That's the free youth of Libya on display right there, ain't it? I feel all inspired to change my position now. I mean, he doesn't remotely resemble the sort of aging suited bureaucrat or torture technician that Western governments just love to promote to chief stooge of a client state.
Nah.
He's a man of the "Libyan people," this right chap. There's nothing dodgy about him.
This is the guy picked by the rebels to lead their "interim government." There couldn't possibly be anything to recommend against him, right?
Mahmoud Jibril is a voice for liberty, revolution and justice. People of conscience everywhere can now rest easily, knowing that American, British and French bombs did the work of peace and freedom, buying space for the "Libyan People" to choose a guy who was, until very recently...
...Qadaffi's hand appointed Minister of National Planning.
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UPDATE (10:21am):
"Mahmoud Jibril - foreign affairs
Before the uprising, Mr Jibril was involved in a project called "Libyan Vision" with other intellectuals, which sought to establish a democratic state. He is also head of the rebel council's crisis committee, which aims to streamline decision making.Born in 1952, Mr Jibril has both a master's degree in political science and a PhD in strategic planning and decision-making from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania.
After completing his doctorate in 1984, he taught strategic planning and decision-making at the university for several years. He also wrote several books and ran leadership training programmes in several Arab states.
He later became the head of the Libyan National Planning Council. Then in 2009, he was appointed chairman of the National Economic Development Board (NEDB), reporting directly to the prime minister.
A leaked US diplomatic cable from November 2009 written by the US ambassador to Libya, Gene Cretz, described Mr Jibril as "a serious interlocutor who 'gets' the US perspective".
"He is also not shy about sharing his views of US foreign policy, for example, opining that the US spoiled a golden opportunity to capitalise on its 'soft power' (McDonald's, etc) after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 by putting 'boots on the ground' in the Middle East," Mr Cretz wrote.
An earlier US diplomatic cable described Mr Jibril as 'reform-minded'..."
(emphasis mine)
Translation: Jibril is a US educated technocrat whom the Office of Economic Development would love to get into place in order enforce a strict neoliberal structural adjustment line, in Libya.
Well, he's probably going to get his chance. Good looking out, pro-intervention lefties. Good looking out. You weren't useful idiots or anything...
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You know what? This all calls for some Fela:
("Expensive Shit")
3 comments:
Jeez, he's the Minister of National *Planning*. When has a planner of any sort ever done anything that hasn't helped the people, plus he's national, which is much better experience than local. I can see no problems here.
I'm still trying to find solid data on the ministerial portfolio, Randal.
It'd be nifty to know what he "Planned," all national-like and of course without obstacle or upset.
At first it sounded like an extraction gig, but Libya's got a minister of mining, so we'll see.
Something in the job or the man makes him valuable to Sarkozy, that much seems clear.
So it was all a fucking sham!
Shit.
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