THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: TRIPOLI, Libya—Four days into foreign strikes against Col. Moammar Gadhafi's military, some residents of Libya's largest city expressed fear and a weary exasperation, with some venturing to say their leader must go.
"The regime must be bad if it brought us to this stage," said one Tripoli resident, Mohammed, referring to the airstrikes. "If we have gotten this far, then there is no going back."
Aside from demonstrators at the noisy pro-Gadhafi rallies that have become a staple of the Gadhafi government's daily tours for visiting journalists, residents of Libya's capital are circumspect about discussing with outsiders their aspirations for their country. As the government strikes out at signs of dissent in this city of two million people, most of those who agreed to be interviewed Tuesday did so on the condition that their names and personal details be withheld.
Tripoli residents appeared to be divided: There were those who wanted Col. Gadhafi, their leader of more than four decades, to stay in power—either because they say they support him, or because they fear the vacuum his ouster could bring. Others express a hope the government would be sufficiently weakened by strikes to embolden people to rise up once more.
A taxi driver, who has a day job as a clerk in a government institution, said he and many colleagues have largely stopped going to work. He fretted about a future without Col. Gadhafi and whether the country could be held together given the deepening rift between Tripoli in the west, and the rebel-held east.
"The big question is who will come after Gadhafi," he said. » | Sam Dagher | Wednesday, March 23, 2011
