Colonel Gaddafi took a napkin and drew a circle. That, he told his visitor, is Libya. Then taking his pen he banged a dot in the middle of the circle. And that, he explained, is me.
The visitor was Tony Blair. The year was 2004. The location was a huge tent just outside Tripoli.
I was standing outside recording a piece to camera about a British prime minister shaking hands with a man who had more British blood on them than any other alive. Gadadfi's spin doctor was looking less than impressed. The camels no more so - they belched loudly and incongruously through this moment of diplomatic history.
All this - and the outrage caused by the release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber five years later - took place in the interests of securing a new ally in the war against the spread of weapons of mass destruction and securing business for British firms too.
Today, as the signs grow that Gaddafi may lose his place as the point around which his country must circle, questions will grow as to whether Tony Blair's unforgettable trip to the desert might turn out to be, well, unforgettable to those who eventually take over control of Libya.
PS I write this watching from afar as I am taking a few days off for half term.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nickrobinson/2011/02/an_unforgettabl.html
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