[dpwiener]

Libya's Gadaffi and Pakistan's Musharraf have both made very intelligent choices. Musharraf was smart enough to realize that Pakistan was high on the list of likely retaliatory targets after 9/11. Gadaffi was smart enough to realize that Libya would be high on the list of likely retaliatory targets if a future 9/11 happened. They both realized that the U.S. wasn't bluffing anymore, and that there would be lethal consequences for terrorist attacks on U.S. soil.

So each decided that his best hope for survival was to cooperate. And that meant cooperating fully. Half-hearted cooperation would just piss off both sides and gain nothing. Full cooperation would piss off the terrorists but would be rewarded by the U.S. and would safeguard them from U.S. retaliation. They both obviously concluded that U.S. enmity posed a greater risk than Al Queda enmity and the hostility of their own Islamist-sympathizing citizens.

So I don't see Gadaffi's actions as a trick. He's made his choice, and there's no going back. Now he might as well go all the way in joining the War on Terrorism so as to reap the benefits (e.g., the Shell deal).

[No Blue States]

Your post really opened my eyes on this issue. Great points. Neither Musharraf nor Gadaffi will be forgiven by the terrorists and their supporters, so there is no going back for them.

And the general populace couldnt have been included in some vast conspiracy.

After several AQ assassination attempts on Mush I was pretty sure which side he was really on, but had been skeptical of Gadaffi. (I will reserve a trace of that skepticism though.

[Destro]

Musharraf has not given up Pakistan's nuclear program. Only selling the program to other nations.