by Zack Beauchamp
Wikileaks released a cable appears that Senators McCain and Butters, along with several others, had a very chummy meeting with Qaddafi almost exactly two years ago. Money quote from Stephen Webster's writeup:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) promised to help former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi obtain U.S. military hardware as one of the United States' partners in the war on terror…The cable does not mention anything about the senators pressing Gaddafi for democratic reforms.
Worth noting because, as Chris has highlighted, the two used Qaddafi's fall to bash Obama for not going after the Great Loon sooner and harder. The NATO effort may have been a tad bit more stymied if the good Senators had their way.
(Photo: Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) (C) talks with reporters after a closed committee meeting in the U.S. Capitol March 4, 2011 in Washington, DC. McCain and other committee members were briefed by officials from the Pentagon about the current military situation in Libya. By Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.)
The Dish 