Pratchett reference.
Anyway, via Pejmanesque we see a just-happened report that our old friend and supervillian wannabe Gadhafi is giving up his WMD program, thanks to the efforts of Cowboy Bush and Poodle Blair:
WASHINGTON – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, after secret negotiations with the United States and Britain, agreed to halt his nation’s drive to develop nuclear and chemical weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them, President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday. Bush said pointedly, “I hope other leaders will find an example” in the action.
Pejman has three points in response: as I’m sucking up for a blogroll link (hey, I commented on his site even before I got a blog; you never know), I won’t repeat them here except to note that they’ll probably be the subject of the usual controversy. I’m sure that we’ll be hearing about this a good bit over the next week or so.
My own take? For all of Gadhafi’s legendary insanity, the dictator’s always been able to tell when to cut his losses: he’s one of the least conventionally expansionistic tyrants I’ve ever seen. I’m not joking all that much when I call him a supervillian wannabe: he seems to treat his country like a giant set for the Adventures of Colonel Libya (complete with personal Amazon bodyguards, forsooth). This doesn’t excuse him at all, at all, but I think that it does explain why he’s so bleeping strange. Two-dimensional refugees from badly-drawn animated television shows usually are.
However, it would seem that Afghanistan and Iraq poked a hole through the fourth wall. Which is all to the good, of course.
Moe
Let us not forget that Qaddafi had been pushing to make amends with the rest of the world well before Bush got into power, probably all bush did is change the method of appeasement (dropping WMD programs, instead of throwing money about) rather than providing the incentive.
A valid point, Factory, but all in all I think I prefer this particular method of appeasement to the previous one. 🙂
BEHOLD THE FRUITS OF PREEMPTION
An interesting development from Libya: Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, after secret negotiations with the United States and Britain, agreed to halt his nation’s drive to develop nuclear and chemical weapons and the long-range missiles to deliver them, P…
Now we just have to wonder if Ariel Sharon will follow Ghaddafi’s good example. Maybe in 2005 after the unelectable (see, Moe? I was good!) Bush has lost – again, and this time (hopefully) not managed to become President despite losing the election.