In the days prior to Gaddafi's seizure on the reigns of government in Libya, bribery was rare if ever. Nowadays, it is common place in Libya, where government officials view their limited time in government positions as time to loot the treasury, not to serve the country. Bribery's damaging effect reaches beyond the briber and bribee. For example, in the case of the Texas Drilling Firm, having paid millions of dollars in illegal bribes, would recoup their losses by increasing the cost of their products; hence thousands, if not millions of potential customers, are saddled with higher fuel costs. Bribery should be viewed as criminal offence; excusing it as a third world practice is totally unacceptable; those who give in to bribery are are more guilty than those who receive it.