Gibbons meets with Libya’s Gadhafi on Middle East trip

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Feb. 19, 2004 | 10:23 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi last week as well as Nevadans serving in Iraq on a congressional trip to the Middle East.

The trip reaffirmed his support for the troops and the Bush administration's efforts in the war on terrorism, Gibbons said.

"We have no future in this country if we don't stay this course," Gibbons said.

Gibbons, a member of the House Intelligence Committee and five colleagues, met with Gadhafi for an hour and a half in a tent in the middle of a Libyan desert, after a "wild ride" through the desert, which Gibbons believes was meant to disorient them.

"It was historic for me as well as fascinating," Gibbons said. "He's an aging leader without a legacy."

He said Gadhafi did not talk much about the weapons of mass destruction but wanted to find ways for the United States to "lift them out of their economic depression," Gibbons said. The lawmakers praised him for his willingness to dismantle his weapons systems, Gibbons said.

"Never in my wildest imagination did I expect to be there, let along discussing his yielding up weapons of mass destruction," Gibbons said.

Gibbons then flew to Baghdad where he met with U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer and Jeremy Greenstock, Britain's top official in Iraq, as well as Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. military officer in Iraq, to talk about the latest political and economic development going on there.

"We will be ready to hand over control to the Iraqi government on June 30," Gibbons said.

Gibbons said he shook hands with about 300 police officers at a training center, with many thanking him for the United States getting rid of Saddam Hussein.

"They told me it was the first real time they have hope for their future and their kids," Gibbons said.

Before leaving Iraq, Gibbons met with six soldiers from Las Vegas and Henderson who are serving with the 1st Armored Division.

"They say their morale is high," Gibbons said. "They wanted Nevada to know what are doing what they feel is right. Yes they know it is dangerous, but that is what they signed up for."