Boy is this piece interesting: Donald Trump's Gaddafi problem

[cali]

The United States presidential hopeful Donald Trump has never met an absolute dictator on whom he failed to develop a man crush. And when said strongmen spurn him or his crush fades, he lashes out uncontrollably, but all too predictably.

<snip>

One of its components is admiration for dictators and a desire to leverage privileged access to them. Another is his zero-sum mindset which leads to his wanting to "screw" our enemies, stiff our allies, and be a "winner" at all costs, even if it involves turning on former friends.

<snip>

Trump long tried to court Gaddafi, apparently to license a Trump mega resort on Libya's Mediterranean coast, and to potentially strike a deal with Libya's burgeoning sovereign wealth fund. On many Fridays, the Libyan Ambassador to Washington at the time, Ali Aujali, left DC early for rounds of golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.

When Gaddafi came to New York to address the United Nations, he wanted to pitch his tent on Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg forbade him.

<snip>

Trump long tried to court Gaddafi, apparently to license a Trump mega resort on Libya's Mediterranean coast, and to potentially strike a deal with Libya's burgeoning sovereign wealth fund. On many Fridays, the Libyan Ambassador to Washington at the time, Ali Aujali, left DC early for rounds of golf with Trump at Mar-a-Lago, in Palm Beach, Florida.

When Gaddafi came to New York to address the United Nations, he wanted to pitch his tent on Central Park. Mayor Michael Bloomberg forbade him.

<snip>

When it looked like Gaddafi might have to stay at a youth hostel, Trump stepped in to offer his Westchester palace. When the local community reacted badly, Trump collected his fee and then refused to let Gaddafi pitch his tent.

The story of their failed courtship is about more than Trump's attempts to make a buck.

<snip>

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2016/08/donald-trump-gaddafi-problem-160809072456341.html

[Blue_Tires]

1. I tried to get some attention to this earlier...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027890336

Interesting that our resident Gaddafi defenders have been silent about this...

[cali]

2. It's quite revealing. Well, it's more confirming than revealing.

I was strongly against the Libyan intervention. I believed it would result in a failed state and that we didn't need. I still oppose it. That hardly makes me a defender of Gaddafi- or however the hell we're now supposed to spell his name.

[Mika]

3. We've always been at war with Eastasia!