All Hell Continuing to Break Loose...

As ridiculous as this looks, it is pretty standard for Gaddafi

Color me impressed with how well the Egyptian Revolution has gone so far. Keep in mind, there are still plenty of problems in Egypt, but the situation has progressed better than I expected. However, the Arab world couldn't stay calm (relatively speaking of course) for long. Now Libya has joined in. Here is a little history if you're unfamiliar with the terrain. Libya is a North African country bordering Egypt and Tunisia, so it is pretty obvious where the inspiration for the revolution comes from. Libya is led by a guy named Muammar Gaddafi. He has been the leader since he helped lead a military coup in 1969 against the former king of Libya. His stated goal after coming to power was to set up the first "Islamic Socialist" country in the world. Obviously, calling your system of government "Islamic Socialism" means you are not going to be well liked by the US. Somehow, Gaddafi managed to come up with a system that is the perfect combination to maximize US hate. Well played, sir. Gaddafi has kept it interesting since the beginning of his regime by being a leading state sponsor of terrorism for the first 30 years in power. His most famous act was ordering the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 which came down over Lockerbie, Scotland in the late '80s. After September 11, 2001, Gaddafi conveniently renounced terrorism. Since then he has been known worldwide for being a goofy ass who wears moo moos like the one pictured above. He is also a big fan of prescription sunglasses.


Gaffi sporting some sweet shades

Apparently flashy moo moos and a nice pair of sunglasses aren't enough to satisfy the people of Libya. They have been revolting for about a week now. This revolution should make Americans much more nervous than the action in Egypt for a few reasons. First, Gaddafi has already used much more violence than Mubarak in Egypt. There have been reports that there have been airstrikes ordered against the protestors. Earlier in the week, snipers were firing at protestors at one rally. Many people familiar with the situation think this will not end as peacefully as Egypt's revolution. The rebels control many of the major cities outside of Libya's capital Tripoli, but Gaddafi has a personal mercenary force that has kept Tripoli under his control. It will be interesting to watch what happens when the rebels start stirring up real trouble in Tripoli. All this means that the country could devolve into a failed state. Failed states are just the sort of thing that terrorist groups love, because it allows them to train and set up operation unimpeded. Another reason this could turn out badly is that Libya has a long history of harboring terrorists. I'm sure there are a few people who are looking for a moment to hijack the revolution and replace Gaddafi with someone who is even cozier with various terrorist groups throughout the world.

Finally, a few weeks ago on Real Time with Bill Maher, someone asked how the revolution in Egypt would have been different if Egypt allowed the right to bear arms. The entire panel sort shrugged it off and talked about how peaceful the Egyptian Revolution was and how it would have made the situation much, much worse if those leading the revolution had weapons. While watching this, I thought it was a terrible response, because all the panelists were forgetting something: the Egyptian army chose not to fire on the people. Clearly, the same thing is not happening in Libya. I'm sure there are many Libyans who would love to have something like the Second Amendment right now. Personally, I am torn on the Second Amendment here in the US, but I will say that it would probably make a dictator think twice about coming to power in a country where many of the citizens are armed.

I brought a ton of different issues in this post, but I'd like to know what you guys think about some of them. Fellow Citizenz, what say you?