It's tough to know how to interpret a story like this one -- but the BBC thinks that Muammar Gaddafi's feelings -- and his "sincere" reform, are more laudable and creditworthy than attempts by the mean United States to punish him while he tried to be good!

Why Gaddafi gave up WMD
By George Joffe
Centre of International Studies, Cambridge University

Although President George W Bush has sought to portray Libya's willingness to admit inspectors to examine its programmes of weapons of mass destruction as a success for American policy, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi may well feel that the success is really his.

What are Gaddafi's feelings, anyway?

The universal oil and travel sanctions against Libya gave Libyans a sense of isolation that many deeply resented.

Throughout the 1990s, Libya sought to ease the burden, succeeding only at the end of the decade when it surrendered the two suspects for the Lockerbie bombing for trial in the Netherlands, after Britain had persuaded the US to accept the plan.

So over the past four years Libya has re-established links with Europe. But unilateral American sanctions remained and those imposed by the UN regime were only suspended, not ended.

Libya knew that it would have to pay compensation for the Lockerbie affair, renounce terrorism and accept formal responsibility for what had happened.

Lengthy negotiations over the past year resulted in a compensation settlement three months ago and the end of the international sanctions.

The US demanded still more, however, before it would end its own sanctions.

But I am relieved nonetheless that the BBC gave credit where credit is due!

To Gaddafi!