Sunday, 12 January, 2003, 08:35 GMT
Libya 'gives US tips on al-Qaeda'
Libya is exchanging intelligence about the al-Qaeda network with the United States, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has said.
Osama Bin Laden is regarded as a prophet by many Muslims and has convinced his followers that the US is attacking the whole Islamic world, the Libyan leader tells Newsweek magazine in an interview. Colonel Gaddafi - who himself has been accused of sponsoring international terrorism - said there had been assassination attempts on his life by al-Qaeda members.
Fight to the finish "[Fundamentalism] is a threat to all regimes in the region," he said.
"[Bin Laden] told them in the beginning that America's objective was not only Afghanistan. Now that there is a move against Iraq, it has proven bin Laden right," he added. Colonel Gaddafi also reiterated his opposition to a possible US-led war against Iraq. He said that while he had never agreed with Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader did not constitute a threat. "We don't know who poses a greater threat - the American president or Saddam Hussein," he said. "[Saddam Hussein] opened his country for full inspections. What more can he do? Now it is a fight to the finish." |
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