For Immediate Release
September 23, 2004

Global Message

From remarks by White House Press Secretary McClellan and Treasury Department reports, 9/20/04

President Bush has ended the national emergency regarding Libya, removing all economic sanctions that have been in place since 1986, because of its concrete progress in dismantling its weapons of mass destruction and the missiles capable of delivering them.

President Bush's decision marks another milestone in his effort to combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means of their delivery.

Over the last nine months, Libya has worked in a transparent and verifiable manner with international organizations, the United States, and United Kingdom to eliminate its WMD and longer-range missile programs.

Libya's efforts open the path to better relations with the United States and other free nations by -- among other things -- facilitating the removal of all significant elements of its declared nuclear weapons program; signing the IAEA Additional Protocol; destroying chemical munitions; and declaring its chemical agents.

Revelations by Libya greatly aided the international community's effort to understand and cripple the global black market in the world