Qaddafi on the Danube

Anybody who knows anything about Muammar el-Qaddafi or about what Vienna stands for historically and culturally had to have been surprised when Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky invited Qaddafi for a visit. Kreisky, although Jewish himself, isn’t enthusiastic about either Jews or the State of Israel. Still, it is one thing to be an uncommitted Jew; it is quite another to play host to a violently anti-Zionist Arab who considers his country to be at war with Israel, and who is one of the major sponsors of international terrorism.

We Austrians were exhorted not to call our visitor a murderer—on the grounds that there is no conclusive proof that he has organized the many terrorist murders he has been accused of, or that he has actually supported terrorists of various nationalities all over the globe. That might or might not be so. (The U.S. State Department, from Alexander Haig on down, harbors no doubts about Qaddafi’s links to international terrorism.) It is a known fact, for instance, that Anwar Sadat’s assassination was officially celebrated in the streets of Libya for three days and nights.

EK

About the Author

Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn

Featured Tags

Anybody who knows anything about Muammar el-Qaddafi or about what Vienna stands for historically and culturally had to have been surprised when Austrian Chancellor Bruno Kreisky invited Qaddafi for a visit. Kreisky, although Jewish himself, isn’t enthusiastic about either Jews or the State of Israel. Still, it is one thing to be an uncommitted Jew; it is quite another to play host to a violently anti-Zionist Arab who considers his country to be at war with Israel, and who is one of the major sponsors of international terrorism.

We Austrians were exhorted not to call our visitor a murderer—on the grounds that there is no conclusive proof that he has organized the many terrorist murders he has been accused of, or that he has actually supported terrorists of various nationalities all over the globe. That might or might not be so. (The U.S. State Department, from Alexander Haig on down, harbors no doubts about Qaddafi’s links to international terrorism.) It is a known fact, for instance, that Anwar Sadat’s assassination was officially celebrated in the streets of Libya for three days and nights.