在这片广袤的土地上——面积三倍于德克萨斯州——英国石油（BP）和独立油气公司Hunt Oil曾经赚得大笔财富，直到上世纪70年代卡扎菲将它们的权益收归国有。由于卡扎菲卷入恐怖活动，美国政府对利比亚进行多年制裁以示报复，迫使美国石油巨头们在1986年纷纷撤出；1988年利比亚资助的恐怖分子炸毁了一架泛美航空客机，1992年联合国也开始制裁该国。2004年底，美国公司重返利比亚——卡扎菲当时宣布放弃大规模杀伤性武器，并向洛克比空难遇难家属提供赔偿；作为奖励，美国解除了制裁。对利比亚和欧美石油公司来说，这都是赚钱的大好良机，马拉松石油（Marathon Oil）、西方石油（Occidental Petroleum）、康菲石油（ConocoPhillips）等美国公司均重新开始在利比亚开展业务，道达尔（Total）、埃尼集团（ENI）、雷普索尔（Respol）等欧洲公司则继续揽下大量数十亿美元规模的合同。各界基于争夺新合同，为此罔顾卡扎菲的独裁统治，而是宁愿相信其子赛义夫承诺的全面改革计划。

    2004年底，我在的黎波里第一次见到了赛义夫。当时欧美企业界人士争相涌入该市，尝试与这位在伦敦接受过教育的卡扎菲继承人见面。2010年初，我第二次到访该市，那时赛义夫仍然握有很大影响力，可以左右其父在商业类事务上的决定，因此，一支庞大的美国企业代表团再次造访。今年北约在利比亚发起的军事行动使这一切皆成往事，可在此之前，西方对赛义夫大献殷勤确实取得了成效。就在反叛爆发前两天，一家万豪酒店（J.W. Marriott）大厦在的黎波里风景如画的海滩开业，附近是一家配有游艇码头的喜来登酒店（Sheraton），卡扎菲的防弹宝马和奔驰轿车就停在外面——他后来逃离的黎波里时将这些豪车丢在了身后。起重机往来穿梭，引人注目的购物商场、公寓大楼甚至是一座全新的国会大楼（People's Congress Hall）正拔地而起。后者是卡扎菲政权的象征，由著名设计师扎哈•哈迪德设计。“一个小集团越来越富有，而我们其他人只能眼巴巴地看着，”的黎波里商业咨询网站knowlibya.net的首席执行官萨米•扎普提亚说。

    阿里•塔胡尼可不是卡扎菲政权的老朋友。他原是班加西人，因为参与政治活动，1973年就被逐出大学，旋即逃亡美国，时年仅22岁。作为报复，卡扎菲剥夺了他的国籍，还判处他死刑。塔胡尼在密歇根州立大学（Michigan State University）获得了经济学博士学位，在西雅图定居，生了四个孩子，还成了华盛顿大学福斯特商学院（Foster School of Business）的高级讲师。

    It's here in this giant terrain -- three times the size of Texas -- that Hunt Oil and BP (BP) made fortunes before Qaddafi nationalized their concessions in the 1970s. U.S. sanctions forced American oil majors out in 1986 in retaliation for Qaddafi's involvement in terrorist activities; UN sanctions came in 1992, after the Libyan-sponsored bombing of a Pan Am jetliner in 1988. By late 2004, U.S. companies returned -- a reward for Qaddafi's abandoning weapons of mass destruction and compensating Lockerbie victims. For both sides there were fresh fortunes to be made. Marathon Oil (MRO), Occidental Petroleum (OXY), ConocoPhillips (COP), and others resumed operation, while Total (TOT), ENI (E), Respol, and other European companies continued their multibillion-dollar contracts. All elbowed for new deals, ignoring Qaddafi's dictatorship and focusing instead on his son Saif's grand reform promises.

    When I first met Saif in Tripoli in late 2004, U.S. and European business representatives raced around the city trying to meet this London-educated would-be heir apparent. By my second visit in early 2010, Saif held huge sway over decisions about business, and a large U.S. business delegation was again in town. Notwithstanding this year's grueling NATO campaign, the West's courtship paid off. Two days before the revolt erupted, a J.W. Marriott (MAR) tower opened along Tripoli's picturesque seafront. Nearby is a new Four Points Sheraton, complete with a marina; outside, the Qaddafis' armored BMW and Mercedes-Benz sedans sit parked, abandoned during their flight from Tripoli. Cranes loom over Tripoli's splashy half-built shopping malls, apartment complexes, and even a new People's Congress Hall -- a symbol of Qaddafi's regime -- designed by famed architect Zaha Hadid. "A small group got richer and richer, while the rest of us watched," says Sami Zaptia, CEO of the Tripoli business consultancy knowlibya.net.

    Ali Tarhouni was no friend of the regime. Originally from Benghazi, he was expelled from college for political activism and fled to the U.S. in 1973, at age 22. In retaliation, Qaddafi stripped him of his citizenship and sentenced him to death. Tarhouni earned a doctorate in economics from Michigan State University, settled in Seattle, and had four children, becoming a senior lecturer at UW's Foster School of Business.