Gaddafi's Private Plane, Reportedly Loaded With Gold, Ready To Leave For Zimbabwe As Early As Tomorrow

Gaddafi's Private Plane, Reportedly Loaded With Gold, Ready To Leave For Zimbabwe As Early As Tomorrow


Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/24/2011 09:38 -0500
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The latest news from the ABC.net.au should come as no surprise to those who know all too well that one can't eat gold: "Gaddafi own private plane is loaded with gold bullion and lots of hard currency, mainly dollars, and is preparing to flee to Zimbabwe to stay there with his friend Robert Mugabe." Yet there is speculation that instead of pulling a Ben Ali, Gaddafi may pull a Hitler: "Earlier, one of Mr Gaddafi's former ministers predicted the Libyan leader will follow in Adolf Hitler's footsteps and commit suicide rather than give up power. Mustapha Abdeljalil, justice minister until he quit over the bloody crackdown on protesters, says he expects Mr Gaddafi to make good on his pledge to die on Libyan soil rather than slink into exile. "Gaddafi's time is up. He is going to go like Hitler. He is going to commit suicide," Mr Abdeljalil told Swedish media." In either case, we are skeptical that much of Libya's oil infrastructure will survive the binary outcome. As a reminder, Libya had 143.8 tonnes of gold (or Tungsten as the case may be) as of December 31, per the WGC.
More from ABC:
There are reports of gun battles taking place between forces loyal to Mr Gaddafi and his opponents in the town of Zawiyah, 50 kilometres west of Tripoli.
Mr Gaddafi no longer controls much of the east around Benghazi, where there are reports residents have jailed those they say are mercenaries and set up committees to run the city.
London-based Libyan political activist, Guma el-Gamaty, has told the ABC's Lateline that "quite reliable sources" believe Mr Gaddafi is readying to flee his country.
"Gaddifi's own private plane is loaded with gold bullion and lots of hard currency, mainly dollars, and is preparing to flee to Zimbabwe to stay there with his friend Robert Mugabe," he said.
"We think this could happen very shortly because the Security Council is threatening to impose a no-fly zone and we think that Gaddafi will try to escape before this no-fly zone is imposed, possibly by tomorrow.
"So this is the most serious story we've heard today. It's very indicative of the fact that Gaddafi is totally isolated, surrounded more or less and is probably in a state of mind where he's just concentrating and thinking about how to escape and run away and stay alive."
A noble end?
Earlier, one of Mr Gaddafi's former ministers predicted the Libyan leader will follow in Adolf Hitler's footsteps and commit suicide rather than give up power.
Mustapha Abdeljalil, justice minister until he quit over the bloody crackdown on protesters, says he expects Mr Gaddafi to make good on his pledge to die on Libyan soil rather than slink into exile.
"Gaddafi's time is up. He is going to go like Hitler. He is going to commit suicide," Mr Abdeljalil told Swedish media.
Hitler committed suicide in his bunker in Berlin in April 1945 as he witnessed the disintegration of his Nazi empire.
Mr Mr el-Gamaty says that is "a small possibility".
"We believe that probably Gaddafi doesn't really have the courage to kill himself. We think he still have this grandiose idea that he will go to Africa and rally all the Africans," he said.
"Remember he has the title of the "King of Kings" of Africa, so he thinks he can still go to Africa and rally all the Africans around him and come back to Libya and take it over again.
"But, who knows? That is also a possibility. But whether he flees, whether he kills himself, whether he gets arrested, I think he is doomed and I think his end is very imminent."