USA Africa Dialogue Series - Re: Did the West Engineer the Fall of Gaddafi?

Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju, 

I take it as for granted that you have digested Gloria in excelsis Emeagwali's reference 

"MI6 whistleblower's partner accuses intelligence agencies of 'moral slide"

Given the significant role that Muammar Gaddafi played in Continental Africa and beyond ( he was crowned King of Kings in Accra, Ghana, and further afield I well remember that he invited Israel to join the Arab League  - quite a radical invitation that must have pissed off  some of the Kings and Queens, Princes and Princesses, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Military Leaders and general populations, the Arab Streets of The Arab League . Maybe, lurking at the back of his strategic mind, was the old adage "if you can't beat them, join them", whilst at the same time he was floating, or rather, dangling the idea of a bi-national state in front of them, a bi-national state to be known as Isratin. I suppose the " if you can't beat them,join them" ethos is a natural precursor to the Abraham Accords promising peace, tranquillity and prosperity for everybody.  

It's surprising that your post has not elicited any vehemence from Colonel Gaddafi's faithful fans or any serious responses from the munafiqeen , the idiots, the idolaters ( the mushrikeen ) and some of the other hypocrites.

BTW, The only thing that I've ever held against the great man is that  - according to a trusted Jewish friend from Libya, as part of his development plan for Tripoli, Colonel Gaddafi constructed a main highway that cut right through the main Jewish Cemetery in Tripoli  - and - have a heart, you've surely heard people weeping that they do not allow even the dead to rest in peace in their graves and that it's a favourite pastime of some of the anti-Semites to vandalize the graves in Jewish cemeteries - .   Yirmiyahu (Jeremiah) - Chapter 31 - the whole chapter is instructive about this and other adjacent matters 

At this point I only want to point out an error that you must have overlooked when you wrote, 

" The Arab Spring was brewing, ignited by the self immolation of Muhammad Boazizi in Algeria over govt oppression."

The fact is that Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia  -the most Europeanized of the North African countries. 

It's also important to make the distinctions between Morocco and Algeria 

N.B. Algeria - France relations are at a bottom low just now….

In my view Barack Obama kick-started the Arab Spring with his address to the Arab World from the podium at Cairo University 

On Thursday, 15 May 2025 at 19:05:39 UTC+2 Oluwatoyin Adepoju wrote:

I keep coming across claims that the West engineered the fall of Libya's Gaddafi but I recall things differently.

My own memory is that Gaddafi was a victim of his own stubbornness in his determination to spend his life as a dictator in Libya.

The Arab Spring was brewing, ignited by the self immolation of Muhammad Boazizi in Algeria over govt oppression.

Mubarak in Egypt tried to use the army against protesters.

The army eventually refused. Mubarak stepped down.

One or two other Arab/North African leaders did the same thing.

Saudi Arabia responded by bribing its own people with cash gifts to forestall demonstrations possibly demanding democratic rule and it worked.

The demonstrations reached Libya.

The demonstrators wanted a democratic govt.

Gaddafi had spent decades on the throne and seemed set to create a dynastic succession. 

He fought the demonstrators and civil war broke out.

There was no evidence of Western involvement to the best of my knowledge.

The West became involved when the tide turned against the rebels and Gaddafi was matching towards their last stronghold when the West struck, leading Gaddafi to take refuge in a safe house, from where he tried to escape upon which a Western fighter plane took out the vehicle he was escaping in upon which the Libyan rebels set upon him.

I see Gaddafi as incorrectly reading the tides of history against his own interests and that of his country.

Thanks 

Toyin 

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