WASHINGTON, Dec. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. invasion of Iraq sent a clear message to the world: those who choose to defy America should be ready to pay the consequences. There will be no more secret talks and quiet persuasions to force an adversary to give up hostility. America is willing to use its military might, if and when it feels the need to do so.
The message was heard loud and clear across the world. But one adversary was listening more closely than others, Libya's Mohammar Qadhafi.
Col. Qadhafi had many reasons to pay attention to the change of mood in America that followed the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
He is seen as an enemy, not just by the Bush administration but also by many ordinary Americans. The acts of terror he stands accused of committing, such as the blowing up of a Pan-Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1989, still bring painful memories to many Americans. He enjoys almost the same reputation as the deposed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, a leader so overwhelmed by his own ego that he would do anything to impress himself.
Besides, Qadhafi sits on huge oil reserves, which bring enough cash to make any weapon he wants and was secretly attempting to do so.
But above all, Qadhafi knew that he is no longer living in the 1970s and 80s when his followers could engineer pro-Qadhafi protests anywhere in the Islamic world. So he acted promptly to protect himself from America's wrath.
And he may not be disappointed. In his statement announcing Libya's decision to give up weapons of mass destruction, President Bush promised: "Should Libya pursue internal reform, America will be ready to help its people to build a more free and prosperous country. Great Britain shares this commitment."
And it is not just Libya that needs this prosperity. There are others in other Arab countries too who need to pay more attention to social and economic development than acquiring weapons. Abandoning massive weaponization would help end exhibitionism in the Arab world and open the road to development.
Whatever weapons such countries might have acquired are not meant to be used against an enemy, real or perceived. These pompous programs are meant basically to continue the subjugation of their own masses in two ways: by inundating them with false claims of greatness and by instilling the fear of their rulers' invincibility.
Shorn of these two basic elements of their ruling strategies, Arab and Muslim rulers will have to look for other alternatives to prolong their stay in power, such as programs for human development, education, health and, above all, democracy, a concept many Arab rulers still fear.
Libya's decision will increase pressure on Iran; a Middle Eastern country that America says is working secretly to develop nuclear weapons. On Friday, State Department's deputy spokesman Adam Ereli reminded Iran that it has "international obligations, which the international community expects it to live up to. And we'll be looking carefully over the next months to see that it does so."
Iran has defends itself by saying that its program is meant to produce nuclear energy for civilian consumption. But Washington has already rejected this argument by saying that an oil-rich country like Iran does not need nuclear energy.
Libya's decision will increase America's focus on Iran. In the next few months, if not weeks, the Iranian leaders will have to decide if they want to continue to defy America or, like Qadhafi save themselves from America's wrath.
Iranian rulers still have many supporters both inside and outside Iran and would put up a greater fight than Iraq's Saddam. But there may be consequences if they decide to ignore America.
Another country, which should be directly affected, is North Korea. But North Korea is situated in a region where an Iraq-like military action will be difficult to carry out. Such an action will be opposed by strong U.S. allies like Japan and South Korea and also by China, a country Washington may not want to annoy.
The Libyan example, however, may strengthen America's quest for diplomatically ending the nuclear stalemate with North Korea as well.
Qadhafi's decision will also have a major impact on another country thousands of miles away from Libya: Pakistan. Like Libya, Pakistan is also a Muslim country. It has a weak economy and suffers from political instability.
Pakistan's nuclear program, however, is no secret. It conducted nuclear tests in 1998, days after similar tests by its archrival India. Recently, State Department officials have acknowledged that the U.S. administration has accepted India and Pakistan as nuclear powers and wants to work with them to prevent further proliferation.
America's allies, particularly Israel, do not trust Pakistan and any mistake on Pakistan's side could make America support the Indian and Israeli demands that it should also be disarmed.
Pakistan, of course, says that its program is only aimed at defending itself against India. This argument, however, will remain valid only as long as Pakistan does not share its nuclear know-how with others.
If media allegations that Pakistan has shared nuclear technology with North Korea and Iran are ever proved, Pakistan will have no choice but to abandon the nuclear shield it has built to defend itself against India.
