Libya Swears Off WMDs

This brief item from the BBC says that, according to Tony Blair, “Libya’s leader Colonel Gaddafi has said his country sought to develop weapons of mass destruction capabilities but will dismantle this programme completely.”
I don’t know how to interpret this except as positive fallout from the Iraq war. It’s interesting because, as Deacon noted not long ago, leaders of countries like North Korea, Iran and Libya could well have observed what happened in Iraq and concluded that there is no way the U.S. is going to do anything similar any time soon. But apparently Gaddafi was worried that someday he, too, might be hiding in a hole in the ground. After all, there is no doubt that he has sponsored terror attacks. And I guess he thought Bush and Rumsfeld just might come after him too.
We’ll be scanning the newspapers tomorrow for statements by Democratic leaders applauding the positive results of the administration’s tough anti-terror stance.
HERE’S MORE: President Bush made the announcement this afternoon too, from the White House:
“Gaddafi today ‘publicly confirmed his commitment to disclose and dismantle all weapons of mass destruction programs in his country,’ Bush said in his brief speech from the White House. He said inspectors would enter Libya to ‘render an accounting of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons programs and help oversee their destruction.’
“He said recent U.S. actions, notably the invasion of Iraq and overthrow of Saddam Hussein, have sent ‘an unmistakable message’ to other leaders around the world who aim to acquire weapons of mass destruction: ‘Those weapons do not bring influence or prestige. They bring isolation and otherwise unwelcome consequences.'”
Yeah, like living in holes. I think this is huge. The danger posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is obvious to everyone, and if the administration’s tough line can yield results like these, its wisdom should be beyond question.