Successful uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt against leaders who have overstayed their welcome  have caught the attention of the international media as well as their neighboring countries. In the past week, the people of Libya have shown their displeasure with their current government by protesting.

But Libya’s dictator, Muammar Khadafi, is a particularly tough man to overthrow.  He has ruled his country for over forty years, uses his government’s money to support Islamic revolutions through out Africa, kills his prominent opponents, and has access to incredible wealth, meaning he can hire mercenaries and bribe instead of using the democratic process.

History teacher Mark Healy knows first hand what Khadafi is capable of. Healy’s father was a general for the U.S. army and was stationed in Naples, Italy with his family. When Libya seized an Italian cruse ship and killed two Americans, it was Healy’s father’s job to decide how to retaliate.

“I’m not sure why Libya hijacked the cruse ship, but after two Americans were killed, my father was to issue the retaliation bombing raid,” Healy said. “We bombed Khadafi’s headquarters and I believe it was his granddaughter that was killed.”

An angry Khadafiput a death threat on the Healy family as retaliation for the attack. Khadafi making threats of this type wasn’t uncommon, but action was considered unlikely. Nevertheless, the government gave protective security to his family.

“I didn’t think it was serious at all. I just thought it was cool to have all the security,” Healy recalled.

For six months life continued as normal–until one night when Healy was relaxing at home. A guard heard something unusual and went outside to check, ordering the young Healy to stay down. Khadafi had followed through on his threat of violence and sent a hitman to the family’s home. They threw a Molotov cocktail and burned the outside of the house. Before any more harm could be done, the guards killed the hitman.

“I was surprised, scared, nervous and intrigued about the whole thing. I mean, I was 17. It was a double edged sword. You’re scared to death, but you’re intrigued,” Healy said.

Healy is not sure if the threat has been lifted or not. After moving back to America, it became a non-issue and a cool story to tell people.

Currently, Khadafi is still in power. Eastern Libya has been liberated, but the Western area around Tripoli, the capital, is still under his control. The demonstrations are becoming more and more violent, with Khadafi hiring mercenaries from Central Africa to quell the protests by whatever means. Gritty cellphone videos show the chaos and violence that is Tripoli. In an interview with CNN’S Christiane Amanpour, Khadafi insisted that the people still love him.

As a history teacher, Healy finds the revolutions in the Middle East interesting, especially when teaching his AP Euro class. When studying the French Revolution of the late 1700s, he teaches that “when France sneezes, Europe catches the cold.” Now, in 2011, when Tunisia sneezes, North Africa and the Middle East catch the cold.

“It’s neat because you study about revolutions that happened hundreds of years ago and now you’re seeing them happen for the very same reasons. It’s interesting to see how things come and go in a cycle,” Healy said.