When Qaddafi's Libya is "satisfied" something is wrong.
Andrew Bostom has published an essential and timely essay at Pajama Media throwing the light of the ages, historically and Islamically speaking, on Qaddafi's declaration of jihad on Switzerland for its act of self-determination to ban construction of the tool and symbol of political Islam, the minaret. And yes, as the title of this post promises, he also sets the recent electoral successes of Geert Wilders into the context of European pushback against such outbursts of Islamic aggression and continuing demographic colonization.
Bostom's piece is mandatory reading, and particularly in order to appreciate the low-down depths to which the United States has sunk with its "apology" yesterday to Libya for State Department spokesman Philip Cowley's unfocused non-response to a question last month about Libya's declaration of jihad on Switzerland.
The AFP reports:
"Libya accepts US `apology' for Kadhafi joke"
TRIPOLI — Libya said on Wednesday it accepted the apology of a US official who had joked about Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi's call for jihad against Switzerland and that normal ties would resume.
The foreign ministry said it was "satisfied" with the remarks made by US State Department spokesman Philip Cowley on Tuesday, adding that "it accepts the apology and the deep regret," of the State Department.
Slurp, slurp, slurp.
"As a result ... (Libya is willing) to resume mutual visits by officials from the two countries ... and to promote bilateral relations in all areas, in a manner of mutual respect," the ministry said in a statement.
Thanks be for that.
Earlier, a Libyan newspaper had called Cowley's apology and Washington's decision to send a top envoy to Libya in a bid to limit the diplomatic fallout from the incident a "victory" for Tripoli.
"Libya has won a victory in the battle begun by the US State Department's spokesman," daily Al-Fajr Al-Jadid said.
Crowley told reporters on Tuesday he regretted that his comments had become an obstacle to the improvement in US-Libyan relations, although actually stopping short of a full apology.
Diplomacy 101: Give a regret and they'll take an apology.
"These comments do not reflect US policy and were not intended to offend. I apologise if they were taken that way."
Sounds like an apology to me.
Libya formally objected to Crowley's remarks on February 26, a day after Kadhafi called for a holy war and economic boycott in response to Switzerland's ban on the construction of minarets.
What did he say?
Crowley had said at the time: "I saw that (jihad) report and it just brought me back to the day of September, one of the more memorable sessions of the UN General Assembly that I can recall.
"Lots of words and lots of papers flying all over the place and not necessarily a lot of sense," the US official added.
He didn't say anything! (Here, have a dog.)
Kadhafi took the comments as a personal insult. Libya first summoned the US charge d'affaires in Tripoli and Libya's National Oil Corp called in US oil firms to express "indignation" over the remark.
NOW, we're getting down to bizness. If only these "US oil firms" were drilling here at home in the good old USA they wouldn't have to be called in to talk to the likes of jihadis like Qadaffi .... Hmmmm.
NOC president Shokri Ghanem said the US firms in Libya, which include ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips, had been advised of "the negative repercussions which such remarks could have on economic relations between the two countries."
US-Libyan ties have been improving since 2003, when Kadhafi renounced the pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and agreed to compensate families of the victims of the 1988 plane bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland.
The lifting of US sanctions in 2004 paved the way for US oil companies to return to Libya after being absent since 1986.
Joy. It also paved the way for the Lockerbie bomber to go home and live the life of Al-Reilly ...
Dhimmitude is plain disgusting.
Update: Ruth King has some choice words on the subject over at Ruthfully Yours.