There comes a "tipping point" in any removal of an International Dictator when coverage of the conflict turns to the shocking decadence of the ousted bad man.
In Panama in 1989, toppled strongman Manuel Noriega had -- shock --- drugs and pornography in his desk. In Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein's transgression, shown by photos of US troops in his places, was gold-plated bath ornaments and really bad taste in art. In Pakistan in 2011, Osama bin Laden was outed for his stash of naughty magazines.
So it is an unexpected good news story to find that Muammar Qaddafi's sin is a massive "I Heart Condoleezza Rice". Insurgents who overran his Bab al-Aziziya compound this year found a photo album devoted to the former US Secretary of State (photo: Sergey Ponomarev of AP).
And why not? Condi may have broken countries and broken hearts during her eight years in the George W. Bush Administration, but she knew the secret of "Treat 'Em Mean and Keep 'Em Keen". As Muammar said with love in his eyes in 2007 about "my darling black African woman": "I admire and am very proud of the way she leans back and gives orders to the Arab leaders."
So here's to you, Ms Rice. Because you are an accomplished concert pianist, playing tunes for President Bush and his boys in September 2001 after a two-day summit that discussed forthcoming attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq (true) and specialising in a cover of AC-DC's "Hell's Bells" (not true but should be), we thought a musical tribute would be appropriate.
The EA employee who suggested Grace Jones' "Demolition (Wo)Man" has been banished to Guantanamo Bay. Instead, Mr Steve Earle, take it away: