US references to ‘Libya model’ confuse ahead of Kim summit
Libya is suddenly on the lips of President Donald Trump and his hawkish national security adviser, John Bolton, ahead of the much-vaunted summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, or more precisely, the “Libya model” is.
There seems to be a disconnect between the two on what that means – and it won’t be assuaging anger in Pyongyang, already bubbling over with leverage-seeking threats to skip the summit in Singapore on June 12.
Bolton was referring to the nuclear deal in 2003, which saw the north African nation give up its weapons of mass destruction in exchange for sanctions relief, whereas Trump has focused on events eight years later that saw Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi toppled and killed in 2011.
Trying to address the North Korean concerns, Trump said if Kim were to agree to denuclearize, “he’ll get protections that would be very strong.” But Trump warned that failure to make a deal could have grave consequences for Kim. Mentioning what happened in Libya when it gave up its nuclear program, Trump said, “That model would take place if we don’t make a deal.”
Some analysts say bringing up Libya at all jeopardizes progress in negotiations with North Korea. ❚ Gadhafi was the leader who ruled his oil-rich nation
Keeping the west at bay with the WMD deal.
for decades, reviled by successive western governments, and blamed for orchestrating terror attacks in Europe and the Middle East, who came in from the cold in late 2003. South African leader Nelson Mandela had also publicly thanked Gadhafi for his support for the African National Congress.
With great fanfare, President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced the deal. Gadhafi had agreed to dismantle all weapons of mass destruction. And it kept him safe until the Arab Spring. ❚ The Libyan chapter of the Arab uprisings sweeping the region in 2011 was the first to take a violent turn, spiraling into civil war with atrocities committed by Gadhafi’s forces as well as popular opposition forces. Western forces intervened on the rebels’ side, with punishing air strikes that proved to be a major catalyst to Gadhafi’s fall.
In gruesome images many around the world saw on Oct. 11, 2011, Gadhafi was captured in his native Sirte by rebels from Misrata, a region that had suffered greatly at his hands. They humiliated him in his death throes as he pleaded, “What did I do to you?” They then paraded his corpse for days.
Kim took power weeks after Gadhafi’s death. North Korea sees Gadhafi’s death as a cautionary tale to, in part, justify its own nuclear development in the face of perceived U.S. threats.
Death in the desert.