“Smart power at its best,” as Hillary Clinton called our intervention into Libya, doesn’t seem like much of an improvement over the heavy-handed use of force.
Libya’s Downward Spiral, Part 2
read more
Gaddafi
Libya’s Downward Spiral, Part 1
Most Americans are oblivious to the suffering we have caused to the people of Libya.
Ripped From Hillary’s Emails: French Plot to Overthrow Gaddafi and Help Itself to Libya’s Oil
French intelligence plotted to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi to horn in on Libya’s oil and to provide access for French businesses.
From Hero to Villain: The Arab World’s Hugo Chavez Arc
Chavez reminded the Arab public of a bygone era when a defiant Arab world led by Nasser resisted the encroachments of the West.
Reconciling Displaced Libyans and Their Neighbors
The reprisal for Tawerghans was swift after Gaddafi’s fall, with Misratan forces launching a series of attacks on the city that Amnesty International characterized as ethnic cleansing.
Ex-Qahdafi Flunkies Debate Claims He Gave Sarkozy 50 Million Euros
French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s opponents have not attempted to capitalize on this investigation in their campaigning, instead focusing their criticism on Sarkozy’s austerity and immigration policies.
The Strange Case of Charles Taylor
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor, who was found guilty of 11 charges by a court in the Netherlands, is a man of many firsts. He’s the first head of state to have escaped from a medium-security prison in the United States. He was the first sitting head of state to face charges of international crimes against humanity since the Nuremberg trials. Now, he’s the first head of state since World War II to have been convicted of war crimes by an international tribunal.
Qadhafi Family’s Money Confiscated, Accounts Frozen
Some African Union leaders now miss Qadhafi’s largesse as Libyan Investment Authority assets are being returned to the new Libyan government.
Rebuilding Libya
Muammar Gaddafi’s misuse of governmental instruments and assets for over 42 years has left a gaping political vacuum, a severely impaired civil service, and a virtually non-existent civil society in Libya. Decades of intentional manipulation of state resources and a gross mismanagement of oil revenues have led to immeasurable social exclusion. According to the UN, over 40 percent of Libya’s population of 6 million lived below the poverty line under Gaddafi and reaped no direct benefit from its monumental oil riches.
Does Kim Need to Keep His Nukes to Avoid Gaddafi’s Fate?
A massive army, as North Korea possesses, may have the same deterrent effect as nuclear arms.