Statement by Ambassador Wolff on Libyan Vessel's Activities

Source: U.S. Department of State

We are confronted today by a most unusual situation. The Council has been asked to meet by a Council member to react to a situation of its own making. Libya, a country that does not have relations with Israel, which can't even acknowledge its existence in the letter it sent to the Council that brought the issue under consideration to our attention, and which has an openly hostile attitude toward Israel took the remarkable step of attempting to send one of its vessels through waters patrolled by Israel off Gaza in an attempt to land at a port which is not open to international maritime trade.

Given the current heightened international sensitivity to unpredictable and uncoordinated maritime activity, what country around this table would not have reacted as the Israeli Navy did in this case? The way Libya went about this was dangerous and irresponsible. Mr. President, to the best of my knowledge the Charter unfortunately has no provision to deal with the folly of states.

If the objective of the Libya action had been seriously to provide assistance to the people of Gaza, there are several ways to do so that do not involve such provocative, confrontational acts and that would certainly have had a greater chance of allowing that assistance to get through. The manner in which Libya chose seems almost designed to guarantee that the assistance would not be delivered.

Read more: http://newsblaze.com/story/20081206052908tsop.nb/topstory.html

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It seems this PR stunt by the Libyan regime has backfired dramatically. It seems they are finally losing their grip on reality ...

As I recall, Libya under Ghaddafi (or however you spell that) never really did have much of a grip on reality.

Clipper Maid of the Seas


http://history1900s.about.com/od/1980s/a/flight103.htm