29 October,2011 02:34 AM IST | | Arindam Chaudhuri
After seven-odd assassination attempts over the last four decades, it was on October 20, 2011, that one of the most successful Libyan leaders, Muammar Gaddafi, kissed the most brutal and disgraceful death. With it came the end of an era, which Gaddafi had built over 40 years. And with his end, the US again proved its double standards to the world!
Yes, Gaddafi was a ruler who made a lot of personal wealth, but under his rule and economic policies, Libya's human development indicators improved so much that it was ranked highest in terms of per capita GDP in Africa, best education index and also an exceptional human development index.
Yes, many people did revolt against him due to his iron-fist rule, but that doesn't necessarily make him the kind of monster the western media has been trying to portray him as. The ire of the West actually lies in the fact that Gaddafi was the real mastermind behind OPEC, that virtually transferred billions of petrodollars from the western coffers to the Arab world. And that is something that the West hasn't been able to forget or forgive.
My attempt is to bring forth the American double standards by taking a simple look at the three regimes which have been overthrown in Libya, Egypt and Iraq because there can be nothing more shameful than what the US is doing to the entire Middle East and Africa.
It is no secret that for decades, US has been a supplier of arms to Middle Eastern countries and to those nations where the regime needed it most -- to most autocratic and ruthless rulers. Now that Gaddafi is gone, Libya is likely to plunge into misrule.
There are now fears that after usurping power, rebel forces can sink into the hands of Islamic hardliners and form another breeding ground of terrorism! The question is: what is it that America wants? Apart from greed to secure oil pipelines, does it want these nations to be ruled by Islamic fanatics rather than progressive dictators? The latter is the better of the two evils, simply because social disturbances and conflicts in these nations allow the US defence budget to thrive and be justified. All I can say is, it is time the world must wake up and act against this dictatorship in the name of democracy.
