The Gadhafi Model?

Mohamed Eljahmi writes:

The United States' engaging Gadhafi discredits the war on terror. If Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh can be executed for his crime, why has [Libyan dictator Moammar]Gadhafi escaped justice for his role in the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988? The billions of dollars Gadhafi promised in compensation is a pittance compared with the payments U.S. oil companies now make to the Libyan dictator for the right to pump oil in Libya.

What message does this send to Middle Eastern dictators? That terrorism is a reasonable tactic because oil money can always buy reconciliation?

Gadhafi's flirtation with violence continues. He mocks our democratic system, stirs hatred, and oppresses his people. In a speech Aug. 31, he urged his followers to commit violence and carnage: "You have to be ready to annihilate your enemies, because your enemy has no mercy for you." Saif, his son and probable successor, has talked about terrorism as a tactic of statecraft.

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