A U.S. congressman and a former ambassador worked behind the scenes to prop up Muammar Gaddafi, according to files uncovered in the Libyan leader’s former intelligence headquarters, Al Jazeera is reporting.

Col. Muammar Gaddafi

In the rubble of the bombed-out headquarters lie some of the deepest  secrets of the Libyan regime. “Despite the Libyan leader’s anti-American rhetoric, there is evidence that his regime maintained communication with influential American figures just a few weeks ago,” according to Al Jazeera.

The office of the chief Libyan intelligence official contained records of a meeting with David Welch, a former assistant secretary of state, who brokered the deal that restored diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Libya in 2008. “Welch now works for Bechtel, a multi-national American company with billion dollar construction deals across the Middle East,” Al Jazeera noted.

The documents report that Welch met with Muammar Gaddafi officials at the Four Seasons Hotel in Cairo on August 2, 2011. According to notes from the meeting, Welch advised Gaddaffi’s team about how to win the propaganda war with “confidence building measures.” He suggested ways to undermine the rebel movement, which included the use of foreign intelligence agencies that would serve as conduits to influence American policies.

Welch also advised the Libyans to take advantage of an apparent “double standard policy adopted by Washington” with respect to the Syrians. “The Syrians were never your friends and you would lose nothing from exploiting the situation there in order to embarrass the West,” Welch advised, according to the documents uncovered by Al Jazeera.

The former U.S. official said that Muammar Gaddafi should step aside, but not necessarily relinquish all his powers, a path he said many in the U.S. would support. When the meeting closed, Welch promised to convey everything to the American administration and other influential American figures.

MORE