Qadaffi blames Wikileaks for the confusion now shaking the Middle East.
One of the most interesting results of the Egyptian revolution is how it has awakened so many sleepers. My friend, and we have been close friends for five years or so, never wanted to discuss politics. As a result we did not. However that is changed, he is a regular firebrand who says he wears his "Egyptianess" over his heart constantly.
That being an aside, here is a snippet of a conversation we had the other day. He was on his way to Tahrir and our conversation had roamed over the uprisings for hours.
"It will be very very messy” my friend said regarding revolution in Libya.
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
"That man has armed his people to the teeth and they will fight back. For some reason he armed his country and it will bite him now."
I have never underestimated Qadaffi, often referred to as the Libyan Peacock; rather I have considered him to be an eccentric megalomaniac loose cannon.
Sadly, it appears we were both right. The victims of the riot are being buried today. There is no telling how things will escalate now although I feel that, due to the examples set by Tunisia and Egypt and Bahrain, they will walk the path of peace in making their demands.
By Will
It has been too easy to laugh at Libyan ruler Moammar Qaddafi. His eccentricities, from his zany political proposals, to his paranoid phobia of being in buildings and his femme fatale bodyguards, were the source of much humor.
We joked about his tirades at the Arab League and even poked fun at his zany, reality-TV-show-quality family. We can’t laugh at the clown-despot anymore.
As soon as his people expressed a yearn for freedom from his Mubarak-like ancient rule (42 years!), he came down with force and state violence, showing the cruel side his clownishness obscured.
Human Rights Watch estimated at least 24 deaths; other unverified, recent estimates go as high as double that. Protesters announced they will stand firm. Pro-Qaddafi protests emerged with cryptic cries of “eternal unity with the brother leader of the revolution.”
The brutal dictator is trying to shore up political support by meeting with tribal leaders, offering to double salaries and releasing 110 suspected Islamic militants. Apparently, a security chief was terminated for the deaths of civilians in Al Bayda. As AJE reports, many expect Qaddafi to throw money around to quell the protests, as well.
Yet, Twitter is rampant with reports of harsher crackdowns, especially in Benghazi, where there were reports of 100,000 protesting. Funerals planned in Benghazi and Al Bayda will likely generate more protests, as this Al Jazeera English news package reports:
The analysis in Libya is now the same as it was with Tunisia, Egypt and Bahrain. Any regime that kills its own citizens to stay in power does not deserve its power. Qaddafi’s ouster will be bloody, and will not be a laughing matter.
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