LIBYAN leader Moamer Kadhafi lashed out against the United States as being responsible for the AIDS scourge, in a fiery speech during Friday’s closing session of Africa’s biggest ever summit on the disease. “A vaccine and a medicine exists but there is a malevolent plot by capitalists to prevent the world from having it as they want to earn more money through sales of medicines,” Kadhafi said. Kadhafi said the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) held the vaccine, but argued that the disease had been used as a weapon. “The Western countries say AIDS came from African monkeys, but monkeys have been around for a long time, so why not AIDS?” he reasoned. “Africa must take on its responsibilities against this exploitation with courage, and hold onto its diamonds, its gold and its petrol,” he added. – AFP