Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte traveled to Libya, the highest ranking American figure to visit in a quarter century. Qadhafi stood him up, and so Negroponte met with lower ranking figures instead. The symbolism is derogatory for U.S. prestige.

Separately, Negroponte did not bring up the case of Fathi El-Jahmi , a prominent dissident whom Bush once applauded but whom, after Qadhafi returned to prison, merited not a single comment from the President or from the State Department.