Raid Plunged Kadafi Into Depression, CIA Believes

Libyan leader Moammar Kadafi sank into a severe depression after last week’s U.S. bombing raid that wounded two of his sons and reportedly killed his 15-month-old adopted daughter, according to an intelligence report considered reliable by officials here.

Kadafi has begun displaying the extravagant mood swings of a manic-depressive, the sources said. CIA specialists have concluded that the bombing raid, which apparently caught Kadafi by surprise, triggered the depression. They said he was particularly affected by the wounding of the sons, one of whom remains in serious condition.

The Libyan strongman’s depressed condition has kept his public profile low since the raid, according to the intelligence report. Although Kadafi has appeared on Libyan television and has made several other appearances, he has been comparatively subdued.

His sluggish personal response may have somewhat delayed the Libyan reaction to the U.S. air strike, in which more than 100 tons of bombs were dropped on five targets, including Kadafi’s personal headquarters, the Aziziya Barracks.

Members of Kadafi’s family were inside, and two of his young sons were wounded. Kadafi’s relationship to the dead 15-month-old girl is still not clear. Libyan officials have said she was his adopted daughter, although U.S. sources say they doubt this is true.

An intelligence source predicted that Kadafi will soon cycle back into his familiar wild, outspoken mood and in all likelihood will begin planning retaliation against the United States. “A lamb one day and a lion the next,” said one well-placed source.

The psychological portrait of Kadafi that emerges from reliable intelligence sources grows more bizarre. In 1982, a classified CIA profile of the Libyan leader concluded that he “is judged to suffer from a severe personality disturbance--a ‘borderline personality disorder.’ ”

Kadafi, according to reliable reports, also has used excessive amounts of sleeping pills and stimulants.