State Department apologizes to third-world despot

Last September, cartoonish Libyan dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi was invited to the United Nations in New York. There Qaddafi gave a rambling speech in which, among other things, he called for a jihad against Switzerland, defended the Taliban, demanded that American officials who initiated the war in Iraq to be tried, and wondered whether the swine flu was actually a biological warfare weapon. When asked about the speech six months later, chief State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said, "I saw that report and it just brought me back to a day in September, one of the more memorable sessions of the U.N. General Assembly that I can recall: lots of words and lots of papers flying all over the place, not necessarily a lot of sense."

Two days ago, Crowley actually apologized for that remark.

Chief department spokesman P.J. Crowley said he regretted any offense caused by his response to a reporter's question about Gadhafi's recent call for a holy war against Switzerland. Libya said last week it might take action against American business interests there if a formal apology was not made.

"I understand that my personal comments were perceived as a personal attack," Crowley told reporters. "The comments do not reflect U.S. policy and were not intended to offend. I apologize if they were taken that way. I regret that my comments have become an obstacle to further progress in our bilateral relationship."

The Libyans had been outraged by Crowley's gentle remark and demanded an apology. Crowley had met with the Libyan ambassador previously to try to smooth things over, but Qaddafi still wanted a statement of regret. The tyrant got what he wanted.

The incident stands in sharp contrast to the Obama Administration's approach to Great Britain, America's strongest ally. The Obama Administration has breached diplomatic protocol with the British several times, including the notorious episode when Obama gave Prime Minister Gordon Brown a set of American DVDs as a gift. No apology has ever been given and the British are atwitter over whether their special relationship with America has ended. Norway was also slighted by the president when he didn't attended lunch with King Harald V during his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance tour, a rite of passage for all Nobel recipients and a sign of goodwill to the Norwegians. Again there was no apology.

Obama has previously apologized to the Muslim world for American interventionism during his speech in Cairo, Egypt.