1) Except for a small, experienced elite, his own population does not have the skills nor education to run an industry as complex as the oil industry effectively, and

2) if he does indeed privatize and opens the industry up to all free market “comers,” foreign interests are the most likely to snap up this lucrative and key resource.

These options are clearly not in Libya’s best interests.

Ghaddafi’s deciion to distribute the wealth to his own people seems clearly most consistent with his “Green Book” and Islamic philosophy.

It is well overdue that the U.S. stopped judging every other society’s decisions solely by its own standards of maximzing profits.

It might be more to the point to understand and accept other, more applicable standards relevant to the country under consideration.

That is the problem with state owned enterprises wherever they arise. It is the nature of hte beast. The fact is that someone will have to decide who gets how much. When you are talking about many billions of dollars, that is a lot of power to be abused.