snazzy hat i might have to fly down there to get one of my ownbluetadomonk

I think that's Gaddafi's only hat. However, his son Khamis has a pretty nice beret. If you can find and kill him, you might be able to keep it. And maybe even receive a reward.

I'm guessing Gaddafi is on his way south, toward Sabha or Sirte. I doubt he would stay in Tripoli where loyalists only control a few neighborhoods and a park.

How could he possibly be viewed as a hero?

Pirate700

I don't know. A lot of people seem to make some really bad individuals out to be heroes.

[QUOTE="jetpower3"]

[QUOTE="Stesilaus"]

Right now, you could measure the IQ of every Libyan with a tape measure: The broader the smile, the lower the IQ.

Few Libyans will be cheering when their standard of living plunges to rock bottom.

Make no mistake: The "democratic" government that NATO has selected for the Libyans has a mandate to reassign Libya to a new stratum of the global economy. It will be a stratum far below the one Libya occupied under Gaddafi.

Stesilaus

What the **** makes you say that? Libya has plenty of oil, and it will always be able to sell it. It may suffer in the short term because oil production is currently crippled, but nonetheless it should be able to generate plenty of cash to create the same standard of living for its population, if not better (after all Gaddafi is said to have misappropriated many billions of dollars, despite his generous public investments).

Look at Iraq, 8.5 years after the commencement of externally-imposed regime change.

How well is it doing economically, in spite of having oil reserves far larger than Libya's?

For a quick answer, look for it on the following list. (It comes in at number 9.)

List of countries by Failed States Index

Well, first off, good thing this isn't exactly externally-imposed regime change. More like externally-aided regime change. If the Libyans wanted Gaddafi so much, he wouldn't have collapsed so quickly. And the fact that rebels came from both the east and west of the country testifies to the fact that this effort was by no means one-sided.

I am well aware of the failed state index. It has to do more with, well, a failed state/government than a failed economy. Iraq's economy is actually doing very well growth-wise, even despite the violence and ongoing insurgency. And even though Iraq has larger oil reserves than Libya, it does not have all the infrastructure in place necessary to extract it, and its population is also far larger (more than 5 times as large to be exact).

Which brings us to the last point: what makes you automatically assume that there will be an insurgency? I don't doubt there is always the possibility, but Iraq's situation is very different from Libya's. Libya does not have a Sunni-Shi'a sectarian divide and I think it's clear that former regime supporters will not be marginalized to the extent they were in Iraq. Makes it a little bit more difficult for dangerous groups like Al Qaeda to gain a foothold (and to many, their ideas have been discredited in the face of the Arab Spring).The very fact that there are no foreign "boots on the ground" will also separate Libya from further comparisons with Iraq, whose insurgency was fueled by not only the sectarian divide, but also the occupation that followed the invasion.

[QUOTE="weezyfb"]

it is just a proposed bill that will never pass

also

also it is from a random "islamic activist", that would be like the westboro baptist church making proposed constitutional changes

Stesilaus

Unless I misread his earlier posts, SaudiFury believes that it has at least a chance of passing. :|

The "random Islamic activist" presides over one of the best-organized political movements that's likely to emerge from the NATO-created rubble.

Politics aside, though, it's the likely change in economic status that should worry Libyans the most. Historically, NATO countries haven't been tolerant of African countries with First World aspirations.

And yet it's plenty tolerant of other oil rich Arab countries, some of which are strong U.S./NATO allies and can be considered very first world :|.

Right now, you could measure the IQ of every Libyan with a tape measure: The broader the smile, the lower the IQ.

Few Libyans will be cheering when their standard of living plunges to rock bottom.

Make no mistake: The "democratic" government that NATO has selected for the Libyans has a mandate to reassign Libya to a new stratum of the global economy. It will be a stratum far below the one Libya occupied under Gaddafi.

Stesilaus

What the **** makes you say that? Libya has plenty of oil, and it will always be able to sell it. It may suffer in the short term because oil production is currently crippled, but nonetheless it should be able to generate plenty of cash to create the same standard of living for its population, if not better (after all Gaddafi is said to have misappropriated many billions of dollars, despite his generous public investments).

Tripoli's Green Square and one of Gaddafi's most important sons captured by rebels. http://abcnews.go.com/International/libyan-rebels-captured-gadhafis-son-tripoli/story?id=14349513

sherman-tank1

Man, I expected a lot more of a fight than that. Hopefully this isn't just a calm before the storm.

Update: rebels enter western Tripoli suburb of Janzour.

[QUOTE="jetpower3"]

I'm wondering if Gaddafi is going to try to regroup with his forces at Sirte or Sabha if Tripoli falls. Since the former city is his hometown, and both are thought to be fiercely pro-Gaddafi, the rebels might find it exceedingly hard to get him there, if he can make it that far. Or maybe he'll just run away to Venezuela.

sherman-tank1

I doubt he'll be very welcome in Tunisia, given their own revolution, their very recent recognition of the rebels, and the fact that Gaddafi forces have repeatedly attempted to infiltrate the country. Besides, it just became a signatory of the ICC, by which Gaddafi is currently wanted. If he was there, they would be obligated to turn him over.

I'm wondering if Gaddafi is going to try to regroup with his forces at Sirte or Sabha if Tripoli falls. Since the former city is his hometown, and both are thought to be fiercely pro-Gaddafi, the rebels might find it exceedingly hard to get him there, if he can make it that far. Or maybe he'll just run away to Venezuela.