<%@LANGUAGE="VBSCRIPT" CODEPAGE="1252"%> WorldTribune.com: Mobile Ñ Britain's decision to train Libyan special forces is questioned by SAS vets

Britain's decision to train Libyan special forces is questioned by SAS vets

Monday, September 14, 2009   E-Mail this story   Free Headline Alerts

LONDON Ñ Britain has been helping Libya develop and train a special forces unit for Libya's military.

British sources said the Defence Ministry has been overseeing a program for the British training and mentoring of Libya's military. They said one program called for the development of Libya's special operations forces. "The program began in 2009 and was taking place in Libya," a British source said.

The London-based newspaper Telegraph reported that members of Britain's elite SAS force were training Libya's SOF. The newspaper said the 14-member SAS team was training Libyan troops in everything from basic skills to counter-insurgency missions.

The Defence Ministry has not confirmed the reports. But SAS members warned that the British training would enhance Libya's ability to conduct insurgency strikes and train other anti-Western groups, including the Irish Republican Army.

"There is a long list of British soldiers who have died because of Gadhafi funding terrorists," former SAS soldier Robin Horsfall said. "The SAS is being ordered to do something it knows is morally wrong."

The British training effort in Libya was raised in 2004 when London and Tripoli began to discuss avenues of cooperation. The sources said the final agreement for military cooperation was signed in early 2009.

In August 2009, Britain released a Libyan agent, Abdul Basset Al Megrahi, who had been serving a life sentence for the bombing of a U.S. airliner in 1988.

Officials have acknowledged that the release was part of an effort by the government of Prime Minister Gordon Brown to improve defense and energy ties with Tripoli.

The British Foreign Office has acknowledged cooperation with Libya on defense issues. But the office as well as the military refused to confirm or deny the Telegraph report.

"We have ongoing cooperation with Libya in the field of defence," the Foreign Office said. "But to suggest that this is part of any deal related to Megrahi is simply untrue."

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