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[[Libya]] had been under [[Muammar Gaddafi]] since 1969. The United States broke relations in 1981 and considered Libya a state sponsor of terror after a series incidents culminating in the mid-air bombing of Pan AM Flight 103 over [[Lockerbie]] Scotland in 1988. Libya had a WMD program. Western powers laid out demands to be met to re-establish normal relations. By 1999, Muammar Gaddafi had a change of heart, as aged dictators sometimes do. Negotiators persuaded Gaddafi begin thinking about his legacy. Did he wish to be remembered as a tyrant, or a reformer like [[Nikita_Khrushchev#Destalinization|Nikita Khrushchev]] who really had the best interests of his people at heart. This is the real meaning of 'smart power', the substance of [[diplomacy]] which is the job of the Secretary of State, to pursuade a strongman dictator to think about such things rather than use force in every situation.  

[[Libya]] had been under [[Muammar Gaddafi]] since 1969. The United States broke relations in 1981 and considered Libya a state sponsor of terror after a series incidents culminating in the mid-air bombing of Pan AM Flight 103 over [[Lockerbie]] Scotland in 1988. Libya had a WMD program. Western powers laid out demands to be met to re-establish normal relations. By 1999, Muammar Gaddafi had a change of heart, as aged dictators sometimes do. Negotiators persuaded Gaddafi begin thinking about his legacy. Did he wish to be remembered as a tyrant, or a reformer like [[Nikita_Khrushchev#Destalinization|Nikita Khrushchev]] who really had the best interests of his people at heart. This is the real meaning of 'smart power', the substance of [[diplomacy]] which is the job of the Secretary of State, to pursuade a strongman dictator to think about such things rather than use force in every situation.  

Gaddafi began complying, step-by-step, with Western demands in order to be welcomed back within the 'community of nations'. Gaddafi renounced terrorism and gave up his WMD. He paid reparations to the families of victims of Flight 103. Trade was restored. He publicly condemned the [[September 11 attacks]] and was an ally in the [[War on Terror]] against [[al Qaeda]]. Gaddafi became the model that Western powers used to encourage other dictators, such as Bashar Assad of Syria or [[Kim Jong-il]] of [[North Korea]], that there was a way they could remain in power, enjoy trade, and live in peace with the international community.

Gaddafi began complying, step-by-step, with Western demands in order to be welcomed back within the 'community of nations'. Gaddafi renounced terrorism and gave up his WMD. He paid reparations to the families of victims of Flight 103. Trade was restored. Libya resumed its $3 Billion a year oil export economy, and Gaddafi built infrastrucure projects - hospitals, roads, bridges, and created jobs for his people. Gaddafi now had a stake in the international community. He publicly condemned the [[September 11 attacks]] and was an ally in the [[War on Terror]] against [[al Qaeda]].  

 

Gaddafi became the model that Western powers used to encourage other dictators, such as Bashar Assad of Syria or [[Kim Jong-il]] of [[North Korea]], that there was a way they could remain in power, enjoy trade, and live in peace with the international community.

Then Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton divided the [[NATO]] treaty organization against itself, the Germans refusing to go along. At the behest of French and British [[corporate]] interests she organized a coalition of a few other NATO member states.<ref>National Security [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hillarys-war-how-conviction-replaced-skepticism-in-libya-intervention/2011/10/28/gIQAhGS7WM_story.html Hillary’s war: How conviction replaced skepticism in Libya intervention], By Joby Warrick, ''[[Washington Post]]'', October 30, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.europeaninstitute.org/index.php/130-european-affairs/ea-august-2011/1417-lessons-of-libya-for-future-western-military-forays LESSONS OF LIBYA FOR FUTURE WESTERN MILITARY FORAYS], By John Barry, Newsweek National Security Correspondent. europeaninstitute.org </ref> President Obama, who had always been reluctant to use force, the media referred to as 'leading from behind'. 'Humanitarian concerns' were cited.<ref>[https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41725.pdf Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya): Background and Issues for Congress], ''Congressional Research Service'', March 30, 2011, p.3 (p.7 pdf).</ref> As Hillary and cohorts plotted [[regime change]], Gaddafi warned [[Tony Blair]] by phone the jihadists would attack in [[Europe]] if his government was allowed to collapse.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/12086505/Tony-Blairs-phone-conversations-with-Colonel-Gaddafi-revealed.html </ref>  Nonetheless, Gaddafi was brutally and inhumanely murdered, an eye tore out beforehand, sodomized with a bayonet, and dragged behind vehicles in the name of the 'values we stand for'.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caoRGeCa9uQ&spfreload=10 Frame by frame HD video of murdering Colonel Gaddafi (RA) Part 2], posted by Salahuddin. youtube.com </ref>

Then Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State. Hillary Clinton divided the [[NATO]] treaty organization against itself, the Germans refusing to go along. At the behest of French and British [[corporate]] interests she organized a coalition of a few other NATO member states.<ref>National Security [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hillarys-war-how-conviction-replaced-skepticism-in-libya-intervention/2011/10/28/gIQAhGS7WM_story.html Hillary’s war: How conviction replaced skepticism in Libya intervention], By Joby Warrick, ''[[Washington Post]]'', October 30, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.europeaninstitute.org/index.php/130-european-affairs/ea-august-2011/1417-lessons-of-libya-for-future-western-military-forays LESSONS OF LIBYA FOR FUTURE WESTERN MILITARY FORAYS], By John Barry, Newsweek National Security Correspondent. europeaninstitute.org </ref> President Obama, who had always been reluctant to use force, the media referred to as 'leading from behind'. 'Humanitarian concerns' were cited.<ref>[https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R41725.pdf Operation Odyssey Dawn (Libya): Background and Issues for Congress], ''Congressional Research Service'', March 30, 2011, p.3 (p.7 pdf).</ref> As Hillary and cohorts plotted [[regime change]], Gaddafi warned [[Tony Blair]] by phone the jihadists would attack in [[Europe]] if his government was allowed to collapse.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/12086505/Tony-Blairs-phone-conversations-with-Colonel-Gaddafi-revealed.html </ref>  Nonetheless, Gaddafi was brutally and inhumanely murdered, an eye tore out beforehand, sodomized with a bayonet, and dragged behind vehicles in the name of the 'values we stand for'.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caoRGeCa9uQ&spfreload=10 Frame by frame HD video of murdering Colonel Gaddafi (RA) Part 2], posted by Salahuddin. youtube.com </ref>