Letter To Deputy Secretary Of State, John D. Negroponte

Letter

Sens. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), Norm Coleman (R-MN), Chris Dodd (D-CT), and Charles Schumer (D-NY) today sent a letter to Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte requesting information on his recent visit with Libyan Leader Colonel Qaddafi.

The coalition of Senators sent a letter to Negroponte in April urging him to use his Libyan visit to press Qaddafi to settle outstanding acts of terrorism committed against Americans.

The Senators are now requesting that the Deputy Secretary brief them on the results of his mission to Tripoli, Libya, and also provide them with a plan - by June 1 - on the specific actions the Bush Administration is taking to hold Libya accountable for past state-sponsored acts of terrorism against Americans. These acts of terror include the Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 and the 1986 LaBelle discotheque bombing in Berlin which killed two Americans and injured 90 U.S. service members, as well as other terrorist acts.

A full copy of the letter is attached and pasted below.

May 8, 2007

The Honorable John D. Negroponte Deputy Secretary of State U.S. Department of State Washington, DC 20520

Dear Deputy Secretary Negroponte:

We welcome you back from your challenging mission to Chad, Libya and Mauritania regarding the crisis in Darfur. The United States must continue to press for a resolution to this genocide and the suffering.

Prior to your trip, we urged you to use the opportunity your visit presented to "send a strong message to Libya's President Qaddafi that he must settle the remaining terrorism cases against his country before he can have fully normalized diplomatic relations with the United States." These cases, in which Libya has been credibly implicated in the murder of innocent Americans, must be resolved so that our bilateral relationship can move forward in a positive manner. It is our understanding that you raised this issue during your visit, and we appreciate that step.

However, since your return from Libya, there has been little or no progress on resolving these long-standing cases and it is unclear what response the Libyan government provided when you addressed this issue. We are concerned that uncertainty remains as to whether these cases will be resolved.

Our constituents have been waiting for too many years for these cases to be resolved, and their resolution must be given a high priority. Therefore, we request that you brief us as soon as possible on the results of your discussions with the Libyans about these cases. We also request that the State Department provide us with a report, by no later than June 1, 2007, on the specific actions that the Administration is taking and plans to take to move towards a resolution these remaining victims of terrorism cases.