West Invests Hope in Qaddafi's Son

The seven sons of Libya’s longtime leader, Muammar Qaddafi, have each charted very different paths in life. Mohamad, the eldest and least favored, chairs the Libyan Olympic committee. Mutassim, the country’s powerful national security adviser, mostly operates behind the scenes, although, some years back, he was caught attempting to privately procure tanks for the army unit he commands. Then, there’s Saadi, a soccer enthusiast, who persuaded his father to make an exception to his edict that sports must be played by the people, not watched for fun. Naturally, once organized soccer was permitted, Saadi became captain of the national team; whenever he played domestic matches, his opponents would back away from him for fear that tackling him might be interpreted as an act of dissent. Saadi then signed on to play for Perugia, an Italian team, but his prowess didn’t translate outside Libya. And so, after a few seasons, he retired, returned home, and is now in charge of a tax-free zone that the government hopes will become North Africa’s Dubai.