In April 2009, Mutassim Gaddafi met U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the highest-level diplomatic exchange between the two countries since they resumed diplomatic relations several years earlier. For Gaddafi, it was a serious display of his new responsibilities as the National Security Advisor. He overreached his role as NSA in 2008 by requesting $1.2 billion from the National Oil Corporation to form his own special forces brigade. Mutassim Gaddafi met U.S. Senators John McCain and Joseph Lieberman in 2009, expressing a strong need for military support in Libya. Gaddafi warned, "There are 60 million Algerians to the West, 80 million Egyptians to the East, we have Europe in front of us, and we face Sub-Saharan Africa with its problems to the South." He was concerned about upgrading Libya's military equipment, and said he could purchase arms from Russia and China, but wanted to buy material from the United States.
Possible successor
Mutassim Gaddafi lived in Egypt for several years after allegedly attempting to take control of Libya from his father. His return led to a reconciliation with his father and a high-ranking position as National Security Advisor of Libya. In 2009, a story linking Mutassim Gaddafi to the death of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi was published in Libyan newspaper Oea with permission from his brother Saif al-Islam.
Libyan civil war
During the Libyan Civil War, Gaddafi commanded the units in the Brega region notably during the Battle of Brega–Ajdabiya road and the skirmishes in the area. He had been subject to a travel ban and an asset freeze over his close links and membership of his father's inner circle. Gaddafi was allegedly in Tripoli in the Bab al-Azizia compound, and assisting in commanding what remained of pro-Gaddafi forces in the city during the Battle of Tripoli. However, no evidence of his presence was found by rebels when they captured the compound, nor was there evidence of a presence of any of his sons. He commanded the loyalist forces in their unsuccessful defense of Sirte, Muammar Gaddafi's hometown, until the city fell. It is believed Mutassim commanded the crackdown of protests.
Personal life
Model Vanessa Hessler admitted to a four-year relationship with him, and she continued to defend him after his death.
Death
Mutassim Gaddafi was captured when Sirte fell on 20 October 2011. NTC commanders at the front in Sirte and officials in Tripoli claimed that he was captured as he was trying to leave the city in a family car, and sent off to Benghazi. Published film and photographs of Mutassim Gaddafi indicate that he was unconscious and injured—the front of his shirt was heavily stained with blood—but he was very much alive when he was captured by a group of young men appearing to be in their late teens or early twenties after apparently succumbing to nerve gas. He was made to drink water and requested a cigarette. Later photographs released by Saudi TV channel Al Arabiya show Mutassim Gaddafi lying dead on a hospital bed, with gaping wounds in his throat and abdomen and one of his arms had been dislocated. Amateur photographs and videos showed his young captors and others defiling his corpse after his death. Like his father, he was denied a burial within a dayafter death in accordance with Islamic law.
