Swing-away from ideology
Mu'Ammar Gaddafi's leading the revolution of September 1969 meant among many other things the end of a long era of colonialism. Just within months of the revolution Gaddafi pledged to evacuate the foreign military bases out of Libya which later became a reality. His attitude towards the West was one of antagonism. Libya since then has been a forbidden terrain for the West. The murder of Yvonne Fletcher and the Lockerbie bombing of 1988 further deteriorated the strained relationship. Libya's refusal to hand over the Lockerbie bombing suspects saw economic and air embargoes being imposed on Libya. Though later it changed its position and handed over the two men to 'the international court of justice' in The Hague. Libya being one of the five countries of the axis of evil was in a constant threat of military retaliation by the US and its allies. Invasion of Iraq further enhanced the chance but in February, Libya dramatically announced its unanimous withdrawal of WMDs, which occurred after secret negotiations with Britain.
The recent visit of Tony Blair to Libya saw a pledge from Gaddafi to join the fight against al-Qaeda. The prevalent hegemony of the Bush administration may have prompted Gaddafi to take such a step, but political analysts keep debating his intentions.
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