Seeing what we want to see in Qaddafi

International Herald Tribune

Hisham Matar

Published: February 5, 2007

Since 2003, Libyan diplomats have been hard at work convincing the West that Libya is no longer interested in amassing weapons of mass destruction, blowing up Western airplanes or covertly financing armed movements abroad. Presenting this new face has been largely effective: Sanctions, in place since 1982, have been lifted; Libya has been removed from the U.S. roster of terrorist nations; and the list of international trade agreements continues to grow.

As part of this public relations drive, Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi and his officials have been keen to reassure Libyan critics that it is now safe to return to Libya. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of exiled Libyans have not returned. However, one did: Idrees Boufayed, a doctor living and working in Switzerland. full article >>>