Oh, the terribly tragic consequences of dangerous unilateralism:

President Bush said Friday that Libya would allow international inspectors to check for all major weapons in the country, a step he said would be "of great importance" in stopping weapons of mass destruction in a global fight against terrorism. Bush said the war in Iraq and efforts to stop North Korea's nuclear program had sent a clear message to countries such as Libya that they must abandon weapons programs.

Four early thoughts: First, good news as it is, disarmament verification led by a competent inspector (David Kay?) will be the determining factor. Given Saddam's success in hiding the physically miniscule fragments of WMD evidence, this could be a gambit designed to spill some of the beans before going clandestine. Hopefully not. Let's see what happens. Second, if Ghadafi's intentions are good, and his programs are verifiably and permanently removed, governmental liberalization could be next on Libya's to-do list. (Much to accomplish in that category.) Third, what is occurring now - a country announcing possession and pursuit of weapons they don't need, encouraging their verification and destruction - is how the game works. Not the farce that unfolded in Ba'athist Iraq. Fourth, if Ghadafi had weapons to which no one out-of-country could directly point but presumed existed, Saddam did, too.