End of an Era

Colonel Gaddafi's inevitable defeat as he sits in his small coastal hometown besieged on all sides by revolutionary forces constitutes an end of a nearly half century long era of Libyan history.

With the present situation in Libya that stems from the onset of the civil war that broke out last February in response to popular demonstrators which toppled dictators in both neighbouring Egypt and Tunisia it is clear that dictator of 42 years Mu'ammar Gaddafi will not be able to regain control of Libya and reinstitute his authoritarian rule. In a manner similar to how Saddam Hussein fled to his hometown of Tikrit on the onset of the 2003 invasion of Iraq Gaddafi has opted to make his ?last stand? in his hometown of Sirte with the remainder of his loyalist forces. Besieged on all sides by the NATO backed rebel forces that now fight under the flag of the National Transitional Council (NTC) government it is clear that this constitutes the end of Gaddafi's rule. But also the end of a long era in Libyan history that made Libya synonymous with Gaddafi, and Libya itself regarded for the most part of the last 40 years a state sponsor of international terrorism.

The Colonel's sordid statements that he made during the onset of this conflict were he proclaimed himself to be Libya and that therefore Libya will die with him reflect the mentality of a man who was willing not to capitulate due to popular demand and opposition but instead attempt to destroy his opposition by strafing civil centres with aircraft sorties. When neighbouring dictator of 29 years Hosni Mubarak saw the mounting opposition in his country symbolized in the turnout of at least 300,000 Egyptians in Tahrir Square Cairo he instigated a military crackdown. Egyptian military vehicles closed in and around the square where the countrywide protests were centred in and around. Those camping in the square for those 18 days were deafened as F-16 fighter jets swooped low over their heads. However they stood firm and literally shoulder to shoulder in unity with each other in their opposition, forcing Mubarak to peacefully capitulate and concede power. A mere few days after this incident two bomb laden Libyan Air Force Dassault Mirage F-1 fighter jets landed in Malta, its pilots having defected upon being given orders by the Colonel to indiscriminately bomb opposition groups in the countries second largest city of Benghazi. Their defection a clear testament to the fact that the Arab worlds longest ruling Arab leader (since 1900) would not peacefully let a popular transitional government form. Even if the majority of the Libyan people decided like the majority of the Egyptian people did with regards to Mubarak that it was due time to move their country and themselves into a post Gaddafi era, it was clear that Gaddafi would instead attempt to plunge the country into chaos and destruction in order to deprive them of their own self-determination.

Under Gaddafi Libya has been classed by the United Nations as a pariah state. And on top of being an authoritarian state was a state where the majority of Libyans lived in abjection, even though their state possessed enough oil resources to enrich its population of 5.6 million, or at least provide them with a more tangible and effective national infrastructure.

Following his youthful days as the revolutionary when he led the overthrow of King Idris in 1969 Gaddafi gradually tightened his grip on power over Libya, imprisoning different forms of opposition and gradually building an authoritarian state through the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) with himself being the focal point of power and authority. He appointed himself with the title of King of Africa and undertook several foreign policy endeavours. Some retrospectively admirable ones such as the financing of Nelson Mandela's African National Congress which was at the time classed as a terrorist organization. His sphere of influence extended as far north from Africa as the Republic of Ireland where in 1973 the Irish Navy intercepted the Claudia vessel - which was carrying a large arms shipment intended to be given to the IRA to support its campaign of violence in Northern Ireland. Gaddafi also proclaimed support for various Palestinian terrorist organizations around the same time he praised the Lod Airport massacre in Israel in 1972. Libya under his rule would later go on to engage Egypt in a short border conflict in 1977 as a result of a series of diplomatic failures following Gaddafi's disapproval of then Prime Minister Sadet agreement to undertake peace and conciliation talks with Israel.

His fingerprints have been found in the crime scenes of terrorist acts as far away as the Philippines and state actions abroad have included the murder of British police officer Yvonne Fletcher who was shot dead when undertaking her duty in trying to control a group of protesters who had gathered in protest around the Libyan embassy in London. Libya was also the prime suspect in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque (a place frequented by US servicemen when on leave) in West Germany in 1986, which led to the United States and the United Kingdom launching Operation El Dorado Canyon an aerial bombardment of Libyan military installations and also an attempt to take out the Colonel himself (who was warned in advance by an Italian politician who phoned him).

Throughout this time Libya was also engaged in sporadic conflict with Chad, as Gaddafi wanted to annex the northern part of Chad which is known as the Aouzou Strip and rein a substantial amount of influence over Chad in which to use to extend and exert his influence and power over Central Africa. Also throughout this period Libya was engaged in skirmishes with the United States Navy, two notable incidents took place in 1981 and 1989 that saw the US F-14 Tomcats shot down Libyan MiG and Sukhoi fighter jets when they attempted to engage them, Gaddafi was hotly disputing the official span of the Gulf of Sidra which constituted Libyan national and sovereign territorial waters.

Gaddafi's failure to force the French out of Chad and his subsequent defeat in the prolonged conflict in Chad led to him avenging himself by providing support for the terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the blowing up of which (over the town of Lockerbie in Scotland) killed 270 people. He also instigated the bombing of the lesser known UTA Flight 772 killing 170 people a year afterwards.

Shortly after (mere days in fact) Saddam Hussein was found unshaven and cowering in a hole in the ground near his hometown of Tikrit in Iraq in December 2003 the Colonel approached US President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair and declared his stockpile of chemical weapons, which were inspected and transported to Oak Ridge, Tennessee for storage. Gaddafi had clearly taken what had happened to Saddam as a warning for things to come in the region so by decommissioning and dismantling his WMD program he was essentially buying his regime and the status quo of his totalitarian rule more time as he grew old, weary and senile.

However time was still of the essence. And when a spark flared up what we now refer to as the Arab Spring it was clear that Gaddafi had to go, and he showed himself to be willing to suppress and destroy most of his people as their willingness to pursue self determination constituted a threat to the status quo of his regimes survival and dominance.

Today in the midst of Gaddafi's rapid downfall there seems to be a pioneering fervour gripping Libya. As a result of this said fervour Gaddafi's rule is crumbling in the face of mounting and widespread enthusiasm and anticipation for a brighter more prosperous and free Libya. This approaching post Gaddafi era will however have the shadow and ghost of the Gaddafi era which will be cast over Libya as it crosses this frontier into the next phase of its history.