Well, well, well. That didn't take long. Oh what a surprise! Not!

Elena Moya of the Sunday Morning Herald reports

Libyan millions ready to pour into London

LIBYA is preparing to invest millions of dollars into London's property market in the latest sign of burgeoning business links between the two countries.

The Libyan Investment Authority, which manages the country's sovereign oil wealth of $US65 billion ($77 billion), has recently bought two buildings worth a combined £275 million ($540 million) and instructed real estate advisers to look for more.

Revelations of these business links come as pressure mounts on the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, who has been warned that his ''deafening silence'' over the release of the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing is harming Britain.

(snip)

The Guardian has learnt that the Libyan Investment Authority is looking to open its first branch in London, paving the way for billions of dollars worth of investment to be channelled through the City of London. (snip)

Commercial ties have strengthened in the past few months and include meetings held between the Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, and Saif Gaddafi, son of the Libyan ruler, Muammar Gaddafi, at a villa in Corfu owned by the Rothschild banking family.

All of this activity leads to the question

Existing British investments in Libya have raised questions about whether business interests are dictating the pace of diplomatic detente.

Ya' think? Or, as the ever insightful Homer Simpson would say, "Duh!"