Gaddafi's prophecy: how the Libyan leader predicted events in Ukraine
Author: Hassan Kassem. Statements by the late Muammar Gaddafi on the current political climate
March 17, 2022 at 07:29 pm
Muammar Gaddafi, is known not only as one of the longest ruling heads of state in modern history (42 years in power), but also as a good analyst who managed to predict many major historical events and political processes. Gaddafi gave one of these predictions about Russia and Ukraine.
Back in 2009, he addressed Western countries, saying that attempts to encircle Russia would undoubtedly lead to disastrous consequences for all mankind. The words of the late leader quite accurately describe the situation that the world is witnessing today. Gaddafi, in particular, predicted that NATO's eastward expansion, as well as the Alliance's attempts to include the countries of the former Soviet Union in its composition, not only harm relations between Russia and the West, but could also put the lives of millions of people at stake.
In one of his articles, the Libyan leader directly mentioned that one of the main catalysts for tension could be Ukraine with its aspirations to join NATO. Thus, after one of his visits to Ukraine, Gaddafi expressed concern about the political path that Kyiv had chosen for itself.
-During my visit to Ukraine, I became convinced that in relations between the two countries [Russia and Ukraine. - NEWS.ru] there are serious problems, and one of these problems is the desire of the Ukrainian leadership to join NATO, which cannot but cause concern in Russia, - said the leader of the Libya.
The colonel compared NATO's eastward expansion to Napoleon's and Hitler's attempts to conquer Russia. He believed that, despite the difference in approaches, the North Atlantic Alliance set itself the same goals.
According to Gaddafi, after the collapse of the USSR, the West considered itself the winner and decided that it could easily lure the countries of Eastern Europe into its orbit, gradually surrounding Russia more and more. He believed that the very fact that NATO had a desire to subjugate and, in a certain sense, crush Russia, in itself indicated that Russia was a strong state that could not be easily dictated to.
The policy pursued by the West was one big provocation, and expressed fears about what such rash steps could lead to. After all, in his opinion, unlike the adventures of Napoleon and Hitler, this time humanity may be threatened with total destruction.
Many treated Gaddafi's public speeches with humor and did not take his words seriously. At a meeting of the heads of the Arab League in 2008, Gaddafi touched on the topic of the Western invasion of Iraq and the assassination of Saddam Hussein and directly condemned his Arab partners for complete inaction, and also said that, despite the differences and the fact that the leaders of the Arab countries "nothing unites apart from the hall in which they sit,” they should be more attentive to each other.
A foreign state invades an Arab country and hangs its ruler, while we ourselves sit in our own corner, watching and laughing. How can the head of one of the Arab countries be executed in this way? The leadership of the Arab country is completely killed, executed and hanged, and we are just watching. Why is that? In the same way, the turn can reach all of you, - Gaddafi addressed the leaders of the Arab countries.
After his words, there was general laughter in the hall. Gaddafi's words were taken as a funny joke even by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who just a few years later almost ended his life like Saddam Hussein.
In general, Gaddafi was known for his colorful and memorable performances. He called the Palestinians and Israelis fools and suggested that they create a new bi-national state - Izratina. Called former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon an Arab secret agent who killed Israelis by the thousands. He called the UN Charter an obsolete document from the Second World War and publicly tore it up in his speeches at the organization. During these same speeches, he accused the audience of not listening to him, but instead sleeping.
One of the last speeches of the former head of Libya before his death also became a cult and went into quotes. In it, the leader again accused the Arab states of betrayal. He addressed the heads of the Arab countries, surprised at how they betrayed and abandoned him, despite the fact that they are "of the same blood." Gaddafi, in his speech, was genuinely surprised at how various state Arab media attacked him and called for his overthrow. His phrase about "cleansing Libya inch by inch, house by house, lane by lane" has become one of the most famous expressions throughout the Arab world.
In addition, Gaddafi is the founder of the so-called third world theory. He believed that the experience of countries with both capitalist and socialist systems only proved the ineffectiveness of these political models. The colonel believed that the state of the masses, in Arabic "jamahiriya", should become a new milestone in the development of the science of building a state.
In the Jamahiriya, power in the traditional sense should not exist. The country has broad autonomy, which is managed through special people's congresses and people's committees. Gaddafi believed that this was the only way to achieve real democracy in the country, otherwise any state becomes an instrument for enriching certain political persons who promote their interests.
The very name of the new form of statehood was formed by replacing the root in the Arabic word "jumhuriya" ("republic"), which means "people", with the root "jamahir" ("masses").