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22 Aug 2011 10:20

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World: Muammar Gaddafi: A man of many contrasts losing his grip on power

  • More than any of the region’s autocratic leaders, perhaps, Gaddafi was a man of contrasts. He was a sponsor of terrorism who condemned the Sept. 11 attacks. He was a brutal dictator who bulldozed a jail wall to free political prisoners. He was an Arab nationalist who derided the Arab League. And in the crowning paradox, he preached people power, only to have his people take to the streets and take up arms in rebellion.
  • The Associated Press • In a lengthy piece glancing over the long rule of Muammar Gaddafi. It’s a good read that goes a long way to explain the often-confusing nature behind a man who gave North Africa fits for decades, and even occasionally showed up in the West to offer up a little bit of fresh weirdness. No place was that more obvious than when he went to the United Nations to speak in 2009. It was a weird, rambling speech that left more that a few world officials bewildered. In some ways, though, it proved the leader’s last big gasp. Less than two years later, it appears that his regime has been all but taken away. source