Muammar Ghadafi and his Female Body Guards

A young Muammar Gaddafi with his hero, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt

Muammar Muhammad al-Gaddafi (1942) is a Libyan revolutionary and the country's head of state from 1969 to the present day. Gaddafi became head of state after removing King Idris from power in a 1969 bloodless coup, after which he established the Libyan Arab Republic. His almost 42 years in power make him one of the longest-serving non-royal rulers in history. Gaddafi incorporated Arab socialist and Arab nationalist ideas into his political philosophy, which he published in The Green Book in 1975. In 1979 he relinquished the title of prime minister and was thereafter called the "Brother Leader and Guide of the Revolution" (no, I didn't make that up...).

During his rule the Libyan state was branded a pariah state by Western nations. A Dutch investigation concluded that Gaddafi had amassed a "billion-dollar empire" in the form of assets in, and from, an intercontinental company in the oil industry. It also claims that his assets are dispersed throughout much of Europe. Gaddafi had a strong interest in geo-political control, and was a firm supporter of OAPEC and led a Pan-African campaign for a United States of Africa. After the 1986 bombing of Libya and the subsequent 1993 imposition of United Nations (UN) sanctions, Gaddafi established closer economic and security relations with the West; cooperating with investigations into alleged Libyan acts of state-sponsored terrorism (subsequently paying compensation) and ending his nuclear weapons program, which resulted in the lifting of UN sanctions in 2003.

A young Gaddafi in his pre-clown years

In early February 2011 there were major political protests against Gaddafi's government following in the wake of demonstrations in Tunisia, Egypt, and other parts of the Arab world. The protests quickly turned into a civil war. Gaddafi vowed to "die a martyr" if necessary in his fight against rebels and external forces, saying that those rebelling against his government deserved to die. On 17 May 2011 the International Criminal Court issued a request for an arrest warrant against Gaddafi for crimes against humanity, which was approved on 27 June and a warrant was issued by the court.

Gaddafi with former PM Tony Blair (top) and Italian President Berlusconi (below)

Still, however legitimate this all may be, I do remember clearly the warm welcome the "Brother Leader" was given by Tony Blair, Italian president Berlusconi and French president Sarkozy - all frontrunners in the alliance to oust him now.

Anyway, all this has little to do with berets. It becomes interesting when we look at Gaddafi's all female body guard force - with beautiful berets.