It was not so long ago that America was all the rage in Libya. During the U.S.-led NATO intervention that toppled longtime dictator Muammar al-Qaddafi, rebel forces received a series of high level U.S. officials, including Sens. John McCain and Marco Rubio, with open arms. In May 2011, while NATO forces were still battling Qaddafi loyalists in Misrata and elsewhere, the New York Times crooned that "Americans and, for that matter, all Westerners are treated hereabouts with a warmth and gratitude rarely seen in any Muslim country -- even those with 100,000 American troops -- in probably half a century or more." Above, a Libyan man stands atop the roof of Qaddafi's compound in central Tripoli waving a pair of Libyan and American flags on Sept. 11, 2011 -- a little more than a month before the dictator would be captured and killed.
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