Muammar Gaddafi Death End of a Nasty Era [GRAPHIC PHOTO]

Ronald Reagan was our president through my high school and college years. In terms of foreign policy, his first term could partially be described as "Reagan vs. Brezhnev." In fact, his fiery exchanges with the Russian leader created fears of a nuclear war, similar to those in the 60s. The TV-movie "The Day After" exemplified such concerns. In his second term, it became "Reagan vs. Gaddafi." And now, it's "Nobody vs. Gaddafi." The long-time Libyan dictator is dead. The late 80s saw the birth of the kind of terrorist activity with which we are familiar today. The Berlin discotheque bombing and the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland were particularly galvanizing world events. Libya claimed responsibility for both. Once again, sabres rattled between the United States and a foreign aggressor. And fears of a world war once again flourished. In recent years, Muammar Gaddafi's threat as an international terrorist had subsided considerably. He has been seen as an enemy on the level of, say, Osama Bin-Laden in many years. Gaddafi's name only resurfaced in world headlines because of freedom-seeking rebels and the Libyan uprising. No, Gaddafi wasn't as big a threat as he once was, but he was a despicable global villain whose death the world, and especially Libyans, will and do welcome.