Moammar Gadhafi
Much Ado About Nasser
Rare audio of a candid conversation between Egypt's Gamal Abdel Nasser and Libya's Moammar Gadhafi in 1970 has scandalized the Arab world in recent days, ultimately revealing more about contemporary Middle Eastern politics than history.
The Colonel, the Mosquitoes and Me
Reflecting on 10 years after the Libyan revolution, Mohammed Alnaas writes about the time he almost died, living in a constant state of paranoia, taking refuge in fiction — and why he was convinced he was going to be kidnapped from Amsterdam.
Archaeology Turns Political to Benefit a Trio of Middle East Strongmen
Both Saddam and Assad recognized the value of their countries’ archaeological heritage and adapted it to suit their interpretations of what they thought the Baath Socialist Party should be.
On the Screen, Libyans Learned About Everything but Themselves
From California to Cairo, none of the films that featured my country, Libya, could step out of an Orientalist vision of camels, belly dancers, an endless desert and, of course, our iconic “Brother Leader.”
Today’s Libya Won’t Be Easy For Gadhafi’s Son
In the final years of Moammar Gadhafi’s rule, tensions between the autocrat’s two most prominent sons embodied the key ideological question of how — and if — governance ought to be reformed. The ferocious rivalry contributed to the regime’s disjointed response to the 2011 uprisings — and helped bring about its end.
A Libyan Revenant
For one militia commander, a battlefield defeat was payback to the aspiring Libyan strongman Gen. Khalifa Haftar. But it also illustrates in stark clarity how the Middle East’s proxy wars and ideological rivalries have spilled across borders, ensnaring both the innocent and not so innocent.
Libya and the Triumph of the Opportunists
Political opportunists can thrive on the penchant of people to long for the old authoritarian system and forget its dark sides. Many Libyans increasingly look back at the stability of the Gadhafi years with some nostalgia, even if they fervently supported the 2011 revolution.