Wikileaks: Qaddafi to AFRICOM' Ward: "We used to say this was a US conspiracy, but not anymore..."

S E C R E T TRIPOLI
SUBJECT: AL-QADHAFI: NO LONGER RELUCTANT TO ENGAGE WITH AFRICOM \

¶3. (S) After exchanging pleasantries, al-Qadhafi noted that \
during Gen. Ward's earlier trip to Libya, he had been visiting \
Mauritania, where a political crisis was ongoing. "Every time \
we put out a fire in Africa, another one breaks out. We used to \
say this was a US conspiracy, but not anymore." Al-Qadhafi then \
began a lengthy monologue during which he related the stages of \
governance in Africa from revolutionary liberation, to \
dictatorship, to multi-party elections, concluding that now was \
the time to establish common African institutions, such as a \
Ministry of Defense, that would better represent African \
interests before the world....
¶7. (S) Al-Qadhafi emphasized that as Libya now presides over the \
AU, there was a possibility for cooperation with AFRICOM in \
combating terrorism in the Sahara and piracy. He said that he \
could deal with "the new America without reservation", now that \
the United States was governed by "a new spirit of change." \