-
US Military Spare Parts went to Qaddafi in 2009
We recently recapped the weird history of US-Libyan relations, focusing on how, after years of hating on and bombing Qaddafi, soon after the Iraq war commenced we suddenly decided we liked him. The US opened diplomatic relations in 2009 and had all sorts of warm feelings for the once-pariah state. Then somehow in 2011 he started hating on and bombing Qaddafi again.
New cables, on Wikilks, now give us a hint at how cozy the US-Libyan relationship (briefly) was.
To start, Libya needed lots of spare parts for its military after years of embargoes. The US was happy to assist. An unclassified cable from 2009 outlined that the US sold “Miscellaneous parts, components, accessories, and attachments for the L100 aircraft and T56 engines belonging to the Libyan Air Force,” conveniently through a Portuguese middleman. Wonder if any of those refitted aircraft played any part in the recent unpleasantness in Libya? The cable asked Embassy Lisbon and Embassy Tripoli to check up on these exports, as they had (duh) military usage and cordially concludes “Department is grateful for Post’s assistance in this matter.”
The more amusing cable is from August 2009, just two short years ago. It recounts the visit to Libya of Congressional super heroes John McCain,Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham. The boys had a nice visit with Qaddafi and his son it seems. The cable notes “Lieberman called Libya an important ally in the war on terrorism, noting that common enemies sometimes make better friends.” Old Man McCain assured his hosts “that the United States wanted to provide Libya with the equipment it needs for its security. He stated that he understood Libya’s requests regarding the rehabilitation of its eight C-130s and pledged to see what he could do to move things forward in Congress. He described the bilateral military relationship as strong and pointed to Libyan officer training at U.S. Command, Staff, and War colleges as some of the best programs for Libyan military participation.”
The cable continued to say that “Qadhafi commented that friendship was better for the people of both countries and expressed his desire to see the relationship flourish. He thanked the Senators for their visit and described America as a race rather than a nationality, explaining that many Libyans are dual citizens because they were born in the United States. Senators McCain and Graham conveyed the U.S. interest in continuing the progress of the bilateral relationship and pledged to try to resolve the C-130 issue with Congress and Defense Secretary Gates.”
It was no surprise Qaddafi wanted to talk hardware with McCain. The preparatory cable sent to McCain from Embassy Tripoli just before his trip reminded that “Libya has stated its number one priority, in return
for relinquishing WMD, is a security guarantee by the US against foreign aggression. To that end, Libya has expressed an interest in purchasing lethal weapons from US firms.”Ho ho ho, that sure seems ironic now, after six months of a US bombing campaign.
Qaddafi was always polite. In November 2008, the US Embassy in Tripoli received what it called a “telefax,” (what your grandfather would call a fax) from the man congratulating Obama on his election win. The “telefax” said:
I have the pleasure to send a congratulation note for the first time to an American president, and on behalf of all Africa, and of Cen-Sad, the base of the African pyramid, and on behalf of the Arab Maghreb Union, and in the name of all Arab leaders as I am their dean. Since relations are resumed between our two countries, we have the right to congratulate you from the bottom of our hearts because you are the son of Africa.
Blacks were deemed weak and were oppressed, and were taken to the American continent as slaves and indentured servants. The main point is that Blacks shall not have an inferiority complex and imitate the Yankees.
The Embassy took the “telefax,” retyped it into a cable, and sent it to Washington, which explains what real diplomats do at work for you students reading this and contemplating a foreign service career. Above all, they do not re-send “telefaxes” when retyping one can do.
Anyone interested in researching the ongoing dump of diplomatic messages should check out cablegatesearch.net, which provides effortless full-text search.
Another excellent way to keep informed on new cable releases is via Twitter. Use the #wlfind tag.
Copyright © 2019. All rights reserved. The views expressed here are solely those of the author(s) in their private capacity.
Recent Comments
Leave A Comment
Buy Peter’s Books on Amazon!
Peter Van Buren: Freedom Isn’t Free at the State Department | Politimo said...
1[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/27/11 3:58 PM | Comment Link
The Government Once Again Harrasses Others to Hide Its Own Failures | emptywheel said...
2[…] difference is that Van Buren is being harassed because he included a link from his blog to some cables describing the US dealing weapons to Moammar Qaddafi, including this account of John […]
09/27/11 4:38 PM | Comment Link
State Department’s search for a WikiLeaks scapegoat | Peter Van Buren | BDHL.org said...
3[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available elsewhere on […]
09/27/11 5:28 PM | Comment Link
“How I Helped Lose the Hearts and Minds” Author Under Fire « Antiwar.com Blog said...
4[…] and accused of disclosing classified material. His crime? Embedding links to WikiLeaked cables in a post on his personal […]
09/27/11 5:50 PM | Comment Link
Today’s Links: September 27, 2011 said...
5[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/27/11 6:22 PM | Comment Link
When freedom’s not free at the State Department | WORDPRESS PORTAL said...
6[…] justification of my crime? A posting on my blog from a before month that enclosed a couple to a WikiLeaks request already accessible […]
09/27/11 6:47 PM | Comment Link
Peter Van Buren: WikiLeaked at the State Department — War in Context said...
7[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/27/11 6:56 PM | Comment Link
ScrollPost.com - State Department's search for a WikiLeaks scapegoat | Peter Van Buren said...
8[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available elsewhere on […]
09/27/11 7:28 PM | Comment Link
When freedom’s not free at the State Department | ADSENSE OPTIMIZED TEMPLATES said...
9[…] justification of my crime? A posting on my blog from a before month that enclosed a couple to a WikiLeaks request already accessible […]
09/27/11 7:57 PM | Comment Link
State Department’s search for a WikiLeaks scapegoat | Peter Van Buren | War & Peace in the Middle East said...
10[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available elsewhere on […]
09/27/11 8:44 PM | Comment Link
State Department’s search for a WikiLeaks scapegoat | BERND PULCH, MAGISTER ARTIUM said...
11[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available elsewhere on […]
09/27/11 9:42 PM | Comment Link
When freedom’s not free at the State Department | BLOGSPOT TEMPLATES said...
12[…] justification of my crime? A posting on my blog from a before month that enclosed a couple to a WikiLeaks request already accessible […]
09/27/11 10:19 PM | Comment Link
State Department Employee Faces Firing Over WikiLeaks Link « News Hub Today said...
13[…] crime, he said, was a link he posted on August 25 in a blog post discussing the hypocrisy of recent U.S. actions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi. The link […]
09/27/11 11:06 PM | Comment Link
Iraq snapshot (C.I.) | thecommonillsbackup said...
14[…] […]
09/27/11 11:18 PM | Comment Link
State Department Employee Faces Firing for Posting WikiLeaks Link « News Hub Today said...
15[…] crime, he said, was a link he posted on August 25 in a blog post discussing the hypocrisy of recent U.S. actions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi. The link […]
09/28/11 12:05 AM | Comment Link
State Department Employee Faces Firing for Posting WikiLeaks Link said...
16[…] for disclosing classified information. His crime, he said, was a link he posted on August 25 in a blog post discussing the hypocrisy of recent U.S. actions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi. The link […]
09/28/11 3:40 AM | Comment Link
Freedom Isn’t Free at the State Department « LobeLog.com said...
17[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/28/11 4:42 AM | Comment Link
Blogging About WikiLeaks Could Get You Fired | Internet News World said...
18[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/28/11 6:50 AM | Comment Link
“How I Helped Lose Hearts and Minds” Author Under Fire | ikners.com said...
19[…] and accused of disclosing classified material. His crime? Embedding links to WikiLeaked cables in a post on his personal […]
09/28/11 8:07 AM | Comment Link
Corruption, ‘withdrawal,’ Chapter 7 (C.I.) | thecommonillsbackup said...
20[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/28/11 12:59 PM | Comment Link
Fired for a Blog Post? A State Department Employee Explains How Sharing a Link to WikiLeaks Lead to Interrogation « MasterAdrian's Weblog said...
21[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/28/11 1:50 PM | Comment Link
The Foreign Service Officer Who Rants Against the State Department | Con Games said...
22[…] by linking to a publicly available WikiLeaks cable about U.S.-Libyan military trade from his personal blog back in August. The State Department, he argued, was singling him out as a scapegoat for the leaked […]
09/28/11 6:28 PM | Comment Link
WikiLeaks’ Cablegate Links State Dept. Bureau of Diplomatic Security to Madness « nydawg New York Digital Archivists Working Group said...
23[…] and was “under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information” for LINKING to a WikiLeaks document which was already on the Web! As he put it: “two DS agents stated […]
09/28/11 8:10 PM | Comment Link
WikiLeaks link leads to interrogation | van said...
24[…] patrician “We Meant Well,” wrote in a Tuesday piece on a website TomDispatch.com that after posting an item that related to a tactful wire expelled by WikiLeaks he was “interrogated for a initial time in […]
09/28/11 11:09 PM | Comment Link
Iraq snapshot (C.I.) | thecommonillsbackup said...
25[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/28/11 11:14 PM | Comment Link
Don’t Mention the WikiLeaks: State Dept Employee Details Interrogation -- News from Antiwar.com said...
26[…] really… the beginning and the end of the “crime” committed by Van Buren was posting a blog entry linking to a WikiLeaks cable from 2009 about Sens. John McCain (R – AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R […]
09/29/11 2:41 AM | Comment Link
it makes complete sense (Rebecca) | thecommonillsbackup said...
27[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/29/11 10:43 AM | Comment Link
Tomgram: Peter Van Buren, WikiLeaked at the State Department « WAMMToday said...
28[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
09/30/11 2:25 AM | Comment Link
Slinking Toward Retirement | State Department Employee Faces Firing for Posting WikiLeaks Link | Threat Level | Wired.com | News, Travel, Opinion and Just Odd and Funny Things... said...
29[…] crime, he said, was a link he posted on August 25 in a blog post discussing the hypocrisy of recent U.S. actions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi. The link […]
09/30/11 8:01 PM | Comment Link
State Department Vindictiveness: Using Single Blog Link To Wikileaks To Investigate Employee Who Published Critical Book « waweru.net said...
30[…] not because of info in the book, which was pre-vetted by the government. It's because he wrote a blog post, where he dares to link to a Wikileaks cable, which is public to the whole world. But, in the […]
09/30/11 11:31 PM | Comment Link
State Department Vindictiveness: Using Single Blog Link To Wikileaks To Investigate Employee Who Published Critical Book | Greediocracy said...
31[…] because of info in the book, which was pre-vetted by the government. It’s because he wrote a blog post, where he dares to link to a Wikileaks cable, which is public to the whole […]
10/1/11 6:47 AM | Comment Link
This Week in the Press: 22-28 September, 2011 said...
32[…] Isn’t Free at the State Department : A blog posting by State Department employee Peter van Buren linking to a Wikileaks document led to him being […]
10/1/11 2:50 PM | Comment Link
State Department Vindictiveness: Using Single Blog Link To Wikileaks To Investigate Employee Who Published Critical Book | Gas Rebate Ticket said...
33[…] because of info in the book, which was pre-vetted by the government. It’s because he wrote a blog post, where he dares to link to a Wikileaks cable, which is public to the whole […]
10/2/11 4:05 AM | Comment Link
State Department Employee Faces Firing for Posting WikiLeaks Link | Fresh Coffee News… said...
34[…] for disclosing classified information. His crime, he said, was a link he posted on August 25 in a blog post discussing the hypocrisy of recent U.S. actions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi. The link […]
10/2/11 12:51 PM | Comment Link
Bob’s Junkmail, #220 « xpda said...
35[…] you would be wrong. A guy named Peter who has worked for the State Department for 23 had a link inhis blog… that went to a 2009 cable about the sale of U.S. military spare parts to Qadaffi. Now Peter is […]
10/3/11 4:34 AM | Comment Link
Peter Van Buren, How the American Taxpayer Got Plucked in Iraq | ikners.com said...
36[…] crime, he said, was a link he posted on August 25 in a blog post discussing the hypocrisy of recent U.S. actions against Libyan leader Muammar Qadaffi. The link […]
10/3/11 8:16 AM | Comment Link
Mark Collins - About That Extensive Freedom of Speech in the US Government said...
37[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
10/4/11 8:10 PM | Comment Link
Who's Afraid of Peter Van Buren's Book? by Kelley B. Vlahos … | van said...
38[…] wrote last week charging that his bosses had interrogated him twice for linking to WikiLeaks cables in a post about Libya he wrote for his personal blog, WeMeantWell.com, which is published in partial to […]
10/4/11 9:22 PM | Comment Link
Federal worker says WikiLeaks link led to interrogation | Fresh Coffee News… said...
39[…] in Iraq titled “We Meant Well,” wrote in a Tuesday piece on TomDispatch.com that after posting an item that linked to a diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks he was “interrogated for the first […]
10/5/11 12:58 PM | Comment Link
Peter van Buren interrogated (& might be charged) for linking his blog to Wikileaks | Negotiation Is Over! said...
40[…] under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available […]
10/6/11 1:49 AM | Comment Link
Vítor Vieira said...
41“Portuguese middleman”? In fact, OGMA (stands to General Workshop of Aeronautical Maintenance”) is the Portuguese Air Force firm that takes care of military airplanes maintenance. And it won a contract to do the maintenance of Lybian aircraft – check here: http://www.dn.pt/inicio/interior.aspx?content_id=1000296.
Business as usual.
It should be noted, however, that Portugal as recently asked the UN autorization to deliver one of the planes (the first that has been repaired, a C-130) to the TNC (here: http://www.tsf.pt/PaginaInicial/Portugal/Interior.aspx?content_id=2028666&tag=L%EDbia)
10/6/11 9:02 AM | Comment Link
The American Conservative » State Dept. suspends officer’s Top Secret clearance over writings said...
42[…] book and writing a daily Weblog, which has given the department more ammunition to come after him. His linking to a Wikileaked “confidential” department cable in August didn’t help. Turns out […]
10/18/11 6:24 PM | Comment Link
Foreign Service Officer Van Buren Disciplined Over WikiLeaks -- News from Antiwar.com said...
43[…] were not spelled out in the formal letter of suspension, but he is certain it was because of (1) in a personal blog posting dated Aug. 25, Van Buren had linked to a classified cable that had already been leaked and widely […]
10/18/11 8:49 PM | Comment Link
Foreign Service Officer Van Buren Disciplined Over WikiLeaks | | RESUME DOCUMENTRESUME DOCUMENT said...
44[…] were not spelled out in a grave minute of suspension, yet he is certain it was since of (1) in a personal blog posting antiquated Aug. 25, Van Buren had related to a personal wire that had already been leaked and […]
10/19/11 1:47 PM | Comment Link
“The biggest threat I pose is existing as an employee. As long as I work at State, other employees will feel free to expose waste, fraud, and mismanagement as I did,” Van Buren told Antiwar.com today. | ikners.com said...
45[…] were not spelled out in the formal letter of suspension, but he is certain it was because of (1) in a personal blog posting dated Aug. 25, Van Buren had linked to a classified cable that had already been leaked and widely […]
10/19/11 2:53 PM | Comment Link
Foreign Service Officer Van Buren Disciplined Over WikiLeaks - NEW RESUME PORTAL – NEW RESUME PORTAL said...
46[…] were not spelled out in a grave minute of suspension, yet he is certain it was since of (1) in a personal blog posting antiquated Aug. 25, Van Buren had related to a personal wire that had already been leaked and […]
10/19/11 7:21 PM | Comment Link
State Department Fires Iraq Whistleblower | The Militant Left said...
47[…] the government’s excesses and secrecy obsession on his own site and for TomDispatch. In a post last August, he referred to a State cable leaked by Wikileaks about US arms sales to Libya (a move, he says, […]
03/17/12 4:51 PM | Comment Link
State Dept Throws Sink + All Fixtures But One at FSO-Non Grata, Peter Van Buren | Diplopundit said...
48[…] the charge of improper handling of classified information, citing links from his blog to WikiLeaks (one confidential cable from 2009, and one unclas/sensitive/noforn cable also from 2009) but does not/not include the allegation of leaking "classified" content from his book. Which is […]
03/19/12 5:02 PM | Comment Link
Leaking War « LobeLog.com said...
49[…] seek to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on alink yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/12/12 3:39 PM | Comment Link
Leaking War | IPS Writers in the Blogosphere said...
50[…] seek to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on alink yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/12/12 4:03 PM | Comment Link
State Department’s search for a WikiLeaks scapegoat » OWA Network said...
51[…] was under investigation for allegedly disclosing classified information. The evidence of my crime? A posting on my blog from the previous month that included a link to a WikiLeaks document already available elsewhere on […]
06/12/12 6:42 PM | Comment Link
Leaking War - Military News | Military News said...
52[…] to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on a link yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/12/12 8:36 PM | Comment Link
Tomgram: Peter Van Buren, The Ultimate No-Fly List | ikners.com said...
53[…] to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on a link yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/12/12 10:50 PM | Comment Link
The Kierkegaardian Presidency: or the Teleological Suspension of the Ethical (van Buren) | Informed Comment said...
54[…] to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on a link yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/13/12 5:29 AM | Comment Link
Arab News Blog » The Kierkegaardian Presidency: or the Teleological Suspension of the Ethical (van Buren) said...
55[…] to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on a link yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/13/12 1:21 PM | Comment Link
Leaking war The Obama administration aggressively prosecutes whistleblowers, but turns a blind eye to politically beneficial leaks. | ikners.com said...
56[…] to fire me, even after the Department of Justice declined to prosecute. Go ahead and click on a link yourself and commit what State now considers a […]
06/20/12 8:20 PM | Comment Link
US National Archives Has Blocked Searches for ‘WikiLeaks’ | Support Julian Assange said...
57[…] ignorance by forcing State Department employee Peter van Buren out of the agency. He put up a blog post that included a WikiLeaks link—not a document, not a leak but a link to a WikiLeaks cable. This […]
11/6/12 8:11 AM | Comment Link