It’s OK, folks. Qaddafi is on our side now. He is a sober, chastened, rehabilitated man. He scrapped his WMD program.
See, Mahmoud? If you play nice, you can get goodies too, just like Muammar: “US recognition of Libya ‘a message for Iran,'” from the Los Angeles Times via The Age, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
SENIOR US officials have acknowledged that the move to restore full diplomatic ties with Libya after more than 25 years is aimed in part at influencing Iran to give up uranium enrichment.
State Department officials said the message to Iran was that it would reap concrete benefits if it did likewise “” although that prospect now seems remote.
The Bush Administration has re-established full diplomatic relations with Libya, rewarding a long-time foe for giving up terrorism and unconventional weapons. Completing a reversal that began three years ago, Administration officials said they would open an embassy in Tripoli and drop Libya from their list of nations that sponsor terrorism.
The Assistant Secretary of State for the Middle East, David Welch, said the announcement showed that when countries “follow international norms” they would reap the benefits.
“Libya serves as an important model as we push for changes in policy by other countries, such as Iran and North Korea,” he said.
Yes, isn’t it wonderful how Qaddafi has reformed?
What’s that? Qaddafi may not really be on our side at all? He recently said, “Europe is in a predicament, and so is America. They should agree to become Islamic in the course of time, or else declare war on the Muslims”?
What are you, some kind of Islamophobe?