What Juan Zarate, a Bush Administration official, now calls “a deal with the devil” has not worked out “the way anyone would have wanted it to work out.” The deal in question was the normalization of trade relations with Libya in 2004. Calling Muammar el-Qaddafi “the devil” is excessively complimentary. The dictator is merely a garden-variety kleptocrat with more brawn than brains.

Daniel E. Karson, executive managing partner at Kroll, a risk-consulting firm, recalled in an interview that an international communications company he represented tried to enter the Libyan cellular phone market in 2007. From the outset, Libyan officials made it clear that the foreign company’s local business partner would have to be Muhammad Qaddafi, the eldest son of the Libyan ruler.

“We advised them they would have to go through Muhammad Qaddafi,” said Mr. Karson, who declined to identify the client. “This was not going to be done on the basis of, as they say in retail, price, quality and delivery.” Fearful of going into business with the Qaddafis, he said, the company made no investments in Libya.

Coca-Cola got caught in the middle of a fierce dispute between Muhammad Qaddafi and his brother Mutassim over control of a bottling plant the soda maker had opened in 2005, forcing it to shut down the plant for months amid armed confrontations, a diplomatic cable noted.

What’s really startling is Qaddafi’s attempt to shake down foreign corporations to pay for the Lockerbie settlement.

Drop me a line at rjk@dailyblague.com
This entry was posted on Thursday, March 24th, 2011 at 10:30 am.