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Libya’s Gaddafi Not Amused by State Department Jibe
A senior State Department official has incurred the wrath of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with a throwaway line at the end of a Friday afternoon press conference. Gaddafi is now threatening "negative repercussions" in bilateral ties.
(CNSNews.com) – A senior State Department official has incurred the wrath of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi with a throwaway line at the end of a Friday afternoon press conference. Gaddafi is now threatening “negative repercussions” in bilateral ties, just days after the first U.S. trade mission to Libya in decades.
On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip Crowley backed away from his earlier remark, saying he had made “an off-hand comment” that “was not intended to be a personal attack.”
Crowley spoke after the Libyan foreign ministry summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Tripoli. According to the official JANA news agency, she was warned of “negative repercussions on economic and political relations” unless the U.S. government explained Crowley’s comments and apologized.
The comment at the center of the spat was made last Friday, when Crowley was asked for a response to Gaddafi’s recent call for an Islamic “jihad” (holy war) against Switzerland, a country with whom the erratic Libyan leader has been at odds for almost two years.
In his answer, the State Department spokesman made reference to Gaddafi’s debut appearance last fall at the United Nations in New York, where he spoke for 80 minutes longer than the time limit, tried to rip up a copy of the U.N. Charter, and theatrically threw a booklet at the presiding officer.
Crowley said reports about Gaddafi’s jihad declaration “brought me back to a day in September – one of the more memorable sessions of the U.N. General Assembly that I can recall – lots of words and lots of papers flying all over the place, not necessarily a lot of sense.”
At Wednesday’s briefing, Crowley drew a distinction between what he called that “off-hand comment” and the response to the jihad call.
“A call for a jihad against any country or individual has the potential to harm and is not something the United States takes lightly,” he said.
“Our charge [d’affaires] was called in to discuss this and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with Libya, but we will not hesitate to express our concerns about the statements or actions of any country.”
The incident comes at a time when Gaddafi is embroiled in a diplomatic disagreement with the European Union, arising from a drawn-out and bitter dispute with Switzerland sparked by the arrest in 2008 of one of his sons.
Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife were arrested for allegedly beating their servants at a Geneva hotel. They were later released and the charges dropped but Libyan retaliation included detaining two Swiss businessmen and suspending oil shipments. One of the two businessmen remains incarcerated, having been found guilty of visa violations and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.
Last month, after it was reported that Switzerland had drawn up a visa blacklist including Gaddafi and his family, Libya stopped issuing visas to citizens of Switzerland and 24 other European countries.
On Wednesday the dispute deepened, as JANA announced that Libya was mounting an economic and trade embargo on Switzerland.
‘Prevent Swiss planes from landing, stop goods from being sold’
Gaddafi’s jihad statement came on February 25, and referred not to the Hannibal affair but to a Swiss referendum vote last November outlawing the construction of minarets on mosques.
Addressing a large gathering in Benghazi marking the birthday of Mohammed, Gaddafi urged a jihad against Switzerland over the minaret ban.
“Any Muslim anywhere in the world [who] buys Swiss goods is an apostate,” the Tripoli Post quoted him as saying. “The one who does so is against Islam, against Prophet Mohammad, against Allah and against [the] Koran.”
“The masses of Muslims must go to all airports in the Islamic world and prevent any Swiss plane landing, to all harbors and prevent any Swiss ships docking, inspect all shops and markets to stop any Swiss goods being sold,” he said.
Libyan ties with the U.S. have been improving steadily since the restoration of diplomatic relations and lifting of a trade embargo in 2004. The process has not always been smooth, and the hero’s welcome Libya gave the convicted Lockerbie bomber after he was released “on compassionate grounds” last August angered many Americans and others.
The first U.S. government-sponsored trade mission to Libya in about 37 years ended early last week.
The mission was led by Nicole Lamb-Hale, assistant secretary for manufacturing and services at the Department of Commerce. On a department Web site, she wrote from Tripoli, “This emerging market has huge potential and the government has tremendous liquid capital to fund and support programs and partnerships with U.S. businesses.”
President Obama meets Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi at the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy, on Thursday, July 9, 2009. Gaddafi attended as chairman of the African Union. (AP Photo)
On Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip Crowley backed away from his earlier remark, saying he had made “an off-hand comment” that “was not intended to be a personal attack.”
Crowley spoke after the Libyan foreign ministry summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Tripoli. According to the official JANA news agency, she was warned of “negative repercussions on economic and political relations” unless the U.S. government explained Crowley’s comments and apologized.
The comment at the center of the spat was made last Friday, when Crowley was asked for a response to Gaddafi’s recent call for an Islamic “jihad” (holy war) against Switzerland, a country with whom the erratic Libyan leader has been at odds for almost two years.
In his answer, the State Department spokesman made reference to Gaddafi’s debut appearance last fall at the United Nations in New York, where he spoke for 80 minutes longer than the time limit, tried to rip up a copy of the U.N. Charter, and theatrically threw a booklet at the presiding officer.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi tosses a book toward the presiding officers during his lengthy address at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009. (AP Photo)
At Wednesday’s briefing, Crowley drew a distinction between what he called that “off-hand comment” and the response to the jihad call.
“A call for a jihad against any country or individual has the potential to harm and is not something the United States takes lightly,” he said.
“Our charge [d’affaires] was called in to discuss this and we look forward to continuing our dialogue with Libya, but we will not hesitate to express our concerns about the statements or actions of any country.”
The incident comes at a time when Gaddafi is embroiled in a diplomatic disagreement with the European Union, arising from a drawn-out and bitter dispute with Switzerland sparked by the arrest in 2008 of one of his sons.
Hannibal Gaddafi and his wife were arrested for allegedly beating their servants at a Geneva hotel. They were later released and the charges dropped but Libyan retaliation included detaining two Swiss businessmen and suspending oil shipments. One of the two businessmen remains incarcerated, having been found guilty of visa violations and sentenced to four months’ imprisonment.
Last month, after it was reported that Switzerland had drawn up a visa blacklist including Gaddafi and his family, Libya stopped issuing visas to citizens of Switzerland and 24 other European countries.
On Wednesday the dispute deepened, as JANA announced that Libya was mounting an economic and trade embargo on Switzerland.
‘Prevent Swiss planes from landing, stop goods from being sold’
Gaddafi’s jihad statement came on February 25, and referred not to the Hannibal affair but to a Swiss referendum vote last November outlawing the construction of minarets on mosques.
Addressing a large gathering in Benghazi marking the birthday of Mohammed, Gaddafi urged a jihad against Switzerland over the minaret ban.
“Any Muslim anywhere in the world [who] buys Swiss goods is an apostate,” the Tripoli Post quoted him as saying. “The one who does so is against Islam, against Prophet Mohammad, against Allah and against [the] Koran.”
“The masses of Muslims must go to all airports in the Islamic world and prevent any Swiss plane landing, to all harbors and prevent any Swiss ships docking, inspect all shops and markets to stop any Swiss goods being sold,” he said.
Libyan ties with the U.S. have been improving steadily since the restoration of diplomatic relations and lifting of a trade embargo in 2004. The process has not always been smooth, and the hero’s welcome Libya gave the convicted Lockerbie bomber after he was released “on compassionate grounds” last August angered many Americans and others.
The first U.S. government-sponsored trade mission to Libya in about 37 years ended early last week.
The mission was led by Nicole Lamb-Hale, assistant secretary for manufacturing and services at the Department of Commerce. On a department Web site, she wrote from Tripoli, “This emerging market has huge potential and the government has tremendous liquid capital to fund and support programs and partnerships with U.S. businesses.”
