1968-A Collaborative Timeline

[Servant Corps]

September 1st, 1969: A coup by Colonel Qaddafi fails in Libya. He flees to East Germany.

Many analysts were shocked at the failure of Colonel Qaddafi's coup. The Libyan kingdom was autocratic and unpopular, having been seen as little more than a British client-state. The Six-Day War provoked a strong Arab nationalist response and numerous riots at Western targets. King Idris was so isolated from his population that he "left" Libya in June 1969 for medical treatment and handed Libya over to Crown Prince Hasan ar Rida. Certainly Colonel Qaddafi must have succeeded in his coup. ...Right?

Hasan ar Rida would later claim to President Reagan that it was due to the power of his secret police that prevented this coup, but other people were...dubious. Conspiracy theories still persist today that Qaddafi was betrayed by his own supporters, who feared that he may pose a threat to their political power.

October 1st, 1969: A second coup by Colonel Qaddafi fails in Libya. Colonel Qaddafi was killed in this coup attempt, putting an end to rumors of a possible third coup attempt. However, this coup did succeed in freeing many political prisoners including Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi, a Libyan dissenter who was arrested in 1967 for protesting against foreign ownership of Libyan oil. This led to fears in the Western media about instability in Libya.

October 2nd, 1969: As Libya is a oil producer, there is fear that repeated unrest in Libya could lead to an oil crisis that could raise oil prices through the roofs. President Reagan secretly met with Crown Prince Hasan ar Rida, promising US military assistance to defend his regime so long as he accept democratic reforms to his administration and repeal a 1952 ban on political parties and renew a lease on US Wheelus Airbase. Hasan ar Rida was equivocal about support, concerned that becoming even more of a Western puppet would harm the regime in the long term. That, and he really liked that 1952 ban.

He instead turned to Egypt, viewing it as a major military power with Arab Nationalist credentials. Hasan ar Rida believed that reinvention into an radical could prolong his regime's existence and buy it time.  Egypt was equivocal about providing support however, viewing Hasan ar Rida as a potential liability who will be killed at any possible moment.

October 3rd, 1969: Crown Prince Hasan ar Rida was assassinated in a coup attempt led by Mahmud Sulayman al-Maghribi. This coup was finally a success, and al-Maghribi appointed himself Prime Minister of a new Revolutionary regime. Colonel Qaddafi became a national hero for launching the two-month-long "Libyan Revolution".

October 5th, 1969: The United States and Britian, concerned about the radical nationalization policies that al-Maghribi proposed, drew up plans for a military intervention to restore the Libyan monarchy. This plan was called OPERATION DELTA.

October 10th, 1969: Operation Delta was shelved when it was pointed out that said military intervention would possibly cause the very oil crisis they wanted to avoid. The United States and Britain recognized the new revolutionary Libyan regime.

June 11, 1970: United States finally leave US Wheelus Airbase, saying good riddance to such a horrible country.