France: Resuming a Role as Libya's Arms Dealer

Since Libya has earned the international community's good graces by giving up its diminutive weapons of mass destruction program, France has been striving to get back into the Libyan weapons market. On Feb. 17, citing a "changed" Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, France's defense minister defended recent French military contracts with Libya and discussed future arms sales with Gadhafi. The French want to update — and where possible, replace — antiquated Libyan military equipment, despite Washington's continuing weapons embargo on the former international pariah. The British and Russians also are hoping to cash in on providing Libya with weapons.