Remember Libya?

This short and interesting piece tells us that Qaddafi was (relatively speaking) a good guy, at least in the fact that his forces were careful not to use indiscriminate violence against rebels and did not carry out reprisals against civilians. The old regime seems preferable to the new order. Another point worth making is this:

"In 2003, Qaddafi had voluntarily halted his nuclear and chemical weapons programs and surrendered his arsenals to the United States. His reward, eight years later, was a U.S.-led regime change that culminated in his violent death. That experience has greatly complicated the task of persuading other states to halt or reverse their nuclear programs. ... [A] well-connected Iranian, Abbas Abdi, observed: “When Qaddafi was faced with an uprising, all Western leaders dropped him like a brick. Judging from that, our leaders assess that compromise is not helpful.”"
 It is not a lesson lost on the likes of North Korea.