| Libya was previously ruled by an old, virtuous, but ultimately weak king, Idris al-Senousi. When a disillusioned mob revolted against him, calling for his overthrow, they chanted "We'd rather be ruled by the Devil than by Idris." It seemed that heaven responded to such a desire, and along came Qadaffy. |
If, one day, the people desire to live, then fate will answer their call.Muammar Qadaffy is a crime in himself, which was criminal masterminded by multiple parties. Qadaffy was brought to the limelight by President Jamal Abdul-Nasser, who took him under his wing, and provided him with legitimacy. Later on, we saw a greatly hypocritical relationship, founded on mutual interests, between Qadaffy and Western countries, who turned a blind eye towards his activities, as long as Libya continued to supply them with oil. Only two political figures tried to get rid of him, and punish him by means of force, namely [late Egyptian President] Anwar al-Sadat and Ronald Reagan, each having their own reasons.
It seems we can apply the reverse to Qadaffy:
If, one day, the people desire to die, then Muammar will answer their call!--"Life's Will", Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi
Qadaffy's relations with the West continued to ebb and flow until the year 2003. Shortly after the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, Muammar Qadaffy bowed deeply to the West, relinquishing his program to produce weapons of mass destruction, which he claimed to have been developing. Later on, he signed a number of protocol agreements with Western states, and this was crowned by the visit of the then US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He went on to meet with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and subsequently his successor,
Gordon Brown.... the hapless former British PM ...
Qadaffy's relationship with Tony Blair became stronger after the latter left office, and this contributed to the release of Libyan defendant Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, who was imprisoned in Scotland.
Furthermore, Qadaffy's relations with Italy improved enormously, to the extent that Italy became Libya's major economic and investment partner. During that period, the Libyan government hired the American "Livingston Group", a highly influential lobby in the US, and "White & Case", a renowned legal consultancy bureau, in addition to a variety of public relation firms, with the aim of improving Libya's image in Western public opinion. This prompted the US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton to meet with Qadaffy's son Motasem, and they held a joint presser to boast of America's improved relations with Libya. At the same time, oil companies such as Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Halliburton, Total, and BP gained extraordinary benefits from lucrative oil contracts in the North African state.
The Libyan regime is now on its last breath, and still some seek to prolong its stay of execution, contributing further to the torture that the Libyan nation has suffered throughout this agonizing period.
In the meantime, people in Tunisia and Egypt are concerned that their revolution may be hijacked. People are casting doubts about the current interim governments in both countries; their relations with the old regimes, and the presence of key figures from previous ruling parties. These ruling parties were a major reason behind the popular rage and the subsequent revolutions in the first place. The achievement of the revolution was highly significant, but the management of the post-revolution period is no less important, in order to complete the process, and ensure that no one can hijack the achievement, or destroy this newfound hope.