In other foreign news, the U.S. has announced it will restore diplomatic ties to the oil-rich nation of Libya for the first time in over 25 years. Two years ago the Bush administration lifted economic sanctions against Libya to allow U.S. oil companies to do business in the country which has one of the ten largest oil reserves in the world.

• U.S. ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton: “Libya’s renunciation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism has now led to this result. So it was a piece of good news in the Security Council, resulting in part from earlier Security Council actions and I think shows what is possible for countries that do give up the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and do give up complicity in international terrorism, certainly from the perspective of the United States.”

Meanwhile relatives of the 1988 Lockerbie air crash criticized the Bush administration’s decision. This is Bert Ackerman whose brother Tom was killed in the 1988 airline bombing.

• Bert Ackerman: “A horrendous decision. I have stated for almost fifteen years now that we should normalize relations with Libya, once Gaddafi is out of power. What a message to give to leaders of the world that support state sponsored terrorism that you can kill Americans and innocent citizens and then eventually because of big business or oil, our government will find a way to normalize relations.”