Libya's Foreign Minister and former intelligence chief Mousa Kousa won't be attending a reception in his honor at the Willard InterContinental Hotel on June 3. The National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce has put the event on hold as the Minister has decided not to drop by to discuss the new U.S. trade framework with Moammar Gadafi's regime and results of a recent Commerce Dept mission to Libya.

That's too bad.

The Washington media are disappointed that Kousa (pictured at left) won’t be in town any time soon. James Morrison, who does the Washington Times "Embassy Row" column, put out a welcome mat for Libya.

His May 31 gem informed readers that the so-called "envoy of death" was to be feted by the U.S.-Arab Chamber. Kousa honed his terror bona fides by being “linked to the Lockerbie bombing and an attack on a disco in Berlin that killed American soldiers,” wrote Morrison.

Britain's Independent profiled Kousa in '03 for once being “among the most reviled men in Britain, accused of sending hitmen around the world to kill opponents of the Gadafi regime."

Kousa, who was expelled as head of the Libyan diplomatic mission, in a quite a turnaround went on to negotiate the deal that had Libya end its development of weapons of mass destruction.” He certainly was quite a catch for the Chamber.

Libya, according to PR pros in Washington, is upset with the lack of goods and political support that it had anticipated in the aftermath of formal U.S. recognition. Kousa now reportedly cooperates with American and British spies in the fight against terrorism. His high-profile D.C. appearance would have provided a jolt to the U.S./Libyan relationship. That’s a goal promoted by PR firm Brown Lloyd James.

The Chamber's Dylan Davis told this blogger that he has hopes for another reception for Kousa. Davis can rest assured that his guest of honor will receive a ton of coverage to determine whether the envoy of death deserves a new nickname.

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