Is Qaddafi next?

But the allegations of corrupt dynastic politics in Libya are not much different than those of Tunisia and Egypt. And diplomats and scholars suggest Libyans may be just as angry as their Arab brethren across their border about bad behavior by their first families. Qaddafi himself seems perplexed about the chaos in the region, saying last week that President Ben Ali in Tunisia was the “victim of lies” told on the Internet and that the Tunisian should have remained in power for life…

The 68-year-old Qaddafi, the world’s longest serving head of state who is not a member of a royal family, has never disclosed his succession plans, leading to the assumption among foreign governments—and many Libyans—that he will attempt to place one of his seven biological sons in power. (His only biological daughter, a lawyer who was part of the defense team for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, has demonstrated no interest in succeeding her father.)

Given the uprisings in neighboring Tunisia and Egypt against the brutal, corrupt family dynasties in those countries, diplomats and scholars with an expertise in North Africa say that Qaddafi has reason to fear for his family’s future.