This is a headline I never thought I would see.
US, Libya forging ties
Libya, US forge alliance to fight al-Qaeda
September 5, 2005
London: As it struggles to combat Islamic terrorist networks, the Bush Administration has quietly built an intelligence alliance with the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, once a bitter enemy the United States had tried for years to isolate, topple or kill.
Colonel Gaddafi has helped the US pursue al-Qaeda's North African network by turning radicals over to neighbouring pro-Western regimes and has given the CIA information on Libyans alleged to have ties to international terrorism. In return, the US has handed over some anti-Gaddafi Libyans captured in its campaign against terrorism.
Even though he long supported radical causes, Colonel Gaddafi views religious militants as a menace to his secular regime.
The US Government last year lifted sanctions that had barred most US trade with Libya after it bombed Pan Am flight 103 over Scotland in 1988. Pentagon officials say that if relations continue to improve, the US would like to include Libya in a proposed $US500 million ($654 million) program, with nine other countries, aimed at countering al-Qaeda in the region.
Los Angeles Times
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