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| Africa North |
| Do's and don'ts for dictators |
| 2011-10-25 |
| [Dawn] Watching Muammar Qadaffy's last few minutes, It was either that or 'Wheel of Fortune'... I was reminded of Saddam Hussein's grisly end. While the latter had the dubious benefit of a legal process, his end was at the hands of mocking, vengeful executioners. That was a nice touch, wasn't it... Both dictators were found hiding in holes: after decades of absolute power and lives of obscene luxury, they could find no dignified exit. Neither looked especially hard for the 'exit' sign, did they... Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, too, is having to suffer incarceration, with his court appearances taking place in a cage. He's being kept alive only because it's useful for the generals. Had Qadaffi survived the last couple of days he too would have ended up in a cage. Stripped of the trappings of power, they are all exposed as cowardly mediocrities. Something they all share is the conviction that they cannot be displaced, and have a God-given right to rule forever. Like kings and pharaohs, they prepare their sons to succeed them when their time comes. Brutal in their suppression of all dissent, they cannot imagine that their people might want to get rid of them. And here is where the writer goes off the rails... Nevertheless, it is difficult to draw any satisfaction from the way Qadaffy was killed. Oh? Lotsa folks in Libya and the West are actually quite pleased about the whole turn of affairs. You have to be a closet Islamicist, or a western progressive, to wring your hands so vigorously over the death of such a nasty man. Having been captured, he ought to have been brought before a court of law to defend his long and terrible record. No doubt Carla del Ponte could have squeezed a decade of free meals out of the proceedings... Even though he showed no mercy to his opponents in his lifetime, there ought to be a difference between his criminal outlook and that of a civilised opposition seeking to bring about the rule of law in Libya. The opposition should indeed be civilized. I suggest they start tomorrow... While I can see why the mob that captured their tormentor was so furious, executing him out of hand has cast a pall over the optimism and hope that were characteristics of the Libyan revolution. Which revolution was that? The one we saw was a dog-eat-dog, brutal affair that could only end with one side standing and the other side dead. Other Qadaffy supporters will now fear for their lives, and with good reason. Even earlier, stories of vengeance killings were rife. In Tunisia and Egypt, security forces retained the reins of power after the ruling dictators were toppled. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss, especially in Egypt... But in Libya, the army has been shattered, and soldiers and officers have either switched sides or gone into hiding. Power is fragmented along regional lines, and the National Transitional Council will be hard-pressed to prevent local power brokers and tribal chiefs from asserting themselves to claim a slice of the national pie. Nothing wrong with that. Perhaps the Republic of Tripolitania and the Republic of Cyrenaica could learn to get along. Libya was just an invention of the colonial Italians. Oil is the other joker in the pack, with western multinationals scrambling for concessions even before all the war dead have been buried. The fact that NATO was so keen to act is a reflection of a barely suppressed eagerness to exploit Libya's hydrocarbon resources. Europe did indeed have a desire to keep the oil flowing. What of it? Professional thugs should take that into account and work to stay on the good side of those who buy the oil. Surrounded by sycophants, both Qadaffy and Saddam had lost touch with reality. In the latter's case, he genuinely felt he could invade Kuwait, an oil-rich neighbour, and get away with it. He thought that as a check on Iran, he was indispensable to the West, and therefore immune. He thought poorly... In Qadaffy's case, the eccentric dictator thought he could support Islamic fascisti from Ireland to South America, and his country's oil wealth would protect him from reprisals. He ought to have figured out that he was vulnerable when Reagan ordered his palace in Tripoli to be bombed in 1986 to avenge the death of a US serviceman in a Berlin nightclub, allegedly by Libyan agents. That was a one-off. If we had bombed Libya a few dozen times and had leveled a few military bases back then Qadaffi might have gotten the message, but as it was we let him off the mat and he went back to his murderous ways. But instead of focussing on his own country, he continued on his mad way, culminating in the Lockerbie bombing that caused crippling sanctions on Libya. I thought the Dawn columnists were extolling the economic vibrance of Libya? He became an outcast, with most Arab countries turning against him for his harsh criticism of their ruling elites. While his attacks might have been justified, nobody wants to hear the truth from one of their own. When the people of Benghazi rose against him in the beginning of the year, even the timorous Arab League joined the chorus against Qadaffy, I'm glad to see that a Dawn hack and I agree that the Arab League is timorous! thus paving the way for a unanimous UN Security Council resolution permitting NATO action to 'protect Libyan civilians' from security forces. This resolution was stretched to breaking point and beyond, angering China and Russia. Mostly because the latter two were unhappy about how their client state was being treated. See, that's the problem with the end of the Cold War, there's just no checks and balances in the west, and even the timorous EU can gob-smack a thug who threatens the oil. Indeed, a similar UN blank cheque is now unlikely in countries like Syria because China and Russia feel they were used and deceived to obtain the Libyan resolution. And, as NATO just demonstrated in Libya, we do not need a blank check... So what are the lessons for other dictators? Firstly, do not alienate other leaders: you might need their support one day. Even the timorous Arab League might come in han .. nah! Secondly, always have an exit strategy as there's no telling when you might have to escape the wrath of your own people. However long it takes, people eventually get tired of cowering. Swiss accounts are no longer safe, so consider stashing your loot in China, or in other countries not too bothered with human rights. Pyongyang is nice, we hear, as long as you have lots and lots of cash... Thirdly, never believe your own propaganda. Never smoke your own dope... Even when the official media continues to trumpet your praises, remember that it is run by your own appointees and they are unlikely to permit critical comments to appear, for fear of their lives and jobs. Remember that you're Tony Montoya, just another thug, even if you have a tiger chained out in the front yard of the mansion... While you oppress your own people, do not use your spooks to target opponents abroad: foreigners are most unhappy by assassinations carried out on their soil. Remember that your power does not extend across the globe, so keep a low profile. There's a lesson for the Mad Mullahs™... We all love our children, but dictators ought to keep theirs from misusing their power to amass fortunes. Remember that for every crooked deal, there are ten rumours that do the rounds. Also, powerful generals and bureaucrats resent being ordered around by young dictatorial pups. So try and keep your sons from strutting on the national and global stage. Unless you just plan to kill them all like in North Korea... One reason the powerful Egyptian army became alienated from Mubarak was that the generals resented his son being positioned to inherit the presidency when he was not a member of the military elite, unlike his father who had been head of the air force before assuming power after Anwar Sadat's assassination. Refrain from foreign adventures like invading your neighbour, or supporting distant revolutions. Focus on your own people, and give them enough crumbs to make sure they don't get desperate. Learn from Soddy Arabia where some of the oil wealth is spent on the people to keep them quiet, even during the Arab Spring. Which also isn't working well -- ask al Qaeda. And please, please, refrain from building vast palaces with gold bathroom taps and filled with third-rate art. People might forget your other sins, but gold pistols? Bad taste should always be punished. Always remember that at some point your people are going to point at you, or your sons, or your followers, and ask the fatal question: "say, you guys are kind of stupid. Who put YOU in charge?" |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #11 even better, some Cheap Trick |
| Posted by: Frank G 2011-10-25 20:39 |
| #10 When I watch the video, I turn the sound down and que up my Sound of Music soundtrack and play: ...So Long, Farewell Auf Weidersahn, Good Bye-ee |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2011-10-25 19:09 |
| #9 or Democrats, in general |
| Posted by: European Conservative 2011-10-25 18:14 |
| #8 California, the EPA, the EU... |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-10-25 16:06 |
| #7 Or if you're going to be a dictatorship, make it a faceless, bureaucratic one. You mean like California Pappy? |
| Posted by: Secret Master 2011-10-25 15:41 |
| #6 The implication is that murder on a tyrannical scale should be handled pretty much the same as a traffic offense... Stalin said it better. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-10-25 13:47 |
| #5 A dictator cannot expect to be treated in a civilized manner if he acts like a psycho. |
| Posted by: Frozen Al 2011-10-25 12:49 |
| #4 The ultimate value expressed is moral equivalence. The implication is that murder on a tyrannical scale should be handled pretty much the same as a traffic offense... |
| Posted by: M. Murcek 2011-10-25 10:36 |
| #3 Or if you're going to be a dictatorship, make it a faceless, bureaucratic one. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2011-10-25 10:25 |
| #2 The main lesson "don't give up your WMD" |
| Posted by: gr(o)mgoru 2011-10-25 04:06 |
| #1 Kimmie + Regime repor cut 2/3rds of DPRK food rations, so once again SANTA CLAUS = MASSIVE UN, INTERNAT FOOD AID will be needed this season. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2011-10-25 00:49 |