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U.S. unfreezes assets of Libyan defector in a bid to encourage others

By on April 6, 2011
kousa-usThe U.S. administration has decided to drop financial sanctions against the top Libyan official who fled to Britain last week, saying it hopes the move will encourage other senior aides to abandon Col. Gadhafi still clinging to power.
For the NY Times, the decision to unfreeze bank accounts of Libyan foreign minister, Moussa Koussa, puts American and British authorities in a real judiciary predicament. As the longtime Libyan intelligence chief, Mr. Koussa is widely believed to be implicated in acts of terrorism over the last three decades (Pan-Am bombing over Lockerbie…).

But Koussa’s close knowledge of the ruling circle could be invaluable in trying to strip Colonel Qaddafi of support. His defection to Britain came three decades after he was expelled from that country when he told a reporter he supported Libya’s practice of hunting down Libyan opponents around the world.
According to a former CIA official, the man is a canny operator who does not act rashly, clearly calculated that he was better off taking his chances in Britain than sticking with Colonel Qadhafi.
Mr. Koussa forged connections with British and American intelligence officials when he negotiated terms of Libya’s exit strategy as Tripoli gives up efforts to develop nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
A graduate of Michigan State University now in his early 60s, M. Koussa is portrayed as mentor to two of Colonel Qadhafi’s sons: Moatassim, who serves as national security adviser, and Seif al-Islam, who was once seen as a reformist, is now betting on taking over his father power.
Mr. Koussa was sent to the United States for master’s degrees. His 214-page sociology thesis is still in the Michigan State library catalog.

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