How to make friends - the German way

(image by bundeskanzlerin.de)

Praised by Gaddafi

Germany, which again has blocked plans to impose a no-fly zone against madman Gaddafi, has secured at least one loyal friend:

Libyan leader Moamar Gaddafi said his "good friend" French president Nicolas Sarkozy has "gone mad", in a defiant interview with German television.

"He is my friend but I think he has gone mad. He is suffering from a psychological illness," Mr Gaddafi told RTL, according to excerpts from the interview due to be broadcast later Tuesday and published in German.
"That is what people say who are close to him. His aides say he is suffering from a psychological illness."
France recently called for air strikes against Mr Gaddafi's forces and moved to recognise the opposition as the sole legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
Mr Gaddafi described the recent upheavals in his country as a "minor event" that would soon end, putting the number of those killed at "only 150 or 200... and half of them were from the security forces".
"They were killed when police stations were stormed. Show us the thousands of people who are supposed to have died," RTL quoted him as saying.
"There have been no demonstrations in Libya. Al Qaeda don't do protests, they never do them. Osama bin Laden's armed bands and mercenaries in the east will be destroyed and everything will go back to normal.
"In most of the country everything is normal. Everything is calm."
He also said he no longer trusts the West - except Germany

Read the entire article here

The trust in Gemany shown by Gaddafi should be good for future German business interests. The German newspaper Die Welt reports that Germany is the only Western country which according to Gaddafi could be considered as an oil customer. Herr Westerwelle´s Auswärtiges Amt is probably already busy planning the next German trade mission to Libya. Gute Reise!

PS

And this is the result of Western inaction:

Adel Yahya, former rebel fighter, speaking by telephone from Ajdabiya, said the army was in control.
"I went out and told them I had a rifle and gave to them. We gave our guns to them, and they said you should come out and celebrate for Gaddafi. We lost, we lost," he said, breaking into tears.

This is how the government sponsored Deutsche Welle has been trying to spin Westerwelle´s activities: