The Next Revolution

Directly after the success of the Egyptian Revolution, I began to take a closer look at the different countries were protesters were gathering.  Of those I looked at, Bahrain was my choice for what would eventually become a successful revolution. Today, the people of Bahrain are protesting en masse as the King's soldiers have been firing at pro democracy advocates. I still believe that Bahrain has huge potential to lead to country wide reform, however I overlooked an important nation with near perfect conditions: Libya. 

Yes, I knew that Libya was struggling economically and that it has a dictator that has ruled for close to 40 years, however, Gaddafi (the ruler) seems to have such a good grip on society I didn't think anything would happen. We still have to wait and see if this becomes a revolution however protests have been greatly growing to several thousand people in the two largest cities. 

Gaddafi is also reported to have ordered airstrikes against protests, and several officers have refused to carry out those orders. Snipers ahve also been dispatched in the 2nd largest city and estimates of the death toll range from 300-400 death with many more wounded. 

A constant Anti-western leader, Gaddafi and the state television is blaming Israel for the incitement and violence. The spontaneous nature of these protests across the region make it nearly impossible to tell which nations will suffer the wrath of their people. Harder yet is figuring out "when" the events will happen at all. 

Gaddafi's son has addressed the nation warning of a potential civil war. Meanwhile, U.S. and Europeans nations have condemned the crackdown on protesters.  Despite their calls against the crackdown, for many European nations, breaking ties with the current regime may be awkward. After Libya gave up its nuclear program decades ago, many established multi billion dollar deals with Libya primarily of oil, one of the largest reserves in the world. In addition, massive contracts have been in place for weapons and defense. This places Libya in a very similar place to Egypt and its relations to western powers.

Al Jazeera, as expected, has the greatest and most in depth coverage of everything happening in the region. Recently the news station has had trouble with its frequencies to different parts of Libya and the middle east. The station is blaming Libya's secret intelligence agency for disrupting signals since the station has supported the pro democracy protests in both Tunisia and Egypt (through its amazing coverage).

To follow this extensive coverage online, see Al Jazeera's in depth coverage of Libya. You can also watch their live online coverage in English here.

Here are some videos of whats going on during the protests, some are VERY graphic. You are warned. 

This one shows snipers on the top of buildings firing at protesters. 

This one is very graphic showing blog and several shot protesters.

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