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The Nine Lives of Muammar Qaddafi
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11002 |
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Section : |
CURRENT ISSUES
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1986 |
2,779 Words |
| Author
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Terrell E. Arnold
Terrell E. Arnold is co-author of the book Fighting Back:
Winning the War Against Terrorism. He is former deputy
director of the State Department Officer of Counter Terrorism. |
Following the April 14, 1986, raid by F-111 bombers and carrier-based aircraft on Libya's terrorism support infrastructure, there was a two-day period when it was not clear whether Qaddafi himself had survived. During that period there were continuing reports of fighting in Tripoli between factions loyal to Qaddafi and others seeking to overthrow him, including military personnel. When Qaddafi reappeared at the end of the second day after the raids, many observers were quick to jump to the conclusion that he had survived unscathed. But had he?
For the nearly 17 years of his regime Qaddafi has fought a more or less constant battle to consolidate his power. Seeking to remake the very character of Libyan society, and perhaps capturing the imagination of the young in many respects, he clearly has failed to bring all the Libyan people with him as willing participants in his Jamahiriyah socialist state. Instead, for reasons of ego as well as personal safety, he has found it necessary to try to neutralize sources of opposition in many different parts of the world.
By his preoccupation with squelching dissidents, Qaddafi has announced to the world time after time that even he does not feel that his revolution has been consolidated. After nearly 17 years of trying, it appears reasonably safe to say that the odds are increasingly against his achieving a consolidation of power in the future.
Most of the difficulties the rest of the world experiences with Qaddafi are the result of his inability to stabilize his regime, including his use of terrorism and support for terrorist groups. But if Qaddafi's chair has been the focus of unremitting challenge
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