The National Army Aborted Gaddafi’s Project to Unify Libya, Algeria in 1987, Secret Document

A classified document reveals that Libyan Colonel Muammar Gaddafi has proposed in 1987 on former Algeria President, Chadli Benjdid, to establish unity between the two neighbouring nations.

The document specifies that the Algerian National Army had examined the proposal, and yet rejected adopting it for several reasons.

In fact, the commission which was tasked the examination of the Gaddafi proposal concluded that the draft constitution that Gaddafi attempted to impose by pressing President Chadli to validate it, evoked the establishment of a joint military commandment despite the wide strategic and intellectual differences between the two nations.

Consequently, the commission recommended rejecting such a proposal and yet listed a set of warnings as not to be implicated in that unity with Gaddafi.

The commission concluded that the said project is a failure regarding its negative repercussions on Algeria’s defense policy, as well as its negative impact on the regional and international sides.

For instance, the commission indicated that it is impossible to set unity with country that adopts a very different defense system, as Algeria’s system is based on popular individuals, while Libya’s armed forces are composed on heterogeneous groups, including foreigners, and militias of revolution committees. 

The project was rejected due to the “bad” reputation of the Libyan officials, including Gaddafi himself, in the international scene.

Also, Algeria did not share Gaddafi’s “weird” ideas, noting that he recurrently and openly declared his expansionist thought. 

In this regard, Gaddafi proposed on late President Houari Boumedien to set an Empire in the Maghreb region, suggesting that Algeria to occupy Morocco and Libya to invade Tunisia. Such a proposal was not even examined by the then Algerian officials, and was categorically rejected.