They loved him, and they hated him but no one could ignore Colonel Muammar Qadhafi. The Western world alternately treated him as a pariah and a respected leader depending on how willing he was at a particular point in time to do business with them. Others admired him for his defiance of the West.
Still others found him interesting for his unique dress sense to which Vanity Fair paid special homage (in a spirit of fun, of course) in 2009 calling him 'Sartorial Genius of Our Time'; his retinue of female guards; his insistence during visits abroad on staying in a Bedouin tent he carried along; and much else. But Qadhafi also ruled his country with an iron fist for 42 long years. It was not surprising therefore when, inspired by the Arab Spring, Libyans also took to the street last February. It remains a moot point, nonetheless, as to who came out as the winner from the confrontation: the Libyan people or the oil-hungry Western countries?
When protesters in Bahrain came out earlier this year to demand reform, the pro-Western monarchy hosting the US Fifth Fleet responded with a bloody crackdown. Getting a nod and a wink from Washington Saudi Arabia sent in its troops to help the Bahraini King crush the protesters - a task performed quite effectively. Ever since the uprising began in Syria last March, the US and its allies have been condemning Assad regime's excessive use of force that has left more than 2000 people dead, but there is no chance of a Libya-like campaign there. Notwithstanding its importance within the context of regional power balance, Syria has no oil and hence in no danger of a military intervention. Besides, the thinking apparently is that it is better to deal with a known baddie than an unknown quantity. The uncertainty in Egypt is already a source of much unease to Western governments. Democracy is the last thing they want to take root in the Middle East. Their aim is to maintain the status quo as far as possible.
The case of Qadhafi's Libya was different. True, he had sought international rehabilitation after years of sanctions and isolation, giving up his nuclear programme, and handing over the PanAm bombing suspects to Ireland. He had also paid a huge amount of compensation to the PanAm victims' families. Still, the Colonel remained unpredictable and hence unreliable. And he presided over a country that produced some of the best-quality sweet crude oil - highly coveted by refineries. Libyan oil formed only two percent of the world's oil supplies; some of the European countries though imported a lot more than the global average. Libya's former colonial ruler, Italy, for instance, imported 20 percent of its oil from Libya.
France, Switzerland and Ireland bought 15 percent of their oil from Qadhafi. Although the US' imports comprised only one percent of its requirements, it had a lot of accumulated anger and hate against Qadhafi. All these countries wanted greater and easier access, but he wouldn't let them. Western oil companies have been complaining that the Colonel was a difficult partner to deal with. Every now and then, he would demand higher fees and increase taxes. He also restricted them from carrying out further exploration for new oil wells.
So for the Nato nations it was worth the effort they put in for the Colonel's ouster. Had they not intervened he would still be there. Despite heavy bombing, he had managed to keep his fighting force largely in tact for eight months. In the end, it was a French bomber which incinerated Qadhafi's convoy as it left Sirte for a safe haven, forcing him to take cover in a roadside culvert from where he was pulled out alive, brutally beaten and shot dead. Human rights groups have demanded an inquiry into the circumstance of his death. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has also said that there is a need for investigation. But it is not going to go anywhere. The Western countries preferred the end to be that way. They did not want him to go before the International Criminal Court, where a case awaited him, and deliver fiery speeches challenging legality of the military intervention as well as the interventionists' intentions. No wonder, British Prime Minister David Cameron told journalists "the account of what happened is a matter for the NTC." In that case, some might argue, Qadhafi's wrongs against his people could also be dismissed as an internal matter of Libya.
The mission having been accomplished, Western nations have assured themselves a free hand in helping themselves to Libya's oil wealth. What matters to them at this point in time are the spoils of war. Oil companies such as Italy's Eni, Britain's Bp, France's Total, Repsol YPF of Spain and Australian OMV are busy positioning themselves for lucrative contracts. So are the US' Hess, Marathon and ConocoPhillips, and others. The NTC has already indicated it would prefer these countries over the ones who did not lend it support, like China, Russia and Brazil.
As for the cost of Nato's bombing raids on Libyans, the interim government can forget if it thought that was for free. So far, the US and Britain have mentioned some figures, the former $1.1 billion and the latter £1.75 billion. Others will also be making their own calculations. They are all going to present the bill to the interim government. Britain's Tory MP Daniel Kawcynski made it plain who is to pay for the bombings when he said the other day that Libya should use its oil wealth to pay back some of what Britain had spent in the fight against Qadhafi. But first things first. They are all rushing towards Libya - in the name of rebuilding the country - lest competitors claim choice shares from the spoils. British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond reflected the prevailing sense of urgency and rivalry among the Nato allies in his comments that UK firms should move quickly to secure contract to rebuild Libya.
Meanwhile, fresh reports have emerged of chilling atrocities at the hands of NTC fighters. Some 300 bodies of Qadhafi supporters have been discovered in Sirte - mostly the local residents - shot in the head and hands tied behind their backs. Western nations, of course, have a selective sense of morality, and would want this outrage against humanity to go unpunished. It remains to be seen what right groups such as Human Rights Watch (which first brought to light the discovery of 53 bodies in a hotel similarly shot in the head and hands tied behind the victims' backs) and others are to do about those who committed mass murder at Sirte.
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