Gadhafi's hold on Libya under threat

CAIRO (AP) - For more than four decades, Moammar Gadhafi was the face of Libya. He withstood international isolation and U.S. airstrikes, managing to claw his way back to a degree of acceptance by the global community.

Now, the ultimate survivor is confronted by the biggest threat to his rule from a popular rebellion.

The anti-government battles that have reportedly left more than 200 people dead in the past week will indelibly alter Libya's political landscape. If Gadhafi is toppled, like the leaders of neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, the lack of a clear institutional system in Libya thanks to the very system he set up, and the absence of any kind of established opposition bloc, leaves open the question of who could fill the vacuum.

Egypt and Tunisia had well-established - but corruption-plagued - governing institutions that allowed for a smoother transition and rebuilding of the nation.

Not so in Libya, where Gadhafi holds no official role in government. The so-called "jamahiriya" system that he set up is designed to give the appearance of a government, with a series of People's Committees and People's Congresses.

In reality, it's a system whose sole purpose is to ensure that power stays in the hands of the Arab world's longest-serving leader.

While former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak "was playing tennis in Sharm el-Sheik, Gadhafi .... spent his time building up his power base," said Jon Marks, a Libya expert with London-based Cross-border Information.

"Every time you look at the different strands of Libyan society ... you see that there's one puppetmaster, and it's Gadhafi," he said.

Amid the protests, Gadhafi wend on state-run television early today in an attempt to show the country he was still in charge and to dispel some media reports he had fled.

"I am here to show that I am in Tripoli and not in Venezuela. Don't believe those misleading dog stations," he said, sitting in a car in front of what appeared to be his residence and holding an umbrella out of the passenger side door in the rain. The video clip and comments lasted less than a minute - unusual for Gadhafi, who is known for rambling speeches that often last hours.

Gadhafi turns 69 this year and he came to power in a coup that ousted King Idris in 1969. One of the foundations of the revolution was a rejection of communism and capitalism - shunning anything linked to Libya's colonial history, and a determination to chart his own course.

With no constitution, the blueprint for governance was his "Green Book" - a slim volume of his philosophies that inspired an entire research department at one of Libya's main universities. Plaster representations of the book have been erected in cities across Libya.

In addition, no one branch of Libya's feared security apparatus has a monopoly on power. One son - Mutassim - was picked to head one branch, while another son, Khamis, headed what analysts say is a British-trained unit. A third son, Seif al-Islam, has become the Western face of the regime and was put forth as the reformer, heading a variety of youth organizations.