Gaddafi
is ecccentric but the firm master of his regime, Wikileaks cables say: "Moammar Gaddafi, Libya's strongman ruler, is commonly portrayed as an egomaniacal buffoon - an autocrat with an affinity for incomprehensible speeches and a flair for the melodramatic.But as seen through a trove of confidential U.S. diplomatic cables disclosed by the anti-secrecy Web site WikiLeaks, the Libyan leader has another side: a master schemer who has dominated the country and its fractious tribes for four decades by successfully manipulating everyone around him.
Since reopening an embassy in Tripoli two years ago, U.S. diplomats have gradually come to express an understated admiration for Gaddafi's political skills. Even as they describe him as 'mercurial' and 'notoriously erratic,' embassy officials document example after example of how the 68-year-old strongman has maintained his authority by skillfully marginalizing allies and rivals alike, including his power-hungry children."
