Like father…like sons.
Colonel Muammar el-Quaddafi, “King of Kings”, reportedly has nine children. Seven sons and two daughters from two wives. The sons are Muhammad al-Gaddafi (b.1970), Saif al-Islam (b.1972), Al-Saadi (b.1973), Hannibal (b.1976), Moatassem-Billah Gaddafi (b.1977), Saif al-Arab (b.1982), Khamis (b.1983). The daughters are Aisha (b.1976) and Hannah (b. 1981 or 1982-1986).
Two Qaddafi sons have reportedly offered a plan to push their father from power.
The NY Times reported:
At least two sons of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi proposing a resolution to the Libyan conflict that would entail pushing their father aside to make way for a transition to a constitutional democracy under the direction of his son Seif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, a diplomat and a Libyan official briefed on the plan said Sunday.
Both the rebels challenging Colonel Qaddafi and the American and European powers supporting them with air strikes have so far insisted on a more radical break with his 40 years of rule. And it is not clear whether Colonel Qaddafi, 68, has signed on to the reported proposal backed by his sons, Seif and Saadi el-Qaddafi, although one person close to the sons said the father appeared willing to go along.
But the proposal offers a new window into the dynamics of the Qaddafi family at a time when the colonel, who has seven sons, is relying heavily on them. Stripped of one of his closest confidantes by the defection of Foreign Minister Moussa Koussa and isolated by decades of attempted coups and internal purges, he is leaning on his sons as trusted aides and military commanders.
The idea also touches on longstanding differences among his sons. While Seif and Saadi have leaned toward Western style economic and political openings, Colonel Qaddafi’s sons Khamis and Mutuassim are considered hard-liners. Khamis leads a fearsome militia focused on repressing internal unrest.
And Mutuassim, a national security adviser who also commands his own militia, has been considered a rival to Seif in the competition to succeed their father. But Saadi, who has drifted through careers as a professional soccer player, a military officer and a businessman, firmly backs the plan, an associate said.
The two sons “want to move toward change for the country” without their father, one person close to the Seif and Saadi camp said Sunday, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution. “They have hit so many brick walls with the old guard, and if they have the go-ahead, they will bring the country up quickly.” One son, this person said, “has said many time the wishes of the rebellion were his own.”
Don’t they seem like a lovely family? Perhaps, should affairs in Libya go awry, Hollywood will approach them about starring in their own reality show.
