fair use... link may not work long

Link

Libyan leader Qaddafi calls for U.S. troop withdrawal

10/30/2001 16:16:18 edt

TOKYO, Oct. 31 (Kyodo) _ Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi said the United States should withdraw its troops from the Persian Gulf and elsewhere if it wishes to stop terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden from pursuing his goals, according to the Japanese non-governmental organization Peace Boat.

In a meeting held last week in Tripoli, Libya's capital, Qaddafi told a Peace Boat mission that the presence of U.S. troops in Persian Gulf states -- stationed since the 1991 Gulf war against Iraq -- was the main reason bin Laden was able to justify his terrorist actions to his followers.

Qaddafi also urged the U.S. to end its military campaign against Afghanistan.

The Libyan leader said the presence of U.S. troops in Japan was as if ''World War II has never ended'' and that the presence of foreign troops in any country was a threat to peace.

Peace Boat, a Tokyo-based group started in 1983, has been opposing the U.S.-led military action in Afghanistan, while condemning the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

The group organizes what it calls educational peace voyages every year to promote international exchange. A Peace Boat vessel on a voyage around the world made a stop in Libya on Oct. 22 and 23.

-- Anonymous, October 30, 2001