Hope it aint a dupe. I am getting really tired of this guys sticking his nose in EVERYTHING.
Jesse Jackson in Libya, says time ripe to revive U.S. ties with once-isolated country
TODD PITMAN, Associated Press Writer
Thursday, February 26, 2004
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(02-26) 12:31 PST TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) --
Reviving American diplomatic and economic ties with this oil-rich nation is key to regional stability, the Rev. Jesse Jackson said Thursday shortly before Washington lifted a 23-year-old ban on American travel to Libya.
Jackson, who said his visit was approved by the U.S. State Department, described Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi as a "very influential force" in the Middle East and Africa.
"In many ways Libya is pivotal," Jackson told The Associated Press in the lobby of Tripoli hotel. "Libya is somewhere in the gap between the Middle East and Africa and the U.S., so reconnecting, reviving this relationship is of great value in terms of diplomacy, stability in the region and trade."
Jackson said he would meet Gadhafi and other African heads of state Friday at the annual African Union summit in Sirte, 250 miles west of Tripoli. The summit ends Saturday.
U.S.-Libyan relations have improved dramatically in recent weeks with Gadhafi's renouncement of terrorism and a pledge to give up Tripoli's quest for weapons of mass destruction.
On Thursday, the United States lifted the travel ban and invited American companies to begin planning their return after Gadhafi's government affirmed it was responsible for the deadly bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Jackson applauded Washington's decision, calling it the "dawning of a new day in American-Libyan relations."
"It is in American and Libyan interests to remove the weapons of fear and threat ... and to be transparent and allies in the war against terrorism," he said.
"This is a unique moment for bridge building."