Curveball of the Week: Gadhafi Positions Himself as Israel's Protector

Colonel Muammar Gadhafi has been trying to convince the world that Al-Qaeda is behind the uprising against him. Clearly he wants to make the West think that it would be better to have him in charge despite his many, many faults than have it turn into a stronghold for radical Islamic terrorism.

Pictured: A clearly mentally stable dictator

But, probably the biggest surprise move he has made is play on the West's support for Israel in order to make it work for his own advantage. He has warned that if Libya falls, the terrorists will seize North Africa up to Israel's border.

"If al-Qaeda manages to seize Libya, then the entire region, up to Israel, will be at the prey of chaos... The international community is now beginning to understand that we have to prevent Osama bin Laden from taking control of Libya and Africa,"

Gadhafi has gone from being the champion of Palestinian rights and guardian of the PLO to Israel's best hope in containing an Al-Qaeda onslaught! He is basically saying, "Save me and I'll save Israel!" The sheer amount of mental acrobatics it takes in order to make this seem logical is just astounding.

If there is any one leader who completely embodies the term Mashriq Madness, it has to be Muammar Gadhafi!