Libya: Security Is Not Enough


 

Publication Date: October 2004

Publisher: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Author(s): Michele Dunne

Research Area: Government

Type: Brief

Abstract:

President George W. Bush has suggested that other nations--Iran, North Korea, Syria--follow the example of Libya, which increased its own security by ending links with terrorist groups and surrendering weapons of mass destruction and delivery systems. Some commentators are taking a second lesson from the Libya case: The United States will forgo its declared interest in democratization and reform if a country takes positive security-related steps and has enough petroleum to offer. The United States needs to correct this impression.