AQ threats were part of the reason Kadaffi decided to come clean on WMDs and play ball with us terrorists.
Actually, the main reason.
You're right it was fear that caused Kadaffi to come clean but it wasn't fear of AQ, it was fear of a far greater power: the U.S. military and a chief executive with the will to take out state sponsored terrorists like Sadam.
This fear also lead Syria to get the hell out of Lebanon instead of cracking down on the protesters there.