RIP Muammar Gaddafi

While I write this Muammar Gaddafi is alive is kicking (hopefully himself after hearing his Air Force exists no more!) Yet I think his end is near and it's time to pen down his obituary. And its only fair to start with the positives.

Gaddafi was born in a Bedouin tent in a Libyan desert during World War II. He grew up listening to Egyptian President Gamal Nasser's speeches on the radio and became one of the most prominent supporters and propagators of Nasserism. (In pic: Gaddafi & Nasser)

Gaddafi began his political journey with strong ideals; he wanted to change Libya from a conservative and repressed state to something more modern and progressive. His Green Book was the blueprint to change attitudes and behaviour in the political and societal system of Libya. He did transform Libya in his early days. He campaigned to get rid of corruption and western imperialism. He helped Libya create its identity by forcing the Americans, British and the Italians to leave.

He nationalized oil companies and used the revenue from the oil sales to invest in infrastructure; built schools, hospitals and roads. He brought electricity into far flung deserts and built irrigation mechanism in the driest deserts. He could have been called an architect of Libya then.

Yet, somewhere down the line he became the destroyer of Libya. His four decade long rule saw him take Libya back into the primitive period. Perhaps it was the change in the country he could not keep pace with. After all he was getting old.

His ideology which was revolutionary in its time; today is outdated and damaging to the country's growth. Libya's oil revenues have now financed his many palatial houses across the world and filled his unnumbered account in offshore locations; not to mention the lavish and exorbitant lifestyle of his family. I visited one of his homes in London's Hampstead area, a city pad for his son Saif while he pursued his PhD from London School of Economics. The eight bedroom mansion worth £10 million is symbolic of Libyan money in Gaddafi empire.

Although in 1979 Gaddafi renounced all official titles and position; he is till today the undisputed leader of the Libyan government. His security apparatus is built up of many layers often overlapping and in shadows which is confusing to his enemies. He is the shrewdest dictator of his time who believes in fighting off his opponents (and likely successors) among themselves to weaken their power. No wonder he has survived many assassination attempts and is still the 'King'.

Its an open secret that Gaddafi has supported innumerable terrorist organisation, sponsored covert operations in many countries, has used chemical weapons and jailed, prosecuted and killed thousands of innocent people who raised a voice against him. His most brazen acts until the revolution were the Pan AM and the UTA bombings for which he never showed any remorse. The massacre on the streets of Libya by Gaddafi's men have only added to his resolve to crush protests.

Yet, I'm confident he will find it very difficult if not impossible to wriggle out of the pickle he is in today, because it's not just the NATO airstrikes but the millions of people of Libya and around the world who want to see an end to Gaddafi's regime.

If reports are to be believed, Gaddafi has lost yet another child (Khamis Gaddafi) in NATO airstrikes and which many would feel this would weaken his resolve; but the aggravated clashes in East Libya tell another story.

But it's hard to only imagine Gaddafi as the monster he is. To me he will always be the mad man who rambles incoherently and lives in a world he has created in his head. For years now, Gaddafi's decision making process has been a fancy, devoid of reality and often hilarious.

Take for example the calendar in Libya that Gaddafi changed to begin with the death of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) instead of his migration (like the Islamic lunar calendar). The Gregorian one has also been changed to begin with the Prophet's migration with names of the months invented by Gaddafi himself. So Libyan Calendar is unique and confusing as it neither follows the Islamic calendar not the Gregorian one. Why would someone do that unless he was obsessed with himself.

The more hilarious one is when in 1977, Gaddafi asked everyone in Libya to become self-sufficient by raising chickens in their homes. He also forced Libyans to pay $150 to buy the birds and cages from the government. For those who lived in apartments in the city; the chicken soon found its way on the dinner table.

All his talks about Al-Qaeda giving pills to youngsters in Libya to raise a voice against him makes you wonder which Libya he is living in. If he loves Libya so much (as he claims) why doesn't his heart bleed when he rips the country apart with tanks and snipers.

But Gaddafi is like a chameleon who changes his philosophies to suit his environment. None of his ideologies have been cast in stone as he reserves the right to change his mind whenever he wants. One minute he wants to crush the revolution, next minute he wants to call ceasefire; then when the white flag is waving, he orders his men on an offensive somewhere.

Gaddafi is not the one to fight to his death for his beliefs; he would rather change his philosophies to suit the situation. But this time he went too far, killed too many and has been tolerated for far too long. The people have spoken and he will not be forgiven. Its time Muammar Gaddafi bid adieu forever.

To Col. Muammar Gaddafi, the man who created war and destruction all his life, all we can say is... Rest In Peace!

Gaddafi's people of mass destruction

With every passing day it is clearly evident that Col Muammar Gaddafi’s days are numbered. Yet Gaddafi refuses to step down. While the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt bowed down to the pro democracy protests, Gaddafi is still shouting threats at those standing against his regime. 

But this almost lunatic man whose recent speeches are more hilarious than fierce is no longer anything the famed dictator of Africa and the Arab world once was. Gaddafi holds no political office, yet he is the de facto head of Libya. And if Gaddafi goes, with him goes the many powerful men that operate out of the shadows.  

And it is these four main pillars that are propping up the frail Gaddafi to stand tall and be defiant. These are the leaders commanding forces to bring mass destruction in Libya.

1.   Abdullah al Senussi: Gaddafi’s brother in law and his most trusted and loyal aide, Senussi is believed to be the command behind the recent violence against protesters in Libya. A hardliner with a thuggish reputation, Senussi is the former head of the Jamahariya Security Organisation, which runs Libyan agents and has been suspected in several terrorist acts and human rights violations and even implicated in some including 440 deaths in two air disasters – Pan Am flight 103 and French UTA plane crash over Niger- and also in other terrorist acts. He is the head of military intelligence and number 2 on the protesters list to men to bring down.

2.   Khamis Gaddafi: Gaddafi’s son and a captain in the Libyan army, is the leader of the 32nd brigade, based in the Mediterranean city of Benghazi. Known for his ruthless ways, Khamis has allegedly recruited mercenaries from sub Saharan Africa to shoot live rounds at protestors in Benghazi. Khamis brigade attacked protesters controlling the town of Misrata. The violent clashes led to the death of many protesters and Khamis forces seem to be gaining control of Misrata.

3.   Mutassim Gaddafi: Gaddafi's fourth son was a Lieutenant Colonel in the Libyan army. He now serves as Libya's National Security Advisor and oversees the nation's National Security Council Mutassim is in command of the Tripoli crackdown. He used air force planes and helicopter gun ships and fired heavy machinery to scatter protestors. Mutassim ordered a vicious crackdown on protestors by his ‘Libyan Popular Army’ comprising of loyalists from the Saharan tribes raised by Gaddafi senior.

4.   Saif al- Islam Gaddafi: The second son of Gaddafi seemed like a ‘grey’ sheep (in the family of all black sheep) until it was discovered recently that he was actually the wolf in a sheep’s clothing. Saif al-Islam talked about democracy and modernization to win over the youth and the moderates in Libya and the West – an impression only dispelled in the televised interview he gave on behalf of his father, when he warned that Libya’s streets would run with “rivers of blood” if the protests continued. This left no shred of doubt that Saif al-Islam too is another Gaddafi and was grooming himself to be the political successor to his father.

People of mass destruction

Although some years ago Gaddafi promised to get rid of all weapons of mass destructions in an attempt at International diplomacy, he has armed himself with people of mass destruction. 

These are a number of special brigades in Libya which only answer to Gaddafi's Revolutionary Committees and not the army. The military is Libya, unlike Egypt, is weak, disorganized and not well trained. These paramilitaries also known as the ‘People's Militia’ are extremely loyal to Gaddafi and his Ahl al-Khaimah (People of the Tent) made upof his close comrades.

Mercenaries are also recruited by Gaddafi to attack Libyans with no remorse. Since mercenaries hold no ties to the land and are only recruited for a specific purpose, they have no qualms about firing at Libyans and there is no major threat of deflection.  

There are also many tribes in Libya and for years Gaddafi has played them against each other to maintain his supremacy. Gaddafi belongs to the Qadhaththa tribe and he has appointed many of its members to key positions in his regime. These tribal loyalists are being brought to other parts of the country and are being armed to attack the protesters. Saif al-Islam prediction of a civil war doesn’t seem very unlikely now.

Gaddafi's Amazonian Guards

What I’m sure would not be much help to prop up Qaddafi's image in these turbulent times are his Amazonian guards- his closest bodyguards comprising of 30-40 women (allegedly virgins) who are trained assassins and guard him 24/7. 

Since the protests broke out, there is no evidence to suggest that any member of the Amazonian guards fired at the protesters. It would be interesting to see what role does this brigade plays when Gaddafi begins to lose a large number of his loyalists. Will they be sent to the frontline to combat the protesters or will they all be loaded in the plane that Gaddafi takes to leave Libya?!