Why Is Much of Africa Giving Libya's Rebels the Cold Shoulder? Who said mon...

Why Is Much of Africa Giving Libya's Rebels the Cold Shoulder?

Who said money couldn't buy friends? Even though over 40 nations and the Arab League have now recognized the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council as the new Libyan government following longtime leader Moammar Gaddafi's fall this week, Africa's regional bloc, the African Union, is refusing to do so. On Friday, the pan-African organization that Gaddafi largely bankrolled and at times led rebuffed calls to extend legitimacy to the NTC rebels, calling instead for an "inclusive" government in Libya — presumably meaning one that includes members of Gaddafi's regime, although not necessarily the deposed leader himself. To many, the move is sure to deepen perceptions that the African Union is more of an old presidents' club than a serious international force.

Often dismissed as a clown or lunatic, in Africa Gaddafi was a serious player, and the continent's longest-standing ruler.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2090615,00.html#ixzz1WTx89tEc

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2090615,00.html#ixzz1WTx0hiOy

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Still Chafing After 40 Years, Libyan Leader Baffles West Once the mad dog o...

Still Chafing After 40 Years, Libyan Leader Baffles West

Once the mad dog of the Middle East, as Ronald Reagan called him, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, the Libyan leader, has focused on shedding his outlaw status: He heads the African Union, attended a Group of 8 economic conference in Rome and is courted by Western powers hungry for Libyan oil.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/world/middleeast/26libya.html