Muammar Gaddafi, Hero or Villain”? Issues in American Foreign Policy in the Middle East

Abstract

The view about Muammar Gaddafi has been a divergent issue, with some people seeing him as a Hero while others see him as a Vallain. Muammar Gaddafi was the Libyan Head of State. He came to power in September 1969 through a Military coup that ousted the capitalist and pro-western monarchical government of King Idris. This change in government enabled Libya to articulate revolutionary domestic and foreign policies that had severe impact on American interests in particular and the ‘WEST’ in general. Consequently, this study adopted a historic-structural, analytical and systematic approach. Findings of this paper examined the American foreign policy posture as it affects the Middle East and critically analyzed if Gaddafi was as he had been painted