MUNICH, Germany, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Saturday sent the first friendly signal to Muammar Gadhafi since the Libyan´s decision to end his nuclear arms program.
Speaking during the annual Munich Conference on Security Policy, Rumsfeld said Gadhafi and Saddam Hussein were "two models of behavior." Saddam refused to accept inspections from U.N. nuclear weapons inspectors, and had suffered the consequences. Gadhafi had offered to disarm.
"The Libyan had chosen "the path of cooperation," but Saddam had opted for "the path of defiance," Rumsfeld said.
Gadhafi agreed to weapons inspections following months of negotiations, principally with Britain. Agreement was reached in September after Libya paid $2.7 billion to the relatives of the victims of the Pan Am bomb explosion and resulting crash on the Scottish village of Lockerbie.
Mediterranean diplomats close to the Libyan government said recently Gadhafi was disappointed at the Bush Administrations so far lukewarm response to his voluntary surrender of ´Libya´s nuclear weapons programs. European diplomatic sources said in Munich Saturday that talks between London and Tripoli were underway before the war, and Rumsfeld made no such connection.
He stopped short of actually praising Gadhafi, but said the Libyan had chosen "the open path."
