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Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2004

Reviving U.S. travel to Libya would help Gadhafi emerge from semi-isolation and give American corporations a chance again to do lucrative business legally in the North African country's rich oil fields.

The Bush administration already has decided to send a U.S. diplomat to Tripoli after a quarter-century of icy distance and is thinking about letting Libyan students return to American universities while 10 to 15 U.S. and British experts in the country oversee the dismantling of Libya's nuclear weapons program.

Meanwhile, U.S. and British officials in a series of meetings have devised a schedule of reciprocating Libya with further concessions as weapons programs are ended, said a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The warming of relations with Libya is designed partly to reward Libyan leader Gadhafi but also to encourage other countries with serious weapons programs to give them up and reap the benefits of trade with the United States.

Even so, Secretary of State Colin Powell said recently he still considered Libya a supporter of terror. It is expected to remain on the State Department's list of seven branded countries, which limits U.S. economic and diplomatic traffic with them.

U.S. sanctions have hurt Libya's economy for decades. The two-decade-long ban on the use of U.S. passports for travel there was extended only last November, but Powell said it would be reviewed at 90-day intervals. The ban originated in 1981 when the United States cut diplomatic relations with Libya.

Libya's decision in December to end its nuclear weapons program as well as plans to develop other weapons of mass destruction boosted the Bush administration's campaign to impede proliferation of dangerous technology.

A ring run by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is suspected of delivering sensitive weapons secrets to Libya, Iran, North Korea and possibly other countries over several years.

Libya is in the midst of dismantling its nuclear and missile programs and has shipped thousands of pounds of parts to the United States for storage and conversion to peaceful uses.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said recently: "As the Libyan government takes these essential steps and demonstrates its seriousness, good faith will be returned."

Asked Monday if the travel ban was being eased, Boucher replied: "If I say something tomorrow, I will say it tomorrow, not today."

The spokesman also reminded reporters, "We have said that we would review our travel ban, our ban on the use of U.S. passports for Libya."

© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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