Jack Straw - Alzheimer Alert

"You simply cannot tolerate a situation where one state decides to deal with problems of another state by assassinating the other state's leaders."

Jack Straw, Tuscaloosa AL (CNN) in Alabama.

Bush has instructed Straw’s weekend companion, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to "call upon the United Nations to convene a session as quickly as possible to deal with this very serious matter (Syrian complicity in assassinating Rafik Hariri.)"

Perhaps by coincidence Dubya made the call to Condi when he was at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, which commemorates the President who on 14th April 986 sent the US Navy and Air Force to pre-emptively attack 5 sites in Libya, Aziziyah Barracks in Tripoli. Jamahiriyah Guard Barracks / Benghazi Military Barracks, theBenghazi Murrat Side Bilal base and Tripoli’s main airport … to kill President Gadaffi.

The timing of the “El Dorado Canyon” attack was such that while some of the strike aircraft were in the air, President Reagan was able to brag about it live, to the US public and much of the world, claiming this was in retaliation for the Berlin Disco bombing which killed two American soldiers and their Turkish girlfriend. The UK sovereign Parliament were only told after the raid was finished.

The massive raid involved more aircraft and combat ships than Britain employed during the entire Falklands campaign. The French and Spanish refused overflying rights for F-111 Aardvark’s from UK – “accidentally” the French Embassy in Tripoli received a direct “accidental” hit. Tripoli was of course protected by French Crotale missiles and Mirage fighters.

The US fighters took extra care NOT to hit the anti-aircraft missile sites, fearing they may hit some of the 3,000 Russian “technical advisers” who were “training” the Libyans.

Over 100 people were killed including Gadaffi’s adopted daughter.

The raid was condemned throughout the world and was supported only by the UK, Australia…and Israel

Jörg Rechmann of the Frankfurter Rundschau said very prophetically at the time ,

“If counterterrorism takes the place of diplomacy, then the extremists will have achieved their goal, and terrorism will have triumphed.”

...of course Detlev Mehlis was the Berlin State Prosecutor in charge of the Berlin bombing which raised a few eywbrows at the time....must look a bit closer.

Recent blogs on same topic here