"Muammar al-Qaddafi, the dictator of Libya, has experienced roller-coaster relations with the West and with the United States in particular. In 1986, U.S. president Ronald Reagan ordered U.S. fighters to drop 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs on Qaddafi's residence. Qaddafi survived the attack, but 100 other Libyans died that night. In a bizarre twist, supporters of Ronald Reagan would hail the attack as a high point of his presidency, a demonstration of how terrorists should be dealt with, and they would claim the West did not have to worry about Qaddafi after that. Unfortunately, the exact opposite was the truth. Qaddafi increased his support for terrorism, culminating in his involvement in the 1988 destruction of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. In recent years, Qaddafi has made his peace with the West in exchange for access to his large oil reserves. However, it should not be forgotten that domestically Qaddafi still runs a brutal dictatorship in which he maintains complete control over all aspects of Libyan life: "Collective guilt" can lead to the punishment of entire families, tribes, and even towns, and freedom of speech, assembly, and religion are harshly restricted. Libyans can even be arrested for "opposition.""