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Muammar Gaddafi, the Fallen Leader of Libya
Muammar Gaddafi is among the world’s leaders who have served the longest in their countries. He ruled Libya and eventually gained repute as the longest rulingf dictators among the African countries ruled by dictators. He ruled for four decades before his people had enough and organized large demonstrations and protests that eventually led to his capture, overthrowing of his government and death. Gaddafi was born a Bedouin tribesman and went to school at a military college. Immediately after college, the young Gaddafi set out to make plans of how to overthrow the then Libyan Leader Idris. He eventually accomplished his goals and took over the government in 1969 after a subtle coup. The leader was then only 27 years of age. He was a colonel then and in the early 1970s he developed some philosophical pretentions, which led to his publishing of a book known as the Green Book of Political Philosophy and Leading Libya in a path of Islamic Socialism. The young president managed to achieve this, and persuade his audience of his ‘good’ intentions with the African country while ruthlessly suppressing opposition and rebellion (Menon1).
In the 1980s, however, some other rulers were able to see through his intentions. One of these was the then US president Ronald Reagan who identified Gaddafi as the ‘mad dog’ posing as president in the Middle East. President Reagan then ordered the 1986 Tripoli bombings, which took the life of the Gaddafi’s daughter. Two, there was a bombing of a passenger airplane in Scotland, and it was thought that terrorists from Libya were involved. This lead to the international sanctions on the country and its president throughout the 1990s. In 2003, Libya eventually came clean and revealed that it was responsible for the bombings, something that led to easing of the sanctions and an improved relationship with the United States (Skynews). All through, Libya’s president remained rigidly in power and established a reputation of an eccentric and shrewd dictator. In 2011, protests and demonstrations occurred in the country and his shrewdness took on another level. He attacked his own people leading to an allied team from both the US and Arab world to launch attacks against the country. Rebel forces overrun the capital city late 2011 leading to the president to escape. However, the rebels were able to capture him two months later after he was wounded near his Sirte hometown. The dictator was wounded, and he later died of injuries (Menon1).
This paper is a discussion of this famous leader, who was largely known for his harsh ways of leadership and for his shrewdness and dictatorship. The paper will discuss his career as a ruler leading one of the world’s oil- rich countries, and show the happenings that eventually led to the overthrowing of his dictatorship and rule, highlighting some of the problems that led to the 2011 protests and how the late president dealt with them.
Libya’s fallen dictator and leader Muammar Gaddafi who had been president of the oil- rich African country for more than four decades was killed late 2011 in his hometown in Sirte after hiding for around two months. The NTC or the ruling National Transitional Council drove the 69 years of age leader and his forces out of the country’s capital city, Tripoli. The leader had organized and was leading resistance and rebellion against his enemies from an unknown place in Libya for those two months he had been in hiding. Earlier in the year, the international Criminal Court had directed that the president’s son, Saif al- Islam be arrested together with the nation’s intelligence chief, Abdullah al- Senussi. The two were being charged with crimes against the Libyan people. The two were accused of murdering and leading violations and criminal acts against the Libyan people who opposed the rule of Gaddafi.
In early February of 2011, the Libyan people motivated by the anti – government protests named the Arab Spring in a number of Arab countries, took to the streets in one of the largest cities in Libya, Benghazi, to voice their opposition and displeasure with their president who had developed a reputation of being independent in speech and actions (Schwartz).
The leader was in power for about 42 years one of the longest presidential terms in the world. During his rule, he provided the 6.5 million Libyan populations with the basic living amenities, but during this time won over the central tribesmen in the nation through power and money so as to ensure his dominance. When gradually misusing the nation’s vast wealth, Gaddafi was blamed for limiting and regulating the salaries and wages for his people, ignoring investments in infrastructure, and civil structure, and leaving unemployment rates extremely high. Muammar joined the Benghazi Military University, later joined the Libyan army in 1965 and was later sent for more training in 1966 to the British Royal Military Sandhurst (Yan 1- 3).
The rule of Muammar Gaddafi began in late 1969. During this time, the then young junior officer incited and led some of his colleagues in the FOM, Free Officers Movement, and organized a bloodless coup that overthrew the rule of the then leader of Libya, King Idris. The king was not present at the time as he was undergoing treatment in Turkey. After overthrowing the government, Gaddafi then set up the Libyan Arab Republic. As soon as he achieved this, he became the commander- in- chief of the Libyan armed forces, as well as, the Revolutionary Command Council chairperson. Between 1970 and 72, he served as the defense minister in the country and later became the prime minister. In 1977, he established himself as the Libyan Revolutionary leader, gave up all of his administrative roles in 1979, and retained the title as the revolutionary leader of the country (Yan 1- 3).
Starting from the 1970s, the leader became fed up with the earlier occupation by colonialists and the monarchial corruption and made the Libyan people the key beneficiaries of free health care, education and subsidized the costs of transport and housing, with the aid of the huge revenue the country was getting from its oil industry and the country’s relative small population. However, he also enacted a strict governance based on Islamic riles, banning such things as alcohol and gambling, and he implemented a system of Islamic morals. The main cities in the country like Tripoli began to boost of magnificent hotels and buildings, turning into a destination of choice for businesspersons and tourists from all over the world (Libya and Muammar Qaddafi, 40 years on).
However, all efforts Gaddafi was making were soon proved insufficient to diversify and quicken the growth of the country to a larger extent, as he was hung up to dominance and dictatorship, and, in this wake, he crippled the major civil unions and independent trade unions along with numerous budding political parties. He eventually crippled the state apparatus and started ruling his people with more power, power much more than that entrusted with a president (Libya and Muammar Qaddafi, 40 years on).
With time, the country’s pride in such social systems as health care was long gone. It was said that more and more individuals were seeking medical aid from health care systems of other countries such as Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia after realizing that the health system in their own country was both unreliable and inefficient. This countrywide distrust of the healthcare system was suspected to have stemmed from more than 500 wrongful HIV infections of young children from contaminated medical tools in Benghazi, in 1999 (Libya and Muammar Qaddafi, 40 years on).
When the people tried to hold protests and demonstrations against this injustice, they were met with unbelievable deviance. To the president, these protests were insignificant when compared to the numerous wars and planned assassinations he had survived over the years. His defiance continued to grow especially after the 1988 bombings of a plane in Scotland, an event where Libyan terrorists were implicated. The tragedy caused the deaths of 270 people 189 of whom were Americans. The attack was thought as among a number of violent responses in the 1980s between the states sponsored terrorist groups in the country and the United States. The Libyan leader refused to turn over the terrorists until 1999. Four years later, the president assumed responsibility of the bombings but never apologized for the deadly attacks. In 2009, the defiant president welcomed one of the suspects of the attacks at the airport once he was released from a Scottish prison, an act that once more angered the west (Yan 1- 3).
At times, however, the president assessed a number of situations and made compromises especially after being punished with years of sanctions by most western nations and the United Nations. To survive his political career, the leader was quick to dissociate himself from the September 2011 attacks by denouncing the attacks publicly. In 2003, he also announced that he and his country had abandoned its programs and projects of building and using weapons of mass destruction (Libya and Muammar Qaddafi, 40 years on).
Although the president usually set up official people’s committees, he practically gave them limited power. People who thought otherwise or who opposed him and his ideas were killed or sent to prison. Most of these political prisoners simply disappeared or were tortured for years. The media were no exception, as it was under tight control and watch by the colonel. His ideologies are presented and reflected by the ideas and arguments of his book, in which he establishes a mixture of socialism mixed with Islamic principles and capitalism (Bazzi 1). The president was also famous for having forty female soldiers for his bodyguards who he picked. He never wore suits instead opting for stylish clothes inspired by Arab designs with sunglasses. He always welcomed his guests in tents that were heavily guarded instead of palaces and state houses (‘Gaddafi: Africa’s king of kings’).
Although Muammar Gaddafi considered himself as an intellect person, most of his remarks and ideologies highlighted his intolerant and at times not so intellectual attitude, and this was one of his few constants during his rule. Some of his most outlandish claims and arguments included referring to the HIV as a peace virus, an arguing that people should not worry about the virus if they were straight. The president once cancelled all school vacations so that the young children could be educated of his ideologies when they were supposed to be enjoying their holiday. The president even believed that the 2008 H1N1 virus was some sort of mass destruction weapon that some foreign military had developed (‘Gaddafi: Africa’s king of kings’).
Muammar Gaddafi was married two times. He met one of his wives while admitted to a hospital. She was a nurse at the hospital. With the two wives, Muammar had eight children with only one being a daughter. Two of his eldest sons eventually became prominent politicians, and it was widely rumored that the two struggled on who would inherit the power after their father. He also had two other children whom he adopted one was claimed to have been killed in the US military attacks (‘Gaddafi: Africa’s king of kings’).
The president was also connected to numerous abominable acts. Besides being connected to numerous terrorist attacks and activities, Gaddafi was also accused of violating numerous basic human rights and freedoms. The Human Rights Watch argues that numerous people, in hundreds, were imprisoned and treated inhumanly for opposing the powerful leader, and some of these prisoners were even killed. Disappearances, deaths and abductions, were a common feature during Gaddafi’s rule (Salak 1). However, these crimes were nothing when compared to one of the worst crimes he ever committed during his rule, the murder of 270 people in the Scottish flight he was involved with the bombing (‘Gaddafi: Africa’s king of kings’).
Although the economy of Libya was opened up to investments from foreign nations and investors in the past, there was little done as reforms. Most of the Libyans believed that their president had used most of the resources of their nation to amerce wealth for himself, family and close allies. The country is one of the richest countries in oil resources in the world and its economy still remained like any other economy in a poor African state. All the resources the president acquired went directly to his pockets or those of his family or those he wanted to bribe for support (Libya and Muammar Qaddafi, 40 years on). Most Libyan people felt that they had not in any way benefited from the vast gas and oil resources in the country, with corruption rife and poor public services. Although the country is among the oil and gas- richest nations in the world, its people still remain poor and live under poor living conditions, with the larger proportion of his people living under excessive poverty. The people have not received half the wealth and riches that the president has accumulated for those forty years he has been in power. Experts have estimated that Muammar Gaddafi may have accumulated a fortune of more than 60 million dollars over the years he was president (‘Gaddafi: Africa’s king of kings’).
The dictator’s problems began with the unrest in Egypt and Tunisia. When the protests and demonstrations started in these two countries in the start of 2011 it was obvious that they would spread and consume other Arab countries like Libya. His defiance led him to believe that he protests that had spilled over to his turf would go away in a few days. However, having found that the demonstrators were unusually unrelenting and determined, the president resorted to force and dictatorship, and he launched indiscriminate attacks on his own people, which eventually claimed significant civilian lives. However, these violent clashes between the protestors and the Gaddafi forces simply sharpened and increased the antagonism and pushed the nation to the brink of a new age civil war (Blundy and Sicker 1-2).
When matters seemed difficult and people seemed determined to accomplish their goals some government officials stepped down, and picked up weapons, and joined up forces with the protestors and rebels to fight the regime of the dictator leader Muammar Gaddafi. Nevertheless, the rebel groups, with only a barren arsenal and without uniform, were no authority or rival to the government forces and soldiers. However, a resolution established by the UN in early 2011 won reprieve for the rebel troops. The UN resolution was proposed by Britain, Lebanon and France and was intended to protect the Libyan civilians. The resolution demanded an immediate truce, authorized the development of a no- fly zone over the nation, and strengthened the arms restriction. Yet, the resolution allowed for the legal foundation for intervention by the military in the domestic conflict of the troubled Libya (Blundy and Sicker 1-2).
As the Gaddafi forces failed and refused to observe and agree with the ceasefire, as it was announced, Britain, France and the United States began in early 2011 airstrikes that were meant to motivate Gaddafi to surrender. May 2011, NATO finally assumed command of the military operation in the country after its single Muslim member, Turkey, agreed with the action. Daily targeted raids eventually claimed the lives of the leader’s son Saif and three grandchildren, events that forced him to hide in a number of different places. In mid 2011, the NTC announced that they suspected that Khamis, another son of the leader, had been killed in the attacks. In addition to this, the Algerian government indicated that members of the family of the president including his wife, two sons and a pregnant daughter had fled to Algeria (Walt 1-2).
It was not long before the leader was captured somewhere near his hometown after he had sustained injuries after an attack. The chains of events that led to the death of the ousted Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi are still very much debatable and under dispute. However, numerous videos surfaced soon after that showed the leader alive on Thursday, a few hours after he was captured. Moments later, other videos came up showing pictures of the dead president and others showing him being tortured to death. It was said that the former Libyan leader was dragged by rebel troops from a drainpipe after an air strike by the NATO. In another video, he is seen wiping blood off his face in a daze as rebel troops surround him, firing guns in the air and shouting some slogans (Jaffe 1-2).
Conclusion
Muammar Gaddafi is among the world’s leaders who have served the longest in their countries, assuming leadership in Libya for more than 42 years and in the wake of his regime coining a reputation for himself as being a dictator, shrewd, arrogant and defiant. He led his country to a series of developments, all of which were overshadowed by his shrewd manner of governance, and the level of corruption he allowed the government offices to be run with. Eventually, the people had enough of his leadership and took to the streets emulating their Arab brothers in Tunisia and Egypt, events that led to the death of the leader. All in all a new page is expected to be unveiled in the Libyan history, yet it is not clear whether this page tells of an awful or delightful story. However, it is apparent that the proceedings that led to the terrible war will be cured with time and that the country will assume integrity and success.
Work cited
Bazzi, Mohamad. ‘What Did Qaddafi’s Green Book Really Say?’ The New York Times. Web. 2 February 2012.
Blundy, D. and Martin Sicker. ‘Qaddafi and the Libyan Revolution; the Making of a Pariah State: The Adventurist Policies of Muammar Qaddafi”’. Foreign Affairs. Web. 2 February 2012.
‘Gaddafi: Africa’s king of kings’. London: BBC News. Web. 2 February 2012.
Jaffe, Greg. ‘Muammar Gaddafi killed: For longtime autocrat, a violent end’. The Washington Post. Web. 2 February 2012.
‘Libya and Muammar Qaddafi, 40 years on: How to squander a nation’s potential’. The Economist. Web. 2 February 2012.
Menon, Mandovi. ‘World’s worst leaders: Muammar Gaddafi.’ Guylife. Web. 2 February 2012.
Salak, Kira. Libya: The Land of Cruel Deaths’. Kirasalak.com. Web. 2 February 2012.
Skynews. ‘Profile: the long rule of ‘mad dog’ Gaddafi. Skynews. Web. 2 February 2012.
Schwartz, Erin. ‘Muammar Gaddafi ruled Libya with an iron fist.’ Web. 2 February 2012.
Walt, Viviene. ‘Gaddafi’s final run: the end of the colonel’s long, weird ride.’ Time World. Web. 2 February 2012.
Yan. ‘Profile: Libya’s fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi.’ English.news.cn. Web. 2 February 2012.
