Christian Garcia
Mr. Solomon
World Perspective
29 November 2011
Gaddafi: A World Persective
For the past 42 years Colonel Gaddafi had been the ruler of Libya. On October 20, 2011
that reign came to an end. His death was followed by mix feelings both domestic and
foreign. He was a controversial leader who used his country’s oil wealth to build schools,
roads and hospitals on an unprecedented scale, but also to buy the loyalty of tribal
supporters, meddle shamelessly in the affairs of neighboring countries, sponsor bloody acts
of terrorism around the world and brutally repress any hint of dissent at home (The
Chicago Tribune). Gaddafi’s was part of a civil war in Libya that had started in February of
2011 when a protest in Benghazi turned violent when security forces fired into the crowd.
This quickly turned into a rebellion and the fighting spread throughout the country. The
rebels wanted a new government without Gaddafi as the ruler and the Libyan government
continued to fight back in order to maintain control. The U.N. derived a quick solution to
the fighting by issuing a no-fly zone over Libya to Gaddafi and those around him could not
leave the country. In addition to the no-fly zone, the U.N. resolution authorized
governments to freeze assets of Libyan authorities and inspect cargo of vessels suspected
of carrying arms or mercenaries, by force if necessary (CNN World). Overall the civil war
continued until the Gaddafi was found hiding in a pipe line by rebel troops and executed.
This story of this war and his death made headlines on a daily basis worldwide and it
seemed to be overwhelming at times. The media can be biased and the news gets filtered
so many time that the truth can easily become diluted. This story was no different and to
get a true perspective of this issue we must broaden our sources to both foreign and
domestic. It was clear to me that every newspaper, country, and writer took a different
angle on this issue and I found it important to examine each unique perspective in order to
get as close to the truth as possible.
Since I live the United States I am consumed by media that tends to take and present one
side of an issue. Whether I’m watching CNN or reading The Washington Post, it is
difficult to get 360 degree coverage of a story that has made global headlines. As the
Gaddafi murder made its way to the front pages of every newspaper it was interesting to
