Qaddafi Blames Uprising on Bin Laden and Hallucinogenic Drugs

Muammar Qaddafi delivered yet another rambling monologue on state TV today about the causes of Libya’s weeklong unrest, which he identified as hallucinogenic drugs and Osama bin Laden. “Shame on you, people of Zawiya, control your children,” he reprimanded residents of the eastern town, which recently saw its mosque attacked by government troops. “What do you have to do with bin Laden, people of Zawiya? They are exploiting young people … I insist it is bin Laden.” In addition to claiming that protesters are “loyal to bin Laden,” Qaddafi declared that the unrest was carried by “young men hopped up on hallucinogenic pills given to them ‘in their coffee with milk, like Nescafe.’