Africa News
Gaddafi: WikiLeaks exposes US "conspiracies"
Dec 4, 2010, 14:56 GMT
Tripoli - Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi commended the whistleblower website WikiLeaks for revealing United States 'hypocrisy and conspiracies,' state-run media reported Saturday.
The ruler of the North Africa state, known for often touting his own controversial ideas on world events, described WikiLeaks as 'very useful in uncovering conspiracies.'
In a speech to students in London earlier this week, Gaddafi said
of the US: 'Even with its allies, it has a relationship of hypocrisy.'
Among the over 250,000 cables being made public by the website, one was titled 'A Glimpse into Libya Leader Qadhafi's Eccentricities,' and discusses his love of flamenco alongside the ruler's fear of flying over water and physical frailties.
The cable, by US Ambassador to Libya Gene Cretz, also said that Gaddafi, who has been in power for 41 years, relies heavily on a 'voluptuous blonde' Ukrainian nurse.
Other cables revealed since the London speech show that the United States was in a diplomatic bind for about a month in 2009 after Libya refused to hand over its final quantity of highly enriched uranium.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton personally called a top- level Libyan official to reaffirm US commitment to a better relationship with Tripoli. Washington reopened its embassy in Tripoli three years ago after a closure of almost 30 years.
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