US Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley recoils in disbelief at the suggestion floated by many that Libya was better off under Muammar Gaddafi.

She believes the current turmoil in Libya caused by a fractious society is the result of Gaddafi’s tyrannical 40-year rule.

“For 42 years Gaddafi prevented civil society from developing and this is precisely what has been trying to happen since his downfall,” she says.

I meet her at the US embassy in Ta’ Qali, a week after terrorists attacked the Maltese-owned Corinthia Hotel in Tripoli, killing among others an American citizen.

Ever since Gaddafi was ousted in a bloody civil war four years ago, Libyan factions and militias have turned on each other as they jockey for influence and resources.

Now grouped in two broad alliances with two rival governments and parliaments – the internationally-recognised administration in Tobruk and the self-declared administration based in Tripoli – the country is split in half.

The uncertainty, instability and lack of security have led many to argue Libyans were better served by a strong regime that stifled dissent.

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