ABSTRACT
Seizing power in Libya by ousting King Idris in a 1969 coup, Gaddafi quickly established close links with the Soviet Union – and so became the target of massive covert operations by the French, US, Israeli and British. Frustrated in its covert attempts to topple Gaddafi, the US government’s strategy suddenly shifted. The demonisation of Col. Gaddafi predictably declined and members of the political, financial and academic British elite lined up to welcome the Libyan leader back into the ‘international community’. The 2003—2011 period can, then, be seen as a significant interregnum in the moves by Western governments to eliminate Col. Gaddafi. Both sides in the conflict cynically decided that some kind of ‘entente’ best served their interests. The Western elite achieved their ultimate ambition – with the brutal murder of Col Gaddafi on 20 October 2011.
