U.S. and Libya Restore Full Diplomatic Ties

May 15, 2006 --

U.S. to Renew Diplomatic Ties With Libya
The Bush administration has decided to restore normal diplomatic relations with Libya for the first time in over a quarter century after taking Moammar Gadhafi's country off a U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism, State Department officials said. (AP)

Full Text: Rice Statement
The US has announced that it is renewing full diplomatic relations with Libya after deciding to remove it from a list of states backing terrorism. (Read Sec. Rice Statement)

Timeline: Libya Sanctions
Libya has been subject to United States sanctions since the early 1980s over its suspected terror links, although these have now eased considerably. (BBC)

Hussein Is Formally Charged for War Crimes
Saddam Hussein refused to enter a plea and insisted that he remained the country's rightful president. (NY Times)

Insurgents Down U.S. Copter, Killing 2
Insurgents shot down a U.S. helicopter south of Baghdad and killed two soldiers, bringing the weekend death toll of American service members to seven, the U.S. military said Monday. (AP)

Syria 'Arrests Dissident Writer'
The Syrian authorities are reported to have detained prominent activist and writer Michel Kilo, though there is no official confirmation of the arrest. (BBC)

EU To Propose 'Bold' Iran Package
The EU is preparing a new package of measures that it hopes will convince Iran to curb its nuclear ambitions, top EU diplomat Javier Solana has said. (BBC)

'Senior Taliban' Killed In Afghan Clash
A Taliban commander and his deputy are among 11 rebel fighters killed in a clash in southern Afghanistan which also left five policemen dead, government officials say. (Al Jazeera)

Female Afghan Lawmaker Faces Death Threat
Female Afghan Lawmaker Moves Every Night After Receiving Influx of Death Threats (AP)

FBI Raids Top CIA Official's Home
US federal agents have searched the house and office of the outgoing executive director of the CIA. (BBC)

FBI Gets a Chance to Shoot Back - At a Story It Didn't Like
When I first came to Washington in the 1970s, a friend took me on a tour of the national monuments, topping it off with a stop at Harvey's, the plush restaurant where J. Edgar Hoover had a regular table with his longtime FBI sidekick, Clyde Tolson. (Congressional Quarterly)