Qaddafi

Some insight into Libya’s motivation to drop its weapons programs early this year:

Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi said the move was responsible for Mr. Bush’s election victory and said he now wanted the United States and other Western nations to provide Libya with nuclear technology for nonmilitary purposes. He said Iran and North Korea might follow his lead if they saw that Libya was compensated for its actions.

“It was Mr. Bush who promised to reward Libya if we got rid of this program,” Colonel Qaddafi said, according to an English-language transcript. “We know that with this withdrawal, we contributed by 50 percent to his electoral campaign.”

As everyone should know, Qaddafi has been trying to bring Libya back into good standing with the international community for the last five years or so. The elimination of his nuclear program is the culmination of that plan. Should we add Qaddafi to the list of tinhorn dictators whose capacity for strategic diplomacy exceeds that of the Bush administration? Yes, I think we can. Qaddafi dropped his program at precisely the moment that it would give the greatest support to the Bush administration. By doing so, he has won himself some significant concessions, including visits from Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi.

Odd to remember that in the heady days of Reagan, Qaddafi was public enemy number one, and we were cozy with Saddam Hussein. How things change. . .