New Age Islam

Current affairs 11 Jan 2012, NewAgeIslam.Com Libya after the Revolt: Rebuilding the Ruins of Qaddafi By Barak Barfi
	Today, Libya's state institutions exist merely to extract the country's vast oil wealth and distribute it via subsidies. In a state that embodied the whim of its leader for 42 years, the rule of law does not exist. Explaining why he helped spearhead a 1993 military coup attempt, Air Force Officer Muhammad Bashir Salah said, "We have neither a state, nor laws, nor a constitution." Indeed, even the military, which in many Third World countries is the strongest state institution, was marginalized under Qaddafi. The revolutionary committees' attacked it for being "a traditional fascist institution". Qaddafi declared his desire to disband the army on several occasions, and its role was so insignificant that it played almost no part in defending the regime during the eight months of fighting that overthrew him. -- Barak Barfi http://www.newageislam.com/NewAgeIslamCurrentAffairs_1.aspx?ArticleID=6347