Gunmen seize Libyan Prime Minister

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Gunmen seize Libyan Prime Minister
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Libyas prime minister, Ali Zeidan, was briefly
kidnapped from a Tripoli (capital of Libya) hotel
on Thursday in an apparent act of retaliation for
his supposed consent to the capture of suspected
Al Qaeda leader al-Libi by American Special
Forces. The PM was seized before dawn and freed
(unharmed) by early afternoon. The short-lived
kidnapping was a sign for the instability of
Libyas transitional government and its
cooperation with American counterterrorist
efforts. The PMs abductors appeared to be among
the militias who serve as his governments
primary police and security force. The kidnapping
of the PM was the most ominous sign yet that
Libya is sliding toward anarchy two years after
the revolution that ended former leader Qaddafis
four decades of dictatorship. And it may also
serve as a warning to other Libyan officials who
contemplate collaborating with the United States
in its pursuit of alleged terrorists. The PM was
seized at a heavily guarded luxury hotel that he
and other government leaders use as a residence
and meeting place, reportedly without a gunfight
or resistance.
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