Political Jack-in-the-Box

One of the major problems that Egypt's Sadat will face during the peace talks is how to pacify Libya's belligerent, hard-lining young strongman, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, 28. Gaddafi objects vehemently to any moves by Egypt and Jordan toward a settlement with Israel, and has frequently said: "We reject peace with Israel, we reject recognition of Israel and we reject negotiation with Israel." To back up his tough words, he is buying 110 Mirage jet fighter planes from France, even though delivery of the jets will not be completed until 1975, and France is training fewer than 10 Libyan pilots to fly them.

The New Savior. A handsome man with a lean, hollow-cheeked look, Gaddafi is known for his brashness and impetuosity. One of his first acts since he overthrew King Idris and became head of state in September 1969 was to take down the foreign-language street signs in his dreary seaside capital of Tripoli. Since then he has banished nightclubs, alcohol and the teaching of English, ousted 6,000 American servicemen from Wheelus airbase and forced the British to retire from their airbase at Tobruk.

He has also expelled the 25,000 descendants of Italian colonialists and confiscated all but two of the country's Roman Catholic churches. Putting the squeeze on the 36 foreign oil companies in Libya, Gaddafi has increased oil production taxes by $330 million a year; these revenues of $1.4 billion far exceed Libya's $480 million annual expenditures. Last month his government decreed the nationalization of all foreign banks in Libya and grabbed off 60% of the foreign-owned insurance companies.

The boldness of these nationalistic acts has made Gaddafi a demigod to his xenophobic supporters at home. Photos of him abound in the streets, and his portrait has even been hung over the crucifix in Tripoli's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus--which has been converted into the Gamal Abdel Nasser Mosque.

Gaddafi's ambition, however, extends far beyond Libya's borders. He wants to succeed Nasser as the dominant Arab voice. A fervent supporter of a "federation" of Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Syria, he has demanded full constitutional unity within three years.

Preacher and Millionaire. In his self-projected role as the new savior of pan-Arab unity, Colonel Gaddafi evokes both shudders and admiration outside Libya. His unorthodox manner and outspoken views have prompted some Arabs to call him a madman. "He's the most childish ruler the Arabs have ever had," says a prominent Jordanian banker. A Western diplomat in Tripoli observes: "Arabs are used to Byzantine language from their leaders. What they get from Gaddafi is exactly what he thinks."

Born in a goat-hair tent to a family of desert nomads, Gaddafi combines the traits of a hell-fire-and-damnation preacher, a willful millionaire and a Western-movie gunslinger. Last November, when Syrian General Hafez Assad toppled his Baathist rivals and took over, Gaddafi jetted into Damascus to inspect the new leader. He demonstrated his approval by leaving a check for $10 million. Like a political jack-in-the-box, Gaddafi has flown, unannounced, to Egypt for spur-of-the-moment meetings with Nasser and to Algeria for discussions with President Houari Boumedienne. When a group of Sudanese officials arrived recently in Tripoli, he kept them waiting for two days before he showed up, in shirt sleeves and sandals, to lecture them on the evils of Communism.

His most memorable performance occurred during the tumultuous Arab summit held in Cairo last September, just before Nasser's death, to end the fighting between the Palestinian commandos and King Hussein's army in Jordan. Gaddafi strode into the conference room at the Nile Hilton and placed his pistol on the table in front of him. Then, glaring at Hussein, he declared: "The best thing you can do is abdicate." The argument grew so heated that Nasser finally growled: "I think you are all sick. Maybe we ought to call in some doctors for a consultation." Turning to Gaddafi, Nasser added: "The first one the doctors should examine is you."

Quixotic Policies. Gaddafi's mercurial conduct has caused heated debates among the eleven other army officers of the Revolutionary Command Council. While Moslem practice still permits polygamy, Libya's revolution is supposed to be promoting social liberation. Thus, when Gaddafi fell in love with a young nurse while he was hospitalized for appendicitis and took her as his second wife last July, many government members felt that this was hardly proper revolutionary behavior. His chief rival, Deputy Premier and Interior Minister Major Abdul Salam Jalloud, would like to see Gaddafi pay less attention to pan-Arab unity schemes and more to domestic development. Despite a $1.5 billion foreign exchange reserve, little has been done to improve the lot of Libya's 1,900,000 people, 72% of whom are illiterate. With almost no new housing, hospitals or schools being built, the question is how long Gaddafi's fellow officers will tolerate his quixotic policies.

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