Venezuela's Chavez, Libya's Gadhafi meet to discuss oil

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-05-17-libya-venezuela_x.htm




TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) — Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who is reconnecting his nation to the U.S. and to global energy companies, met for talks about oil Wednesday with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who is moving his country in a different direction.
Chavez said before going into a meeting with the Libyan leader that the two men planned to discuss maintaining current oil prices.

The two Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries members were to talk about "strengthening our commitment inside OPEC to maintain oil prices and avoid that they hit the floor again," Chavez said in comments broadcast on Venezuelan state television. "Today we have a fair price for oil."

The Bush administration announced Monday that Libya is being taken off a U.S. list of terrorism sponsors and diplomatic ties are being restored, a striking success for Gadhafi's push to do business with foreign oil companies — especially American ones.

The administration also said Monday it was banning arms sales to Venezuela because of what Washington called a lack of support for counterterrorism. The move was the latest blow to steadily worsening relations between the U.S. and Venezuela, America's fifth-largest oil supplier.

"We don't need arms from the United States," Chavez, a harsh and constant critic of the Bush administration, said in Libya, adding that Venezuela is looking at the possibility of purchasing Russian fighter planes and expects to soon receive a shipment of 30,000 Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifles.

...is that he appears to be doing a Steven Seagal impersonation all the time.

killing his children over the downing of the Pan Am plane. So when does Osama get off the terrorist list?

I'm frankly surprised that he has bowed and scraped as much as he has towards the US. He's in a good position!

Plus, I don't really think getting a gold sticker from the US will be worth that much. Loans? They're tainted. Financial aid? It's poisoned; it's money attached to a fishing pole to reel them in.

Plus, I wonder what Washington is going to say now about Muammar.

The old dump eh Condi?

...or on the NeoCon invasion list.

...keep hobnobbing with Chavez!

The irony of this situation floors me. We now recognize "former" terrorist Libya, while putting the screws to our former friend, Venezuela.

Or did he just reduce it down to a single one, now?