Two Decades of Sanctions, Isolation Wore Down Gaddafi

Washington Post ^ | December 20, 2003 | Robin Wright and Glenn Kessler

[kennedy]

Libya's stunning decision yesterday to surrender its weapons of mass destruction followed two decades of international isolation and some of the world's most punishing economic sanctions. In the end, Libyan leader Col. Moammar Gaddafi was under so much pressure that he was forced to seek an end to the economic and political isolation threatening his government -- and his own survival, according to U.S. and British officials and outside experts.

[John W]

NBC Nightly News tonight led with the story and gave the same slant in the first couple sentences.

[chiller]

Yessirreee....the coincidence knocks me over, too. 20 years of sanctions suddenly became too much...4 days after Saddam crawled out of his hole.

The WAPost must not believe in coincidence.

[Moonman62]

So, if we were just a little more patient Saddam would have given in too. I see.

Just like the patience with Castro.

[Moonman62]

20 years of sanctions and 20 seconds of videotape of Saddam getting a tongue depressor stuck down his throat.

LOL, and an infidel tongue depessor to boot.

[cynicom]

When Gadaffi went to bed at night he could hear roar of tanks in his sleep. (American tanks)

[mewzilla]

And purely a coinkydink that Kadaffy started negotiations right around the time we invaded Iraq. Yup, just happenstance.

[umgud]

If the international pressure and sanctions were so severe, why was it that he was able to buy the equip and materials for a WMD program?

[Tax Government]

It was good of you to post the actual story link, bypassing the obnoxious questionnaire that W.Post wants everyone to fill out first (age, sex, zip).

[Hoverbug]

All I see is a square with a red x.

Hb

[Quix]

I DON'T THINK SO.

Either Bush said change or get blown away . . . or some variation on that theme . . .

OR

more likely, the puppet masters said they wanted K to make this chess move for them or they would terminate him.

[ChadGore]

Lockerbie Pan Am 103 . .NEVER Forget

[chiller]

NBC Nightly News found a relative of a Lockerbie victim who said Bush betrayed her. Also some schmoe pointing out that UN negotiations do indeed work.

I'm starting to think NBC has an attitude. (/scarcasm)

[jwalsh07]

Two Decades of Sanctions, Isolation Wore Down Gaddafi

LOL.

[jwalsh07]

And now for the rest of the story

[JimSEA]

"Within months after September 11th, we had the Libyans, the Syrians and the Iranians all coming to us saying, 'What can we do [to better relations]?' We didn't really engage any of them, because we decided to do Iraq. We really squandered two years of capital that will make it harder to apply this model to the hard cases like Iran and Syria,"

This is the heart of the article. Let's say, just for the sake of arguement, that Dean wins and our foreign relations become all warm and fuzzy. Then, as a function of the natural order of things (not anything Dean does, of course), Iran and North Korea arm themselves to the teeth and the new Baath party government in Iraq (after the withdrawl of US troops and the insertion of UN troops from Denmark, Eygpt, and Germany) announces the resumption of its popular annexation of Kewait (sp?). In the USA, Ohio and upstate New York announce the popular adoption of Sharia Law.

What then will Robin Wright Write??

[Paladin2]

There could be some resignation on Gaddafi's part that Bush is sudenly more likely to be re-elected and he (Gaddafi) would have to wait out four more years for the hope of a change of heart (to bleeding) in the White House.

[mirkwood]

[WOSG]

Indeed. This needs a ...

Furious Liberal-Media Tap-Dancing Arond The Facts ALERT!

[WOSG]

You know what else this reminds me of? It reminds be of the idiotic article in 1990 about how the Gulf War I victory was due to Jimmy Carter's pursuit of a few weapons systems in the late 1970s... Grasping to assign credit where it aint due is another form of denying credit to those who deserve it.

[Enterprise]

Washington Post: Two Decades of Sanctions, Isolation Wore Down Gaddafi (Insert Bryant Gumble's quote here).