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Libya's eccentric leader as influential as ever
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(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Muammar al Qaddafi is no ordinary head of state. He's not even an ordinary human being. He is described as eccentric at best, and completey off his rocker at worst. Watching his family interact is more gripping than many a soap opera: his son tried to overthrow him, only to be later forgiven, and his adopted daughter tragically died in an American air raid. In Qaddafi's iron grip, Libya has veered from Soviet ally to international pariah to American ally. During the height of US-Libyan tensions in the 1980's, Qaddafi was referred to by Reagan as the "mad dog of the Middle East".
Before becoming an American ally, Qaddafi ran a covert weapons of mass destruction program; sponsored terrorism, including the bombing of a Pan Am flight over Scotland; and staunchly supported the PLO and any other rebellions in the neighborhood, not excluding Charles Taylor in Liberia and the IRA. Once the Soviet Union, Qaddafi's patron and chief supporter, disintegrated, Qaddafi simply reversed course: he paid over $2 billion in compensation to the familes of 270 terrorism victims, ceased chemical and nuclear weapons programs, and denounced Islamic terrorists such as Al Qaeda. Condoleezza Rice visited Libya as the first Secretary of State to do since 1953, Libya was removed from the list of State Sponsors of terrorism, and recently a Libyan was elected by acclamation as the President of the United Nations General Assembly. The "mad dog of the Middle East" has shown that his actions are guided by a combination of the moment's whim and hard-headed realpolitik.
Earlier this year, the heads of states from the 53 states in the African Union elected Qaddafi as their leader. This does not bode well for a continent riding a nascent and easily reversed wave of democratization. The African Union has an important role to play in chiding member states into respecting institutions and human rights, but Qaddafi leads one of the most repressive security regimes in the world.
As the self-proclaimed "King of Kings of Africa", Qaddafi is a man in search of a cause. As a young disciple of President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Qaddafi championed pan-Arabism, pursuing a single united Arab state. Later he championed everything from anti-imperialism to Islamic socialism to grassroots 'democracy'. His newest cause is Pan-Africanism; having spurned his neighbors to the south for years, he is now calling for a United States of Africa. The closest thing to ideology for this man is a quest for leadership: as the longest serving African head of state (now that Omar Bongo is dead), he has the legitmacy that comes with serving as "Leader and Guide of the Revolution" for decades. On a continent where age is revered, serving since 1969 lends more credibility than almost anything else. This is the most likely explanation for why a man who has invaded his neighbors and instigated instability in more than a dozen countries is now leader of the African Union.
The African Union has the potential to act as a bulwark when countries slip into authoritarianism. Despite espousing a general policy of non-interference in member countries' affairs, the AU has shown support for democracy by withdrawing membership of countries such as Madagascar and Mauritania when they experience coups. Do not expect great things from an AU led by a man whose only constant has been complete repression of real democracy or dissidence. Consider this development disappointment for those who wish Africa well.
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