The BBC documentary After the Dictators explores what happens to nations after their autocratic leaders are gone.Some dictators like Libya's Muammar Qaddafi and Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu are killed outright.
It may come as a surprise that a Gulf nation the size of Connecticut would play an outsize role in the downfall of Libya’s Muammar Qaddafi. But then, Qatar is full of surprises.The oil-rich state helped lead the NATO mission in Libya, as well as train and arm the rebels.
Since fighting erupted six months ago, more than 80 countries have come to recognize the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate government of Libya in the post-Qaddafi era.
While other countries rallied to support Libya’s Transitional National Council, South Africa remained conspicuously quiet. Only this week did the government officially recognize the TNC.
International pressure to force Libya’s Colonel Muammar Qaddafi out of office increased today. The European Union has adopted an arms embargo and other sanctions against the Libyan leader. And U.S.
Colonel Muammar Qaddafi addressed the Libyan public in a rambling, defiant speech today. In it he vowed not to step down and said he’d die a martyr. Colonel Qaddafi also blamed the protesters’ actions on hallucinogenic drugs and threatened them with severe punishment.
