Gadhafi's son was on U.S. internship until crisis
By Pam Benson, CNN National Security Producer
March 29, 2011 -- Updated 0940 GMT (1740 HKT)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Libyan leaders son, Khamis Gadhafi. seen on live TV Monday
NEW: The younger Gadhafi's TV appearance counters rumors of his death
Youngest son runs elite special forces
Internship sponsor "shocked and outraged" by son's role in fighting
Washington (CNN) -- Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi's youngest son, who runs the
country's elite special forces for his father's regime, was on an internship
program in the United States when public unrest exploded in Libya last month.
Khamis Gadhafi abruptly cut off his visit and returned to Libya, where he has
led the 32nd Reinforced Brigade, known at the Khamis Brigade, in its brutal
suppression of rebel forces.
The brigade's headquarters was the target of six Tomahawk missiles overnight,
according to Vice Adm. William Gortney of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gortney
described the brigade as "one of the most active in terms of attacking innocent
people."
Libya's state TV on Monday night broadcast live footage from Gadhafi's Tripoli
compound of Khamis Gadhafi dressed in uniform and greeting people. Prior to the
broadcast there had been unconfirmed reports that the younger Gadhafi had died
from injuries he suffered when a plane flown by a disgruntled Libyan pilot
crashed into a military compound while he was there.
ABC News was the first to report Khamis Gadhafi's recent stay in the United
States.
Gadhafi opposition runs into resistance
Planning for Libya's future
Gadhafi's claims of civilian casualties
Obama explains Libya action
RELATED TOPICS
Moammar Gadhafi
Libya
U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff
The month-long internship was sponsored by AECOM, a global engineering and
design company based in Los Angeles, and with the assistance of the State
Department.
AECOM has business dealings with Libya.
The younger Gadhafi traveled from coast to coast meeting with high-tech
companies, universities and defense contractors. His itinerary included stops
in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Colorado, Chicago, Houston, Washington and New
York City.
Khamis Gadhafi left the United States for Libya on February 17.
Paul Gennaro, the senior vice president and chief communications officer for
AECOM, issued a statement saying, "The educational internship, which consisted
of publicly available information, was aligned with our efforts to improve
quality of life, specifically in Libya, where we were advancing public
infrastructure such as access to clean water; quality housing; safe and
efficient roads and bridges; reliable and affordable energy; and related
projects that create jobs and opportunity."
Gennaro said the company was "shocked and outraged" to learn of Khamis
Gadhafi's role in the Libyan crisis. "We were aware of the student's family
relationship, but we were not informed of any military connection whatsoever,"
Gennaro said. It was the company's understanding that Khamis Gadhafi was an MBA
student from an accredited university in Spain. "The student was positioned to
help oversee improvements in Libya's quality of life and infrastructure
initiatives, which the country had been advancing since 2007," he said. The
U.S. State Department was aware of and approved all the meetings, Gennaro said.
According to Gennaro, AECOM did not provide any funding for either Khamis
Gadhafi or the internship program.
Since 2008, AECOM has been involved in a multibillion-dollar initiative with
Libya to modernize the country's infrastructure. The company withdrew all its
expatriate employees and their families from Libya earlier this month. The
joint project to train Libyan engineers to build and maintain homes, roads and
water systems is on hold.
------------------------------------
Post message: [email protected]
Subscribe : [email protected]
Unsubscribe : [email protected]
List owner : [email protected]
Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
