Rep. Weldon leads delegation to Libya

In a repeat trip to Libya, Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) met with that country’s leader in a congressional effort to secure the country’s cooperation in the war on terrorism.

Weldon traveled to the African country with a delegation of senior members of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committee as part of a four-day trip that also included a stop in Lebanon and culminated in a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in London.
The delegation left Washington on Friday afternoon and traveled to Tripoli, the capital of Libya, where Weldon was scheduled to speak at an ocean-security conference on Saturday. The conference offered the "perfect opportunity" for Weldon to follow up on his previous meetings with Moammar Gadhafi, a Weldon aide said.

Their discussion ranged from U.S.-Libyan relationships to nuclear proliferation and security issues, the aide said.

The trip to Lebanon was in the same vein; on Sunday the congressional delegation met with leaders of the newly elected government in Beirut to express outrage over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and pledge solidarity with the new prime minister of Lebanon.
Yesterday, the six-member, bipartisan delegation presented Blair with a House resolution condemning the terrorist attacks in his country. H.R. 356, signed by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) on July 14, 2005, condemns the terrorist acts in London on July 7 and expresses solidarity with United Kingdom.
"I applaud the heroic efforts of Prime Minister Blair and Great Britain’s first responders for so rapidly and bravely responding to these attacks to aid the victims," Weldon said in a statement.

"Our government will work with British authorities to bring those responsible to justice," added Rep. Solomon Ortiz (D-Texas), ranking Democrat of the delegation and a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Other members of the delegation included Reps. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas), Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.).