June 13
ROME: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, whose regime admitted to sponsoring terrorism in the 1980s, has likened the US to al-Qa'ida.
During a landmark visit to Italy, Colonel Gaddafi recalled the 1986 US bombing of Libya, which killed dozens of people, including the colonel's adopted daughter.
"What's the difference between the US attack on our homes and the terrorist actions of al-Qa'ida?" he asked.
Colonel Gaddafi, 67, who arrived to a red-carpet welcome on Wednesday, left Italian officials scrambling to confirm Rome's close ties with Washington.
"Just because we play host to Muammar Gaddafi doesn't mean we agree with everything he says," said an embarrassed Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini.
The maverick Libyan leader, who has returned to the international fold since scrapping ambitions to build weapons of mass destruction in 2003, complained that Libya was never rewarded for the decision.
Libya had admitted responsibility for the 1988 attack on a Pan Am jetliner over Scotland that claimed 270 lives and paid out $US1.8billion ($2.2bn) in compensation to the victims' families.
Colonel Gaddafi, in power since 1969, slammed the US for allowing Iraq to turn into a magnet for al-Qa'ida militants.
"Iraq is an open space for al-Qa'ida," he said. "They couldn't have entered the Iraq of Saddam Hussein. Through the fault of America, Iraq had become an Islamic extremist state."
Source: The Australian
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