The cable said Gadhafi has been relying heavily on an unidentified
aide. The Libyan leader was also believed to take his senior Ukrainian
nurse, identified only as Galyna, a "voluptuous blonde," on all foreign
travel.
"His recent travel may also suggest a diminished dependence on his
legendary female guard force, as only one woman bodyguard accompanied him to
New York," the cable said. "Observers in Tripoli speculate that the female
guard force is beginning to play a diminished role among the leader's
personal security staff."
Gadhafi was described as mercurial and eccentric, Middle East Newsline reported. The cable, quoting
unidentified informers, said Gadhafi could not climb more than 35 steps and
suffers from headaches from long flights.
"Gadhafi's dislike of long flights and apparent fear of flying over
water also caused logistical headaches," the cable said. "Gadhafi does not
like to fly over water."
Gadhafi was said to retain four Ukrainian nurses. The Libyan leader was
also said to have engaged one of the nurses in a "romantic relationship."
"Gadhafi appears to be almost obsessively dependent on a small core of
trusted personnel," the cable said. "Continued engagement with
Gadhafi and his inner circle is important not only to learn the motives and
interests that drive the world's longest serving dictator, but also to help
overcome the misperceptions that inevitably accumulated during Gadhafi's
decades of isolation."
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