Mohamed Eljahmi

Today, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libyan Col. Moammar Gaddafi and the regime's point man in dealing with the United States, is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice at the State Department. The visit by Saif, who also heads the Gaddafi Foundation, will be the first trip to Washington by a member of Moammar Gaddafi's immediate family. Sadly, it comes as Libyan democratic dissidents suffer in the dungeons of his father, their plight ignored by the State Department.

After nearly five years of engagement with the United States, Gaddafi rules supreme in Libya and enjoys renewed legitimacy at home and abroad.…  Seguir leyendo »

Tomorrow, Libyan Foreign Minister Abdel-Rahman Shalqam is to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Their sit-down at the State Department will come nearly seven months after President Bush declared himself a "dissident president" and promised active support for dissidents around the world. "I asked Secretary Rice," Bush said during a speech in Prague, "to send a directive to every U.S. ambassador in an un-free nation: Seek out and meet with activists for democracy. Seek out those who demand human rights."

Nothing of the sort happened. In fact, in its embrace of Tripoli, the Foreign Service has built a wall of silence around human rights concerns.…  Seguir leyendo »