The psychology of the dictator

The dictator is tyrant, bloody, corrupt etc.. and the dictator is linked to totalitarian regime lacks freedom of speech and political participation, except for some of the ruling elites surrounding him. However, this is, in fact, an over-reduction of the psychological and behavioral aspects of the dictator. Nevertheless, why does the dictator not leave the power in times of protesting and popular uprising?

Detached from reality:

He is detached from reality and the tyrant usually under-estimates the popular upset, because the surrounding ruling minority misinforms him. Therefore, the dictator is actually convinced about false popular base among his people, so he classifies the protesters and his opponents as a bunch of outlawed group where there is no independent judicial system.

Cartoon by Mohamed Sabra

Power is addictive:

Throughout the ruling years, the dictator has never settled a retirement plan. He has never thought about his post-term life. 

Furthermore, year after year, he becomes more addictive to power and the presidential lifestyle that lacks any accountability. So, he starts to prepare himself for a lifelong term and even inheriting the governance to his son, such Egypt's Mubarak, Libya's Qaddafi and  Syria's Assad.

Reduction of patriotism:

As soon as the popular demonstrations erupt, the dictator believes that his national duty is to stick to the power to avoid disintegration of the country. He is detached from reality and believes he is popular amid actual threat of uprooting from the power. The dictator is also surrounded by a loyal ruling elites who are ready for unmerciful fight for their positions and privileges. This will increase political tensions and will lead to civil war between the oppressed majority and the privileged minority.

Grandiosity:

The long-term settlement in power and lacking of any legal accountability will create grandiosity in which the tyrant believes that he is the fittest person to occupy the presidential chair. He is experienced more than any other citizen.

The case of Yemen: Ali Abdullah Saleh (in power: 1978-2011):

Ali Abdullah Saleh was assassinated by his Houthi allies after six years of removing from power as president of Yemen.

He formed a coalition with Iran-backed Houthis, his previous bitter enemies when he was president, against Saudi-backed successor president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi.

Houthis captured the power in Yemen at the expense of Saleh's ruling class, then they complained about marginalization which pushed the former dictator to re-ally with Saudis against Houthis. The latter militia controls the army and internal security.

Saleh was detached from the reality and grandiosed enough to believe that he has popular base ready to defend him and defeat Houthis.

In a leaked phone call with Saudi-backed general prior to his assassination, Saleh said: "you can't cross me!". "I brought Houthis and I will defeat them". Houthis regarded him as a traitor and killed him where there were just a dozen of his loyals beside him.

The case of Libya: Muammar Gaddafi (in power: 1969-2011):

Gaddafi used to intoduce himself as "the leader of the revolution" (self-endorsed) who lacks any official position in the country, where he in fact, interfered in almost every single aspect such as: The buildings' colors (he ordered to paint the doors and windows with the green color) and obligate secondary schools to "educate" his book (The Green Book). His son controlled sports (T-shirts' colors, selection of players etc..).

After the popular uprising erupted in 2011, Gaddafi called the demonstrators as "al-Qaeda elements" and "rats". He completely denied their demands. 

Later on, NATO intervened directly and the country fell into unmerciful in-fight between the winning militias.

The case of Romania: Nicolae Ceaușescu (in power: 1965-1988):

From beginning of 1980s, the economic situation deteriorated dramatically in Romania. Ceaușescu kept repeating the same self-endorsed socialist narrative, while his people was starving.

"Ceaușescu created a pervasive personality cult, giving himself such titles as "Conducător" ("Leader") and "Geniul din Carpați" ("The Genius of the Carpathians"), with inspiration from Proletarian Culture (Proletkult). After his election as President of Romania, he even had a king-like sceptre made for himself."

He also reduced patriotism by calling the protesters in Timisoara (Romanian city) as "fascists" who pretend to undermine the socialist republic. 

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British Troops Could Be Deployed On The Ground In Libya

British troops could be deployed in Libya in a military offensive to stop the flow of migrants headed for Europe.
Leaked EU papers yesterday revealed plans for an air and naval blitz on the people-smuggling networks responsible for putting migrants on boats making perilous journeys across the Mediterranean.
But the document also suggests ground operations might be needed to destroy the smugglers’ vessels and assets, such as fuel dumps.

The papers say: ‘The operation would require a broad range of air, maritime and land capabilities. These could include: intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; boarding teams; patrol units (air and maritime); amphibious assets; destruction air, land and sea, including Special Forces units.’
Last night officials declined to specify what role Britain would play in the operation, which is due to be debated by EU ministers on Monday. But the reference to Special Forces will lead to speculation of SAS involvement on the ground.
It is unclear who would be in charge of a military operation but the most likely candidate is the United Nations.

Britain – which has HMS Bulwark in the region, carrying out rescue missions – could also play a role in any naval strikes against the smugglers.
Home Secretary Theresa May has said that Europe must use the ‘military, intelligence and crime-fighting assets’ at its disposal to crush the gangs.
Source: Daily Mail

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Four Years After Gadhafi, Libya Is a Failed State

Nearly four years after NATO-backed rebels toppled the former Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi, the North Africa country has plunged into chaotic unrest.

The failure of last year’s election to achieve political unity in Libya was most evident when Fajr Libya, or “Libya Dawn” – a diverse coalition of armed groups that includes an array of Islamist militias – rejected the election’s outcome and seized control of Tripoli. The internationally recognized government relocated to Tobruk, situated in eastern Libya along the Mediterranean coast near the Egyptian border, while Libya Dawn set up a rival government, known as the new General National Congress, in the capital.

As forces aligned with the Tobruk government have fought Libya Dawn, the conflict has gradually become internationalized. Egypt and the United Arab Emirates have launched air strikes targeting Libya Dawn, while Turkey, Qatar, and Sudan are believed to have provided the Islamist-dominated coalition with varying degrees of support.

The emergence of Daesh (the so-called “Islamic State”) in strategically vital areas of Libya has further complicated the conflict in Africa’s most oil-rich country and raised security concerns in nearby states.

Libya’s Most Polarizing General

The mercurial general Khalifa Belqasim Haftar has emerged as an influential, yet highly divisive, leader in this bloody conflict.

In early March, the anti-Islamist general was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the Tobruk government. Haftar’s role in the former Gaddafi regime, his cozy relationship with Washington, and suspicions about his long-term ambitions have given him a controversial reputation among many Libyans. Nonetheless, he’s also gaining respect from those who share his vitriol for Islamists.

Haftar was an early Gaddafi loyalist, and played an important role as one of the “Free Officers” in the 1969 revolution that toppled the monarchy led by King Idris al-Sanusi. Gaddafi later said that Haftar “was my son… and I was like his spiritual father.” It was the start of a military career in which Haftar fought on many different sides.

During the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, Haftar led a Libyan battalion. Later, as a commander of Libyan forces in the country’s 1980-1987 war with Chad, he was allegedly responsible for war crimes when his forces were accused of using napalm and poison gas.

In 1987, the Chadian military scored a major victory in the battle of Wadi al-Doum. In addition to killing more than 1,000 Libyan forces, Chad took over 400 Libyans, including Haftar, as prisoners.

Around that time, Haftar’s loyalties shifted.

While held in Chad, Haftar worked with other Libyan officers to coordinate a coup against Gaddafi, before the United States secured his release – by airlifting him and 300 of his men to Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), and from there to Virginia.

As a newly minted U.S. citizen, Haftar lived in northern Virginia from 1990 to 2011, spending part of this time working with the CIA before returning to Libya in March 2011 to fight once again against the Gaddafi regime. Several sources insist that Haftar was out of the CIA’s hands by 2011, but others maintain that the US government orchestrated his return to Libya that year.

Libya’s Civil War

Last year, Haftar called for the unilateral dissolution of Libya’s parliament and the establishment of a “presidential committee” to rule the country until new elections were held. Haftar cited Libya’s “upheaval” as justification for the armed forces to take over.

Many saw his act as an attempted military coup aimed at crushing the Muslim Brotherhood, which had won second place in Libya’s 2012 elections. Prime Minister Ali Zeidan dismissed his announcement as “ridiculous”.

Although many in Libya’s government viewed him as a rogue general hungry for power, his ongoing campaign against Islamist forces has gradually won him supporters. Last May, Haftar waged a campaign called “Operation Dignity” to “eliminate extremist terrorist groups” in the country. Since then, the Tobruk-based government has by and large come to support the general, viewing him as the government’s best bet in the struggle against its Islamist enemies.

Haftar’s anti-Islamist crusade parallels that of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, who is presiding over a crackdown on Egypt’s Islamists. In making no distinction between so-called moderate Islamists like the Muslim Brotherhood and hardline factions such as Daesh and Ansar al-Sharia (an al-Qaeda affiliate), Haftar and Sisi are both selling a narrative to the West that their anti-Islamist positions are in sync with the “global war on terror.”

So far, Haftar has been unwilling to negotiate with Libya Dawn – which contains the Libyan Muslim Brotherhood’s political wing and the “Loyalty to Martyrs” bloc within its coalition. In turn, Libya Dawn refuses to negotiate with Haftar.

The United Nations has begun hosting talks in Morocco between Libya’s various political factions in an effort to unite them against the growing threat of Daesh. Unfortunately, the UN’s efforts to push Libya’s two governments toward dialogue is undermined by the low levels of trust between them, and their mutual belief that only through continued armed struggle can they secure more territory and resources. Indeed, with strong backing from Cairo and Abu Dhabi, Haftar is likely convinced that he can make greater gains through warfare than diplomacy.

The toxic legacy of Gaddafi’s divisive and authoritarian regime, which pitted Libya’s diverse factions against one another, has plagued the prospects for any central authority gaining widespread legitimacy in the war-torn country. Indeed, since he was overthrown in 2011, Libya has turned into a cauldron of anarchy, with little meaningful security existing outside of Tripoli and Benghazi.

Gaddafi’s regime harshly oppressed the Islamist groups that went on to form Libya Dawn, which views its rise to power in Tripoli as hard fought and a long time in coming. They view Haftar as a war criminal from the ancien regime committed to their elimination, which will certainly undermine the potential for Libya’s two governments to reach a meaningful power-sharing agreement. With no peace in sight, a continuation of the bloody stalemate between the Tobruk and Tripoli-based governments seems most likely.

International Implications of Libya’s Turmoil

The fall of Gaddafi launched a geopolitical tsunami across Africa and into the Middle East.

Libya is now home to the world’s largest loose arms cache, and its porous borders are routinely transited by a host of heavily armed non-state actors – including the Tuareg separatists and jihadists who forced Mali’s national military from Timbuktu and Gao in March 2012 with newly acquired weapons from Libya. The UN has also documented the flow of arms from Libya into Egypt, Gaza, Niger, Somalia, and Syria.

Last October, 800 fighters loyal to Daesh seized control of Derna near the Egyptian border, some 200 miles from the European Union. Since then, Daesh’s Libyan branch has taken control of Sirte and gained a degree of influence in Benghazi, the nation’s second largest city and heart of the 2011 uprising against Gaddafi.

The group’s use of Libyan territory to terrorize and threaten other states has raised the international stakes. In February, Daesh beheaded 21 migrant workers from Egypt because they were Coptic Christians, then released a propaganda video containing footage of the heinous act. That lured Egypt into waging direct air strikes against the group’s targets in Derna.

Last November, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis – the dominant jihadist group in the Egyptian Sinai – pledged allegiance to Daesh, as did Nigeria’s Boko Haram more recently. Daesh has also made direct threats against Italy, prompting officials in Rome to warn that Italy’s military may intervene in Libya to counter Daesh’s fighters.

One quarter of Daesh’s fighters in Derna come from other Arab countries and Afghanistan. A major influx of Jabhat al-Nusra fighters from Syria have also entered the fray in Libya, underscoring how Islamist extremists from lands far away have exploited Libya’s status as a failed state. This development was most recently underscored when a Sudanese member of Daesh’s Libya division carried out a suicide attack on April 5th, which targeted a security checkpoint near Misrata. The bloody incident resulted in four deaths and over 20 injuries.

The number of weak or failing states across Africa suggests that such international networks will continue to take advantage of frail central authorities and lawlessness throughout the extremely underdeveloped Sahel and other areas of the continent to spread their influence. In the absence of any political resolution to its civil war, Libya in particular – as a failed state with mountainous oil reserves – will remain vulnerable to extremist forces hoping to seize power amidst the ongoing morass.
Source: Antiwar.com
Read also: Libya’s civil war - an oily mess, The Economist

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Egypt, UAE Behind Airstrikes In Libya

“U.S. officials say Egypt and the United Arab Emirates secretly carried out airstrikes against Islamist militias inside Libya.
They say the United States wasn't notified in advance of the attacks.
One official says the two countries and Saudi Arabia have been supporting a renegade general's effort for months against Libyan militant groups, but that the Saudis don't appear to have played a role in recent strikes.
Another official says the U.S. knew about Egyptian and U.A.E. plans for a possible operation and warned them against going through with the effort.

The officials weren't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity. The Egyptian and U.A.E. role in the strikes was first reported by The New York Times.”
Source: AP

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Libya Updates | The Forgotten Conflict in Libya

The  bloody conflict is going unreported in Libya. Militias were named as either 'revolutionaries' or rebels in the main stream media. NATO-GCC(*) alliance supported Libyan rebels to overthrow Col. Gaddafi to acquire vital oil resources, under pretext to support Libyan civilians against Gaddafi regime. Now a days, a bloody regional and tribal conflict is running unreportedly in the main stream media, because oil flow is maintained to NATO countries, particularly Italy and France.

Two Gulf monarchies (UAE and Qatar) contradictory support Libyan factions, the UAE Sheikhdom support liberal leader Mahmoud Jibril, alongside his ally Gen. Khalifa Haftar, against Islamist factions supported by Qatar monarchy.

Just as bad, no acknowledgment has ever come from the establishment, including the media, that what was tantamount to an invasion by the West in 2011 was never about protecting the Libyan people from an ogre. That’s what the public was constantly led to believe. Rather, it was about protecting opportunities for Western companies. And now, as Libya continues to unravel, even those are in doubt.
- Read more at: http://whowhatwhy.com/2014/07/27/looking-back-on-libya/#sthash.foC8p6cM.dpuf

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(*) NATO-GCC: North Atlantic Treaty Organization-Gulf Cooperation Council 

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The Compulsory Revolution

Jan. 20, 2013

Libya’s defence minister was unhurt Saturday after being caught in a firefight between his bodyguards and ex-rebels at an airbase in the east of the country, his deputy told AFP.

Mohammed al-Barghati was leaving the airport in Tobruk, eastern Libya, when the shooting occurred, said Khaled al-Sherif.

“As the minister prepared to leave the airport by car, his bodyguards traded fire with angry soldiers and ex-rebels, but the minister was not hurt,” Sherif said.

Libya’s official LANA news agency said Barghati’s car was not the target of the shooting, blaming the incident on a clash between military units at the Tobruk airbase east of Benghazi during which “warning shots were fired.”

Barghati had been meeting with military brass to discuss means of bolstering the armed forces, his ministry said.

A military official, who declined to be identified, said the incident occurred after a former deputy defence minister in charge of the national guard and vital installations refused a government decision to quit.

The government recently decided to scrap the post of ex-minister Al-Seddik al-Ghaithi al-Obeidi, a jihadist, who was accused of refusing to put himself under the command of the army’s chief of staff.

The fledgling army and police are too weak to rein in the militias who led the 2011 uprising that brought an end to the iron-fisted rule of veteran strongman Moamer Kadhafi.

More than a year after Kadhafi was slain, Libya is still awash with weapons and the eastern city of Benghazi, where the uprising first erupted, has been rocked by a wave of attacks targeting foreign diplomats, military and police officers.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Ali Zeidan said he was considering imposing a curfew on Benghazi, a day after a car bomb killed a police officer there.

Benghazi has emerged as a hub for jihadist groups, including militants who killed US ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans in an attack on the US consulate last September 11.

Italy temporarily closed its consulate in Benghazi on Tuesday and pulled its staff out of the country following a failed gun attack on its consul.

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News from Syria is grim. Libya 2.0 looms

Fabricating a chemical weapons threat looks like pretext  for full-scale war.

BY: Stephen Lendman

On December 8, the Toronto Sun said Foreign Affairs officials urged Canadian citizens to leave Syria. May be they know something they're not explaining.

On December 9, Israel National News said the London Sunday Times said IDF special forces now operate inside Syria. Allegedly they're trying to locate "non-conventional weapons" and "sabotage" them.

Israel considered ground and/or air attacks to destroy them. Perhaps they're still planned. The Sunday Times said if evidence suggests Assad used chemical weapons, Washington and Israel "might coordinate to carry out a ground invasion."

An unnamed military source told the Times that US forces could be ready "rapidly within days" if chemical weapons are used. "The muscle is already there to be flexed."

On December 9, The Times of Israel headlined "Syrian rebels claim new video shows victims of chemical attack."

A You Tube clip depicts alleged victims. It shows dead and injured Syrians with disfigured faces. Assad is blamed.

Days earlier, a You Tube video showed Syrian insurgents testing chemical weapons on lab rabbits. Threats to use them against Assad loyalists followed.

Lab equipment and chemical containers were shown. Some containers bore the Turkish chemical company Tekkim name.

An Arabic text wall poster read, "The Almighty Wind Brigade (Kateebat A Reeh Al Sarsar)."
[The attached links are removed by the Weblog editor]

A man shown begins mixing chemicals in a beaker. It emits gas. Rabbits in a glass box have convulsions, collapse and die. The audio states:

"You saw what happened. This will be your fate, you infidel Alawites. I swear by Allah to make you die like these rabbits, one minute after you inhale the gas."

Earlier reports said insurgents were given gas masks. They suggested a possible chemical attack coming blamed on Assad.

Saudi Arabia allegedly fitted ambulances and other vehicles with anti-gas/anti-chemical filtering systems in preparation for Free Syrian Army chemical attacks blamed on him.

Perhaps a major false flag incident looms. Daily headlines suggest Assad's days are numbered.

UK Foreign Secretary William Hague claims "some evidence" he saw indicates Assad is readying chemical weapons for use on opposition fighters.

He's seen nothing, of course, but media scoundrels don't explain. At the same time, Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon said "we see no sign that this weaponry is being pointed at us."

Over the weekend, US and Russian diplomats met in Geneva. Foreign Minister Lavrov said doing so doesn't mean Moscow thinks Assad's fall is inevitable.

"We are not (discussing) Assad's fate," he said. "And all attempts to present the situation in any other way are unscrupulous, even for diplomats from those countries which are well-known for their intention to distort facts in their favor."

Lavrov accused US officials of spreading false rumors about Russia softening its position on Syria.

"US representatives started to make statements hinting that Russia is changing its position," he said. "This is not true. We have not changed our position, and only on these conditions we agreed to hold the Geneva meeting."

"We said we would be ready under one condition: that the basis of such brainstorming sessions will be formed by the Geneva document, without any additions, without any ultimatums, without any preconditions like President Assad's resignation."

Lavrov referred to the June Geneva meeting joint statement. It said any future Syrian transition government "could include members of the present government and the opposition and other groups and shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent."

Washington twisted the language to mean a future Syrian government must exclude Assad. Doing so, of course, disregards the will of most Syrians.

The present government has strong popular support. The longer conflict rages, the more it grows.

On December 9, RIA Novosti headlined "Russia Rules Out Libyan Scenario in Syria." On Sunday, Lavrov said:

"We’ll not allow the Libyan experience to be reproduced in Syria. Unfortunately our Western partners have departed from the Geneva accords and are seeking the departure of….Assad."

He added that Syrians alone should choose their government.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said Syrian leaders assured Moscow that chemical weapons are secure and won't be used.

"The Syrian government is assuring us that it will not allow their spread," said Patrushev. "We hope that this will be so."

He and Lavrov expressed more concern about foreign elements using them. They seized a chemical facility near Aleppo. Substances it produces can be used for chemical weapons.

Mossad-connected DEBKAfile (DF) posts regular inflammatory reports. They allege Assad may use chemical weapons. On December 10, it claimed he may have "passed some" to Hezbollah.

Unnamed "Syrian army" defectors alleged "containers were last week removed from Syrian bases at Jabal Kalamon and loaded on vehicles camouflaged as commercial trucks."

Contents are "thought to have been split up and hidden at different Hizbollah bases to make them harder to attack."

Israeli US ambassador Michael Oren said he has no information on this. At the same time, he called supplying Hezbollah with chemical weapons a "game changer/red line" for Israel.

"We have a very clear red line about those chemical weapons passing into the wrong hands," he said. Can you imagine if Hezbollah and its 70,000 rockets would get its hands on chemical weapons? That could kill thousands of people."

He said nothing about Israel's powerful nuclear, chemical and biological arsenal. If threatened, it's willing to use it. Israel menaces the entire region and beyond. Hezbollah, Syria, Iran, and Hamas threaten no one.

DF again alleged a Syrian sarin nerve gas threat. Baseless claims don't wash but get repeated. It claims chemical weapons are deployed near "at least five air force bases, with evidence of preparations to use them."

Placing them near warplanes "indicates an intention….to drop poison gas from the air."

According to unnamed "Western and Israeli intelligence officials," Assad "directed his troops fighting in and around Damascus to use chemical weapons if" foreign fighters appear able to "seiz(e) any part of Damascus international airport."

These and similar claims are baseless. For days, they've been circulating. Repetition makes people believe them.

Heightened tensions suggests full-scale intervention looms. Ravaging Syria may follow. A potential bloodbath looks possible. It  may exceed the worst of Libya.

On December 10, Voice of Russia (VoR) said Islamist rebels claim they seized a key north Syria army base at Sheikh Suleiman.

German Federal Intelligence Service head Gerhard Schindler believes Assad's government is close to falling. "Armed rebels are coordinating better, which is making their fight….more effective," he claims.

On Friday, a new unified command was established. Extremist elements are involved. Estimates suggest two-thirds of its representatives are Muslim Brotherhood and Salafist allies.

Washington wants Islamist fascist regimes throughout the region. It goes all-out to prevent democracies.

"Evidence is mounting that the regime in Damascus is now in its final phase," said Schindler.

On December 10, the Syrian Free Press presented a different view on the ground. "The Armed Forces Continue Targeting Terrorists and Their Hideouts," it headlined.

Many foreign fighters were killed. The Aleppo al-Bakkarh area was "completely cleared." Large stocks of weapons and munitions were seized or destroyed.

Fighting continues in other areas. Army units inflicted "heavy losses" on terrorists in Daraya and around Aleppo.

VoR said the Al-Watan news service reported that about 1,000 insurgents were killed in a battle east of Aleppo. Middle East expert Viktor Nadein-Rayevsky said foreign military intervention perhaps is imminent.

It "could be staged in a way to look like the opposition's offensive with foreign mercenaries taking part in the operation."

Turkey and other countries bordering Syria may get involved. He stressed that "constructive negotiations are the only way to settle the crisis."

Washington won't tolerate them. Conflict was planned long ago to oust Assad. Signs suggest full-scale Western-led intervention looms.

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

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