Colonel Gaddafi: Reign of Terror

How Libya's dictator sponsored global terrorism for decades.

Hot History

Nov 05, 2023

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Gaddafi’s revolution

In 1969, Libya boasted of a rich oil-based economy. Just ten years before, it lived in abject poverty. Despite the growth of the economy, most Libyans still subsisted in an impoverished rural existence. At the time, Libya was ruled by the pro-Western King Idris I. His government was highly corrupt. The oil revenues were not being spent on the people. The lowest tier of society were the Bedouins, a group of illiterate nomadic tribes. One of them, an army officer, was determined to improve the living conditions of his fellow Bedouins. His name was Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi was determined to liberate Libya from Western imperialism. The idealistic young 27-year-old was eager to change his country. Starting in high school, he began recruiting his friends for a political revolutionary movement. After more than ten years of planning, Gaddafi was poised for a strike. King Idris was out of the country, receiving medical treatment in Turkey. Exploiting the King’s absence, Gaddafi launched Operation Jerusalem. He made his way to the Berka barracks in Benghazi. Libya’s generals quickly surrendered to Gaddafi. It was a bloodless coup.

Republic of Libya

Now in power, Colonel Gaddafi proclaimed the founding of the Libyan Arab Republic. With his fellow revolutionaries, the new leader established a Revolutionary Command Council. Gaddafi became the chairman of the new organization, making him the most powerful man in Libya. Gaddafi aimed to modernize the nation with his socialist reforms. He redistributed the country’s finances to help the poor. He built roads, schools, houses and apartments. He increased literacy and the lifespan of the people. The quality of life in Libya was even higher than places such as Soviet Russia and Brazil.

Arab nationalism

Ideologically, Gaddafi drew strong inspiration from Egypt’s Abdel Nasser, the first pan-Arab nationalist leader. Like Nasser, Gaddafi promoted the themes of freedom, socialism, and Arab unity. Gaddafi sought to liberate Libya from foreign Western influences, particularly those of Great Britain and the United States. He wanted to bring Libya into closer alliance with the other Arab nations. Gaddafi was a socialist in the sense that he supported redistribution of wealth. However, he criticized communism, which he saw as a godless system. A Muslim, Gaddafi saw Islam as inextricably linked with his political and nationalist vision. When Nasser died in 1970, Gaddafi positioned himself as the new face of Arab nationalism. Much of Gaddafi’s Arab nationalism took the form of supporting the Palestinians against Israel. He saw Israel as a robber of Muslim lands. For Gaddafi, Israel exemplified the vicious tyranny of America and the West over the Middle East. He viewed Israel as a Neo-colonial project imposed onto the region by the Western imperialist powers. He regarded the Israeli state as an affront to Arab dignity and unity.

Palestinian terrorism

On September 5, 1972, Palestinian terrorists from the Black September Organization seized Israeli athletes in West Germany. Despite international outcry, the terrorists held the Israeli hostages in a fierce showdown. The hostages were killed, along with five terrorists. Their bodies were flown to Libya, where they received a martyr’s burial. Televised to the world, it became an undeniable display of Gaddafi’s support for Palestine against Israel. Upon their release from prison, the surviving three terrorists enjoyed a warm reception by Gaddafi in Libya.

Apartheid in South Africa

Libya only had a population of six million. To project his power beyond his borders, Gaddafi turned his attention to international affairs. The Libyan dictator pledged his support for Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid activist. To many observers in the West, Mandela was regarded as a troublemaker or even a terrorist. But to Gaddafi, Mandela was a cause célèbre. The Libyan leader strongly endorsed the African National Congress. He befriended Mandela, portraying him as a heroic resistance leader against Western oppression. The two were photographed together several times. Mandela praised Gaddafi as a “brother leader.” Mandela would later name one of his own sons in Gaddafi’s honor.

Sponsor of terror

Gaddafi supported a vast array of international causes. This was done to counteract the influence of the West in the Third World. In Britain, rumors held that Irish terrorists relied on plastic explosives, known as Semtex, which were provided by Libya. Gaddafi sponsored the Revolutionary Armed Forces, a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group in Colombia. He supported Abu Sayyaf, a jihadist group of Wahhabi fanatics in the Southern Philippines. He financed the Abu Nidal Organization, an off-shoot of Yasser Arafat’s Fatah. Within the United States, he backed the Black Panther movement. Gaddafi supported the ETA, a group of far-left militants motivated by Basque nationalism. As part of the Cold War, Gaddafi sponsored the Red Army in Germany and its affiliates in Italy. The Colonel’s sponsorship of terror killed thousands of innocent people, but it achieved the desired effect. US intelligence agencies came to regard him as the most dangerous man in the world. Nor was Gaddafi’s terrorist adventurism popular within his Command Council, who wanted those funds to be reallocated for Libya’s economic development. A few years into his reign, Gaddafi disbanded the Council in favor of autocratic rule.

Third International Theory

A comprehensive political ideologue, Gaddafi put forth his own theory of politics in his Green Book. It is known as Third International Theory. He presented it as an alternative to both capitalism and communism. Under Gaddafi’s autocracy, Libyan schoolchildren were indoctrinated into reading and following the Green Book. Photos of Gaddafi were everywhere. Gaddafi’s ideology rejected the need for political parties, government, or laws. Instead, he implemented direct democracy through a system of people’s congresses. Gaddafi presented himself not as a president, but as a brother leader and guide of Libya’s revolution. In practice, however, Gaddafi’s Libya was a dictatorship. He ruled through a vast network of secret police. Surveillance was widespread, forcing the Libyan populace into compliance. Gaddafi held show trials against dissidents, who were publicly executed in front of mass crowds. Many in those audiences were children. One of the most high-profile victims was Al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy, a Libyan student and aeronautical engineer studying in the United States. Gaddafi’s intelligence services ruthlessly hunted down dissidents around the world, including in Europe. Unlike the Soviets, who secretly eliminated their opposition, Gaddafi broadcasted Libyan assassinations to an aghast international audience. When protestors assembled at an embassy in London, Gaddafi’s agents opened fire on them indiscriminately. One of the victims was Yvonne Fletcher, a British policewoman. In response, Great Britain severed all diplomatic ties with Gaddafi’s Libya.

Gulf of Sidra incident

In early 1986, the US Navy was patrolling the Mediterranean Sea off the northern coast of Libya. They were moving toward the Gulf of Sidra. There, US officials were conducting typical naval training operations. Gaddafi was enraged, issuing a threat against the Navy. He refused to let the Americans into the gulf. The Navy insisted that the gulf was considered international waters. Libya fired six missiles at American planes. The US retaliated by sinking three Libyan patrol boats, and destroying a missile installation. Gaddafi was furious. For him, it was war against America.

Berlin bombing

On April 4, 1986, US intelligence agents in West Berlin intercepted a strange telex from Libya’s embassy in East Germany. “Tripoli will be happy when you see the headlines tomorrow,” it read ominously. Hours later, a woman entered La Belle. The nightclub was frequented by American troops in Germany. At 1:45 am, a two kilogram bomb packed with plastic explosives and shrapnel exploded. Three people, including two American servicemen were killed. Another 229 were wounded, many of whom suffered life-changing injuries. The bombing was a horrifying shock to the United States. It was one of the first direct terrorist attacks aimed at American servicemen. Later in Berlin, US intelligence intercepted another message. It was directed toward Libya. The message read, “At 1:30 this morning, a successful operation was carried out without leaving any trace of our identity.” Further messages were intercepted, making it clear that Gaddafi’s Libya was the perpetrator. Overnight, Gaddafi turned into America’s most hated enemy. Reagan denounced him as a “mad dog of the Middle East.” The American president accused Gaddafi of fomenting a world revolution. Ten days later, President Reagan ordered Operation El Dorado Canyon. Gaddafi’s home was struck, but he escaped unharmed. He claimed that the airstrikes killed his daughter Hanna, although it is questionable whether she even existed. This was a deliberate move to mobilize international opinion in Gaddafi’s favor. “Your government is a terrorist government,” Gaddafi complained to an American journalist. “Reagan is the biggest terrorist in the world.”

Flight 103

It was December 21, 1988. 259 passengers boarded the Pan Am Flight 103 at London’s Heathrow Airport. At 6:25 pm, the plane took off for New York. By 7:03 pm, the flight reached 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland. A device blew a 20-inch hole in the cargo hold. The plane was ripped apart. Incinerated in flames, the plane’s 20,000 pounds of ignited jet fuel came crashing down like a giant bomb. Its impact created an almost seismic magnitude. A dozen or more homes were wiped out. 270 people were killed. It was the worst act of terrorism ever committed against Americans. Gaddafi denied any involvement. Initially, Iran was the chief suspect. There were 19 separate countries related to the investigation, the largest such undertaking in the history of the FBI. Investigators traced the reconstructed trigger board to a triggering device used earlier by a Libyan agent to denote a Semtex bomb in a foiled terrorist plot. Shipments were traced to Libya’s military. Despite Libya’s repeated denials, nearly four years of investigation uncovered that the bomb had been planted by two Libyan agents aboard the plane. This act of terrorism was a turning point in American history. It revealed that America’s enemies had the sophistication and willingness to perpetrate such destructive and clandestine activity. In response, the United Nations imposed tough sanctions on Gaddafi’s regime. He became an international pariah.

Flashy image

Gaddafi had something of a histrionic personality. He constantly craved attention. He wore outlandish clothes. He changed his outfit multiple times a day. He believed that his fashion would inspire trends in Libya and throughout the Arab world. However, Gaddafi’s flashiness was often seen as a point of mockery to the rest of the world. Throughout his life, he wanted to maintain his youthful look. He had plastic surgery several times. He adopted many grandiose titles for himself, such as Imam of All Muslims. Starting in the 1980s, Gaddafi assembled his own all-female service of body guards. They were known as the Amazonian Guard. Women were expected to be tall, have long hair, and be beautiful. Gaddafi’s harem of beauty queens never failed to attract the lascivious attention of the international media. On the world stage, Gaddafi presented himself as a champion and advocate for women. He supported women’s rights, and styled himself as a liberator for Arab women. Perhaps befitting his larger-than-life persona, the Libyan leader had a libido to match. Gaddafi frequently had sex with his Amazonians. Three or four women at a time slept with the Libyan dictator. They smoked, drank, danced, and took cocaine. However, it is questionable whether this activity was voluntary. Gaddafi has been accused of sexually abusing the women, according to French journalist Annick Cojean. However, one of Gaddafi’s Ukrainian nurses found him to be kind and considerate, and was baffled by the accusations. Gaddafi’s sexual appetites went far beyond his Amazonian Guard. He visited schools and attended weddings with the intention of picking out girls. But Gaddafi’s libido had a very dark side. To terrorize his rich opponents, he would coerce their daughters into sex. Sexuality in general, and rape in particular, were very taboo topics in the traditionalist society of Libya. So it is difficult to determine with any certainty the veracity and extent of Gaddafi’s alleged sexual misconduct.

War on Terror

When terrorists attacked the Twin Towers, Gaddafi was appalled. The Libyan leader condemned bin Laden, and issued a warrant for his arrest. Gaddafi offered to donate his blood to the American victims. Gaddafi hated Islamic fundamentalism, which he regarded to a threat to his own government. In the wake of 9/11, Gaddafi restyled himself as a supporter of the Global War on Terror. He began providing intelligence to the CIA and Washington about the movements of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. After the Iraq War, Gaddafi openly complied with Western demands about his country’s arsenal. The Colonel publicly affirmed his commitment to disclose and dismantle all weapons of mass destruction. In 2004, British Prime Minister Tony Blair warmly welcomed Gaddafi. Ties were reestablished with Great Britain. For a time, Gaddafi appeared to finally achieve his ambitions of being a respected world leader. He spoke at the United Nations General Assembly for the first time on September 23, 2009. The Libyan dictator used the opportunity to condemn what he called “Western aggression.” He spoke for 90 minutes, well beyond the allotted fifteen. In February of 2011, Arab Spring protests sprung up in Libya. Gaddafi was taken aback. He blamed the unrest on drugs imported from al-Qaeda or even the United States. The Brother Leader responded with a harsh and indiscriminate crackdown. Because of his alliance, Gaddafi counted on the West to overlook his crackdowns. But NATO came out in support of the Libyan rebels. They enforced a no-fly zone, and conducted airstrikes against Gaddafi’s forces. Gaddafi was outraged. He threatened that Europe would pay for their intervention. By October, the 69-year-old dictator had successfully been disposed. Refusing to step down, he moved frantically from town to town to evade capture. After 42 years in power, Gaddafi’s regime was over.

Benghazi

But is Libya better off without Gaddafi? Is America safer with Gaddafi gone? In absence of a pro-Western autocracy, there is no longer a bulwark against extremists operating in Libya. In 2012, on the eleventh anniversary of 9/11, al-Qaeda militants assaulted the US consulate in Benghazi, murdering an American ambassador and three others. The violence escalated into what became a second civil war in Libya. Since Gaddafi’s overthrow, the country has suffered a decade of near continuous civil war. Today, terrorists continue to thrive amid the instability of Libya and other places across the Arab world.