The ‘Mad Dog of the Middle East’

“Wicked” and “cruel” might not be entirely out of place to describe the eccentric colonel who has ruled Libya with an iron fist for four decades, and virtually given his loyalists a free license to hunt down pro-democratic protestors, even as Human Rights groups pegged the current death toll at over 2000.

In his first interview on State-run television after the uprising began earlier this month, Gaddafi appeared wearing a hat with ear-flaps, holding an umbrella in the rain, leaning outside a vehicle resembling an armoured Tuk-Tuk outside the bombed ruins of his residence.

Thus, in a world that has seen colourful dictators ranging from Idi Amin to Kim Jong-Il, Gaddafi has steadfastly managed to hold his own, and occasionally push the envelope even further.