Blood diamond with a Libyan Twist

This is how our dear friend Muammar repays his people for 42 years worth of patience. Mercenaries, who come from merciless cultures, are flown in to serve as his "Ghulam Guard". But this idea is as old as Islamic empires themselves, the idea of a Ghulam Army of Mamluks.

The use of mamluk soldiers gave rulers troops who had no link to any established power structure. Local non-mamluk warriors were often more loyal to their tribal sheikhs, their families, or nobles than to the sultan or caliph. If a commander conspired against the ruler, it was often not possible to deal with the conspiracy without causing unrest among the nobility. The mamluk slave-troops were strangers of the lowest possible status who could not conspire against the ruler and who could easily be punished if they caused trouble, making them a great military asset.

In effect, Qaddafi has gone back to the dark ages.