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15 years ago he was a mass murderer. This week he became Blair's new friend FRASER NELSON POLITICAL EDITOR IT WAS a triumphant Tony Blair who arrived home from the European Union summit yesterday - and with reason. The journalists who flew on the plane with him could only declare his trip to Libya a resounding success. It could easily have been a disaster. Colonel Gaddafi probably ordered the Lockerbie bomb and has certainly armed the IRA. He remains the head of a military dictatorship. He was, for years, ranked among Britain’s greatest enemies. When Tony Blair walked out of...

Blair to offer Libya military training Tom Happold, Matthew Tempest and agencies Wednesday March 24, 2004 Tony Blair is to offer British military training for Libyan troops when he meets Muammar Gadafy tomorrow. A Downing Street spokeswoman said that the proposals were to show that Libya could defend itself without weapons of mass destruction. Late last year Col Gadafy agreed to abandon his programmes to develop chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and allow in international inspectors. The offer of military cooperation, and the confirmation that British Aerospace are in "advanced negotiations" with Libya, has led to speculation that arms deals...

TRIPOLI, Libya - In a state visit that marks Britain's willingness to welcome Libya back into the international community, British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday, saying that the two shared a common goal in defeating the al-Qaida terrorist network.

Libya on Thursday brought to an end decades of international isolation as a pariah state with a promise to join forces with the United States of America and the United Kingdom to fight the global war against terrorism.It is to provide intelligence to help root out Al Qaeda and on Thursday secured a gas exploration deal with Shell that could be worth billions of dollars.Tony Blair, UK Prime Minister, held two hours of talks with Col. Muammer Gadaffi in a bedroom tent a few miles outside of Tripoli, the first time a British leader has set foot in the country...

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Britain's Tony Blair (news - web sites) sealed Libya's return to the international fold on Thursday with an historic handshake for Muammar Gaddafi (news - web sites) and an agreement to fight al Qaeda together. After more than an hour of talks, the prime minister said Libya's rejection of banned weapons and rapprochement with the West could act as a template for other Arab nations to turn their back on Islamic extremism. "We are showing by our engagement with Libya today that it is possible for countries in the Arab world to work with the United States...

TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Blair says Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi sees a common cause in the fight against al Qaeda. After historic talks with the Libyan leader, Blair said on Thursday Gaddafi recognised "a common cause with us in the fight against al Qaeda, extremism and terrorism, which threatens not just the western world but the Arab world also". Earlier, Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abderrhmane Chalgam called al Qaeda a "real obstacle" to progress in the region. Blair said Libya's agreement to renounce terror and give up its banned weapons deserved reward and could act as a template...

UK firms line up big Libya deals Blair praises Gadafy's courage ahead of historic visit Nicholas Watt in Lisbon Thursday March 25, 2004 The Guardian Tony Blair will today pave the way for blue chip British companies to cash in on Libya's multibillion pound defence and oil industries when he pays a historic visit to the former pariah, Colonel Muammar Gadafy, in his tent on the outskirts of Tripoli. Within days of today's meeting, which will mark the symbolic ending of three decades of isolation for Tripoli, the oil giant Shell is expected to sign an agreement to allow it...

MADRID, Spain -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair will hold talks this week in Libya with Moammar Gadhafi, British officials said on Wednesday, marking improved relations as Libya scraps its banned weapons programs. Blair's visit is a significant step in reinstating Libya in the world community after its pledge in December to dismantle its nuclear, chemical and biological programs. "We will be using the visit to continue the process of bringing Libya into the international mainstream, and to make clear that we will be trying to get Libya's relationship with the European Union developed in the months ahead," a senior...

A US Congressional delegation arrived in Libya Friday on a one-day visit to meet with leader Moammar Gadhafi and other officials, a government official said. The delegation of six members of the House of Representatives, invited by Libyan government officials, arrived in the coastal city of Sirte earlier Friday. The group first met Al-Zanati Mohammed Al-Zanati, speaker of the People's Congress. Details of their talks were not available. They are expected to meet with Gadhafi before their departure Friday evening. In January, another congressional delegation and a separate trip by Representative Tom Lantos marked the first visits to Libya by...

February 11, 2004Inching to Reconciliation, Blair Plans Meeting with Qaddafi By PATRICK E. TYLER LONDON, Feb. 10 — Prime Minister Tony Blair plans to meet Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi "as soon as convenient," Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Tuesday. The announcement came following the first formal visit here by a Libyan foreign minister since 1969. The foreign minister, Muhammad Abdul Rahman Shalgham, met Mr. Blair and Mr. Straw in private talks that centered on the "good progress" Mr. Straw said had been made since Colonel Qaddafi announced on Dec. 19 that he was ridding his country of nuclear, chemical and biological...

SIRTE, Libya - Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi met Tuesday with Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi, and the United States said it had restored diplomatic contacts with the country. In London, Prime Minister Tony Blair held talks with the Libyan foreign minister. Tuesday's meetings mark Libya's progress toward re-entering the international fold after years of isolation. Gadhafi has been trying to shed this country's image as a rogue state. The Italian premier was the first Western leader to visit Libya since Gadhafi promised Dec. 19 to end development of weapons of mass destruction, a bid to have U.S. economic sanctions lifted. Blair's...

Prime Minister Tony Blair met the Libyan Foreign Minister Tuesday, the highest-level contact between the two countries in more than 20 years. Britain said the visit of Abdel-Rahman Shalqam, who is scheduled to meet also with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, was a major step in Libya's journey back into the international fold. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the visit was a "milestone in what have been steadily improving relations" between the two countries. The visit follows three-way meetings in London involving senior officials from Britain, Libya and the United States. The US Embassy in London said the talks were "very...

LONDON - The United States has re-established a diplomatic presence in Libya after decades of mutual hostility, Libyan and U.S. officials said on Tuesday. "Yes, Americans came to Libya to work inside the Belgian embassy in the U.S. interests section in Libya and Libyans will go to America to work in the Libyan interests section there," Libyan Foreign Minister Mohamed Abderrhmane Chalgam told a news conference in London. A U.S. official confirmed a diplomat had returned to the Libyan capital. "We presently have one U.S. diplomat in Tripoli to assist the U.S. WMD (weapons of mass destruction) experts," the official...

As North African temperatures cool toward the end of summer or early fall – and perhaps even earlier - George W. Bush will set off on an official visit to Libya and Sudan. The president is programming his trips as dramatic high points of the seismic military and political changes his administration has set in motion in the Middle East and key regions of northern and eastern Africa If elected for a second term, Bush will continue to drive forward along these tracks which essentially radiate from Washington’s Middle Eastern foreign and security policy hub and cockpit of its global...

LONDON – Libya is preparing for defense cooperation talks with the United States, leading to a visit by President Bush early next year. Libyan officials said the United States has agreed to review Tripoli's defense requirements in wake of an agreement by Col. Moammar Khaddafy to eliminate his nation's medium-range missile and weapons of mass destruction arsenal. The officials said the two countries plan to begin formal talks on Libya's defense and security requirements over the next few months. The officials said Britain and the United States will lift sanctions from Libya by April 2004. They said this would pave...

CAIRO (AFP) - The son of Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi has said the United States has committed itself to providing security for the country and that US officials will travel there soon to ascertain its needs. Seif al-Islam, in comments published Wednesday in the Saudi-owned daily Asharq al-Awsat, also said British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W. Bush would visit Libya in 2004. Islam said Washington had "committed itself to protecting us from any sort of attack" and that there had been "consultations to conclude security and military accords that would lead to joint military maneuvers in...

DUBAI (Reuters) - A leading Arab newspaper has quoted Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's son as saying Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President George W. Bush will visit the North African country early next year. The London-based daily Asharq al-Awsat said Saif al-Islam told the paper in a telephone interview that Blair would visit Tripoli at the beginning of next year, adding that he did not expect a U.S. trade embargo on his country to last long. "This will be followed by a visit by U.S. President George Bush, and I expect it (the Bush visit) after the American embargo...