Gaddafi’s prophecy unfolds: How NATO’s destruction of Libya fueled Europe’s migration crisis
By ljdevon // 2025-05-14
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Thirteen years after NATO’s brutal intervention in Libya, the consequences of Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow are unfolding exactly as he warned. Europe, now grappling with an unprecedented migration crisis, is reaping the chaos it sowed, while Libya, once Africa’s most prosperous nation, lies in ruins. The late Libyan leader’s grim prophecy — that his removal would unleash terrorism, destabilize Africa, and flood Europe with migrants — has become reality. Key points:
  • Gaddafi’s 2011 warnings to Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi about post-intervention chaos have materialized, with Libya now a failed state and a major transit hub for African migrants.
  • NATO’s regime-change operation, justified under the "Right to Protect" doctrine, was a calculated move to eliminate Gaddafi, dismantle Libyan sovereignty, and control its oil wealth.
  • Libya under Gaddafi provided free education, healthcare, housing grants, and had no external debt — now, it’s a war-torn battleground of foreign-backed militias.
  • The EU’s migration containment policies, including outsourcing border control to unstable African nations, mirror Gaddafi’s prediction that Europe would face demographic upheaval.
  • Despite Western efforts to erase his legacy, Gaddafi remains deeply popular in Libya, with his son Saif al-Islam poised for a political comeback if free elections ever occur.

The migration crisis Europe created

Europe’s southern borders are buckling under the weight of a migration crisis decades in the making. The EU’s solution? Shift responsibility to African nations — many of which, like Libya, are destabilized by Western intervention. Today, over 4 million undocumented African migrants live in Libya, a country with an official population of just 7.5 million. Gaddafi foresaw this. In 2010, he bluntly told Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi: “Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European, and even black, as there are millions who want to come in.” His words were dismissed as hyperbole. Yet by 2024, non-EU citizens accounted for 27.3 million of Europe’s 448.8 million population — a figure set to grow as conflict drives more Africans northward.

NATO’s real mission: Erasing Gaddafi’s legacy

The 2011 NATO intervention, framed as a humanitarian mission, was a thinly veiled regime-change operation. UN Resolution 1973, pushed by the U.S., UK, and France, authorized military action under the "Right to Protect" doctrine — yet no independent investigation verified the alleged atrocities used to justify it. Instead, Western media and politicians like UK Foreign Secretary William Hague spread disinformation, including false claims that Gaddafi had fled to Venezuela. The truth? Libya’s "rebels" were a mix of Islamist extremists — including Al-Qaeda affiliates — armed and funded by NATO and Gulf states. The bombing campaign, dubbed Operation Unified Protector, killed countless civilians and reduced Libya’s infrastructure to rubble. Gaddafi’s gruesome murder by NATO-backed militias in October 2011 was the final act in a plot to eliminate an independent African leader who dared to challenge Western hegemony.

Libya before and after: A nation dismantled

Pre-2011 Libya was a model of self-sufficiency. Under Gaddafi:
  • Education and healthcare were free.
  • Newlyweds received $50,000 to buy homes.
  • The Great Man-Made River Project provided water security.
  • The country had no external debt and Africa’s highest per-capita income.
Today, Libya is a failed state. Foreign mercenaries patrol its cities, rival militias battle for control, and its oil wealth is plundered by Western corporations. The 2021 elections — where Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, was the front runner — were sabotaged after U.S. and UK diplomats intervened to block his candidacy. "Gaddafi did not die," says former aide Ali Al-Kilani. "He made Libyans believe in their sovereignty. That’s why they still honor him." Europe’s migration crisis is a direct result of its foreign policy blunders. By destroying Libya, NATO didn’t just kill a leader — it unleashed a wave of instability that now laps at Europe’s shores. Gaddafi’s warnings, once mocked, now read like a playbook of Western strategic failures. As Libya’s youth rally behind his legacy, and his son waits in the wings, one truth remains: The West’s greatest fear isn’t terrorism or migration — it’s the resurgence of leaders who refuse to bow. Sources include: RT.com RT.com RT.com
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