Khadafi comes to senses
James Robbins:
"...Those who view international relations in these either-or terms miss the important role that coercive measures play in negotiations, and vice-versa. As Frederick the Great observed, 'diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.' These talks did not come out of the blue. Muammar Khaddafi could well have seen himself suffering the same fate as Saddam Hussein in the near future; like Saddam, he sought to obtain weapons of mass destruction, and was a major sponsor of international terrorism....
"The significance of the new Libyan policy is not so much how it came about as the philosophy it apparently represents. It is a frank recognition that the rules of the game have changed. Khaddafi has come to understand that in the post-9/11 international climate, WMDs do not bring strength. In fact, they are a decided liability, and countries like Libya are more secure without them than with them. Libyan Foreign Minister Abd-al-Rahman Shalqam stated that Libya originally sought advanced weapons for self-defense. 'These [weapons] are no longer defense capabilities,' he said. 'When they were defense capabilities, we sought to acquire them. These are no longer defense capabilities in light of the current circumstances....' "
James Robbins:
"...Those who view international relations in these either-or terms miss the important role that coercive measures play in negotiations, and vice-versa. As Frederick the Great observed, 'diplomacy without arms is like music without instruments.' These talks did not come out of the blue. Muammar Khaddafi could well have seen himself suffering the same fate as Saddam Hussein in the near future; like Saddam, he sought to obtain weapons of mass destruction, and was a major sponsor of international terrorism....
"The significance of the new Libyan policy is not so much how it came about as the philosophy it apparently represents. It is a frank recognition that the rules of the game have changed. Khaddafi has come to understand that in the post-9/11 international climate, WMDs do not bring strength. In fact, they are a decided liability, and countries like Libya are more secure without them than with them. Libyan Foreign Minister Abd-al-Rahman Shalqam stated that Libya originally sought advanced weapons for self-defense. 'These [weapons] are no longer defense capabilities,' he said. 'When they were defense capabilities, we sought to acquire them. These are no longer defense capabilities in light of the current circumstances....' "
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