Muammar Gaddafi has been the leader of Libya since he overthrew King Idris in 1969. Now, 42 years later, Colonel Gaddafi is turning on his own in a Reign of Terror-esque way. He is persecuting those who oppose him, and even executing thousands in order to retain his thrown, yet in the mean time he goes on news networks and talks about how much people love him. But in reality, the Gaddafi led Libyan government is facing mass uprisings and rebellions, and even cries of revolution are being heard throughout the nation. On February 17, 2011, the Libyan government began to see many protests against the government, and Gaddafi's reign to be more specific. In the recent months, the force against Gaddafi's reign has grown stronger. In order to counter the protests Gaddafi launched a reign of terror-like assault on those who oppose the regime, resulting in a true civil war, pitting the Libyan citizens against the Gaddafi controlled government. It is believed that more than 1000 deaths can be attributed to the breakouts of violence. The nation has become so unstable that the United Nations declared Libyan airspace as a no-fly zone. This is one of many actions taken by the U.N. in an effort to protect Libyans from Gaddafi's counter-revolutionaries. Gaddafi's terror has become so detrimental to the nation of Libya that even men who once stood at the colonel's side are now trying to force him out of office. Former justice minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil came out recently, stating that he had evidence that would convict Gaddafi of planning the
Lockerbie bombing in 1988. The Libyan protestors (which is no longer a simple group of protestors, but the Libyan nation as a whole) have even ordered the killing of Gaddafi. Gaddafi now has ordered the jailing of multiple government officials who have risen up against him (including his defense minster, who resigned because he refused to order the shooting of Libyan citizens) and is ordering mass killings of unarmed civilians (a la Robespierre). The violence sees no signs of slowing, as Gaddafi will not rest until every man that stands opposite him is eliminated. Gaddafi has no plans of stepping down as Libya's leader, and the civil war will only grow bloodier as time continues. As a final remark, I leave you with this question: Is Gaddafi's terror comparable to Robespierre's during the French Revolution, and if so is Gaddafi's terror more or less justified then that of Robespierre?
