Gadhafi Helped Free Kidnapped Canadian Diplomats

Just what role the Libyan regime played in getting Robert Fowler and Louis Guay free is unclear, but it was enough to earn the praise of a former foreign affairs minister.

Moammar Gadhafi might be a murderous despot who unleashed a wave of terror against his own country, but he was pretty critical in setting free two Canadian diplomats who were kidnapped in Niger in 2008. Robert Fowler and Louis Guay were two Canadians working for the UN in Africa when they were kidnapped by Islamists in the Saharan country. Held for 130 days, they were released in early 2009 and returned safely to Canada. Reports have suggested that a huge ransom was paid for their lives, but new government documents show that Canada has Gadhafi's regime to thank as well. Former foreign affairs minister Lawrence Cannon was dispatched to thank the Libyan head of intelligence, Musa Kousa, for helping Canada free the two in an unspecified capacity. American memos leaked by WikiLeaks suggest that the Gadhafi regime had been successful brokers between hostages and hostage-takers in northern Africa, but it is unclear if members of Gadhafi's regime delivered funds to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, the group that had held the diplomats.