Libya has taken another big step in shedding its pariah status with the US decision to remove the country from its terrorism blacklist and to renew diplomatic ties.
The diplomatic rehabilitation of Muammar Gadafy, once described as a "mad dog" by Ronald Reagan, started in earnest in 1999, when the Libyan leader handed over two men indicted for the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, in which 270 people died, most of them American.
Libya has been a bogeyman for the US and its allies for years, with a long charge list, but the move suits both countries.
Libya sits on lots of oil at a time when the US needs as much of the stuff as it can get, especially with Iraq's oil industry still struggling to reach output levels before the US-led invasion and with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez stirring up trouble in America's own backyard.
Libya, meanwhile, needs foreign investment and wants tourist dollars. With tourists forever looking for exotic, off the beaten track locations, Libya could well be the next cool destination, with ruins left by Romans and Greeks and unspoilt beaches.
In coming in from the cold, the eccentric Libyan leader has embarked on the latest phase in a colourful career to say the least. The man who came to power in a military coup in 1969 has infuriated, bemused and amused an international audience for years.
Now Gadafi has renounced weapons of mass destruction and no longer wants his country to be cut off from the world.
