The disparate strands of Libya's revolution have been held together by a single unifying thread: an almost visceral desire to oust Colonel Gaddafi from power. Extremely effective as a rallying cry for rebellion, this anti-Gaddafi sentiment is deeply flawed as the unifying narrative for a new nation.
The epic challenges facing Libya's rulers in unifying the country were laid bare in the aftermath of the fall of Tripoli; according to the New York Times, the airport was controlled by rebel fighters from Zintan, the central bank, port and prime minister's office were occupied by Misrata rebels, while the iconic central (once Green, now Martyrs) Square was the domain of Berber fighters from Yefren.
Barely a week after the capital's fall to rebel forces, Tripoli had become the unsettling symbol of a liberated but deeply divided nation, a microcosm of the perils facing a country where each region, each rebel brigade, bristling with weapons and a sense of entitlement, stands ready to stake its claim for a piece of the new Libya.
In the same way, the presence in rebel ranks of senior former Gaddafi loyalists threatens to become an uncomfortable source of division. Throughout the revolution, these high-level defections fuelled the perception of a regime crumbling from within, giving hope and momentum to those who dared to dream that the Colonel's days were numbered. As a result, one-time Gaddafi loyalists filled — and continue to fill — many senior positions within the rebels' government-in-waiting.
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Gaddafi's Justice Minister from 2007 until his escape in 2011, is the head of the National Transition Council (NTC), while Abdul Fatah Younis, Colonel Gaddafi's former number two, served as the commander of the rebel army until his death in late July.
But with Colonel Gaddafi no longer at the helm, questions are being asked whether the new Libya should be ruled over by those so strongly implicated in the old. When Younis was killed not in a battle with Gaddafi loyalists but by soldiers from his own side, it unleashed a wave of suspicion that bodes ill for future reconciliation; tribal elders from Younis' tribe, one of the largest in eastern Libya, threatened to withdraw from rebel ranks. They were appeased only when the entire