Documents discovered at Libya’s former spymaster’s abandoned office have provided evidence of the close relationship between the CIA and the African country’s intelligence service, MSNBC is reporting. The evidence suggests that Americans sent terrorism suspects to Libya at least eight times for questioning, despite the country’s reputation for torture.

The documents also prove that the cooperation between the CIA, its British equivalent, MI-6, and Libya was more extensive than previously known. Some of the documents also show that MI-6 was willing to trace phone numbers for the Libyans, while the CIA even wrote speeches for Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi about renouncing unconventional weapons.

It’s impossible to verify the documents’ authenticity, as none were written on official letterhead. But the documents, which were discovered by journalists and advocacy group Human Rights Watch, made specific references to the CIA. The details were also consistent with what’s known about the transfer of terrorism suspects abroad for interrogations.

CIA spokeswoman Jennifer Youngblood declined to comment on the documents. However, she said “It can’t come as a surprise that the CIA works with foreign governments to protect our country from terrorism and other deadly threats.” The British Foreign Office also declined to comment on the documents’ discovery.

Written by: Karen Benardello

Qaddafi and CIA

By Karen Benardello

As a graduate of LIU Post with a B.F.A in Journalism, Print and Electronic, Karen Benardello serves as ShockYa's Senior Movies & Television Editor. Her duties include interviewing filmmakers and musicians, and scribing movie, television and music reviews and news articles. As a New York City-area based journalist, she's a member of the guilds, New York Film Critics Online and the Women Film Critics Circle.

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