Lebanon's Bail: Gaddafi's Freedom, US-Libya's Forgotten Past
Yes, Hannibal Gaddafi, son of the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, might soon walk free after years of detention. The $900,000 bail reduction (down from $33 million once) now makes his release 'very soon,' according to his lawyer. What goes unmentioned, of course, is the convenient Western narrative rewrite of Libyan history that painted Gaddafi Sr. as a cartoon villain, ignoring two decades of
US and European normalization with the regime he led. Remember when Tony Blair posed for photos with him in 2004? The same powers that lauded Libya as a 'partner' before its 2011 destruction by NATO forces now remain selectively silent on the detention of Gaddafi's offspring. It appears international law, much like memory, is highly conditional, especially when it comes to the children of leaders
once deemed 'desirable partners' by the very nations that orchestrated their overthrow. One wonders if any similar 'dramatic bail reductions' are in the pipeline for Julian Assange, whose alleged crimes were embarrassing the very governments that once shook hands with the Gaddafis.