A welcome announcement has come from Libya: It is to give up its program to acquire weapons of mass destruction. That could mean more than simply bringing Libya in from the cold in international relations.

Col. Qaddafi in his 30 years in power has sought to assert an independent, sometimes maverick, political course. With a population of only 5.5 million, Libya could never present a significant military threat on the ground, though elements of the Libya armed forces were for a while present in Chad. Qaddafi’s government has therefore turned to other methods of making its influence felt. Research into weapons of mass destruction was complemented by efforts in the 1980s to acquire rocket delivery systems with two German companies, Otrag and TOP, starting to develop respectively the “Ittisalt,” and “Al-Fatah” long range — up to 1,000 km — rocket programs

None of this achieved anything more than entrenching Libya’s position as an international pariah, a proven sponsor of terrorism. Given the events in Iraq, Col. Qaddafi and his advisers must have reasoned that there was no further point in pursuing the high-risk strategy of acquiring WMD capability — which would be of doubtful use if ever Libya were actually threatened.

That Libya cooperated with the British and Americans over the Lockerbie outrage opened other channels of negotiations. Since last March, we are now told, Libyan and British officials have been working toward Libya’s renunciation of its WMD program. It has been an extraordinarily well-kept secret, and this has allowed both sides to maintain substantive talks without being diverted by media comment. Washington appears to have been content to allow Tony Blair’s government to take the lead in these talks, even to the extent that it was the British who broke the news first on Friday night. It was clear from the warm tone of Premier Blair’s remarks about the Libyan leader and his government that the negotiations involved as much carrot as they did stick.

Libya is going to be rewarded for its return to the international fold and the demolition of its WMD programs under outside supervision, and why not? Such a return was long overdue and can only benefit the people of Libya.

But the benefits could go beyond Libya. Iran is anxious to find a way to end its confrontation with the outside world over its own weapons program, which has included plans for the creation of a nuclear arsenal. The deal with Libya may well now point the way for a similar accommodation of Tehran. Even North Korea, may sit up and take notice of what is happening on the other side of the world. On the face of it, nothing but good can come of Libya’s decision.