What the hell does it mean for Gaddafi to be a Colonel?


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Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!


Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!

I've often wondered that myself. At the very least you think he'd go by general, if not president.


He managed to retain control for 42 years so it wasn't bad move - being generals apparently does no good to extended dictatorships...

Sovereign Court

Wasn't he a colonel when he first lead a bloodless military coup to come into power?

The Exchange

So he stopped earning exp when he went into government? Damn.

As to the observation that the higher the tittle you assume, the shorter your reign of tyranny...

Presidents last 4-8 years
Prime Ministers can last twenty years

You might be right.

The Exchange

Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!

Well he was only a Colonel when he lead a military Coup-d'etat. Since you can never be promoted if you have removed anyone above you to give you the promotion, his highest military rank was colonel.

He was 'prime minister' but gave that up in '72 because well he was never actually elected to the office. He has since been Something along the lines of 'Brother leader.' Which sounds a little 1984 to me.

Liberty's Edge

Being a colonel means that he can not step down from his post because he is not a president and not a king and has no post to step down from. He is the leader of the revolution forever and all the people of Libya love him.

Psycho.

The Exchange

You know why he wants to hold onto power right? He is hosting the 3rd south African/South American Conference and wants to head up the "South Atlantic Treaty Organization" to have power rivaling NATO and the "American Imperialists"

The Exchange

Crimson Jester wrote:
You know why he wants to hold onto power right? He is hosting the 3rd south African/South American Conference and wants to head up the "South Atlantic Treaty Organization" to have power rivaling NATO and the "American Imperialists"

"You go too far Sirs! Your fleets encroach on Antartic Republic Territory! Feel the iron might of the Southern Cross!"

*Fumbles in dark bunker for Missile Launch Button*

"Damn! H...Honey? Can y...you turn on the light? I cant see the damn Button thingy for the Missile Launcher...they're encroaching."


besides the rank of Colonel is high enough to garner respect but not so high as to seem elitist.
Perfect example was Colonel Juan Peron(evita's husband) He led the "revolution" because he wasn't a general so wasn't considered a military croney or in the curent administrations pocket. He stepped down from his post to become president but every body still refered to him as colonel peron thus reminding his military that he was once one of them, by stepping down he became a man of the people and by useing the term president he moved amoungst the rich and elite. In short titles are used to simply identify yourself as a member of X group.


Hey Hitler was only a Lance Corporal :p

Moral: Dont make a Junior NCO the Fuhrer.


Mothman wrote:

Being a colonel means that he can not step down from his post because he is not a president and not a king and has no post to step down from. He is the leader of the revolution forever and all the people of Libya love him.

Psycho.

If ya'll had somma my downhome Libyan fried chicken, ya'll'd love me too.

Wash it down with somma my Jamahiriya Mint Julep, and you'll want to revolutionize like it's 1969 as well! Woo-wee, I do declare!


Does this mean a Private can rule forever?


Silly man. If you wield supreme power in a country, then at the very least you should be "Most August Supremeness, Divine Great Poobah, His Awesomeness", or "The Most Exalted Bigshot, Radiant World Emperor" or something like that.

Colonel? Bo-ring.


Sissyl wrote:

Silly man. If you wield supreme power in a country, then at the very least you should be "Most August Supremeness, Divine Great Poobah, His Awesomeness", or "The Most Exalted Bigshot, Radiant World Emperor" or something like that.

Colonel? Bo-ring.

Missy, there ain't nothin' boring about my extra fresh, extra spicy, extra crispy chicken! North African herbs and spices...m-MMM!


I'm a colonel. And I take good care of my privates.


If you join the Unversal life Church, and send them $13.99 you can be a Colonal too. For my 14 bucks I'd rather be Doctor of Space and Time though.


In case you don't believe me

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

Libya isn't exactly required to follow American rules as to the utilisation of military rank titles.

When you're the King/Dictator/Supreme Being... whatever you do is by fiat, kosher.


LazarX wrote:
... whatever you do is by fiat, kosher.

Thanks for reminding me about our special KosherFriedChicken™! Oh, there's a secret blend of "herbs and spices" in that recipe, I guarantee!


Colonel Kernel wrote:
I'm a colonel. And I take good care of my privates.

I'm a rear admiral, but I'm always behind on my duties.


Gadaffi Kosher? With a Fiat? Blasphemy!


I hate Gaddafi. He has made everyone stop talking about me.


People will always speak ill of Kim Jung

Dark Archive Bella Sara Charter Superscriber

He should consult with Admiral Crunch about how to get a promotion after years of languishing with the same title.

Shadow Lodge

When I make my inevitable rise to power, the little people (ie, everyone else) will address me as Lord High God the Almighty One.


Col. Gaddafi wrote:
LazarX wrote:
... whatever you do is by fiat, kosher.
Thanks for reminding me about our special KosherFriedChicken™! Oh, there's a secret blend of "herbs and spices" in that recipe, I guarantee!

Based on the Green Book I'm sure there are.


I_Use_Ref_Discretion wrote:
Does this mean a Private can rule forever?

Nope, no longer than 12 years. The example of that "austrian private" shows this.


Shifty wrote:

Hey Hitler was only a Lance Corporal :p

Moral: Dont make a Junior NCO the Fuhrer.

I now officially declare this thread Godwinned


DM Wellard wrote:
Shifty wrote:

Hey Hitler was only a Lance Corporal :p

Moral: Dont make a Junior NCO the Fuhrer.

I now officially declare this thread Godwinned

Stinkin' thread Nazi.


From this impressive list you could do marginally better putting Navy men in charge;

Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Bush the elder.

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

Well, if the Libyan Army only consisted of a single brigade, the highest ranking dude would be Colonel.

@Irv, re: ULC: Whaddya know, I could become a Reverend Mother. Normally that would take surgery!

@Irv, re: Navy guys: Army's got Washington, Jackson, and Ike! And Grant, but I don't like to talk about him.

Dark Archive

Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber

Do you know how much new name badges cost? The budget all went on giant jet crushing fists instead...


Army also has Reagan, he was a captain making propaganda and training movies for them during world war II, Harry S Truman, he was an artillery captain during world war I, William Henry Harrison, The hero of Lake Tippecanoe. Zachary Taylor fought in the Mexican American War, in the same war, Pierce rose from private to one star. In the civil war Andrew Johnson was appointed by Lincoln as military governor in Tennessee with one star rank before being elected vice president, Arthur was quartermaster of the New York State Militia. Benjamin Harrison earned a brevet to One star during the Civil war. During the Civil War Hayes and McKinley served in the same regiment; and Garfield was at Chickamagua,
Tyler and Buchanan wore the army uniform for the war of 1812, tellingly Buchanan, who would preside over the devolvement that became the American Civil War never rose above private, the only president not to be officer material. Millard Filmore served in his State's Militia after having served as president. In the Revolution, Jefferson and Madison were administrative officers of the Virginia Militia, Monroe was with Washington at Trenton, on the New Jersey State quarter Monroe is the flag bearer. Monroe also commanded troops at the battle of Bladensbug, in his role as Secretary of State. Theodore Roosevelt and his Rough Riders were the heroes of San Juan Hill in the Spanish American War. Also Abraham Lincoln was elected Captain of Volunteers during the Black Hawk war

With the ones already mentioned, and with the possible exception of Buchanan, not a bad bunch of people.


DM Wellard wrote:
I now officially declare this thread Godwinned

Hey its contextually accurate, so I call for 'fair play' use and revoke the Godwinning.


Awwww, Kim Jung Il is ronery... so ronery...


bugleyman wrote:
Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!

I've often wondered that myself. At the very least you think he'd go by general, if not president.

I have given myself the title of "Overlord", and I respectfully ask that you refer to me as such.

Liberty's Edge RPG Superstar 2015 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16

Irv wrote:
Army also has [snip] not a bad bunch of people.

Yeah, Washington, Jackson, and Ike (and Grant) were just the ones I could name off the top of my head. I didn't mention Roosevelt because technically the Rough Riders were irregulars... although I'd sure love to claim him for the Army.


Actually the Rough Riders were the 1st New Mexico cavalry, a part of the New Mexico National Guard, which entered Federal Service as the 2nd Squadron, 1st U.S. Volunteer Cavalry (Rough Riders)


I did however forget Rutherford B. Hayes who was breveted to Major General of volunteers. No disrespect meant, an honest mistake.

If I include the officers and enlisted man of the States Militia Feel it fitting to include the singular Air Force National Guard member, Bush the Younger.

I offer one more clarification, ok, two; Buchanan was the only president who served in the military to not be an officer, some never wore the uniform at all, and wearing an ROTC uniform in the first 2 years of college is pretty much the same thing as wearing a band uniform, except in band you have to do something besides show up.


Just for the record, I am pretty sure "Air Force National Guard" is the military equivalent to working in the mail room.


Until they got called in to fight the Civil War, many States Militia were seen the same way.


Does anyone remember when this guys name was spelled Khaddaffi? Whats up with that?

And Hitler was only a Corporal.


Different news organizations have different spelling convention for foreign names and places, in Britain they spell it Qaddafi


In Germany, it is usually given as Gaddafi. It depends on the transliteration used from arabic to latin letters (excuse the less-than-scientific expressions here). It is given as Qaddhafi alternatively.


Stebehil wrote:
In Germany, it is usually given as Gaddafi. It depends on the transliteration used from arabic to latin letters (excuse the less-than-scientific expressions here). It is given as Qaddhafi alternatively.

His name starts with an Arabic letter called 'Qaf' which sounds exactly like the English 'Cough'. It makes a 'K' sound but more of a deeper inflection, like a crow's call of 'Caw'. This is further muddied by the North African penchant for swallowing the harder-sounding consonants so that 'Qaf' becomes more like 'Gof'.

It can be very hard to attribute Roman letters to Arabic words. Of course, this is doubly true when you see how Arabs translate English into Arabic (I spent 15 minutes one day trying to figure out a word before I realized it was 'Texas' spelt in Arabic letters, LOL)

Grand Lodge

Pathfinder PF Special Edition, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Patrick Curtin wrote:


It can be very hard to attribute Roman letters to Arabic words. Of course, this is doubly true when you see how Arabs translate English into Arabic (I spent 15 minutes one day trying to figure out a word before I realized it was 'Texas' spelt in Arabic letters, LOL)

Languages that arise from vastly different trunks will have a number of concepts which simply don't translate. Our native language is not just the way we make use of phonetics and characters, it's a metric frame for the very way we think.


LazarX wrote:
Patrick Curtin wrote:


It can be very hard to attribute Roman letters to Arabic words. Of course, this is doubly true when you see how Arabs translate English into Arabic (I spent 15 minutes one day trying to figure out a word before I realized it was 'Texas' spelt in Arabic letters, LOL)

Languages that arise from vastly different trunks will have a number of concepts which simply don't translate. Our native language is not just the way we make use of phonetics and characters, it's a metric frame for the very way we think.

True, but that's not really the point here. The point is that Arabic has consonants that don't translate well into English and vice versa. For example, a native Arabic speaker would have a difficult time with my name because Arabic has no 'P' sound. They usually go with 'Batrick'. Ghaddafi/Khaddafi/Qaddaffi are all legitimate spellings because there is no real way to spell his name in English, we don't have the proper consonants to do it. You have to fudge it. And it still sounds wrong to a native speaker, just like 'Khaleed' should have a hawking sound at its beginning instead of a 'K' sound. We just don't have the consonant equivalent.


Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!

So far no one has referred to me as "Overlord" and I am displeased...


Leafar the Lost wrote:
Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!

So far no one has referred to me as "Overlord" and I am displeased...

Glad to meet you, Displeased.


Mouthy Upstart wrote:
Leafar the Lost wrote:
Mairkurion {tm} wrote:

Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, leader of Libya, is regularly referred to as Col. Gaddafi. This never made any sense to me. What kind of colonel leads a country? What kind of autocrat has only the military rank of colonel?

Or maybe, just maybe, a Kentucky Colonel gained control of Libya in 1969. What would it mean for a peer of Col. Harland Sanders to have come to power in a North African country? Sounds like an awesome alternative Earth to me that would make a strong campaign setting. Just imagine!

So far no one has referred to me as "Overlord" and I am displeased...
Glad to meet you, Displeased.

No, no you don't understand. My name isn't Displeased; it's Leafar. I am displeased that no one has referred to me by my title, Overlord.

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