Sunday, February 20, 2011

Is Gaddafi's Regime Tottering? Al Jazeera Hints It May Just Be.

Despite brutal attacks on anti-government demonstrators in Libya there are signs that Gaddafi's control is weakening.  Al Jazeera  is reporting that at least one army unit has defected to the protesters.   The Arab news agency also reports that tribal leaders are coming to the defence of the demonstrators.   The head of Libya's al Zuwayya tribe has threatened to cut off oil exports unless the authorities cease "the oppression of the protesters."  It says the Warfala tribe, one of Libya's largest, has also joined the anti-Gaddafi protests.

The uprising, originally confined to Tripoli and Benghazi, is now reported to have spread to several other cities.

Muammar seems to be getting decidedly close to what could prove to be a fatally sharp edge.  He might just not be around to celebrate the 43rd anniversary of seizing power in Libya.  If a thug like Gaddafi can be toppled, it's hard to imagine any Arab despot being safe any more.

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