WASHINGTON: The US invasion of Iraq played a major role in convincing Libya’s leader Moammar Qadhafi to rid his country of weapons of mass destruction, diplomatic observers said on Sunday.

President Bush also hinted this at his news conference on Friday when, while announcing Libya’s decision, he said that the war in Iraq had sent a clear message to America’s adversaries.

The message was obvious: those who choose to defy America should know that America would not hesitate to use its military might to overcome their defiance, if it felt the need to do so.

Observers in Washington say that the message was heard loud and clear across the world but one world leader — Col. Qadhafi — was listening more closely than others. And he had many reasons to do so.

Col. Qadhafi is still seen as an enemy, not just by the Bush administration but also by many ordinary Americans. The acts of terror he stands accused of committing — such as the blowing up of a Pan-Am airliner over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in 1989 — are still remembered in America. And he sits on huge oil reserves, which bring him enough resources to be a threat to America.

But above all, the observers say, it was the need to break out of the political and diplomatic isolation that he has faced for the past two decades that force the Libyan leader to change his mind.

And as reports in the US media on Sunday indicated, America is willing to reward Col. Qadhafi if he keeps his promise. In his statement announcing Libya’s decision, President Bush promised: “Should Libya pursue internal reform, America will be ready to help its people to build a more free and prosperous country. Great Britain shares this commitment.”

Meanwhile, US officials privately point out that there are other leaders in the Arab and Muslim world who need to change their policies too. They argue that instead of wasting their money on weapons, such leaders would be better off using their resources on programmes for human development, education, health and, above all, democracy, a concept that still has to take root in most of the Arab and Muslim worlds.

US officials and defence experts also say that Libya’s decision will increase pressure on Iran; another country that America says is working secretly to develop nuclear weapons.

On Friday, State Department’s deputy spokesman Adam Ereli reminded Iran that it has “international obligations, which the international community expects it to live up to. And we’ll be looking carefully over the next months to see that it does so.”

Iran defends itself by saying that its programme is meant to produce nuclear energy for civilian consumption. But Washington has already rejected this argument by saying that an oil-rich country like Iran does not need nuclear energy.

Libya’s decision will increase America’s focus on Iran. In the next few months, if not weeks, Iranian leaders will have to decide if they want to continue to defy America or, like Col. Qadhafi save themselves from America’s wrath.

Iranian rulers still have many supporters both inside and outside Iran and would put up a greater fight than Iraq’s Saddam Hussein. But this may not prevent America from increasing its pressure on Iran, defence experts in Washington say.

Another country, which should be directly affected, is North Korea. But North Korea is situated in a region where an Iraq-like military action will be difficult to carry out. Such an action will be opposed by key US allies like Japan and South Korea and also by China, a country Washington may not want to annoy.

The Libyan example, however, may strengthen America’s quest for diplomatically ending the nuclear stalemate with North Korea as well.