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Six years on: No regrets over Libya's Gaddafi demise
[Al Jazeera] The six years since the Libyan people's successful uprising to end Muammar Qadaffy...The late megalomaniac dictator of Libya, admired everywhere for his garish costumes, funny hats, harem of cutie bodyguards, and incoherent ravings. As far as is known, he is the only person who's ever declared jihad on Switzerland... 's rule have seen the country divided between rival governments, various gangs, ethnic militias, and a renegade general. A once united rebel front has now broken into innumerable armed factions loyal to their home cities, political or religious ideology, or foreign backers. The conflict has claimed the lives of thousands of fighters and civilians alike, slowed the country's economic development, and given space for groups, such as the Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) group, to establish a toehold in the country. Regional powers, such Egypt and the UAE have become deeply involved in the country's complex conflict by backing renegade General Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... , and carrying out air raids against his opponents. The country's deterioration has led many inside and out of the country to question whether the country was better off during Qadaffy's 42-year-long reign. Posted by: Fred 2017-10-21 |
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