EXTRA CRAZY CRISPY? The Colonel

America does love a rehab case. And Col. Muammar Qaddafi, it seems, is making his play for redemption.

In 1986, the faux colonel put President Reagan’s name on the side of an ox and had it slaughtered at a raucous rally in Tripoli. Not much later, American forces staged a massive aerial assault on the terror-sponsoring dictator’s compound, reportedly killing Qaddafi’s adopted daughter.

This week, deputy secretary of state and Iran-contra cohort John Negroponte is making a friendly visit to Libya—he’s the highest ranking U.S. diplomat to do so since 1953. The purpose of the visit is to discuss the crisis in Darfur, but rumors are swirling that this visit could signal the beginning of a new strategic partnership with the man once known as the “Mad Dog of the Middle East.”