Almost exactly 40 years ago, the 27-year-old colonel masterminded a successful revolution that toppled King Idris. The slim young man, with a stylish taste for safari suits and shades, then sought to become the Che Guevara of the age. Col Gaddafi turned Libya into a haven for anti-Western radicals. Any group, no matter how bloodstained or discredited, could receive his guns and cash, provided it claimed to be fighting "imperialism".
