Topic: Decline of the West
If this story is true—as it appears to be—the world has seen the last of one of its most repulsive tyrants. Muammar Qaddafi’s dictatorial sojourn began in 1969 when as a young army officer he engineered the coup that toppled the Libyan monarchy, emerging as Libya’s undisputed strongman. Colonel Qaddafi (as with false modesty he was pleased to style himself) not only oppressed his own people but lent support to terrorist groups around the world, from the PLO to the IRA. Among his many crimes was the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people including many Americans.
Despite his blood-handed record, in the final period of his rule Qaddafi proved adept at managing relations with Europe and the United States. In 2003, his government admitted responsibility (though not guilt—go figure) for the Lockerbie bombing and agreed to pay compensation to the families of the victims. Qaddafi further curried favor with the US by agreeing to dismantle his weapons of mass destruction programs and cooperate with the CIA in the pursuit of 9/11 terrorists. In short order, he became the beneficiary of Western largesse. The US lifted economic sanctions on Libya and reestablished diplomatic relations with the Qaddafi regime. He was feted in Brussels by the European Union. Disgracefully, then-US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Prime Minister Tony Blair kowtowed to the Libyan tyrant during visits to Tripoli.
This degenerate thug with his lunatic outfits, his incoherent rants and his eccentric brutality will not be missed. But it’s a shame—and a telling commentary—that the so-called world community tolerated Colonel Muammar Qaddafi for so long.