Libya’s oil sector has returned quickly to full speed, but the rest of the country remains in a state of disrepair. Maplecroft identifies at least nine key challenges facing the country.

While Libya has done well in ramping up oil production to near pre-civil war levels, much remains to be done. READ MORE HERE

The figures are in: Libya’s civil war cost the country a 60% contraction in GDP as forces loyal to maverick leader Moammer Gaddafi tried in vain to contain the rising tide of rebels eager to rid the country of the brutal dictator.

With NATO air cover and Arab arms and financing feeding the rebels, it was inevitable that the regime would fall. What was even more inevitable was Colonel’s Gaddafi’s death at the hands of a ragtag army of rebels in the most grisly fashion on the streets of Sirte. READ MORE HERE

While the international community saw Libyans collectively rise up against the rule of Moammar Gaddafi and saw the emergence of the National Transitional Council (NTC) as the unifying force, the reality on the ground is quite different.

A new study by the International Crisis Group (ICG) brings into sharp focus the rivalries, the complexities and the number of militias, groups, and secular and religious parties that have come to the fore and are jostling for attention and representation in the new Libya. READ MORE HERE

In the first part of the 2012 regional economic prospects, a look at oil-rich countries’ efforts to manage their citizens’ expectations, economic slowdown and regional and domestic political upheavals in the New Year.

The year 2011 was probably the most unexpected for the Middle East in decades with  not just the magnitude of changes unravelling in the region, but also the sheer number of those cataclysmic changes. READ MORE HERE

By Alon Ben-Meir

Due to a host of common denominators in the Arab world including the lack of traditional liberalism, the tribes’ power, the elites’ control of business, the hold on power by ethnic minorities, the military that cling to power, and the religious divide and Islamic extremism, the Arab Spring could sadly turn into a long and cruel winter. These factors are making the transformation into a more reformist governance, slow, filled with hurdles and punctuated with intense bloodshed. At the same time, each Arab country differs characteristically from one another on other dimensions including: history and culture, demographic composition, the role of the military, resources, and geostrategic situations. This combination of commonality and uniqueness has had, and will continue to have, significant impacts on how the uprising in each Arab country evolves and what kind of political order might eventually emerge.

syrialooks /Foter

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By Alon Ben-Meir

November 8, 2011

The Arab uprising must be seen as an integral part of a world in transformation. The technological and informational revolutions that have spurred (and continue to spur) globalization and interconnectedness between cultures make it impossible for tyrants to rule for the entirety of their lifetimes while mercilessly subjugating their peoples to lives of servitude with no prospect of ever tasting the true meaning of freedom.
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While the world fixates on whether Colonel Gaddafi died as the richest man in the world, with $200-billion ferreted away, ordinary Libyans focus on pulling themselves out of poverty in a country in disarray. READ MORE HERE
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By George Friedman

In a week when the European crisis continued building, the White House chose publicly to focus on announcements about the end of wars. The death of Moammar Gadhafi was said to mark the end of the war in Libya, and excitement about a new democratic Libya abounded. Regarding Iraq, the White House transformed the refusal of the Iraqi government to permit U.S. troops to remain into a decision by Washington instead of an Iraqi rebuff.
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It’s ironic that the man who used his formidable oil assets as a weapon to hold his people – and the world – hostage, saw little reaction from oil markets upon his death.
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Despite its graphic content, it is an important historical moment in the region. Hence, reposting with caveats and warnings that it is very graphic content of the final moments of the Libyan dictator – apologies in advance:

The Initial Moments of Gaddafi’s Capture – Exclusive From Globalpost.com: