gaddafi ( Archived) (722)

Should have taught that Little Crap some Manners!

Well,he might get taught some Manners shortly!

Question?
How come you live far away in India?
When Africa is in such dire need?
When was there ever any such thing as African Unity?
The Tribes made War on each other way before the Arabs or the Europeans showed up!
So quit blaming others and get cracking!

Meeting Gaddafi: Should the U.S. Negotiate with Dictators?

By ROMESH RATNESAR Romesh Ratnesar – 2 hrs 4 mins ago

About a year and a half ago, I spent some time with Muammar Gaddafi. He was in New York City to address the U.N. General Assembly and was staying in a nondescript concrete building on Manhattan's East Side. Through the American p.r. firm that managed his Western press coverage, Gaddafi had agreed to be interviewed by Michael Elliott, the editor of TIME International, and me. Michael and I made our way through a gauntlet of machine-gun-toting cops, secret-service agents and assorted swarthy tough guys. While we waited for Gaddafi, members of his all-female praetorian guards paced the room, dressed in desert khakis, black berets and leopard-skin stiletto heels. We were given only one ground rule for the interview: when directing questions to Gaddafi, we were to refer to him as "Brother Leader."

At last Gaddafi emerged. He had a waxy complexion and a thin goatee, and wore something resembling a cape. He greeted us indifferently, sat down and started speaking. At least, I think he did. According to the translation, Gaddafi discussed Iran's nuclear program, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the Lockerbie bombing. But it mostly sounded like a series of grunts and mumbles. Gaddafi looked wan and distracted. Fearing for the colonel's safety, his American handlers had refused to allow him outside the grounds of the Libyan consulate. When we asked about his impressions of America, he said, "We didn't see anything." He hardly came off as an international menace; if anything, this was a tired old man struggling to outrun his past. As we shook hands and left, I actually felt sorry for him. (See video of TIME's interview with Gaddafi.)

It may seem unfathomable now, but the Gaddafi who came to New York City that fall had worked hard to convince the world he was a changed man. He gave up his nuclear-weapons program and renounced terrorism. He cooperated with the U.S. in the war against al-Qaeda. In return, Washington lifted sanctions. Western money poured into Libya. Condoleezza Rice visited Tripoli. But to his own people, Gaddafi never changed. He was still a murderous megalomaniac, a leader who claimed to be egalitarian even as he allowed his sons and cronies to pocket billions from the country's oil industry. The only mercy in Libya's current unraveling is that the Brother Leader has once again consigned himself to the global-pariah club.

The Gaddafi example thus highlights a persistent dilemma for U.S. policymakers: Should we negotiate with dictators? In most respects, the West's decision to engage Gaddafi has turned out to be a disastrous bargain. Far from initiating domestic reforms or improving human rights, the Libyan leader used the legitimacy conferred on him by the West as cover to crush dissent and steal more of his country's wealth. Whatever cooperation the U.S. established with Tripoli has now been severed irreparably. It's inconceivable that any Western government will have anything to do with Libya so long as Gaddafi is in power. And yet the world may still inherit a failed state when he goes. (See more about the potential fate of Gaddafi and Libya.).......................