U.S. Normalizes Ties With Libya

WSJ: 05/16/06

The U.S. announced the full re-establishment of diplomatic ties with Libya and plans to re-open a U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, capping a two-and-a-half year process in which Moammar Gadhafi's government has demonstrated in the Bush administration's view that it has abandoned efforts to build unconventional weapons and signed on to American counterterrorism efforts. The decision ends more than 25 years of hostility, and was promoted by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as a strong signal to Iran and North Korea that they should follow suit, as the New York Times notes. The move, though, was seen as more cynical to Arab and exiled Libyan observers, the Washington Post reports. They saw it as "a natural marriage of an American administration desperate for friends and oil in the Middle East and a government that needs to open its economy to the outside world," the Post says. "The announcement was called proof that promotion of democracy is no longer a top priority of the Bush administration, which is grappling to hold Iraq together and has turned attention toward building alliances against a hostile Iran over its nuclear program."

BLOG NOTE: Whether the liberal media "spins" this development or not. This is proof that the war on terror, when fought correctly, will work.