crime in 1986 against Libyan children,'' Gaddafi told the official JANA news agency.

Well I was thinking more along the lines of Iran-Contra and The October Surprise. One thing we have to thank Reagan for is the investigative journalism of Peter Dale Scott and others who uncovered the international fascist network that worked so closely with the Reagan White House to assure the success of their outrageous and treasonous actvities all over the world. It was Reagan who lauded the gangster Mobutu of the Congo as 'a voice of reason' in Africa and rewarded him to the tune of $4 billion for his retirement fund.
I honestly believed that the Reagan years were the worst this country would ever see. Ha.
We are being barraged at this moment by a truly nauseating media blitz celebrating the 'optimism' and 'leadership' of Mr. Gosh Golly Gee-Whiz. His 'get tough' stance with the Soviets ultimately brought the Soviet Union crashing down and ended The Cold War, we're told. What was ushered in was, I now see, a far more dangerous era of total American impunity. This 'celebration' of Reagan is nothing more than a manipulation of history and memory, and its purpose is to prime the public for the horrors which await. The red, white, and blue is blinding.

An Historical Perspective:
The Grenada 17: The Last Prisoners of the Cold War are Black by Rich Gibson counterpunch.org
Venezuela 2004: Nicaragua's Contra War Reprised by Toni Solo counterpunch.org
Reagan, Goodbye and Good Riddance by Phil Gaspar counterpunch.org
Reagan Didn't End the Cold War by William Blum

Reagan ordered the April 15, 1986, air strikes in response to a disco bombing in West Berlin that killed three people, including two U.S. servicemen. Washington blamed Libya for the blast.

Libya said more than 40 people died in the strikes on Tripoli and Benghazi. The targets included Gaddafi's home, where his 15-month-old adopted daughter died.

Reporting Reagan's death, JANA simply referred to him as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's partner ``in the unsuccessful American-Atlantic (NATO) aggression'' on Gaddafi's home.

Libya, which recently emerged from international isolation over its alleged support for ``terrorism,'' has been promoting better ties with the United States since agreeing in December to dismantle its programs of weapons of mass destruction.

It was not immediately clear if Gaddafi's comments would affect the progress in relations between the two countries.

President Bush suspended sanctions against Libya in April, allowing U.S. firms to buy Libyan oil and invest in its economy. Tensions between the two countries were highest under Reagan, who recalled his ambassador in Tripoli after angry crowds sacked the U.S. embassy in 1980. The United States imposed an embargo on Libyan oil in 1982 and U.S. oil companies pulled out.

In January 1986, Reagan moved to isolate Libya further after accusing Gaddafi of sponsoring international terrorism and harboring the Palestinian Abu Nidal guerrilla group, blamed for attacks on airports in Rome and Vienna the previous month.

Reagan announced new economic sanctions against Libya banning trade, loans and travel to Libya by U.S. citizens.

Tensions culminated in a military confrontation in March 1986, when Libya fired missiles at U.S. aircraft during U.S. military maneuvers in the Gulf of Sirte. The United States responded by attacking Libyan patrol boats and a land-based missile site at Sirte.