Condoleeza Rice Meets Gadafy in Libya

The US secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, will formally end half a century of hostilities today when she steps on to Libyan soil and shakes the hand of Muammar Gadafy, once described by Ronald Reagan as the "mad dog" of the Middle East.

Her visit – the first by a secretary of state since John Foster Dulles' trip in 1953 – is the culmination of five years of diplomacy since Libya agreed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and renounce terrorism in 2003.

It also coincides with the week when Gadafy, the longest serving leader in the Arab world, celebrated the 39th anniversary of his bloodless coup at the age of 27.

US officials expect Rice to be greeted in Gadafy's ceremonial tent in the desert.

In an interview with al-Jazeera television last year, Gadafy spoke of Rice in unusual terms, calling her "Leezza". "I support my darling black African woman," he said. "I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders ... Leezza, Leezza, Leezza. ... I love her very much. I admire her and I'm proud of her because she's a black woman of African origin."

Relations between the countries still face strains on a number of fronts, ranging from human rights to the final resolution of legal claims from the 1980s terror bombings in Europe.

Last month US and Libyan officials concluded a final deal on compensation for the victims of the 1986 La Belle disco bombing in Berlin and the 1988 Pan Am 103 bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.

The deal also included compensation for relatives of the victims of the US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986, which came in retaliation for the Berlin attack. One of the 40 victims was Gadafy's adopted daughter. However, a fund set up to accept the money still remains empty.

There also remains the case of a leading Libyan reformer, Fathi al-Jahmi, who has been championed by the Bush administration and by the Democratic vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden. Jahmi remains in detention, where he has been almost continuously since 2002. Human rights groups say hundreds of other political prisoners are still being held in Libya.

Libya, now an elected member of the UN security council, has voted with the United States on issues related to Iran's nuclear program and has helped with the Darfur crisis. But its support on other key issues, notably the Middle East peace process, is far from clear.

A US state department spokesman, Sean McCormack, described Rice's visit as an "historic stop". Principal US interests on the agenda include investment in Libya's oil and gas industry and combating terrorism in North Africa: al-Qaida offshoots have been active in Algeria and Morocco, two countries Rice also will visit on her tour this week.

Some of the families of those killed in the Lockerbie bombing have raised vehement objections to the Rice meeting with Gadafy, whom they consider unrepentant for the deaths of the 280 victims, including 180 Americans.

Libyan officials, and more recently Gadafy's son, Saif al-Islam al- Gadafy, have said that Libya's acceptance of responsibility for Lockerbie was simply a diplomatic ploy to get sanctions lifted. It was initially believed that the real culprits were members of the Palestinian militant group, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command. The only person convicted, the Libyan official Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi, is going through a second appeal in Scotland.