Washington: A son of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi toured US ports and military facilities just weeks before he helped lead deadly attacks on rebels protesting his father's authoritarian regime.
Khamis Gaddafi, 27, spent four weeks in the US as part of an internship with Aecom, a global infrastructure company with deep business interests in Libya, according to Paul Gennaro, Aecom's senior vice-president for global Communications.
The trip was to include visits to the Port of Houston, Air Force Academy, National War College and West Point, Gennaro said.
The West Point visit was cancelled on February 17, when the trip was cut short and Gaddafi returned to Libya, Gennaro said. The uprising there began with a series of protests on February 15.
By late February, forces controlled by Khamis Gaddafi were leading the brutal assault to retake Zawiya, a city near Tripoli that rebels captured soon after the uprising began.
Itinerary signed off
Gennaro said the US State Department approved of the trip, and considered Gaddafi a reformer. He said the government signed off on the itinerary, at times offering advice that affected the company's plans for Gaddafi.
State Department officials denied any role in planning, advising or paying for the trip.
"We did greet him at the airport. That is standard courtesy for the son of the leader of a country," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner. Toner said the government was aware of Gaddafi's itinerary, but "did not sign off on it".
Aecom was not paid to arrange the trip, and did not pay for related expenses, Gennaro said. He said the trip was arranged at the request of a Libyan, whom he declined to name.
