Gaddafi- Eccentric Nutjob, Evil Despot or Excellent Statesman?

[seanmacc]

I have always reserved judgment on Colonel Gaddafi. Lybia is a country we rarely ever hear about and is doors are practically closed to foreigners. In terms of its neighbors Libya is fairly well off and poverty levels are fairly low which is one thing the Colonel may be able to take credit for when you look at the other oil rich countries in the region. Also the Libyan nuclear programme seemed to take the whole world by surprise.

If you look on the other side of the coin the guy has made some interest decisions over the years and never adheres to the normal rules of diplomacy. His bodyguards image screams madman to me. His decisions to alienate himself by supplying every Guerrilla force that ever had an issue with the west. He famously called off an International Soccer match he was attending because he thought it was pointless as both teams were the same country. Always an advocate of African Union. On re-establisihing ties with Britain when Tony Blair went to visit to Tripoli he forced the motorcade to pass the bombed out shells of buildings Reagan and Thatcher gave the order to destroy during the 80s.

How is the West even surprised with his actions following the release of the supposed Lockerbie bomber?

[b.a. baracus]

The USA killed his daughter (adopted I believe) in a bombing raid on Libya in the 80's. Imagine Gaddafi had bombed the White House and killed the President of the USA's daughter?
The US just put it down to collateral damage and moved on. Easy for them.

[lapsedmethodist]

The USA killed his daughter (adopted I believe) in a bombing raid on Libya in the 80's. Imagine Gaddafi had bombed the White House and killed the President of the USA's daughter?
The US just put it down to collateral damage and moved on. Easy for them.

He made fools out of his people which I regard as a crime, because `I worked there for years and they're really nice people. He denied them the fruits of their labour, inventing a currency which no-one except the Maltese would recognise. This led to massive corruption and the isolation led to the exploitation of the oilfields by the use of the lowest technology around.
All the while the Americans were running the oilfields for their own benefit and hiding behind false fronted Libyan companies. His attempts to be self-sufficient were crazy, leading to shortages of everything. His good points were that he took the bearded ones - usually infiltrating from Egypt - and dropped them out of helicopters in the Sea of Sand.
His Little Green Book - a mishmash of socialism and Pan-Africanism - led to a society where the young could join his outfit, wear a leather jacket, blue jeans and carry a Browning. But all in all, just a nut but not as bad as some. After the bombing, ex-pat workers were called to their various canteens etc and told that they were not to blame for the actions of Reagan and were welcome to stay.

[Herodotus]

Was the Lockerbie bomber the Locerbie bomber? The US shot down and Iranian civilain aircraft 6 months prior and it seems feasible Lockerbie was Iranian retaliation.

Gaddafi seems a nice guy, he allows refugees from neighbouring African states settle in Libya with no problems. He is an AU advocate and a fine leader. I am not sure western democracy suits Arab nations. Morocco and Jordan have parliaments but the king is all powerful. In comparison to those states Libya is a bastion of liberalism, as people have more rights in Libya than many parts of the Arab world.

[lapsedmethodist]

Was the Lockerbie bomber the Locerbie bomber? The US shot down and Iranian civilain aircraft 6 months prior and it seems feasible Lockerbie was Iranian retaliation.

Gaddafi seems a nice guy, he allows refugees from neighbouring African states settle in Libya with no problems. He is an AU advocate and a fine leader. I am not sure western democracy suits Arab nations. Morocco and Jordan have parliaments but the king is all powerful. In comparison to those states Libya is a bastion of liberalism, as people have more rights in Libya than many parts of the Arab world.

They're Berbers, largely, not Arabs. Libyans don't much like Arabs.

[Herodotus]

They're Berbers, largely, not Arabs. Libyans don't much like Arabs.

The refugees I mentioned are Berber's or the Libyan's themselves?

[shmuck]

he's made the cia/mi5 look like the mercenaries they are.good.

[Bobert]

All of the above and more.

[Dr Qasim Afridi]

Qadhafi is a British puppet and has killed hundreds of innocent people (including young university students) after brutally torturing them... He acts all innocent but in reality he is a tyrant with no shame...

He has destroyed the economy of a wealthy land... Like the rest of the Muslim world his people are miserable and suffering trying to make two ends meet on a day to day basis... The only people who have benefited hugely from his 4 decades of useless government are his own extended family members... (and the British of course)... Libya has its own version of Stasi which openly operates and takes out anyone who would dare criticize the government in any form...

[Middleaged]

Lets not mix our words, he is a dictator, with a langerload of oil and gas beneath those sands.