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But that did not stop business deals being struck with a succession of western defence manufacturers and oil firms. Ironically, it was on the Arab front that Gaddafi kept his black sheep status alive. Throughout the 2000s, the normally staid proceedings of annual summits of the Arab League were almost guaranteed to be disrupted by the Libyan leader’s antics, whether it was lighting up a cigarette and blowing smoke into the face of his neighbour, or tossing insults at Gulf rulers and the Palestinians, or declaring himself “king of kings of Africa”.
