Gaddafi: What a finale!

When the Libyan revolution first broke out, Colonel Gaddafi came out to call on his forces to capture those he described as “rats”, saying capture them, and clear the [Libyan] streets of their presence, in his famous Zenga Zenga speech, in which he pledged to hunt down the protesters “room by room, house by house, and alleyway by alleyway.”  However, by God, the tables were turned on him, and in an astounding manner!

Qatar-based Al Jazeera broadcast a video clip showing the moment that the Libyan rebels captured the fugitive Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.  His face stained with blood, he appeared stunned and terrified as the rebels surrounding him chanted “God is great…God is great!”  According to reports, Gaddafi said “what is happening…don’t kill me”.  And so the Libyan rebels captured him as he sought to capture them, and he found himself surrounded by jubilant Libyan fighters chanting “God is great”, with smiles of joy alighting their faces, whilst fear could clearly be seen on Gaddafi’s face…and then the story came to an end with his death!

This was Gaddafi’s end, after he ruled Libya for more than 4 decades, utilizing fear and terror, exterminating his rivals, and espousing lies.  He ruled Libya as if he were the state, the law, the dean of Arab rulers, the King of Kings, and the commander of the faithful.  Gaddafi decorated himself with innumerable titles; however he died unadorned on the side of the road!  Of course, Gaddafi’s end does not incite pity so much as it does confusion and bewilderment, and causes one to ask the same question that was repeated after the tragic end of Saddam Hussein and his family, and that question is: will these tyrants never learn their lesson?

We witnessed the end of Saddam Hussein, and the scattering of his family, and today we have witnessed Muammar Gaddafi and the Gaddafi family sharing the same fate!  What is frightening is that Gaddafi is the second Arab leader to face such a humiliating end, and within a period of just 5 years.  What is even stranger is that the late Libyan leader had mocked the Arab leaders, warning them that they would face an end similar to that of Saddam Hussein, however ultimately it was Gaddafi who found himself facing this end!  After more than four decades of dictatorship, during which he ruled Libya through bloodshed and violence, Muammar Gaddafi faced the same ending that he dished out to all those who opposed him or disagreed with him and his regime.  He died in the same manner that he ordered his men to kill the Libyan rebels throughout the Libyan uprising.  Therefore the pressing question, which must always be asked, is: will these tyrants never learn their lesson?

In order to ensure that this question remains ever-present, we must make sure that the people of Libya today understand that Gaddafi is finished, and that perhaps this was one of the easier difficult tasks facing them.  More important than all of this, is for the people of Libya to rebuild the country that Gaddafi destroyed over 4 decades in power.  He was a man who stood in the face of the progress of the [Libyan] people and state; a man who turned his entire country into a personal fiefdom for himself and his children.  Today, it is up to the people of Libya to rebuild their country and its institutions, and protect the Libyan civilians and their dignity.  By doing so, Libya will have truly washed its hands of Gaddafi.  However if this does not occur, God forbid, then nobody can guarantee the return of another Gaddafi!

This is the concern of the people of Libya.  As for the Arabs, we must recall that we have witnessed, over the past ten years, the end [of the rule] of a number of Arab leaders.  We have seen one Arab ruler’s end [hiding] in a hole, whilst another fled his country, and a third has found his end on a sickbed in hospital, whilst the last [deposed Arab leader] was killed on the side of the road.  Therefore the only question that remains is: will these tyrants never learn their lesson?