Moammar Gadhafi was briefly the man Americans loved to hate - the dictator of an oil-rich country with a flair for fiery speech, flamboyant dress and a penchant for taunting a superpower.
Now Gadhafi, who on Sunday marks the 22nd anniversary of the coup that brought him to power, finds himself out of the world spotlight.Two weeks ago, the Libyan leader welcomed the coup in the Soviet Union. On Tuesday, well after the inept Soviet conspirators had been arrested, Gadhafi insisted Libya had not changed its position.
Diplomats, analysts and academics in Libya and abroad say his comments underscored the reasons for his current frustrations: Libya has not changed its position, despite rapidly changing world events.
Libya's relations with Moscow, its former superpower sponsor, al
ready were cool. But the episode says a lot about his political savvy.
Gadhafi's recent positions also reinforce how he is generally seen by the West and the Arab world: as more symbol than substance, a leader who favors melodrama, bravado and publicity stunts.
For all his sound and fury, Gadhafi's influence has generally been limited to the size of his bankroll.
"He has never had much ideological appeal outside Libya itself," said Bill Quandt, a former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter and now a political analyst at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
"Nasserites see him as immature and a not terribly serious figure. Muslims see him as a questionable Muslim," said Quandt. "His value is a certain ability to move money around. Even a few hundred million can go some distance."
For that reason, the colonel can't be simply dismissed. He has been a major financial backer of such groups as the Irish Republican Amry, insisting that its members are not terrorists but fighters of oppression.
At home, he has built one chemical weapons plant and reportedly is building another. Diplomats say Gadhafi is trying to acquire nuclear and possibly biological weapons.
He has made numerous openings to improve relations with the West and his Arab neighbors, and has to some degree relaxed once-strident domestic policies to head off unrest at home.